Justin & Meredith Winokur's Kitchen Cooking Notebook
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KitchenKatalog: Blog 296
Monday, January 28, 2013, 08:11 AM
I used the extra head of cauliflower to make buffalo cauliflower like we did for the party, using that recipe. I added a bit of spicy ranch powder to the batter. I also ended up needing more water to get a good texture as it was way too dry at first. I also used white whole wheat flour. I do not know what, if any, affect that had. I also used melted olivio instead of oil (and less of it I think)
They were still not very crispy, but they were good. I also made a salmon burger, and between that and a_whole head_ of cauliflower, I was rather full from the meal.
I also used non-stick aluminum foil, which I am beginning to really like. It doesn't have a chemical or oily feel, yet things really do not stick.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3108, 2013-01-28_081158
Friday, January 25, 2013, 12:09 PM
Meredith and I hosted a "Belated New Years" party. We originally planned for 11 people, including us, but 4 didn't make it. We would have had too much anyway, but with half the people, and many weren't hungry, we had WAY too much. Still, it ended up being a nice selection and Meredith and I enjoyed the variety. I will come back and edit this list as I remember things. I am also trying to note where we got the different things for future reference
The dinner was make your own pizza. The dough was from Trader Joes with each person getting half of a dough ball. For toppings, we had
Dessert was just cookies purchased at Target. Beer was a 24 mix pack from Costco, a mix of a few things from TJ's and a pack of Blue Moon Abbey Ale. (and there was lots and lots of leftovers)
Meredith made took charge of both the buffalo cauliflower and the bean dip. For the cauliflower we basically had to make a second batch of batter. I do not know why, but one didn't cut it. Also,unfortunately we had to let it sit out after being coated, before going back into the oven, since people hadn't arrived yet. I thought it was very good as is, but Meredith said it is even better when it doesn't sit out. I will definitely make this again for myself. I may also throw a bit of ranch dressing powder into the batter. Overall, it used a cup of flour for the whole thing so it wil have to be the main part of a meal, but it would probably be enough. Oh, and we used white flour instead of rice flour. I do not know what, if any, affect that had.
The bean dip was very good. We used low fat cheese and cream cheese to make it healthier It didn't cook fully in the time so I put it in a bit longer at a higher temp. Everything inside melted nicely but the top got a tad crispy. Meredith was the one who really made it so she may have more comments.
For the pizza sauce, I was inspired by the recipe below, but I didn't totally follow it. First of all, the recipe doesn't say what to do with the onion (though it implies that you take it out). I did approx 4x the recipe. I basically sautéd lots of garlic in a mix of butter and olive oil. I then added a #10 can of peeled San Marizono tomatoes (very cheap at Costco). I used the immersion blender to get rid of most of the chunks. I then let it cook down by a bit less than half. It was okay. Very acidic. I do not know how to fix that. Also, water definitely separated out on some pizzas. I think that means I need more oil, but I am hesitant to add that.
Cheesy Baked Black-Eyed Pea Dip (from The Kitchn)
Local Copy -- password is the name of my dog, all lower case
Spicy Buffalo Cauliflower (from Day Dream Kitchen)
(2014-01-07 Note: This is now part of My Recipe Book)
New York Style Pizza Sauce (from Serious Eats)
Local Copy-- password is the name of my dog, all lower case
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3101, 2013-01-25_120958
Tuesday, January 22, 2013, 08:26 PM
I made grilled chicken and roasted brussel sprouts. I was playing with my new induction burner. I was able to heat up the cast iron pan in less than a minute. It cooked the chicken really well. I had just put some McCormick Montreal Chicken Seasoning. I took it off a little bit before it was at the right temp (I do not recall the number), but I let it sit in the hot pan for a while. The chicken was very good and moist.
