Cooking with Alison

Posts Tagged ‘recipes’

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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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Stir Fried Shanghai Noodles Recipe

In Rice and Noodle Dishes on June 8, 2012 at pm

Shanghai noodles are thick and chewy.  At Chinese restaurants, they are usually darkly coloured and stir fried with thin strips of pork and cabbage.  Since the noodles are so thick, they don’t tend to be as flavourful as they appear.  That’s why I like eating this dish with Chinese red vinegar.  I don’t know if anyone else does this, but I find that the red vinegar adds flavour, helps to cut the oil, and makes the dish feel less heavy.  Try serving these noodles alongside sticky rice rolls (recipe here).

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Sticky Rice Rolls with Pork Floss

In Rice and Noodle Dishes on June 1, 2012 at am

Sticky rice rolls make delicious breakfasts and snacks.  They are easy to make, can be filled with any flavourful toppings that you like, and can be eaten on the go.  These originated in Shanghai but personally, I prefer the fillings that are more commonly used in Hong Kong.  Strongly flavoured fillings work best in these glutinous rice rolls.  Some common fillings include pork floss, preserved vegetables, and Chinese deep fried dough stick, etc.

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Favourite Crème Brûlée Recipe

In Other Desserts on May 29, 2012 at pm

I love the crunchy, torched sugar topping of crème brûlée.  Although crème brûlée is one of my favourite desserts, I only eat the custard part because I don’t want to feel guilty about wasting food.  I used to order crème brûlée more often than any other dessert at restaurants, but that changed when I discovered this recipe.  My family and I love this recipe, even though we don’t normally like custardy desserts. The texture of the custard is just right, in my opinion; it’s creamy without being heavy or too rich, and it’s soft and jiggly without being runny or too pudding-y.

I made these in disposable aluminum tart pans for my sister to take to work for her lunch club.  One of her friends liked it so much that she used her finger to get the remaining custard out of the pan.  This dessert is classy enough to serve at any occasion and it can be made a day or two in advance.

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Wild Blueberry Sauce Recipe

In Other Desserts on May 16, 2012 at am

Wild blueberries will forever remind me of the trip that my sister and I took to New England (East coast of Canada and USA).  (See my New England clam chowder recipe and review here and my review of a New England restaurant that Barack Obama ate at here.)  I was feeling nostalgic when I discovered that President’s Choice sells frozen Canadian wild blueberries, so I purchased a very large bag and have been making this simple wild blueberry sauce ever since.  (On a side note, I’m hoping to come up with a recipe that uses frozen blueberries to make a good wild blueberry pie.  I’ve had a failed attempt so far.  I’ll keep you posted.)  I have made this sauce for family, friends, and Ed, and everyone has loved it.  It’s subtly sweet and natural tasting and is versatile for a range of simple and delicious desserts.  For example, you could serve it warm over ice cream (photo below) or a slice of pound cake (recipe here) with a dollop of whipped cream.  (If you have leftover whipped cream, you can freeze it (see here for instructions)!)  I’ve also used this sauce (cooled) in trifles (photo above) and danishes (recipe here).  I don’t recommend making this sauce with regular blueberries, because they’re not as flavourful, they’re more tart, and they don’t hold their shape as well as wild blueberries.

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Chinese Salted Egg Recipe

In Meat and Eggs on May 11, 2012 at am

Cooking with Alison’s Grandma (Part 3 of 4)

During my last visit with my grandma, she showed me how easy it is to make your own Chinese salted eggs!  Chinese salted eggs are simple, delicious, cost-efficient side dishes.  Personally, I find them addictive.  They can be enjoyed as a side dish to compliment a plain bowl of white rice or congee, or they can be used to flavour many different Asian dishes; just to name a few: steamed egg dish, claypot rice, steamed minced pork, rice dumpling (joong/zhong zi), etc.  You can even add salted eggs to simple Chinese vegetable soups.  This recipe makes a very large amount, which is perfect for making a large batch of Chinese rice dumplings (joong / zhong zi).  Feel free to scale it down if you’re not making rice dumplings.  My family never has trouble finishing a batch.

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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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