Gina DePalma is my all-time favourite pastry chef. Sadly, she passed away late last year. Her sugar cookies recipe is the absolute best I’ve ever had (see here). After discovering her sugar cookies recipe, I had the intention of trying more of her recipes. I didn’t follow through with that plan until now. Her sausage, chard and lentils soup recipe is easy to make, comforting, hearty, and our new favourite soup. This soup freezes well, so we always make large batches.
Broccoli and cheddar cheese soup is okay, but broccoli and smoked cheddar soup is addictive. I always choose the smoked version of a cheese when it’s available (e.g. smoked gouda, smoked raclette (see how to make a raclette dinner here), smoked gruyère, smoked provolone, smoked mozzarella). When it comes to smoked cheddar, I prefer the brand, Balderson’s double smoked cheddar cheese, aged 1 year.
Please believe me when I say that these are the absolute best store-bought pickles on the market. Burgenland’s Gurken Prinz pickles/gherkins/cornichons have the perfect balance of sweetness and acidity. Note that these are smaller than dill pickles and larger than most gherkins/cornichons. Years ago, I tried one for the first time at a friend of a friend’s house party. After taking one bite, I looked at him with wide eyes and said, with urgency, “Who made these pickles and where can I buy them???”. I never forgot them and recognized the brand immediately, even years after that party. I couldn’t believe my luck when I spotted them at Costco. I looked for these pickles in countless independent and specialty grocery stores… of course Costco had them. All good things come from Costco. 😉 I really hope you get the chance to try them, and if you know a better brand, be sure to let me know!
One of the hors d’oeuvres that I made for John’s housewarming was Korean BBQ beef in lettuce cups. I used my Korean kalbi (BBQ short ribs) marinade on thin slices of prime rib, but lean pork would work well too (see the kalbi recipe here). The sweet and savoury marinade contrasted nicely with the sour and spicy kimchi. These were flavourful, easy to eat, easy to make, carbohydrate-free, and everyone’s favourite of the items that I made. If you wanted to serve these as an entree for a sit down meal, serve the beef with white rice on the side and allow your guests to assemble their own lettuce wraps.
Let me count the ways that I love hummus: It’s healthy, easy to make, cost efficient and you can eat it with pretty much anything you have on hand. You can spread it on a sandwich, wrap, and baguette slices for crostini, or you can serve it with dippers (ie. vegetables, crackers, pita, bagel chips (see recipe here), bread sticks, etc.). It’s perfect for entertaining, because it can be made in advance and it makes a great vegetarian / vegan option.
I’ve compared hummus made with fresh garlic, roasted garlic, and garlic infused oil. Garlic lovers will enjoy the roasted garlic and garlic infused oil in hummus, so instructions have been provided for both. This is my favourite basic hummus recipe. Enjoy it plain or experiment with different variations. For example, you could add fresh parsley, or cilantro, and/or dill. Also, I use limes instead of lemons when I have them on hand. See my sun dried tomato hummus recipe here and my cilantro lime hummus recipe here.
Ramen is a Japanese noodle dish in broth. In restaurants, the ramen broth is often overloaded with MSG and/or sodium, so naturally, I make this at home. It is very easy to make and you can freeze portions of the broth for future meals. My favourite ramen broth is tonkotsu, which is made with pork bones (see my recipe here). But not everyone likes such a heavy broth, so the last time I had fresh chicken carcasses, I made chicken ramen. I also made the ramen noodles from scratch (see recipe here). (See my ramen eating tour through Toronto, ON, and New York City here.)
My family and I LOVE Japanese sushi. In fact, sushi is my all-time favourite food. California rolls are, by no means, our favourite roll, but they are the ones that we make at home the most often, because the ingredients are affordable and easy to prep. The first time I made California maki for my family, I couldn’t make the rolls quickly enough to keep up with the rate at which they were eating them. I finished that dinner feeling rushed, exhausted, and hungry! So I stopped making sushi for a long time after that. Luckily, one life-altering day, my then-boyfriend’s mom made us dinner by serving all of the ingredients for California rolls and allowing us to assemble our own hand rolls at the dinner table. It was genius! It had never occurred to me to make hand rolls before, because my family Never orders them from the restaurants! The best part is that the cook only has to prepare the individual components, which requires minimal cooking – perfect for weeknight and summer-time dinners. The guests have fun assembling their own hand rolls to their own taste. I’ve since done this countless times for myself, my family, and guests. It’s also makes for a great and easy food station at larger parties. If you don’t like artificial crab meat, I’ve done this using smoked salmon instead.
Seaweed salad is my favourite Japanese side dish. The seaweed salad is bold in flavour with the naturally salty seaweed paired with toasted sesame oil and rice vinegar. Seaweed salad is, in my opinion, very expensive when purchased pre-made. Luckily, it is very easy, and much less costly, to make at home. Although, many different varieties of seaweed can be used for salad, it can be difficult to find the most popular type. After years of searching, I finally found some at the Asian grocery store chain, T & T. Check the refrigerators and the freezers. Also, I haven’t been able to figure out why the restaurants’ seaweed is always so much greener in colour. If you know the reason behind this, please let me know in a comment! Thanks so much!
Frozen wakame was used for this seaweed salad.
Cooking with Alison’s Mom (Part 7)
Abalone is a luxury shellfish that is often served at Chinese weddings and other celebrations. Although preparation of abalone starts several days in advance, it is surprisingly easy to make, as long as you have a slow cooker. In fact, I like my mom’s abalone much much more than the ones I’ve had in high-end Chinese restaurants. I’ve shared her recipe below, just in time for Chinese New Year.
Cooking with Alison’s Mom (Part 6)
Dried birds’ nests (also known as swallows’ nests) are considered a Chinese delicacy. Bird’s nests are believed to have many health benefits, including improving overall health and combating signs of aging. There are 3 different types of bird’s nest and they can be distinguished by their differing colours. The colours are, in order of increasing price, white, yellow (shown in the photos below), and red. Some people say that drinking a few spoonfuls of birds’ nest each day will keep you looking young and feeling healthy.
Bird’s nest is most commonly used to make a Chinese sweet dessert soup. After being boiled, bird’s nest becomes gelatinous in texture. It is pretty much flavourless. Here is my mom’s simple recipe for bird’s nest soup. Alternatively, we also make the birds’ nest without the rock sugar and then mix a few spoonfuls of it into a bowl of warm milk. I love drinking it with milk just before bed.
Inside view of a dried bird’s nest
Outside view of a dried bird’s nest
I was first introduced to this traditional Christmas dessert at a craft show where I sampled Cranberry Creek Baking Co.‘s cranberry pudding. I immediately fell in love with it, because it is dense, moist, slightly chewy, and almost savoury. The tartness of the cranberries in the pudding, which is more cake-like in texture, is contrasted nicely with the sweet and warm butter sauce. Also, I like that this dessert uses molasses instead of more processed sugars. Since this dessert is steamed, it was perfect for our Christmas meal in 2013 when our oven was broken.
Cooking with Alison 