December 2010
1 post
6 tags
Long time favorite: Eggs over easy
When I was a kid, mornings on the weekend meant Dad was making breakfast! He’d whip out the electric frying pan and start making eggs made to order. Of the hundreds of time he made breakfast it was always the same for me. Two eggs over easy! What eventually came to be known as “Ali eggs” in my family. Ali eggs were best served with bacon and toast (for smearing in the broken...
November 2010
1 post
back in the kitchen...
It feels like such a long time since I did any significant cooking or baking so this evening I decided to do some of both! For dinner (and other meals this week because of the oodles of leftovers) I made my friend Bridget’s variation of a spicy malaysian noodle dish from Cooking Light. This is probably the most stellar homemade asian dish I have ever made.
Next came baking! I seem to be...
October 2010
3 posts
5 tags
Oh you fancy, huh? - ARW Part II
I was lucky enough to find two friends interested in taking advantage of Austin Restaurant Week at one of the nicer places on the list. Combing through all the different restaurants and menus took place over several days. There were many cuts but being the wonderful, flexible friends that they are we were able to reach an agreement pretty easily. The winner? The Driskill Grill at the historic...
lorenareyna asked: What about they fried margarita? What is that???
5 tags
A Day at the Fair
As much as I try to eat right and limit my intake of blatantly unhealthy foods, I still love the occasional greasy food (i.e. poutine from Frank’s). And once in a great while, an entire day FULL of greasy food. Where else can make this happen but a state fair?
Over the past few years, the State Fair of Texas has cranked up the creativity when it comes to greasy fried food. Some of the...
September 2010
2 posts
6 tags
Let me be Frank with you - ARW Part I
It’s that time of year again! No, I don’t mean fall. (Even though it really and truly did feel like fall today in Austin, TX. I found myself contemplating needing a jacket after I finished dinner. The high tomorrow is 80 degrees. Bliss.) It’s Austin Restaurant Week! Split between two weeks (September 19 - 22 & 26 - 29) it’s a chance to go to some of the best restaurants...
A few weeks ago Dear Food wondered allowed “What’s all the fuss about french macaroons?”
Well today I finally made it down to La Boite here in Austin, TX! The place is really eclectic looking (made out of an old freight container which is enough to get a transportation engineer like me excited) and sits up on hill. Inside the freight container there isn’t much standing...
August 2010
1 post
2 tags
What's all the fuss...
about french macaroons?
I see these everywhere on Flickr and Tumblr! I feel like it’s time for me to find out what the fuss is all about. This week i’m going to venture to Austin’s La Boite. They are rumored to have a delicious selection.
July 2010
1 post
5 tags
June 2010
2 posts
4 tags
Three Perfect Days: Austin →
I was reading through United Airlines’ Hemispheres magazine on my way to Winnipeg and ended up reading “Three Perfect Days: Long Island”. I really liked the way it was written. It really sucks you in and for just a minute there you feel like you are on vacation with the writer without a care in the world except where your next meal is going to be. Just so happens they had one...
7 tags
Tour of Louisiana - Part I
Dearfood is trying out its first edition of “Tour of”! “Tour of” will feature photos and commentary about food during my travels. Each “Tour of” will be comprised of several entries. So without further ado may I present…Tour of Lousiana! Part I
I had the opportunity to visit Louisiana twice in the past few months. Once in March for the first round of the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament and...
May 2010
2 posts
rachelbreeding asked: Alison, I tried this last night when we cooked dinner for some friends...delicious! It reminds me of these little pastries called nepolitanas de chocolate that I would eat in Spain all the time. But the fresh strawberry puree made it sooooo much better than that! No one could believe that it was just strawberries, it was so fresh and creamy.
4 tags
Strawberry Oat Muffins
Another strawberry post! It’s just that time of year. Super markets are practically giving away juicy strawberries as prices continue to fall. No complaint here, I love having continuously having strawberries on hand.
However, these particular strawberries didn’t come from the store. Last week, my friend Lily came back from her home in Friendswood, TX with 2 lbs of strawberries...
April 2010
11 posts
6 tags
Chocolate & Strawberry Puree Pastry
This is an Alison and Aaron original! Once voted best “appetizer” by far at a local Iron Chef competition. Super simple and delicious.
