Justin & Meredith Winokur's Kitchen Cooking Notebook
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posts/2013/12
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Lentil Taco Cupcakes -- back to top
I made lentil taco cupcakes (with the regular method) as I have done before. I reduced the lentils to 3/4 cups (and 1.5 cups water, simmered for 10 min then drained). I sautéd half an onion, a julienned zucchini, half a green pepper, and a jalapeño. I then added the lentils. Instead of just taco seasoning in water with extra spices, I did about 1/3 cup hot salsa, some water, taco seasoning and other spices. The other spices included chipotle powder which added a nice extra punch. When I mixed that into the rest, it was not wet enough so I added some white wine and let that cook down.
They were really good today. Last time I wasn't as impressed but they were better tonight. The shells were nicely crispy and the filling was well seasoned and flavorful. The filling was just enough making me thing that 3/4 cups lentils==2/3 lbs beef is a pretty good relation.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6967, 2013-12-02_204347
Chicken Enchilada Casserole -- back to top
I made Chicken Enchilada Casserole. Meredith and I have done this a few times before with beef but this time I actually followed the recipe and used chicken. Also, I went heavy on the salsa. I also used frozen broccoli, carrots and water chestnuts. They were bigger pieces than, say, peas+corn+carrots but I wanted more veggies and something healthier.
I used canned chicken as the recipe suggests but I didn't love it. Canned chicken always tastes a bit too much like canned tuna to me. I would use it again in a pinch but I think I prefer beef or maybe shredded chicken next time.
Finally, I used flour tortillas. I used two medium-sized regular ones. They are 130 cal each which is kind of high but considering this may four medium-sized or three large servings, that still not too bad. I also used light instead of fat free cheese. (I'd rather have the extra calories with the better flavor). The first layer was mozzarella and the top was a mix of mozzarella and cheddar
The original recipe is on page 66 of Hungry Girl 1-2-3 but I also wrote it up in "My Recipe Book"
_
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6973, 2013-12-05_092308
Brew 09: Milk Stout -- back to top
Brew 2013:09 - Milk Stout (2013-12-07)
I brewed a milk/sweet/cream stout using the recipe from Brewing Classic Styles. The only thing I really tweaked was that it called for Black Patent 525L and my shop's Black Patent was 625. However, I read that Carafa III (525L) is also the same as black patent. So I used that.
The recipe and notes are below:
(PDF) (HTML) (TXT) (XML -- Stored Locally)
Milk Stout
By BCS with small changes
Method:
All Grain
Style:
Sweet Stout
Boil Time:
60 min
Batch Size:
1.5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size:
2.1 gallons
Efficiency:
77% (brew house)
Boil Gravity:
1.042 (recipe based estimate)
Original Gravity:
1.065
Final Gravity:
1.024
ABV (standard):
5.34%
IBU (tinseth):
28.02
SRM (morey):
39.98
Fermentables
Amount
Fermentable
PPG
L
Bill %
2.5 lb
United Kingdom - Pale 2-Row
38
2.5
75.5%
4 oz
German - Carafa III
32
535
7.5%
4 oz
Lactose (Milk Sugar) - (late addition)
41
1
7.5%
3 oz
American - Caramel / Crystal 80L
33
80
5.7%
2 oz
United Kingdom - Pale Chocolate
33
207
3.8%
Hops
Amount
Variety
Time
AA
Use
Type
Boil
0.41 oz
Kent Goldings
Pellet
5
Boil
60 min
28.02
Mash Guidelines
Amount
Description
Type
Temp
Time
4.4 qt
Heat to 162-163
Infusion
151 F
60 min
1.9 qt
Mash Out with boiling H20
Temperature
165 F
10 min
3.1 qt
Dunk / Batch Sparge
Sparge
168 F
10 min
Starting Mash Thickness: 1.45 qt/lb
Other Ingredients
Amount
Name
Type
Use
Time
0.13 tsp
Yeast Nutrient
Other
Boil
12 min
0.25 tsp
Irish Moss
Fining
Boil
12 min
Yeast
Wyeast - White bread Ale 1099
Attenuation (avg):
70%
Flocculation:
High
Optimum Temp:
64 - 75 F
Starter:
No
Priming
CO2 Level: 2 Volumes
Notes
Based on Brewing Classic Styles' Sweet Stout (Triple-X)
Below are my notes. Note that I was also bottling the Brown Ale at the same time. Note that I did NOT have the grains double milled!
