Justin & Meredith Winokur's Kitchen Cooking Notebook
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posts/2015/09
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Grilled Pimento Cheese and Tomato Soup -- back to top
Meredith's parents were in town and we had been telling them about this meal so we decided to try to make it again. It was a group effort with the Huffsmith family helping.
We followed the same recipe as last time except that we halved it. There is a good bit of just playing involved and tasting the different things. We made the same changes as last time (including tabasco, smoked paprika, etc) but also subbed green onions for the cilantro/parsley since the store was out of it. We also again used a mix of actual pimentos and roasted peppers.
Meredith made the grilled cheese (pictured below) on sour dough (and each person got half a sandwich).
I again made the tomato soup in the Vitamix using the friction heating. We did not have leftover cobbler filling so I caramelized 1.5 onions and a shallot to then add. Again, a lot of it was to taste, but the ingredients were:
I think that was it though I may have missed something. Anyway, we heated it in the Vitamix and got a very light, airy soup. I think the heavy cream got so beaten in this one which is why it was lighter feeling than last time. Still, very good!
Breakfast of Leftover Pimento Cheese and Bacon -- back to top
We had a breakfast of leftover pimento cheese plus some Chipotle Cherry bacon from Whole Foods. We also had some fried eggs, and toast from the leftovers.
Pretty simple and easy breakfast.
Quick Miso Ramen with Soft-Boiled Eggs -- back to top
Meredith and I made quick ramen like last time. Again, we basically just winged it with some chicken broth, miso (mixed into a small thing of warm broth then added), soy sauce, plus some tahini. We also topped it with green onions and some toasted sesame oil.
The real change this time was that we used zucchini noodles (raw). They were fine. Certainly nowhere near as good as real ramen noodles but much healthier!
Sadly, the broth this time was really just not as good. I do not know what was different this time. It wasn't bad per se, but certainly lacked the flavor and mouthfeel. Also, I we do not know if it was the green onion or the sesame oil (or all the veggies) but it reminded us more of wontons soup than ramen.
While the soup wasn't as good, the eggs were more of a mixed bag. Texture wise, they were almost dead on. I am still figuring out the times for Albuquerque (~6000 ft in elevation) but 9 minutes steaming then into cold(ish) water did the trick. They were a nice texture and held together.
Rather than go with the Serious Eats ramen egg suggestions, I just did 2 Tbsp mirin, 2 Tbsp (low sodium) soy, and 1 Tbsp sugar.
You can see the marinating below. They were fine with this but could have used much more time marinating.
Green Shrimp Salad -- back to top
Meredith did most of this so I will have to update it if I missed anything. Anyway, we had a shrimp salad. The main thing was Meredith made her favorite cilantro dip/sauce. She actually doubled it but only 1.5x the oil. Anyway, she marinated some shrimp in the sauce and then cooked it on the cast-iron grill-pan (see the photo below).
For the salad, she made a dressing with the green chili stuff, a bit more olive oil, some salt, and lemon juice. The salad also had cherry tomatoes and avocado. I put red-onion in mine but Meredith didn't have any.
It was a pretty good meal. Not too much work (especially for me :-) ) but also healthy and flavorful.
Korean Beef Bulgogi Tacos -- back to top
Meredith and I made korean beef tacos. We used this beef bulgogi recipe as the marinade. We actually made the marinade Sunday night but didn't add the beef until yesterday. We followed the recipe pretty closely except used less beef (0.675lbs -- see photos below) but the same amount of marinade. Anyway, we marinated it overnight and then cooked it on the grill pan (warmed up at 7-8/10). The grill pan was good since the marinade dripped down but it was still hard since I couldn't see the meat well. Actually, next time, I think I would cook a whole piece of meat, let it rest, then cut it.
Anyway, on my plate, I also quickly heated 3 corn tortillas (50 cal each) and had some lettuce. Meredith just had it on lettuce.
The rest of the toppings were:
Overall, it was pretty good. And rather low in points -- especially the ones served only on the lettuce, though the corn tortillas weren't too many points.
We will make this again!
Some of this I said above but in the future I would:
Huevos Motuleños -- back to top
I had made this a few times now. This was again inspired by the first time that I made it. This time, I used green chili sauce, rotisserie chicken, beans, and topped it with shredded gouda.