Ingredients
1 sheet of Pepperidge Farm Puffed Pastry thawed
8 or 9 juicy strawberries
8 squares of Ghirardelli chocolate
Cooking Spray How To:
Preheat oven to temperature specified on the box of puffed pastry.
Lay out thawed puffed pastry...
6 tags
Fluffer Nutter Cupcake
Yes, indeed. This entry is entirely dedicated to a single cupcake. The best cupcake of my life (so far). Banana cake. Injected with peanut butter cream. A marshmallow melted on top and then drizzled with chocolate. Everything about it was perfect. I am determined to recreate this cupcake on my own. Sadly, it was not listed as a regular cupcake at Polka Dots: a cupcake factory here in...
3 tags
Pounding Pavements and Plants
It’s really neat when you discover you share an interest with a friend. Especially when it is something obscure like blogging about food. My friend Bridget blogs about her experiences with food, nutrition, and fitness in her blog Pounding Pavements and Plants. What I admire about Bridget is her ability to throw things together and end up with something delicious. Even when it comes to...
8 tags
Weekend Omelet
Oh Omelets. So many possibilities. They can be simple. Just cheese perhaps. Or you can stuff it so full of veggies, meat, and cheese that egg quickly becomes the minority. The beauty of omelets is that you can make a great one with whatever you happen to have in the fridge (as long as you have eggs of course).
At my parents’ house this past weekend I was rummaging through the fridge...
6 tags
Graceful Kitchen Adventures: Creamy Maryland Crab...
It just so happens I’m not the only one in my family with an affinity for all things food. Being home this weekend, my sister Grace has wowed me. After egg rolls last night and crab soup tonight, I realized Dear Food could use a little love from my sister Grace and her kitchen adventures. This soup was very delicious!
Ingredients:
10-12 oz. Lump crab meat
2 cups chicken broth
2...
5 tags
Gnocchi
Alright. What is this stuff and where has it been all my life? Pasta made out of potatoes? Yes, please! I had this at Mandola’s Italian Market. Literally, a hop, skip and a jump from my house and I have never been there. Wicked dessert spread. I had a cannoli that was probably the best I’ve had since Boston. Still no comparison to Mike’s though. Sigh. Put down the...
6 tags
Lulu B's Sandwiches
This is indeed a must try if you are in Austin! I’m gonna look into what type of spread goes on these sandwiches and attempt to make one myself. The bottom photo is chinese bbq pork with cilantro, cucumber, carrot, and chili. Heaven. Really refreshing. I am two for two this week with great Austin food trailer experiences.
simplysandwiches:
lulu b’s - vietnamese sandwiches...
5 tags
Sour Cream Coffee Cake
I felt like doing some light baking tonight so naturally I started flipping through my Cooking Lights and came across this recipe. Nice to do some from scratch baking with no oil after my red velvet cupcake experience.
Oats seem to be the theme lately with me and baking! I thoroughly enjoyed this recipe because it involved some things i’d never done or heard of before. Like toasting and...
8 tags
Review: Gourdough's
I had one of the most amazing dessert experiences of my life last night and it came out of a trailer. A shiny metal trailer.
This is was I got:
Sara’s Joy - coconut flavored filling with fresh coconut & fudge icing
This is what aaronisnotcool got:
Miss Shortcake - cream cheese icing with fresh cut strawberries
We had to wait but it was so worth it. The donut was perfection. ...
4 tags
Garlicky Mashed Potatoes
I have never been a big fan of mashed potatoes Yeah, yeah, I can just hear half of you unfollow me right now. But it just so happens that as of lately I’ve been warming up to them and it’s thanks to this recipe!
Both times i’ve made them I use minced garlic (1/2 teaspoon for every clove) and I’ve yet to have chives around. They are pretty simple (i’m told most...
6 tags
Latest Kick: Chicken Sausage
I mentioned in an earlier post that I wanted to try using chicken sausage. Cooking Light uses it in recipes as a tasty, healthy alternative to pork sausage.
Last week, I finally got around to picking some up at HEB (5 links were came out to about $3!) I was looking to make pizza for my sisters that night so I decided on the Feta Cheese and Spinach variety. Cooking the sausage links was a new...
