Cooking with Alison

Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category

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Review of Norwegian Cruise Line in Comparison to Royal Caribbean and Princess

In Reviews on August 20, 2013 at am

In December, 2012, my family celebrated my dad’s retirement and my parents’ wedding anniversary by cruising to the Eastern Caribbean with the Norwegian cruise line aboard the Epic ship.  This is a review of the Norwegian cruise line in comparison to the Royal Caribbean cruise line (Liberty of the Seas ship) and the Princess cruise line (Caribbean Princess ship).  See here for my original and detailed review of the Princess cruise line food.  Also, see here for my review of Royal Caribbean in comparison to Princess.

I love traveling by cruise and I can’t wait for the opportunity to sail with the other major competitors, Celebrity and Holland America.  Hopefully, my reviews will help you choose the company best suited to your interests and priorities.

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Favourite Restaurants and Things to Do in Kingston, Ontario

In Reviews on June 15, 2012 at am

I lived in Kingston, Ontario for 9 years.  I moved back to Toronto in January 2012, but I still visit Kingston frequently.  Although I’m loving rediscovering Toronto’s restaurants and food festivals, I still miss my favourite restaurants in Kingston.  Here’s a list of where I love to eat in Kingston.  I’ve also included a list of things to do in case you’re planning a trip to Canada’s former capital city. Read the rest of this entry »

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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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Review of Royal Caribbean Cruise Line in Comparison to Princess

In Reviews on May 6, 2012 at pm

I cruised to the Western Caribbean with the Royal Caribbean cruise line on the Liberty of the Seas ship in January, 2012.  This is a brief review of the Royal Caribbean cruise line in comparison to the Princess cruise line, Caribbean Princess ship.  See here for my original and detailed review of the Princess cruise line food.

I am officially hooked on cruising and I plan to try ships from the other major competitors over the next few years, including Celebrity, Holland America, and Norwegian.  I can’t wait to declare a favourite company!

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Vern’s Toffee House’s All Natural Butter Almond Toffee

In Reviews on November 19, 2011 at am

I would like to introduce you to my favourite gourmet toffee.  Vern’s Toffee House makes an all natural butter almond toffee that is covered in either milk or dark chocolate.  It needs to be stored in the refrigerator or freezer and I love to eat it frozen.  It is truly addictive and unlike artificially preserved toffees, this won’t leave a weird taste in your mouth no matter how much of it you eat in one sitting.  (This was tested with an entire pound of toffee being ingested non stop. 😉 )  I love the crispy whole almonds and the crunchy, buttery and sweet toffee.  My only criticism is that I don’t love the chocolate that they used (milk or dark).  But then again, the toffee is the star of this candy.  Although it is a bit pricey, you can taste the freshness in the almonds and the quality in the toffee.  This is great to have on hand for entertaining and it makes an excellent gift.  Just a heads up that since this product is all natural, it has a short shelf life, but can be stored in the freezer for a few months.  Note that although Canada is not listed as a shipping destination on their order form, they do ship to Canada, but you will have to place the order over the phone.

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AnyLock Reusable Food Storage Bags and Sealers

In Reviews on October 20, 2011 at pm

I am conscious about being environmentally friendly, and I always feel guilty about the number of disposable freezer bags that I use.  You see, most of the time I’m cooking for one, so I make large batches of food, divide them into one or two serving portions, and freeze them.  I try to use tupperware containers as often as I can but they disappear with Ed and my sister, Krystal, for months at a time (I deliver most of the frozen meals to them).  I have already purchased many tupperware containers and I simply don’t have the storage space for more.  Also, freezer bags don’t take up as much space, and freezer space is a hot commodity in my apartment.  So I was very excited to discover AnyLock’s reusable food storage bags and sealers (Slide ‘n Store).  They work better than disposable ziploc bags while reducing waste!  Furthermore, AnyLock’s sealing rods are the best bag closing/sealing product I have ever seen or used.  I’ve shared my detailed review of these products below.  Note that this review is based only on my personal opinions and experience with the product.