It didn't come off the plate very well this time. I think the sauce was a bit wet. I also tried to cut the tortillas differently to cover the pan. I liked the idea but between that and the fact that these ones seem to curl, it made it hard (plus, sometimes I just have better luck than others)
(I will eventually make a recipe book post about it and then come back and add the link)
Made into a Recipe Book Post
Green Eggs on Toast with Bresaola and Cheese -- back to top
As usual, when I say "green", I mean we used the green cilantro dip. There really wasn't too much to this meal since, after all of the shopping (and sampling/snacking) we were not that hungry. We had fried eggs (light amount of butter), Bresaola (from Whole Foods, but I want to try making it still) and various cheeses. I think it was some Hatch Green Chili Cheddar and Gouda.
Not a fancy meal by any standard but still, really good and simple
Lite(ish) Rotisserie Chicken Salad Sandwiches -- back to top
I made chicken salad using some rotisserie dark meat (hence the "ish" of "Lite(ish)"). I made the salad with non-fat Greek Yogurt instead of mayo (hence the "lite").
I put a whole bunch of things in there, all to taste. They are:
Again, it was all to taste but pretty good. I think using greek yogurt was fine and the rest of the flavors were a nice addition. We served it on some bread and also in lettuce cups.
Broiled Feta with Caramelized Cinnamon Pears -- back to top
Meredith and I were invited to a "Mad Scientist Party". The idea is that you bring (preferably make) something that you've never made/had before. And, you can go a bit out there. Well, Meredith has a whole pinterest board of ideas and we went with the broiled feta.
We based it on this recipe (local link). We followed it pretty closely except we planned to double or tripple it. However, we misread the thing and only bought 3 x 8-ounce feta blocks. We had actually also bought a lite feta for us so we decided to use that so we could double it. It is actually really interesting how much you can tell the difference in the pictures, especially the ones below.
Other than that, we stayed pretty true to the recipe. And it was both really good and really easy. It was better hot but fine room temperature too. I think it would be interesting to do with more honey in place of brown sugar and apples instead of pears to do some thing for Rosh Hashanah. Maybe in the future.
Few other notes: We used red pears since they are prettier (though you couldn't tell in the end) and we served it with Trader Joes mini pita crackers. They were fine but maybe a bit dry. Also, we didn't cut the blocks of feta.
Broiled Feta with Caramelized Cinnamon Pears (from How Sweet It Is)
Local Copy (U: guest P: name of my dog, all lower case)
Broccoli (and Cabbage) Tofu (a la Broccoli Beef) -- back to top
I made my regular broccoli beef, though I had some issues. I only had two heads of broccoli but they were huge and I wanted to use up the rest of some cabbage. And, I intended to use seitan but I had apparently finished it earlier. I used un-marinated tofu. Had I realized it sooner, I would have marinated it.
The issue with all of the veggies were at (a) I had to do it in two batches since there was so much. And (b) there was not enough sauce to go around. I tried to add some more of the constituent ingredients (ie, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and rice vinegar) but I think it was too-little-too-late.
Also, cabbage, while a good bulking vegetable, wilts too much and releases lots of water. So the end result was more watery and less flavorful.
Still acceptably good. I ate way too much of it though...
BLTs with Home-Grown Tomatoes -- back to top
We wanted a quick and easy dinner since we had plans and knew we would be eating late. Also, Meredith had been wanting to use some of her ripe tomatoes from her garden. This seemed like a nice and easy meal.
We made BLTs by baking the bacon (though some pieces were still a bit fatty so we microwaved as needed). I had mine (1.5 sandwiches) with Trader Joes lite mayo.
Anyway, you can see the tomatoes better in the photos below. They came out super juicy and very, very flavorful. They also had a really cool structure to them.
Before cutting:
Slicing into them. Notice the structure and shape:
Assembling:
Salmon Burgers with Green Chili Sauce -- back to top
This was a boring but fast and simple meal (ie, perfect for a weeknight when you don't feel like cooking or making what was originally planned). We simply sautéed the frozen salmon burgers and served it on toast with green chili sauce.
Shrimp Saganaki -- back to top
We made shrimp saganaki from this Serious Eats recipe (local). We basically halved the recipe except for the onion and garlic (and maybe crushed red pepper) where we did the whole thing. We also used lite feta and much less than it calls for (and skipped using it for garnish). I think we probably used less than half of what the recipe calls for (even after halving it). I topped mine with parmesan cheese (probably too much) since we didn't have more feta
Basically, the meal is shrimp poached in tomato sauce with feta. It was actually pretty good. The feta gave the sauce a nice creaminess. And I cut the onion french-cut so they had a nice texture you could easily eat.
It was also pretty quick and easy. We will do this again!
