Justin & Meredith Winokur's Kitchen Cooking Notebook

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Tofu Brussel Sprouts (a la Broccoli Beef) -- back to top

I've had to do this before and I did it again. I made Broccoli Beef but with (a) tofu and (b) brussel sprouts since Costco was out of broccoli.

I took two pounds of brussel sprouts and halved them and then stir-fried them. I cooked the tofu on the side since I didn't want to take the time to stir-fry them separately.

It was pretty good, though nothing special. Made lunch too.

Corned Beef Hash with Beets and Radishes -- back to top

With Meredith out of town, I made corned beef hash. I wanted to use something healthier than potatoes so I did it with two golden beets and a black radish (which, BTW, is only black on the outside). I also decided to try to make it more like "hash" (as opposed to home-fries) so I grated the squash. This may or may not have been a good idea. It was very wet and kind of mushy.

Anyway, I otherwise followed the normal recipe. I again asked for 1/4 in pieces of corned beef, though these were thinner, I think. The only other changes were that I still used 2 Tbsp of ketchup plus 1 Tbsp Sriracha.

I think it worked out okay. Like I said, the beets and radishes were a bit wet and also sweeter than a potato. I guess the end result was closer to the canned kind where it is mushy. Oh well. It still tasted pretty good.

Grilled SE Asian Wings -- back to top

I have been wanting to try grilled wings for a little while so I decided to them for my last meal while Meredith was out of town.

They are largely based on the Pok Pok Fish Sauce Wings. I followed the general idea except I grilled them (and skipped the breading) and I sautéed the garlic and then used that oil when reducing them down.

I marinated for about 22 hours and then grilled them (after really letting them dry) for about 5-6 minutes per side on medium. I tried one before saucing and you could taste the flavors but it was subtle (as you would expect). I actually really liked it like that!

Anyway, after grilling them, I reduced the sauce (with the garlic oil) and kept stirring. I actually probably went a bit too far since they were extra sticky and carmely. Oh well! They were still really good.

It kind of reminded me of extra flavorful teriyaki wings but with more fishiness. And more sweetness. I think this recipe could go lower on the sugar without a big problem.

Actually, I would consider doing teriyaki wings like this with the homemade sauce that isn't as reduced.

Either way, I would certainly grill wings again. I liked it a lot!

I also made roasted green beans. Not much to it. I tossed them with a bit of olive oil and Penzeys Sandwich Sprinkle then roasted them at 400°F for about 20 minutes.

Southern Banana Pudding -- back to top

Meredith has been wanting to make this for a while and getting invited for a BBQ was the perfect opportunity.

We followed the Add a Pinch (local¹) recipe and followed it pretty closely except that we forgot the vanilla for the first few layers. And we used lite nilla wafers.

Other than that, we stayed pretty true to the recipe. It was surprisingly easy and really good. The pudding before going in tasted a lot like tapioca pudding but the banana flavor really got infused.

And it was really good and popular. It almost all got eaten!

Grilled Halloumi with Grilled Sugar-Snap Peas, Green Onions, and Romesco -- back to top

We made a really simple but good meal. It was super simple, the only seasoning I used was a bit of smoked salt on the green onions. Otherwise, I just grilled the cheese directly without much seasoning. I probably should have added some salt to the sugar snap peas.

Meredith made her usual Romesco except without the bread.

Super simple but pretty good. The grilled onions were also surprisingly good.

Grilled Chicken with BBQ sauce -- back to top

Super simple meal: I grilled some chicken and added BBQ sauce on the first flip to let it caramelize. It worked pretty well though I think the sauce could have caramelized more. Meredith added a bit more BBQ sauce which helped.

But it was super simple!

I also made green beans on the grill (with the grill pan thing) with some Penzeys Sandwich Sprinkle.

Turkey Koeftas Kabobs -- back to top

I've been thinking about how I make kabobs and read something about doing it more like a sausage and more ground up.

I decided to make "koeftas" from koftas and keftas.

I started by putting the turkey in the freezer for about 40 minutes to help solidify it for the food processor

This time, I kind of winged it from the basic recipe. The biggest change was that I only had cilantro so no parsley (see also, the cava-style harissa below). I mixed everything but the turkey in the food processor. Once it was well ground, I added the turkey and ground it just enough to mix it all.

Well, it was super messy! It was really sticky and hard to form. I ended up putting the whole thing in the freezer for a while to re-solidify.

It grilled up nicely enough but was probably not worth all of the mess. Also, the texture was a bit chewy and springy. I think I would consider making all of the ingredients into a paste with the food processor but them mix it by hand (or really, I could use the mixer but that is way too much work).

I also made the regular Cava-Style harissa except I just used cilantro instead of parsley. It was pretty good after it rested for a bit as it always seems to need. I think it is better with parsley though.

I also grilled up some broccolini

Brussel Sprouts with Bacon -- back to top

We make this a lot, though it has been a while.

We sautéed up some chopped bacon and then took it out and drained some (though not all of the fat). We then sautéed up some onions shallots¹ in what was left and then added shredded brussel sprouts.

We then added a good bit of dijon mustard and deglazed with wine with needed (just once this time).

We then topped it with eggs.

I need to put this in my recipe book since it has become something of a regular dish.

Grilled Sausage, Chicken Wings, and Broccolini -- back to top

A surprisingly easy meal! We bought a Mexican Chorizo link and Southwest chicken sausage (or was it turkey?). I grilled them at the same time that I tried to grill chicken wings. Well, they were the full, uncut wings so it was both the "flats" and the drumbettes. Anyway, I just grilled them to get them kind of crispy, tossed them with some buffalo sauce (mixed butter and Franks Red Hot), and tossed them back on the grill for a bit. I finally tossed it again with the sauce.

That worked well enough though the skin could have been crispier. I've been reading around and next time I will cook them at a (much?) lower temp and then put them on the hot side to crisp the skin. I still liked it but Meredith had me put her's back on for a bit to crisp up (which worked well).

Nothing really special about the sausage but it was good. We also had Broccolini grilled just for a little bit.

On the grill:

Grilled Bacon Mushrooms & Halloumi -- back to top

I made a BBQ version of Mushrooms With Bacon and Teriyaki Glaze. I had to use a cut up portabella which worked ok, but wasn't great. I also grilled it a bit too hot and got the bacon a bit too charred. I still brushed it with Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce instead of teriyaki. I liked it a lot. Different flavor but the sugar still caramelized nicely!

I also grilled some halloumi on its own. Nothing really to it but it was delicious!