Cooking with Alison

Posts Tagged ‘recipes’

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Peaches and Cream Cheesecake Cupcakes

In Cupcakes on February 24, 2010 at pm

These are the best cupcakes I’ve ever made or eaten.  The cheesecake has the perfect texture/density and the toppings have the perfect touch of sweetness.  I don’t love cheesecake but I adore these cheesecake cupcakes.  I made them for a bbq in the summer and people Loved them.  I made them again recently for Ed’s mom’s birthday and they were a huge hit with them too.  I ended up making these for my dad’s birthday shortly after that.  It takes some time to make and needs to be refrigerated before serving, but it’s really really simple and definitely worth it.

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Steamed Whole Fish

In Seafood on February 23, 2010 at pm

In Chinese cooking, white fish are often steamed whole (in restaurants and in peoples’ homes).  Steaming fish until it’s Just cooked is incredibly easy, healthy, and gives you a Very moist fish.  It’s my favourite way to eat fish.  By the way, the cheeks are the best part of the fish so you should definitely try it if you haven’t already.

Note that the fish in the picture below is missing its head.  Normally the fish is steamed whole, but when I caught this fish ice fishing at the Winterlude Festival in Ottawa, Ontario, the people running the event gutted the fish and removed the head.

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Hoisin Baked Pork Ribs

In Meat and Eggs on February 22, 2010 at pm

Hoisin sauce is a very popular Chinese sauce that goes really well with chicken, pork, or beef.  It is also the dipping sauce for peking duck and deep fried dough sticks wrapped in rice noodle.  I use it on baked pork ribs more than anything else.  Although marinating the ribs makes the meat more flavourful, the hoisin sauce has enough flavour that you really don’t have to.  So this is the perfect quick and ridiculously easy meal that doesn’t require any pre-planning and only requires 2 ingredients.  I make this often for guests too, because I’ve yet to meet someone who didn’t like them.  If you don’t like/eat pork, hoisin baked chicken is really good too.  When asked what he wanted me to make for Valentine’s Day dinner, 2011, Ed requested these hoisin ribs.  🙂

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Twice Baked / Stuffed Potatoes

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks, Sides and Sauces on February 21, 2010 at pm

Ed loves twice baked potatoes.  Back when I had more time on my hands, I often made these with mini potatoes for parties or pot lucks.  It took a lot of work but people really loved them.  They were so cute and so easy to eat.  Recently, I made miniature twice baked potatoes (photo below) for a miniature bbq lunch.

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Aloo Gobi Recipe (Potato and Cauliflower)

In Indian on February 20, 2010 at pm

I rarely eat cauliflower because I find it so tasteless.  When a creamy, cheesy, cauliflower gratin that I made still wasn’t enough to change my mind, I gave up on this vegetable for a long time.  But I recently read about the nutrition and health benefits of cauliflower, so I thought it was time to give it another chance.  While searching for interesting ways to cook it, I found aloo gobi, an Indian spiced potato and cauliflower dish.  It was perfect because I just happened to be binge-cooking indian this month.  This dish still wasn’t enough to make me crave cauliflower, but it’s a great side to a curry meat dish (and Ed loved it), so I’ll definitely make it again.  See here for tips on how to get the most flavour out of your Indian spices.

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Julia Child’s Cream of Mushroom Soup

In Soups and Salads on February 19, 2010 at pm

I love cream of mushroom soup.  Campbell’s condensed cream of mushroom soup is what I turn to whenever I’m sick.  I received Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking for my birthday and knew that her mushroom soup would be among the first recipes that I would try.  This is more sophisticated than canned mushroom soup  😉  but my mushroom cream sauce (adapted from Julia Child’s basic cream sauce recipe) tastes more like the canned soup and is Much less time consuming to make – if that’s what you’re looking for, the link is here.

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Ghee Recipe

In Indian on February 18, 2010 at pm

Ghee is clarified butter that is commonly used in Indian cooking.  In recipes, it can be substituted with oil but ghee makes the food much more flavourful.  It’s Very easy to make at home, but if it’s your first time making it, I’d suggest halving the recipe first because it can burn easily.  See here for tips on how to get the most flavour out of your Indian spices.

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Chicken Cacciatore

In Poultry on February 17, 2010 at pm

This is my version of chicken cacciatore.  I cook the chicken just until it’s done because I personally don’t like the texture of slow cooked meat.  Also, this method cuts the cooking time drastically.

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Whipped Potatoes

In Sides and Sauces on February 16, 2010 at pm

I bought my Kitchenaid stand mixer in October 2009.  The only savoury food that I’ve made with it so far is whipped potatoes.  I love the smooth and light texture that whipping puts into mashed potatoes.

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Rosemary Lamb Loin Chops with Red Wine Sauce

In Red Meat and Eggs on February 15, 2010 at pm

For Valentine’s Day, 2010, I made rosemary lamb loin chops with red wine sauce, wilted baby spinach and whipped potatoes.  The link to the recipe for my whipped potatoes is here.

For the spinach, I just heated a tablespoon of olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat and added 3 large handfuls of baby spinach.  I cooked them until wilted.

See below for my simple red wine sauce recipe.

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Black Sesame Dumplings (tong yuen / tang yuan)

In Asian Desserts on February 14, 2010 at pm

Other than being Valentine’s Day, February 14 was the first day of Chinese New Year, 2010.  During the 15 day celebration, people traditionally make and/or eat tong yuen (tang yuan), which are sweet glutinous dumplings that are filled with a sweet black sesame paste.  They are boiled and served in hot water.

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Vodka Penne with Prosciutto

In Pasta, Rice, and Doughs on February 13, 2010 at pm

This vodka pasta recipe differs from others where you actually light the alcohol on fire (as opposed to slowly simmering the sauce).  It’s a very easy and quick recipe and tastes really really good.  Just be careful not to get burned (or set your kitchen on fire) because the flames come up pretty high.

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