Shrimp Saganaki (from Serious Eats)
Local Copy (U: "guest" P: name of my dog, lower case)
Orange Chicken over Cauliflower Rice -- back to top
Meredith and I made Orange Chicken from this Kitchn recipe (local). We actually followed the recipe pretty closely except used only 1 lbs of chicken (but kept the rest the same). It worked pretty well except needed, desperately, to have less corn-starch. Easily use 1/3-1/2 of what the recipe calls for.
Other than that, it was pretty easy. We actually juiced 3 oranges but next time, we may buy orange juice.
We served it over cauliflower rice. Roasted the cauliflower for 35 minutes but skipped adding any parmesan cheese. (I also updated that recipe to add the cooking times)
We like the meal a lot. It wasn't too hard and it was also pretty low in calories. Especially since we used the cauliflower rice. I would put this into some type of rotation.
Additional Photo:
Chicken in Orange Sauce (From The Kitchn)
Local Copy (U: "guest", P: name of my dog, lower case)
Pumpkin Spice Latte -- back to top
I could have sworn I've posted this before but I can't find it.
Meredith has been making these pumpkin spice lattes from The Kitchn Recipe (local) for some time. She basically follows the recipe (including the all-important black pepper) and then uses a small milk frother. She adds the milk directly to the pumpkin mix, lets it dissolve, and then froths it.
She has tried doing it all in the Vitamix including heating the milk but it wasn't as good. We think the caramelization of the sugar makes a difference.
Oh, and she usually uses almond milk.
Pumpkin Spice Lattes (from The Kitchn)
Local Copy (U: "guest" P: name of my dog. All lower case)
Tuna Tataki and Pan-Seared Gem Lettuce -- back to top
Meredith and I made tuna tataki from our regular recipe. Whenever I make it, I have trouble getting the ginger to stick but Meredith doesn't seem to have the problem. My guess is that I usually slap-chop the ginger and she chops it. I think chopping keeps it drier. We also didn't make the sauce and instead just did 1:1 fresh lime juice to low-sodium soy sauce. Anyway, the tuna came out really, really good. Lots of flavor and well cooked.
I made pan-seared gem lettuce. It was based on this Kitchn post (local). We followed it pretty closely and it worked well enough. I think I need to take the heat down a little bit more. Especially since I added the lemon juice and it basically evaporated right away. Still, it worked well enough and was really good (except I used too much salt).
Overall, a pretty easy and healthy meal.
Little Gem Lettuce (from The Kitchn)
Local Copy (U: "guest", P: name of my dog, all lower case)
Cannellini Beans With Garlic And Sage and Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Caramelized Onions -- back to top
Meredith did nearly all of the work for this meal. She made the beans from this Bon Appetit recipe (local). The only real change was that she brined them and used rosemary instead of sage. The conventional wisdom used to be that you shouldn't salt/brine them but as this Kitchn (and referenced Cook's Illustrated book The Science of Good Cooking) note, brining can be a good way to go.
The rosemary gave them an interesting and strong flavor but it was pleasant and I liked it a lot. We did have to cook them longer but that is likely the altitude (water boils at 203°F).
As the title says, we also had them with roasted sweet potatoes and caramelized onions. Not too much to that. We pierced the potatoes with a fork and roasted them at 375°F for 45-60 minutes. We did the onions (mostly french-cut red) on a very low heat. We served it with a little bit of butter melted in.
I thought it was really good. Especially when I basically stuffed the potatoes with the beans. It was also an easy meal, but very slow. Something we could prep in the future next time. And I think Meredith was happy with brining the beans.
Cannellini Beans With Garlic And Sage (from Bon Appetit)
Local Copy -- (U: "guest" P: name of my dog, all lower case)
Buffalo Chicken Cupcakes -- back to top
I made buffalo chicken cupcakes using my cupcake method with the addition of a tiny bit of cheese on the bottom too.
They came out incredible. Probably the best ones I've had (though I haven't made them in ages). There was a good mix of cheesiness, flavor, buffalo, and other spices. However... I was a bit curious about the nutrition; especially with the amount of cheese I used in the end. It was bad!!! See below.
I also note some changes below for next time.
Anyway, for the filling, I made a Buffalo Chicken inspired filling. I melted
and added:
I let that sauté for a bit. I then added
Finally, I melted
and then added
I made the mistake of calculating the nutrition. I assumed I used about 4 oz of cheddar based on the size of the package. Obviously, this does not include the veggies.
The full breakdown is here. For all 12, it was 42 points plus. That is 3.5/cupcake.
Most of these are about what I think I could give up to make it a bit healthier. Probably the biggest thing is less cheese and butter. I could also use less chicken though if I do, I want to bulk it up with even more veggies.