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My First Wedding Cake (and the Sugar Shack that Anthony Bourdain went to in No Reservations)

In Cake Decorating, Cakes, Reviews on September 17, 2011 at am

Two of my good friends got married on September 10, 2011 at Sucrerie de la Montagne in Quebec, Canada.  On a side note, Chef Anthony Bourdain went to this very sugar shack for his television show, No Reservations.  My friends had an intimate wedding and invited their friends and family to bring cakes for dessert.  So I took this opportunity to make my first wedding cake.  It was a one-tier, two-layer chocolate cake with strawberry raspberry jam and vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream.  It was covered with marshmallow fondant and topped with fresh, fall coloured flowers.  I was very happy with how it turned out and people loved the way that it tasted.  My cake decorating skills have come a LONG way since my Michael’s cake decorating course.  🙂  This cake was surprisingly easy to make.  See below for the recipes and a few tips.

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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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The Halal Guys, New York City Street Food

In Reviews on June 14, 2011 at am

I always rave about the chicken kabobs that you get from the NYC street vendors.  Forget the hot dogs, the pretzels, or the toasted nuts, have a chicken kabob!  They’re about $5 a skewer but they’re the best chicken kabobs I’ve ever had.  When I told my cousin how the streets of NYC ruined all other chicken kabobs for me, he told me that I had to try The Halal Guys at 6th Avenue and 53rd Street.  This specific location is very well known for their chicken and rice dish (photo below).  From what I’ve been told, no other location of this chain compares.  We went there late on a Monday night and there were 10 to 15 people in line ahead of us.  To my surprise, my cousin and his friend told me that we were lucky that the line was so short.  The line up at this location is usually horrendous.  In fact, someone was once stabbed for cutting in line.

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How to Make Almond Milk (and a Comparison of Milk Alternatives)

In How-To, Reviews on May 23, 2011 at am

Normally, I’m a regular consumer of cow’s milk and Chinese soy milk drinks.  But challenging myself with a month long detox diet (see post here) led me to explore non-dairy (casein free) and non-soy milks.  The options include coconut milk, almond milk, rice milk, and hemp milk.  I also heard of a potato based milk alternative, DariFree by Vance’s Foods that comes in a powder.  I don’t like the taste of fresh coconut juice and coconut milk is too rich (for my tastes) for drinking, so this post will focus on a comparison between almond, rice, and hemp milk.  Also, see below for homemade rice milk instructions and a very simple and versatile almond milk recipe with flavour variations.

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GATEAUX bakery and cafe, New Jersey (an excellent Korean bakery)

In Reviews on April 24, 2011 at am

The GATEAUX bakery & cafe is a wonderful Korean bakery in New Jersey.  They have impressively beautiful cakes that are delicately light in texture and flavour.  They are perfect for celebrating any occasion.  I love that they’re not too sweet.  Also, they won’t sit heavily in your stomach like other bakery cakes that are too rich or dense.  Thanks goes out to my cousin for introducing this bakery to us!

GATEAUX bakery & cafe doesn’t have a website at this time.  But here is their contact info:

Address:  877 U.S. 1 Edison, NJ 08817-4676
Tel: (732) 248-5555

The red bean cake is shown below.

The tiramisu cake (with candles) is shown below.

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Have You Tried Ice Cider?

In Reviews on April 10, 2011 at am

During a visit to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, a friend of ours introduced us to the most wonderful dessert  wine – ice cider (cidre de glace).  Canada (Ontario in particular) is very well-known for its ice wine, which is made from frozen grapes, but few seem to know about ice cider, which is made in the Quebec province using frozen apples.  I’ve never liked ice wine, because I find the sweetness to be overwhelming without complexity.  But I love ice cider, because its sweetness is accompanied by a wonderful apple flavour.  I can’t believe that it isn’t more well known!  I’ve only tried the brand Neige.  Although it is close to the affordable end of dessert wines, I have fallen in love with the packaging (shown on the left in the photo above) as well as the taste.  (I will update this post when I try a more expensive brand for comparison.)  If your local liquor store doesn’t carry ice cider, try ordering it online and be sure to pick up a few bottles at a SAQ the next time you’re traveling through Quebec.  Enjoy it ice cold!