Cooking with Alison

Posts Tagged ‘food’

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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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Delicious Bang Bang Chicken Recipe (bang bang ji)

In Meat and Eggs on April 24, 2012 at am

Bang bang chicken is a Chinese dish that originated in Szechuan.  I really hope that you’ll try this recipe because I love it for many reasons:

1.  The dipping sauce is delicious and addictive.  It’s very flavourful and the perfect compliment to the otherwise bland chicken and cucumbers.  My family and I can’t get enough of it.

2. This meal is cost effective to make, because you use chicken that has the skin on and bone in.

3.  It’s healthy.

4.  It’s easy to make.

5.  This recipe makes a lot, so you can feed a lot of people or use the leftovers for tortilla wraps or rice paper rolls (see my rice paper rolls recipe here).

6.  This can be served warm or cold, so it can be made in advance.

Traditionally, this is served alongside other dishes with white rice.  But if you wanted to turn this dish into a complete meal on its own, you could try this variation:  Toss together the shredded chicken, sauce, and thinly julienned cucumbers, along with added cilantro, thinly julienned carrots, and thinly sliced green onions, and serve on top of boiled and drained, thin vermicelli rice noodles.

Update:  I made this for my dad’s company pot luck and people from all different backgrounds loved it, even the two pickiest eaters there.

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How to Boil or Poach Chicken

In How-To, Meat and Eggs, Poultry on April 19, 2012 at pm

Cooking chicken by boiling or poaching is easy and great for making healthy, oil-free, meals.  It may sound bland, but this results in deliciously moist meat and a pot of chicken stock.  When boiling or poaching chicken, you want to use meat that still has the skin on and the bone in, so you can purchase cheaper cuts of meat and save money while eating healthy.  You can boil a whole chicken or pieces of chicken.  Shred the cooked meat and use it in salads, sandwiches, wraps, soup or, my favourite, bang bang chicken (recipe here).  Another healthy and simple way to cook chicken is by steaming (see recipe here).

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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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Favourite Lemon Tart Recipe

In Pies & Tarts on March 31, 2012 at am

I love this lemon dessert.  As you can probably tell from the picture below, I over baked my tart a little bit, and it was still delicious.  I made it for Thanksgiving last year and it was the perfect finish to a hearty prime rib dinner.  When I was making the tart crust, I was doubtful of the recipe, because it was more crumbly and dry than any other crust I’d ever made, but it turned out beautifully crispy!  The crispy crust is the perfect compliment to the tart filling.  I love that the filling is so fresh and natural tasting; it’s not too tart and it’s not too sweet.  This is simple to make and elegant enough to serve for a special occasion.  Note that although the crust only stays crispy for the first day, it’s still very good the next day.  In fact, my mom loved the crust and she didn’t try it until the second day.  The word she used was “success” in Chinese.

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Brussel Sprouts with Shallots and Bacon

In Sides and Sauces on March 26, 2012 at pm

I made this brussel sprout side dish for Christmas one year and, to my surprise, it was my dad’s favourite dish of the meal.  I love brussel sprouts, even when they’re simply steamed with a sprinkle of sea salt.  I’m surprised by how much they usually cost at the grocery store, because I discovered this past summer that they’re actually really easy to plant.

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Favourite Coleslaw Recipe

In Sides and Sauces, Soups and Salads on March 17, 2012 at am

This coleslaw has been really really popular with everyone that’s tried it.  The cider vinegar adds a really nice sweetness.  I like to serve coleslaw with heavier meats such as pulled pork (recipe here) sandwiches, but my family likes to eat it on its own as a snack too.

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Favourite Pulled Pork Recipe (Slow Cooker)

In Red Meat and Eggs on March 12, 2012 at pm

I made pulled pork sandwiches for my sister’s lunch club at work and people loved it.  One of her friends even started making this on a regular basis at home.  A year later, they invited me to a party where they served this as the main  🙂  (Ed and my brother love this recipe too.)  The homemade BBQ sauce is great and could be used as a condiment or with other recipes.  This also happens to be my favourite slow cooker recipe.  I served the pulled pork on fresh kaiser buns with a side of coleslaw (recipe here) and pickles.

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Broccoli, Egg, and Cheese Breakfast Muffins (with a gluten free variation)

In Breakfast, Rice and Noodle Dishes on March 7, 2012 at pm

These breakfast muffins may not look very appealing, but they’re tasty, easy to make, and great on-the-go snacks or breakfast.  Also, if you use coconut flour instead of all purpose flour, you’ll be adding fiber and eating gluten free.  I have my old housemate to thank for introducing me to cooking with coconut flour and for sharing this recipe.

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Ketchup Soup Recipe

In Soups and Salads on February 15, 2012 at pm

Note: This recipe was updated and improved in September, 2020!

Years ago, Ed’s mom introduced me to her ketchup soup.  I couldn’t get enough of it!  It’s sweet and sour and hearty.  I am very grateful to her for telling me how she makes it. I played around with her guidelines a bit, added some spice and more beef, and came up with the measurements. This is super kid friendly if you omit the spice. It’s also perfect for using up leftover ketchup after the summer and BBQ season ends. Hopefully you’ll like it too!

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Chocolate Malt Cake Recipe

In Cakes on February 9, 2012 at am

As a child, my favourite comfort drink was the malted milk drink, Horlicks.  When I grew up, it became hot chocolate.  Now I am revisiting malted milk by baking with it, and everyone around me is falling in love with it all over again (or for the first time).  (See my malted chocolate chip cookies recipe here.)  I made this delicious, 3-layer, chocolate malt cake for my sister’s birthday.  My family really liked it even though they’re not normally fans of chocolate cake.  My mom kept picking the Maltesers off the cake and my sister kept stealing them from other peoples’ plates, so the next time I make this cake, I may cover the entire top of it with Maltesers.  🙂

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Best Jien Duy Recipe (Chinese Deep Fried Sesame Balls with Red Bean Paste)

In Asian Desserts on January 27, 2012 at pm

Jien duy are deep fried, sesame seed coated, glutinous rice balls with a sweet red bean paste filling.  These homemade jien duy are the best that I have ever had and I’ve even tried the jien duy in China.  These are crispy on the outside, light and airy on the inside, and they have a perfectly thin layer of sticky and chewy glutinous rice flour.  These are best when served warm and the day that they were made.  They’re surprisingly easy to make, but getting the oil to the right temperature can be a bit tricky.

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