Cooking with Alison

Posts Tagged ‘food’

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Baked Nian Gao (Chinese New Year Cake Variation)

In Asian Desserts on January 22, 2012 at am

Happy Chinese New Year!  “Nian gao” or “leen go” (translation: year cake) is a cake that is traditionally eaten at Chinese New Year.  It has a soft, dense, sticky and chewy texture and is not meant to be very sweet.  Traditionally, it is vegan and steamed.  See the traditional recipe here.  However, the non-traditional, non-vegan baked variation tastes even better (in my opinion).  This baked version combines a Western cake-like crust with the traditional sticky and chewy middle.  Traditional nian gao / leen go is usually made in 9″ or 10″ pie plates, but for the baked version, I prefer to make small individual sized cakes, because the crispy edges are the best part.  These make cute gifts for Chinese new year and are great for introducing people to Chinese new year cake, because nian gao could be considered an acquired taste.  Baked nian gao tastes best when served hot.

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Cooking with Alison’s Two Year Anniversary!

In Random on January 15, 2012 at am

Cooking with Alison was created two years ago, today!  A lot has happened in the past two years, including adopting my dog, Blue, and moving back to Toronto, ON (this very weekend actually).  To the surprise of everyone (myself included), I’ve maintained the momentum of recipe testing and writing.  I’d like to thank everyone for making my efforts worthwhile.  (See the one year anniversary stats and shout outs here.)  Hopefully I can keep up with the cooking and baking for a third year of Cooking with Alison!

The Statistics:

Total number of views:  300, 366

Number of views on the busiest day (January 14, 2012):  991

Total number of posts:  327

The most popular posts to date are:

Four Different Sauces for Mushroom Ravioli

Asian Bread Making Technique (Soft Chinese / Japanese Bread)

Braised Beef Brisket, Tendons and Daikon Radish (Chinese Restaurant Style)

Number of email* subscribers:  96 (plus 27 wordpress.com followers)

*Unfortunately, I don’t currently have a way of knowing how many RSS subscribers there are.


Most Importantly, The Thank Yous:

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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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The Best Saag / Palak Recipe (Indian Creamy Spinach Side Dish)

In Indian on January 5, 2012 at am

Saag and palak are very popular Indian side dishes.  Saag is a combination of greens such as spinach, mustard greens, and/or fenugreek leaves and palak is simply spinach.  Some restaurants make these dishes thick and creamy whereas others make them thinner in consistency and healthier.  The recipe I’ve shared below is for a quick and easy, thick and creamy saag or palak.  I tried many different variations before I got this recipe just right.  For example, I compared the textures of boiled spinach vs pan-cooked spinach, and food processor shredded spinach vs chopped spinach vs whole spinach leaves.  I also compared the creaminess of using whipping cream vs yogurt vs whipping cream plus yogurt.  I’m glad I didn’t give up, because I’ve made this for friends and family and everyone has loved it.  (See here for tips on how to get the most flavour out of your Indian spices.)

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Pina Coladas from Scratch (and How to Choose and Open a Coconut)

In Drinks, How-To on December 30, 2011 at am

When I saw fresh coconuts on sale at the grocery store, I was inspired to make pina coladas from scratch.  I must admit that removing the white coconut flesh from the brown shell was labour intensive, but it was a fun challenge.

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Favourite Chicken or Turkey Casserole

In Pasta, Rice, and Doughs, Poultry on December 26, 2011 at am

Casseroles are simple, one dish meals that are commonly found in North American homes, at pot lucks, and at other gatherings.  I have seen countless tv and movie scenes that portray families complaining about casserole dinners or that jokingly associate casseroles with poorly skilled cooks.  I was in university the first time I tried a casserole and, jokes aside, casseroles are tasty, convenient, and most of them freeze well.  They’re great for using up leftovers and they can be thrown together using any protein, pasta/rice, and vegetables that you happen to have on hand.  I don’t make casseroles often, because they tend to be high in calories and sodium, and are often made with processed foods, but every now and then I will surprise my sister with her favourite casserole (recipe below).

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How to Make a Gingerbread House (Ours Won 1st Place!)

In How-To, Other Desserts on December 21, 2011 at pm

For our company’s gingerbread house decorating contest, I teamed up with my friends, Erin and Andrea.  Thanks to Erin, who has a family tradition of making gingerbread houses, we won first place by most popular vote!  I had such a great time making my first gingerbread house, so I’ve shared what I learned about how to make and decorate a gingerbread house.  For some inspiration, see some amazing and elaborate gingerbread houses here.  You could even use the guidelines provided below to make mini gingerbread houses as mug decorations (see here).  Happy holidays everyone!

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How to Make Apple Cider

In Drinks, How-To on December 16, 2011 at pm

I love apple cider and spiced hot apple cider.  I’ve tried many different brands and the best apple cider I’ve ever had was homemade.  Ed loved it too, and he’s usually indifferent when it comes to apple cider.  This is an easy recipe for apple cider or spiced apple cider that can be served hot or cold.  If desired, you could make this an alcoholic drink.

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Green Beans with Shallot Butter and Crispy Bacon

In Sides and Sauces on December 10, 2011 at am

I made this side dish for my brother and sister over Thanksgiving weekend, 2011 and we all loved it.  This is simple yet elegant, and it’s subtly flavoured, making it a great side for any entree.

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Favourite Apple Turnover Recipe

In Pies & Tarts on November 26, 2011 at am

Ed and I were craving apple pie really badly late one night, and I happened to have fresh apples and frozen puff pastry on hand, so I made apple turnovers.  (See my apple pie recipe here.) These were quick and easy to make and tasted much better than store bought turnovers.  We Loved them; anything else would have been a disappointment in comparison.  They were so good that Ed ate four large turnovers that night.  I wasn’t much better… stopping after three of them.  These are by far our new favourite apple turnovers.  They freeze beautifully, if you can resist from eating them all right away, that is.

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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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The Best Butter Tarts Recipe (Placed 3rd in a Baking Contest!)

In Pies & Tarts on November 14, 2011 at pm

Butter tarts are a wonderful Canadian dessert.  (Speaking of wonderful Canadian things, have you tried ice cider?)  Butter tarts are individually portion sized tarts that have a flaky pastry shell and a sweet and gooey filling.  If desired, the filling can include raisins or pecans.  I made both variations in the photo above.  If you like pecan pie (see my recipe here), you’ll probably like butter pecan tarts.  Personally, I prefer the tarts.  I made these butter tarts for the first time over Thanksgiving, 2011.  We were amazed by how good the pastry was.  This was the best, buttery and flaky pastry I have ever made and these were the best butter tarts we had ever had.  Although they can be a bit messy to eat, this pastry is the perfect compliment for this type and size of tart.  The filling is soft and gooey, you won’t get crystallized sugar, and it doesn’t drip.

I was so happy with this recipe that I made several batches for my sister’s company’s annual charity baking contest on November 14, 2011.  I was too busy to make these the weekend before the competition, so I made them weeks in advance and froze them.  Although they’re better when fresh, these were still good enough to win 3rd place in the baking contest.  There were a total of 14 entries.  (See my dessert that won 1st place in last year’s baking contest here.)

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