I need to figure out what is going on with my efficiency numbers. They really do not make sense. I checked the hydrometer and it reads correctly in water. I checked the volume and it is pretty darn close. Also, my boil-off was too low. I need to adjust these different things for next time.
Also, I am worried about the fermenter being so full but I couldn't get my tubing to work as a blow off so it'll have to do. Hopefully it won't make too much of a mess
It didn't seem to need the blow-off. When I went to bottle it, there was krausen on the lid but only in a few spots. I got really lucky! Anyway, below is my bottling notes
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6986, 2013-12-07_191047
Brew C2: Cider again -- back to top
I brewed cider like last time using the following:
My notes are below but I am filling in a lot of it (also note that the juice came in plastic so I was adding it to the glass)
Took about 20-30 minutes. Would have been shorter had I not lost the yeast pack and had to find it
Out of curiosity, I took SG readings on the juice and the concentrate. The juice was 1.050 and the concentrate was off the reading by a huge margin.
Note that this was also my first time using a refractometer so I used both that and the hydrometer. It has been 36 days since it was brewed.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6989, 2013-12-07_191646
Cauliflower Crust Pizza -- back to top
I tried to make cauliflower pizza crust again. I used the same recipe as last time but I used towels to really squeeze the crap out of the cauliflower this time. Also, I squeezed the cauliflower on Saturday night but then used it on Sunday. Finally, I did it right on a pan instead of on a pizza stone / cast-iron pan. I had to cook the crust alone for 20 minutes. In that time, I threw together a sauce with 1 14 oz can of tomatoes, a tiny bit of olive oil, sriracha, balsamic vinegar and seasonings. I also immersion blended a bit of it while keeping some chunks.
I definitely likes it more than last time. It was a lot thinner and less wet. However, it didn't really hold together like pizza crust should. I am far from convinced that this is a viable alternative to pizza. And as long as we are willing to have fake-crusted pizza, I could make two tortilla pizzas for 260 calories (not much more than this crust). Still, I am open to trying it again. I'm just not in any hurry.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 7003, 2013-12-08_112747
Broccoli "Beef" (Seitan) -- back to top
I made standard broccoli "beef" but with seitan (from 2013-11-19). I didn't do anything special but it didn't seem to coat as well as usual. Still, it was good. And the seitan was amazing (as usual). I may have overcooked the broccoli by a little bit
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 7007, 2013-12-09_100214
Balsamic Brussel Sprout Hash and Broccoli Slaw -- back to top
My cruciferous vegetable dinner trend continues. I wanted to experiment with something a bit different. I started with a 12 oz bag of shredded brussel sprouts and a 12 oz bag of broccoli slaw. I sautéd half an onion and then added the brussel sprouts to try to cook them a bit and get some char (I did cook them but no char). Meanwhile, I steamed the broccoli slaw.
I mixed up the sauce I have been using for my balsamic broccoli. I reserved some on the side and mixed it with 5 eggs (remember, two meal worth here) and scrambled them. I brought everything together and combined with the sauce. Finally, I topped it with some cheese.
I was kind of disappointed. The meal was fine but certainly not amazing. Using eggs instead of another protein source was kind of strange in this application. Oh well, it was good to experiment.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 7011, 2013-12-10_094354
Spaghetti Squash with Seitan and Roasted Sweet Potatoes -- back to top
I made spaghetti squash with seitan and roasted sweet potatoes.
I decided to try something new and bake it. I made it with the pretty standard mix of wheat gluten to water and a bunch of seasonings. I initially just did the kneading by hand but I was having trouble getting it to form really well. So I did it in the food processor for 30 seconds. That probably over did it as it was they very hard to shape (note though that when you make seitan crumbles, I think the key is that you don't knead it and bring it together).
Anyway, I then made three logs of different sizes and I wrapped them really tightly in aluminum foil. I baked them at 375 for 90 minutes. Two of the three exploded while in the oven. One came totally out of the foil and was extremely dried out. The second came out a little and had a crispy spot and a really tough outside but soft inside. Finally, the third also have a tough outside and soft inside but was better than those that exploded out of the foil.
I am not rushing back to make them in the oven again. Though, I do think I will use foil.I've seen other things where they steam it_in_the foil. I wonder if I could still do the pressure cooker steaming with the foil. It is worth experimenting.
