Cooking with Alison

Posts Tagged ‘recipes’

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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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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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