March 2010
6 posts
5 tags
Sof'ella Red Velvet Cupcakes
Pretty good looking cupcake, eh? I made these the other night (Sunday) and today (Tuesday) they are still extremely moist! Why you might ask? Well it’s quite simple. The box mix calls for a cup of oil. An entire cup of oil. Am I making cupcakes or deep frying something? I don’t know about you but this grosses me out just the tiniest bit (or a big bit). I prefer things to be...
3 tags
Late Night (Simple) Sloppy Joes
I’ve noticed lots of my posts start with “Late Night”. I’m definitely a kitchen night owl.
I never had these as a kid but lately I’m a big fan. We were able to find a tasty, simple recipe on Allrecipes.com.
In a medium skillet, I browned the ground beef with the chopped onions (the recipe calls for green peppers as well but I left them out here because...
5 tags
Austin Atomic Pie
A couple of weeks ago while in Kansas City I saw the Food Network show “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” for the first time. I thought this show was interesting because Food Network stars and famous chefs tell you the viewer what they like to eat. It was while watching this show that Chef Duff (from Ace of Cakes) introduced me to Baltimore Bomb Pie. A staple of the Baltimore pie shop...
4 tags
Review: Throwback Pepsi
Fact: I am a Mexican Coke junkie. In my opinion, it has the perfect balance of smoothness and sweetness compared to regular Coke. A frosty bottle of this stuff is definitely a favorite of mine. Goes great with homemade pizza!
So naturally, I got really excited a few months ago when I heard Pepsi was re-releasing an older version of Pepsi with real sugar in it (I tend to prefer regular Pepsi...
5 tags
Lemon-Glazed Cranberry Rolls
Let’s face it. Sometimes there isn’t time for full on baking from scratch. In my case this is especially true when I get the urge to bake something late at night during the week but can’t be clanking around the kitchen running the hand mixer and what not because I have roommates with early schedules. Conveniently enough, this recipe allowed me to continue my canned pizza dough kick and it uses...
5 tags
Jalapeño, Sausage, Jack, and Egg Breakfast Braid
Although my love for food and photography go together quite well most of the time the one thing that doesn’t quite work out is that most of the time I spend in the kitchen is in the evening/night which makes for poor lighting once I get around to photographing the food I make. If I had my way I would have this lighting every time I photograph food:
So this weekend I made sure to do...
February 2010
6 posts
4 tags
Late Night Waffles
Comfort food! Nothing better after a long day and basketball game then some waffles. Plain and simple.
One thing my mom has told me over and over is how bad mixes like Bisquik are for you because of bleached, processed flour or something like that so I usually try to use something like this:
I like this mix a lot. I think I got it at a specialty grocery store but your regular grocery store...
4 tags
Request: Egg Drop Soup
The other day my sister requested that I make egg drop soup (a favorite of hers). At this I was pretty excited because usually upon walking through the kitchen while i’m cooking she wrinkles up her nose and says something along the lines of “You’re cooking, again?!”
Anyway, I went straight to allrecipes.com and found a recipe for egg drop soup with good ratings and last...
3 tags
Thin Crust Pizza: Green Pepper and Sausage
It felt like a day for pizza. When I’m making thinner crusted pizza my favorite thing to use for dough is Il Fornaio Frozen Pizza Dough.
The dough comes in individual package of frozen lumps that make a 12-14 inch pizza and only costs about $1.50 per lump. HEB carries it in the frozen bread section. The pizza cooks up quickly and quite nicely. Just let a thawed lump of dough sit at...
4 tags
Delicious Snack: Frozen Grapes
Buy Grapes. Wash. Let dry. Stick in Freezer. Yum.
4 tags
Egg-In-A-Hole & Spicy Tomato Bisque
I got home from school a little earlier than usual today and had lunch at home. Egg-in-a-hole is an old favorite of mine and I decided to pair it with my Amy’s Organic Chunky Tomato Bisque. I added some cayenne to give it some kick and boy did I get kick! Note to self: a little cayenne goes a long way.
I am a big fan of Amy’s products. When i lived in the dorm I’d sometimes...
3 tags
Monkey Bread Day Two
The monkey bread saga continues today but it is finally in the oven! Yesterday afternoon during a brief break in between school and a basketball game I threw the dough together (even kneaded if for the specified 10 minutes) and plopped it in a bowl before rushing out the door.
When I got home I did a little dance because the dough had actually risen and proceeded to pat it out, cut it into ~64...