Justin & Meredith Winokur's Kitchen Cooking Notebook
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posts/2012/09
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Grilled Scallops with Mint Pesto and Tequila Lime Roasted Artichokes -- back to top
Meredith and I made this together. First, the scallops were from the recipe below. We stayed pretty true to it but note that it makes lots of pesto so we aren't eating the whole 1/2 cups of olive oil. We used fresh mint from the farmers market. I used the cast iron grill pan that I let fully warm to medium-high. The scallops all seemed to be well cooked. Even the very large ones. I did cook down the balsamic vinegar too much. It turned into balsamic vinegar taffy. Kind of strange. I'll be more careful next time. When I first saw this recipe, my immediate reaction as that it was calling Meredith's name
We did the artichokes also with the recipe below. We couldn't get baby artichokes so we used small ones and scraped out the choke. Most, but not all, of the leaves were edible but we definitely had to leave some. Meredith also trimmed the stem so that whole part was edible. The only other change I know of was using greek yogurt for mayonnaise. It was still good with that, but a very different taste.
The bread was also from the farmers market.
Grilled Scallops with Mint Pesto and Balsamic Syrup (from Serious Eats)
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Tequila Lime Roasted Artichokes (from Family spice: recipe,post)
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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2228, 2012-09-02_093133
Buffalo Chicken Pasta and Edamame -- back to top
This was a long time ago so I do not remember exactly what I did but I think I used a can of chicken and added sautéd onions, then added a lot of Franks Red Hot, the usual Laughing Cow and what not. I added the pasta and mixed it all together. I then used grated ricotta salata on top.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2237, 2012-09-10_221117
I just steamed shrimp in the steamer with some Old Bay. This was my first time trying to steam them, let alone from frozen. It worked pretty well except that I think I overcooked them a bit. One thing I learned is that you have to clean the pan. I didn't think about it since they were steamed but the whole apartment stunk the next night from the pan.
I also had a frozen burrito from Trader Joes. I do not recall which kind it was.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2240, 2012-09-10_221200
Buffalo Chicken and Zucchini cupcakes -- back to top
I made buffalo chicken cupcakes (or should I say kupcakes?) from this method. I did the usual poaching the chicken in the pressure cooker and then shredding it in the mixer. I added a tiny bit of Dave's Insanity but that was all it took to make these things like fire. They were really got but really hot.
I also upped the vegetable content by added thinly shredded zucchini to the filling. And a bunch of sliced mini-sweet peppers.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2243, 2012-09-10_221251
Roasted Butternut Squash, Salmon Burgers and Shrimp -- back to top
I roasted some butternut squash in the oven. I do not remember the temperature or time which is unfortunate because I always seem to forget and have to look it up. I also had salmon burgers and shrimp. I had only a few shrimps left. I did both on a well-warmed-up grill pan. I cooked the shrimp from frozen and they seemed to come out fine. The burgers were also very good but that was not a surprise. I let the salmon really cook which was good since I think I tend to undercook it.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2246, 2012-09-12_211133
I bought a pumpkin that was supposed to be more sweet and flavorful than the bigger ones (see the bad experience on 2010-10-26). It was not easy to do, but I cut the pumpkin into small pieces, boiled it for a while in broth, then immersion blended it. I added lots of seasonings focussing on garlic powder (lots of it) and pumpkin pie spice. I also needed to add some splenda, but not too much. Finally, I added a tiny bit of Dave's Insanity to kick it up a bit. Well, that stuff is truly insane. It was so hot! tolerable, but very hot. Overall, I liked it quite a bit but would not use hot sauce again.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2255, 2012-09-20_115710
Beets and Beet Greens Pasta -- back to top
I basically made use of the beet bunches. I chopped the beats and cooked them on the stove like I was making hash browns. Meanwhile, I sautéd the stems to soften them, then added the leaves. Mixed it all together and added 1.5 servings of the "plus" type pasta (extra protein and fiber). I grated some rosemary and olive oil toscano on top.
Overall, it was very good. The meal was well-balanced and had a good mix of carbs and protein Also pretty low in points. The one note is that I needed to wash the leaves better. I did wash them but it was a bit gritty.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2258, 2012-09-21_222815
Pozole and Zucchini Chips -- back to top
I made Pozole with the normal recipe (which I am finally just including pictures of it below). I basically followed it but used canned peppers instead of the serrano. I also, as usual roasted the tomatillos in the broiler along with the poblano. I used fresh cilantro but dried parsley and skipped the spinach. Also, because I was out of regular Better than bouillon I had to use Osem, so this ended up being truly vegetarian. Also, I put everything in the pot except the beans and hominy then used the immersion blender. It made life much easier. (this is what I think we have always done). The final result was very good. I saved a big portion for lunch, but then ate way too much that night. I should have saved some more for another time. Also, after my too-hot experience with the pumpkin soup the other day, I resisted the urge to add Dave's Insanity.
I also made zucchini chips. I was intrigued since the premise of these were low heat for a long time instead of high heat for a little. I sliced them to the smallest setting on the mandoline. I think I will try the next one up next time. Anyway, I baked them based on the recipe below. I think I let them cook a bit too long since they were kind of browned, but still very good. When I use thicker slices, the time may be okay. We will see. They were good.
Pozole (From The HomeSick Texan)
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Oven Dried Zucchini (from The Tasty Bits)
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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2263, 2012-09-24_134853
Tacos (with Kale) and Zucchini Chips -- back to top
I made tacos using lean ground beef. I only used 2/3 lbs but used the while package of seasoning. I put a lot of garlic powder and some crushed red pepper into the seasoning water. This really helped to infuse the meat with the flavors. I again used kale instead of lettuce. I also had tomato and avocado. I use the taco shells I talked about on 2012-07-01 but cooked them a little less so they were softer.
I also tried making the zucchini chips again with the same recipe as before. I used the 2nd from smallest setting (3mm I think). They seemed to need longer to cook but that isn't surprising. I switched pans about half way through, but the_top_ pan (for the second half) seemed get much more done. Usually you expect that to be the bottom, but I wonder if, at such low heat (250), the hot air rising trumps the affect of radiative heating from the element. You can see in the picture the different amount they came out cooked. The brown ones were still good, but, had a slight burn taste. The green ones were still a tad soggy. I did give them 5 minutes to harden after being taken out.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2272, 2012-09-27_204743