Home - The Culinary Chase

plum jelly

September 19, 2023

I have fond memories of jelly desserts. My mom made many jellied salads and aspics – some I liked, some I did not. As a kid, I was always fascinated with the ‘jiggly dessert’. My siblings and I would break it down by whipping it around our bowls or to see who could try to…

sheet pan lasagna

March 1, 2023

Lasagna is the quintessential Italian comfort food. Originating in Naples, it’s been around since the middle ages. Traditional lasagne has layers of meat ragù, béchamel sauce, lasagne sheets, and cheese. Up until a few years ago, this layered approach was the standard.

lemon sponge pudding

February 21, 2023

Are you a lemon fan? If yes, then you are going to absolutely LOVE this dessert! A light and fluffy sponge pudding with the most decadent lemon sauce hiding on the bottom. That’s why this dish is sometimes called lemon surprise pudding. It’s a classic vintage winter dessert that my mom and her mom used…

parsnip and carrot soup

February 1, 2023

The fridge needed cleaning. I am always amazed at how much stuff accumulates at the back of the refrigerator! Things get shifted (read pushed) around and the old stuff finds its way to the back of the bus. The crisper drawers, well I have an excuse in that area for stuff being pushed to the…

reverse puff pastry pizza

January 30, 2023

We love homemade pizza. Who doesn’t? And many have their favourite ways to prepare one but none, in my humble opinion, are as ingenious as a reverse puff pastry pizza! This is a Jamie Oliver creation. I recall the first time watching The Naked Chef when it first aired back in 1999. We were living…

no-knead bread

January 23, 2023

As I prepare this post, I am on my third try at no-knead bread. The first attempt was relatively good but I felt the instruction of ‘hot water’ was a bit suspect. The result? The bread was smaller than I thought and I doubted it would rise. And, I was right in my assumptions. The…

steamed chicken dumplings

December 19, 2022

The humble dumpling has been around for centuries and was considered the perfect way to stretch a small amount of meat to feed more people. Many cuisines worldwide include dumplings in some form be they stuffed, boiled, or steamed. Filled dumplings have been around in China for more than 1,800 years! While some recipes call…

thai omelette with minced chicken

December 13, 2022

Food memories. They are more sensory than any other memories. I remember first watching the food series, Kylie Kwong: Heart and Soul in 2003. Kylie’s style was eclectic with a touch of bohemian. When she demonstrated her Chinese homestyle eggs, I was intrigued. Back then, as a westerner living in an Asian city, the omelette…

zucchini frittata

November 29, 2022

Typically a frittata is cooked in a skillet and finished off in the oven. It’s an easy clean-up with just one cooking vessel. However, I’m going to make you dirty one more cooking pan…gasp! 🙂 I have been making frittatas for years.

pineapple upside-down cake

November 22, 2022

We enjoy eating fresh pineapple. When weather permits, there’s nothing better than fresh pineapple spears cooked on the barbeque. We also like ’em dunked in melted chocolate…yum! But fresh pineapple is equally delicious in this vintage recipe, pineapple upside-down cake. Upside-down cakes have been around since the 1800s and were initially cooked on cast-iron skillets…

fried brie with honey

November 16, 2022

I don’t know why, but Christmas always seems to sneak up on me…39 days to go! It feels like summer and fall whizzed by. Each year I am on the hunt for new appetizers. I had seen a recipe for pan-fried brie Half Baked Harvest posted. Tieghan had me at fried brie and this inspired…