After getting tired of the brussel sprouts at really high temp, I did them in the oven at 400 for 30-35 minutes (based on the WF link). They were very good. Maybe a bit mushy, but very flavorful. I will do them this way. I do not mind the mushy, but I didn't like the burned of the last few times.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3098, 2013-01-22_202647
Monday, January 21, 2013, 08:48 PM
I got this idea from Meredith. I made lentil tacos (and a taco wonton of sorts). I took 1 cup of dry lentils, 2 cups of water and a packet of taco seasoning. As it cooked down, I added some sautéed onions, peppers and julienned zucchini. I did the standard taco cupcake thing but I was careful to not overfill them. I had a few leftover wrappers and some lentils so I also made some wonton things.
The whole thing was pretty good but not as amazing as I had hoped. It was flavorful and relatively easy; though it took much more time than beef. I really liked the wonton thing but the wrapper-to-filling ratio is not good enough so I doubt I'll do them as the primary meal. Also, point wise, the lentils were more or less the same as had I done beef. But it did make more. Actually, with all the extra, I added some cheese and microwaved it for a bit. That was also very good.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3095, 2013-01-21_204815
Friday, January 18, 2013, 01:36 PM
I made the chicken sausage and roasted vegetable meal. I went light on the potato since I didn't want a huge number of calories. I am going from memory, but this is what I used:
I let it roast a tad too long (~40-50 min at 400) as some of the onions were charred. I'll be more careful next time and use 375 as the original recipe states
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3090, 2013-01-18_133609
Thursday, January 17, 2013, 04:03 PM
I call these fake reubens for two reasons. First and foremost, I didn't use rye bread. You cannotshould not call it a reuben if it isn't corned beef,sauerkraut, thousands island dressing and swiss cheese. Any deviation and it is no longer a reuben. But I digress. The other reason I call these fake is that they were cold. The power had gone out but I was able to throw this together anyway.
They were okay. Cold and somewhat soggy (from the sauerkraut) Arnolds rolls are not that good. Then, the Target corned beef was kind of sub-par. Now I know not to get it there. I also had this for lunch, but the power had come back on and I was able to panini press them (though I did it in aluminum foil which was interesting.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3087, 2013-01-17_160314
Wednesday, January 16, 2013, 08:55 PM
I made lentils as I have done in the past. The Kitchn calls for a 1:2
Anyway, it was pretty standard as I have done before. I used
I also used Better Than bouillon for my chicken broth. I added lots of garlic powder, onion powder, some salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. Finally, when it was all finished. I added some apple cider vinegar since I had seen vinegar added to other recipes. I need to read up on why to add that since it seemed to make them mushy. I'll investigate.
I was originally going to made other veggies but I then decided that there was more than enough in this dish.
Anyway, as usual, it was very good and very flavorful. Also, it made a ton of it. I had a huge dinner serving and a pretty big lunch. And, according to Weight Watchers, a cup of dry lentils is 12 points plus. I was doubtful of this so I looked up the information on the web and threw it into the Points Plus formula. That comes out with 13 points. Note that a lot of it is the fiber. You can count it all, but even if you don't, it is 17 points for two big servings. Not bad.
I want to investigate other meals with lentils since they are so low in points, but high in protein.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3083, 2013-01-16_205550
Tuesday, January 15, 2013, 08:21 PM
I made chicken fajitas. I pounded out chicken, sprinkled chili powder on them, and cooked them on the cast iron. After they were fully cooked, I took them off and added french cut onions and lot of red pepper strips. I also added half a can of bean and a half of julienne cut zucchini. I probably let that go a bit too long since when I added the water-fajita seasoning mix, it was already pretty cooked down. It got a bit mushy with it all. Next time, I think I will make my own mix and let the flavor of the vegetables stand for themselves without the seasoning mix (which also adds lots of different flavors). I again also added garlic powder but I used sriracha instead of Dave's Insanity.
They were out of the tortillas I like to use (with 45 cal each) so I had to get the bigger ones that were higher too. I cut them in half so I could still make smaller fajitas.
I also had brussel sprouts where I use really high heat (with the pans warmed up in the oven). I think I will_not_use this method again. They get a bit too burned, and any loose leaves are totally charred. Next time, I am going with a lower temperature and longer cook times, Serious Eats be dammed! I don't have a picture of them since I forgot to start them earlier
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3080, 2013-01-15_202117