Cooking with Alison

Archive for the ‘Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks’ Category

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Best Cornbread Recipe

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks, Breads, Breakfast, Sides and Sauces on October 9, 2013 at am

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When I set out to find the best cornbread recipe, I learned that there are people that prefer sweet cornbread, and there are people that prefer savoury cornbread.  Personally, I prefer cornbread that is savoury and plain.  I tried a few cornbread recipes that were, in my opinion, far from appetizing and had almost decided to give up on cornbread.  But when I saw a cornbread recipe in The Modern Baker (a cookbook that I received from an old neighbour), I thought, let’s try one more.  I am so glad that I did, because this cornbread recipe put all others to shame.  This was very flavourful, and the texture was the perfect balance of crumbly and moist.  I finally understand why so many people love this stuff.  John, who is much more familiar with southern food than I am, said it was the best cornbread he’s ever had, and my dad couldn’t get enough of it.  According to Nick Malgieri, this recipe is a Southwestern American version of cornbread.  Another great thing about this recipe is that it works well with added ingredients, such as chedder cheese and jalapenos.

More recently, I turned this recipe into finger food for John’s housewarming party, by baking it in a 9 inch x 13 inch pan and cutting it into 36 mini wedges.  I recommend freezing the cornbread first, as it was much easier to cut while it was still semi frozen.  I had a lot of cornbread leftover after the party and people were very happy to take extras home with them.

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Thai Mango Salad Recipe

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks, Asian, Other Asian Foods, Sides and Sauces on September 1, 2013 at am

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This Thai mango salad is delicious and very easy to make.  The key to success is to use mangoes that have the perfect ripeness, just starting to ripe and still firm.  Some recipes call for green mangoes, but I’ve found that using green mangoes results in a crunchy salad that lacks mango flavour and colour.  I made this for my sister’s lunch group at work and everyone loved it.  I served it as an appetizer to a cold Thai noodle salad (recipe here).

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How to Render Lard

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks, Asian, Breakfast, Desserts, How-To, Main Course on August 18, 2013 at pm

I recently jumped onto the lard band wagon and I saved a seat for you.  I know what you’ve heard about lard.  I heard the same warnings about high cholesterol and clogged arteries.  In fact, I grew up listening to my dad blame his blocked arteries on the use of lard in every day cooking during his youth.  But the truth is that home rendered lard can actually be considered a healthy fat!  (See here for more details.)  It is better for you than butter and is a rich source of vitamin D.  But I want to be very clear that only home rendered lard is good, and it’s best if the fat comes from naturally raised hogs.  Processed store-bought lard, however, contains trans fats – the very bad fats – and preservatives.

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Home rendered lard

I am so glad that we’ve cleared up that misunderstanding, because lard makes everything taste better.  For example, it’s perfect for deep frying foods, because it has a high smoke point.  This allows your food to cook more quickly, meaning that your food will be crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, all the while absorbing less oil.  Also, lard is necessary for making the best flaky pastries.  You may be surprised to know that lard is one of the secrets to many delicious Asian dishes as well.  Cooking your stir fried noodles in lard will result in an inimitable flavor and silky texture.

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Favourite Cheeses, Wine, and Cider From The Great Canadian Cheese Festival

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks, Reviews on June 11, 2012 at am

Ed, Krystal, and I attended the second annual Great Canadian Cheese Festival on June 2, 2012.  It was held in Picton, Ontario.    We enjoyed the Artisan Cheese and Fine Food Fair, where vendors had samples for tasting and products for purchase, and the Food Network celebrity chef Bob Blumer’s how to grill pizza demonstration.  (It’s too bad that I wasn’t able to see the other celebrity guest – Kris Holden-Ried from the tv show, Lost Girl.)  We tried more cheese than we could remember.  Other available products included chutneys, condiments, gourmet olive oils, cookies, and sausages, etc.  We had a great time at the Great Canadian Cheese Festival and I discovered several new favourite products (see below for the list).

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Homemade Beef Jerky

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks on April 5, 2012 at am

I am in love with beef jerky, but I rarely buy it because store-bought beef jerky is often too salty, contains unnatural ingredients, and is very expensive.  So I purchased a Ronco food dehydrator to make my own.   Everyone that’s tried my homemade beef jerky has liked it.  I’ve even had people say that they like it more than store bought beef jerky.  You can control the salt and sugar content, the spiciness, and even the texture when you make it yourself.  This makes a great snack for hiking, camping, and days on the beach.  For those of you with pets, use the food dehydrator to make healthy treats using unseasoned liver, gizzards, thinly sliced chicken, etc.  (See other healthy dog treat recipes here.)