Nothing special with the sauce. I sautéd a whole onion. I bought whole peeled tomatoes instead of diced so I try to lightly immersion blend it. Well, I think the end result was crushed tomatoes as it was basically liquid. That was fine because I knew how I would be mixing it all together. Anyway, I added the tomatoes then a tiny bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, etc. I then added some balsamic vinegar. I let it cook down until thicker
Meanwhile, I used the microwave on the squash
I recently read an article on Serious Eats called "Food Lab: How to Roast Fall and Winter Vegetables". I used their technique (and recipe below) for the sweet potatoes. Basically, you let it rest in 160°F water for an hour for the enzymes to convert the starches to sugar. (I put the whole pan in a freezer bag with a trivet). You then roast at 400 for about 50 minutes.
I followed the idea of the recipe pretty closely. I also used a bit of honey on them as they were roasting. I probably could have taken them out a tiny bit sooner, but they were very good. They did have a lot of sweetness! I would definitely try it again. Maybe next time, I'll also have a control group
The Best Roasted Sweet Potatoes (from Serious Eats)
Local Copy -- password is the name of my dog, all lower case
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 7028, 2013-12-15_183233
Ultra Crispy Roasted Potatoes (and leftovers) -- back to top
I wanted to try the other methods from the Serious Eats recipe on all vegetables, this time doing it with regular potatoes. The recipe is below but the general idea is to parboil the potatoes with vinegar. The potatoes' starch gets washed away and cooks a bit and the vinegar keeps them from falling apart.
It worked pretty well except that the heat was a bit high since it cooked the parchment paper more than anything else. However, they were very crispy. I would do it again with lower heat.
I also had the leftover spaghetti squash.
Ultra Crispy Roast Potatoes (from Serious Eats)
Local Copy -- password is the name of my dog, all lower case
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 7034, 2013-12-16_091931
Seitan Chorizo and Curried Cauliflower & Chickpea Soup -- back to top
Meredith and I made a really good dinner. We had seitan chorizo and chickpea and curry soup.
First the seitan chroizo. We followed the recipe below with very few changes. They were to use smoked paprika (and more of it) and to use less chili powder (we actually also used chili rubbed powder). Other that that, we followed the recipe pretty closely. I broke up the pieces as I was adding them to the pan (stainless instead of non-stick). They did seem to burn a little bit so next time I will break it into smaller pieces before putting it in the pan.
The chorizo was incredibly good. I would absolutely do this again! It was easy and very good. Maybe I'll cook them a little bit more next time but no much. Some of the reviewers said there was too much vinegar. I could definitely taste it but I liked it. There was also a nice crisp to the cooked pieces
The soup was also based on the recipe below but we modified it more. We used a lot of cauliflower and we roasted it with curry powder first. We also added extra tumeric. We ended up adding lots of water since it was so thick and there was also a lot of cauliflower. I think we probably doubled the water. Also, we decided to skip the coconut milk altogether. Meredith ended up adding lots of seasonings. I do not recall them all so I will wait and update it with her changes.
(2014-01-06 Note, This is now in my recipe book with the changes we made in the next few times)
Seitan Chorizo (from Food.com)
In a medium bowl, stir together the gluten, yeast, salt, cumin, cayenne, paprika, chili, and onion.
Pour water, vinegar, ketchup, and oil on top, stir with a fork and start using your fingertips to turn into small crumbles.
Start frying the chorizo in a large non stick pan on medium-high heat, stirring constantly for 8 minutes, or until browned up.
Curried Cauliflower and Chickpea Soup (from Dishing Up The Dirt)
Using an immersion blender puree the soup (You can do this in batches with a regular blender as well) until smooth.
Stir in the coconut milk. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes
Serve warm with plenty of chopped cilantro.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 7043, 2013-12-18_131340
Seitan Chorizo and Roasted Veggies -- back to top
I wanted to keep experimenting with the seitan chorizo. I followed the same basic idea as a few days ago with the follow changes from the actual recipe (as opposed to what we did last time)
It was very good! I liked the extra spice of the sriracha. And I let it cook a bit more to crisp with a little lower heat.
I separately roasted a bit of cauliflower and carrots with oil and curry powder. I then added that all together with a bit of capers (basically, from 2013-03-18) (though there wasn't any extra caper juice so I just used the capers themselves)
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 7047, 2013-12-20_134258
Roasted Broccoli and Italian Chicken Sausage -- back to top
I made roasted broccoli and chicken sausage. I chopped broccoli and roasted it for about 20 minutes at around 400 (the oven isn't exact). I then added two diced links of sweet italian chicken sausage (140 cal/link) and let it go for another 10 minutes for so. There wasn't too much to it and it wasn't all that special, but it was easy and quick (prep wise at least).
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 7052, 2013-12-31_103025