Posted September 15, 2016 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments
A Study in Scarlet: the very first Sherlock Holmes case ever! Of course I had to include it in our Holmes menu, but since no specific foods play a big role in the story, I decided to draw my inspiration from the name of the case itself. We’re making a culinary study in scarlet: Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup!
This particular recipe is my take on a soup that was originally developed by Pretty Practical Pantry. This savory, satisfying soup is the perfect side dish to accompany our Sherlock Steak Sandwiches. So stir some up and get to sipping—we’ve got a case to solve! 🙂
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Posted September 8, 2016 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 6 Comments
Sherlock Holmes is famous for having a sparse appetite, but cold beef sandwiches seem to be a weakness of his. He indulges in them several times throughout the books, mostly while traveling on a case. I can see why! What could be better brain food that hearty bread, protein that sticks to your ribs, and some choice toppings to wake your taste buds?
The recipe we’re making today features toasted whole wheat bread, seared steak, arugula, and homemade horseradish sauce (it’s an interpretation of an appetizer I saw at The Kitchen Alchemist). It’ll set your brain cells whirring in no time!
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Posted September 1, 2016 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 8 Comments
Say hello to our new Book of the Month: Sherlock Holmes! I’ve been wanting to making a Sherlock menu since Day 1 of this blog, but one of the struggles I ran into is that Holmes just doesn’t eat a lot. He subsists mainly on coffee, pipe smoke, and music—which is cool to read about, but doesn’t make for an appetizing dinner.
So up until a few months ago, I had Holmes on the back burner. Then a friend of mine specifically requested a menu for him, and I renewed my search. I tried a Holmesian recipe hunt once more, but just couldn’t find enough to make a full menu. When I expressed my frustrations to another friend, she had a great idea: make recipes inspired by the names of the Sherlock Holmes stories! Before long, we were chatting about how fun it would be to have an orange-flavored recipe for The Five Orange Pips, something ginger for The Red-Headed League, and so on. So, at long last, my Sherlock Holmes menu is FINALLY ready to premiere! 😀
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Posted August 25, 2016 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 8 Comments
I love Kiki’s Delivery Service so much! Granted, I can’t exactly relate to the part about being a witch, but I can definitely relate to being a young working girl out on her own for the first time. I remember my heart going out to Kiki as I watched her struggle to find a job and carve out a niche for herself in her new city home. It was great to see her grow and overcome bouts of self-doubt and failure to become a very happy little witch.
I think one of the best thing’s about Kiki’s Delivery Service is the emphasis it puts on developing relationships. At first, Kiki tries to do everything alone and struggles to make due, but as she makes new friends, their goodwill and helpfulness play a huge role in helping her on the way to success. A great example is the baker lady Osono, who is impressed by Kiki’s helpfulness to a stranger and offers her a place to stay and a job. And at the end of the movie, Kiki’s friend Madame bakes her a cake as a show of appreciation—and that’s the cake we’re making today!
This rich double chocolate cake is an exact replica of the one in the movie, and I had so much fun making it! The recipe was originally developed by Katerina at Diethood (and it was aptly named “Black Magic Cake”). The food in every Hayao Miyazaki movie looks delicious, and this cake is one of the Miyazaki dishes I’ve been dreaming about eating for years! Now I just need to find a plucky young witch to share it with! 🙂
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Posted August 18, 2016 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 5 Comments
Howl’s Moving Castle was actually the first Studio Ghibli movie I ever saw, and it’s main comic relief (the fire demon Calcifer) is still one of my all-time favorite Miyazaki characters. Though he can be a bit salty and sassy, Cal’s got a good heart underneath it all, so I wanted to pay tribute to him with a dish in our Ghibli menu.
When forced into making breakfast with the new cleaning lady, Calicifer famously curses her by saying, “May all your bacon burn!” So in honor of Cal (and the delicious, non-burned bacon he made with Sophie that day), I decided to make some sweet and spicy bacon!
This recipe features crisp center cut bacon rubbed with cinnamon and cayenne for spice and coated with honey and brown sugar for sweetness. The perfect snack to share with your favorite fire demon!
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Posted August 11, 2016 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 5 Comments
Our entree today comes from Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo, a retelling of The Little Mermaid. I love Ponyo’s preoccupation with food in the film, especially ham! Her reaction when Sosuke’s mom serves pork ramen soup is adorable!
This ramen soup recipe is a recreation of the one in the movie, featuring classic ramen noodles, hard boiled eggs, green onions, and of course ham! It’s a savory, salty, satisfying dish—sure to make you feel nice and cozy on a stormy night. 🙂
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Posted August 4, 2016 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 6 Comments
I’m proud to announce the start of a menu I’ve been looking forward to for ages: A STUDIO GHIBLI MENU! For those who are unfamiliar, Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki worked with Studio Ghibli to make films like My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, and Ponyo. I’ve been a huge Hayao Miyazaki fan for years, so I thought it would be fun to make a menu for his movies! Since it would be impossible to choose just one film, I decided to base each dish after a different movie. Today’s recipe is from Spirited Away!
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Posted July 28, 2016 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 3 Comments
We’re wrapping up our Little Princess menu with the very first food Sara ever shares with her close friend Becky: sweet, delicate, delicious cake!
I love the friendship that develops between Becky and Sara. And I think it’s no coincidence that it all develops around food! 🙂 At first, Becky the maid is shy and uncertain around the well-to-do Sara, and Sara is lonely in an unfamiliar country.
But when Sara sees how hungry Becky is, she shares all kinds of foods with her, starting with this cake (which I modeled after the rosy dress Becky says she once saw on a real princess). Becky is touched by the generosity and soon gets over her shyness, opening the door for a friendship that both girls desperately need.
I always knew cake had the power to change lives! 🙂
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Posted July 21, 2016 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 3 Comments
In A Little Princess, Sara and Becky wake up in their attic room to find that a succulent feast has mysteriously appeared. The delicious dishes appear for many days, and a “spicy Indian soup” is said to be among them. Though the soup is not described, I like to imagine it was mulligatawny soup—filling and savory, with a perfect fusion of English cooking and Indian roots, heralding back to Sara’s background.
This particular recipe (developed by Emily from Favorite Family Recipes) is super complex and delicious. I love how the salty flavors play off the sweet and the creamy flavors play off the savory, creating a truly balanced dish!
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Posted July 14, 2016 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 1 Comment
Becky is one of my favorite characters in A Little Princess because she’s so genuine. As a young maid in a school full of little girls with large fortunes and influential families, it would be easy for her to get bogged down in resentment or jealousy. Instead, she’s open to friendship with even the most affluent student—little Sara—and proves to be a great friend in Sara’s time of need.
When Sara starts sharing food with Becky, these meat pies were Becky’s favorite, and I can see why. They’re hearty and heart-warming, with substance and simple goodness—much like Becky herself! 🙂
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