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How to Make Shrimp Chips From Scratch

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks, How-To, Other Asian Foods on January 11, 2012 at am

Shrimp chips (also known as prawn crackers) are light, puffed up, crunchy snacks that are very popular all around the world.  In some North American Chinese restaurants, multi coloured (with food colouring) “shrimp chips” are served atop a deep fried whole chicken, but those shrimp chips almost never have any real shrimp in them.  They taste like styrofoam and don’t resemble the real thing in flavour or in texture.  The best shrimp chips in the world, in our opinion, are made in Brunei.  It’s been many years since any of us were in Brunei, and I thought that I might never taste their shrimp chips again, until I discovered how easy they are to make at home.  Malaysian shrimp chips are a very close second best in my opinion.

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Homemade Fudgesicles

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks, Other Desserts on October 25, 2011 at am

Despite my age, I still get a little excited whenever I treat myself to a popsicle.  Fudgesicles used to be my favourite frozen snack, but years ago, I turned my back on them when I started giving up unnaturally flavoured, processed foods.  So imagine how happy I was when I found recipes for homemade fudgesicles.  I love that I can now make adult fudgesicles that have a dark chocolate flavour without fructose or corn syrup.  I tested two highly rated recipes and have posted my favourite below.  I’ll never crave a processed fudgesicle again.  🙂

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Saganaki Recipe (Flaming Greek Cheese)

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks on September 30, 2011 at am

Saganaki is a popular Greek cheese appetizer that is set on fire table side.  A lot of people complain that this dish is too salty, but this website provides excellent information on the different types of cheese (with varying levels of saltiness) that you could use for this dish.  I tried the kefalograviera and the graviera cheese and I much preferred the graviera.  This site also provides great step by step photo instructions.  If you don’t have a saganaki (the name of the pan that is used), you could use a small cast iron pan like I did.  Please don’t judge the recipe by how my saganaki turned out.  🙂  My pan wasn’t hot enough or seasoned enough when I put the cheese down, so it stuck to the bottom of the pan.  It didn’t look great but the outside was deliciously crispy.

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Coconut or Macaroon Popsicles Recipe

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks, Other Desserts on September 6, 2011 at am

Before I knew it, summer was almost over and I hadn’t made any popsicles yet.  I fully plan on enjoying homemade popsicles well into fall this year.  This sophisticated, coconut popsicle is creamy and has a lovely chewy texture.  The toasted, shredded coconut floats to the top (which then becomes the bottom of your popsicle) and creates a macaroon like texture.  If you want the whole popsicle to taste like a macaroon, then you might want to add an extra pinch of salt and use up to 1 cup of toasted, shredded coconut.

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Momofuku Chicken Wings with Vinaigrette Recipe

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks, Meat and Eggs on September 1, 2011 at am

This is a very easy and delicious recipe that comes from the famous momofuku restaurant’s cookbook by David Chang.  I made this for Krystal and Ed as a late night snack the last time they visited,  and they were still talking about these wings a few days after they had gone home.  I usually prefer deep fried chicken wings over oven-baked wings, but this vinaigrette was so good, that I didn’t miss the deep fried at all.

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French Picnic (Pique-Nique) Menu and Recipes

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks, Main Course on August 2, 2011 at am

I made a French themed picnic (pique-nique) basket for Ed and I, but I was feeling too sick to go outside, so we enjoyed it in our pyjamas at home.  (That’s the second picnic that has been foiled this summer.)  Below, I have shared our menu, a simple and wonderful recipe for tomato salad, as well as other French picnic menu ideas.  (See Southern themed picnic menus and recipes here.)

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Miniature BBQ Menu and Recipes (and a review of PC’s summer 2011 products)

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks, Main Course, Other Dishes, Reviews, Sides and Sauces on July 21, 2011 at am

A few of Ed’s friends stopped by in Kingston for lunch one day.  We only had two hours notice, but that was enough time to put a menu together, run out and get groceries, and host a miniature BBQ.  Luckily, I had some miniature frozen strawberry pies in the freezer.  (See the menu and recipes below.)  I love miniature food (see my miniature food display here) and I think it’s a great way to entertain, especially if you’re serving a light meal or throwing a baby shower.  I love that this was all finger food and cutlery was only required for the dessert.  A review of some of President’s Choice’s new summer 2011 products is also provided below.

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