We made BLTs again. Even though we just had them on 2015-09-15, we still had bacon and Meredith had a few new ripe tomatoes.
Not much else to the meal. Very good and very easy... besides growing the tomatoes.
Allevatori Uova (Italian Huevos Rancheros) -- back to top
This was an interesting idea. We made what is basically my Huevos Motuleños but Italian style. (Actually, we more closely made Italian Huevos Rancheros or "Ranchers' Eggs")
Anyway, we had leftover cannellini beans but didn't want to use them on something Mexican given their strong rosemary flavor. Instead we decided to do it Italian style. We used Classico Spicy Red Pepper Sauce instead of salsa/chili and also topped it with cheddar (not very Italian but it's what we had).
It was actually pretty good. Crisp tortillas and interesting flavors. I really wish I could get it as cleanly out of the pan as the first time but that has yet to every happen again!
Made into a Recipe Book Post
Salmon Burgers and Gem Lettuce -- back to top
Pretty simple and fast meal. We were hungry but (a) it was kind of late to go out, (b) we had to use of the lettuce, and (c) we wanted something healthier than eating out.
We made the lettuce thing from the other day and also just had pan-cooked salmon burgers on multi grain bread. Again, simple and fast but also very tasty.
Avocado Basil Zucchini Noodles with Shrimp -- back to top
We wanted to get this in before we got too far into fall. We made the pretty standard Avocado-Basil Zucchini Noodles (w/o corn) and had it with zucchini noodles and shrimp (steamed for frozen, about 4 minutes). There wasn't too much to this. I basically followed the recipe (using 1 lime despite saying 3/4 last time)
It came out pretty good. A very tasty. The only points are from the avocado (8 total) plus the greek yogurt (<1 point). Overall, really not too bad!
Thai Style Sweet and Sour Seitan -- back to top
I made sweet and sour seitan from the same recipe as last time. I did have to make some changes. The recipe is not in a great order. I basically just divided it up into three things:
Basically the same changes as last time including the jalapeños, except I think I went overboard on the pineapple (probably around 3/4 of one) and the onion (around 1 cup or 4x). There was basically too much solids for the liquids and it wasn't as flavorful.
If I make it again, I will try to go lighter on the bulk. And probably turn it into its own recipe page....
Cuban Style Black Beans -- back to top
Meredith made black beans based on a recipe from Science of Good Cooking. I am not linking the recipe since we basically reproduce it below in our own words.
As you can see from the recipe below, we struggled to cook them fully. It actually took much longer than it was supposed to. That is likely due to the altitude. In the future, we will consider slow cooker or pressure cooker methods.
But, these were also some of the most flavorful beans Meredith has made. She'll also look into using baking soda in beans more often.
Brine the beans (about 1.5 Tbsp in 2 qt cold water) overnight (or really, ~24 hours)
Combine all ingredients group 1 in a dutch oven and bring to simmer over medium-high. Then cover and reduce to low. Cook for 45 minutes to an hour.
Eventually added 1/4 tsp baking soda since they weren't softening (found on the web. Not sure where)
Cook for another 45-60 minutes.
Drain and reserve ~2 cups cooking liquid.
In the pan, add the second ingredient group. Sauté, add some of the reserved liquid, add the beans, then the rest of the liquid. Simmer for another 15 minutes or so
Burrito Bowls with Cauliflower Rice -- back to top
Meredith and I made burrito bowls with cauliflower rice. There ended up not being too much to it. I made tons of onions and peppers, heated some canned black beans with oregano and cumin, and some pan "grilled" chicken. For the chicken and the peppers I used a lot Badia Adobo seasoning like I used here with fajita tacos. I also added some garlic powder to the onions and peppers. Oh, and we also topped it with some
The reason I said it "ended up" being not too bad is Meredith also made black beans but they had issues and weren't ready yet. I am sure I will post about them when we eat them (and add a link in the future)
Seared Salmon and Roasted Kabocha Squash -- back to top
We planned a fast and easy meal. It was basically an exact copy of a few meals, but I think the first one was 2014-01-05.
Anyway, I roasted kabocha squash for ~30 @ 400°F, flipped half way. I also had the cast-iron pan in the oven to heat up for the salmon, which I did my normal way. I did it with salt and dill which I think was a first for this method. It worked well. I would do that again.
It was all very good. I was worried about overcooking the salmon since it was thin and think I undercooked it instead. Still, it was fine.
I like the squash since I can eat a lot without too many points/calories.