Justin & Meredith Winokur's Kitchen Cooking Notebook
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posts/2019/03
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I made butter chicken again. I followed some of my suggestions from last time though I forgot I wanted to add onions. My changes are below. This is really starting to take shape as my own recipe. It is still way healthier than what you find on the internet but I think the additional cream and butter help a lot. I can't wait to continue to iterate on the recipe!
We served it with rice and some small naans. We had leftover rice from last time, but I found one in the freezer from November, 2016. That was pretty old but it defrosted and tasted just fine.
I think next time the only major changes again would be to (remember!) add onion, And maybe toast the spices though I don't think they need it too much.
Caprese Quinoa and Spiralized Zucchini Bake -- back to top
Meredith made this Inspiralized Recipe (LOCAL) for lunch (and a snack). I think she used squeezy-tube basil instead of fresh and mixed it in (rather than just garnish). I only ate it after it was sitting for a while but I thought it was pretty good and seemed pretty healthy.
Asian Lettuce Wraps -- back to top
I made Spicy Asian Lettuce Wraps but with ground turkey. I browned the meat with some unrefined peanut oil for flavor and added a bit of soy sauce. I eventually had to drain the liquid. I used extra sriracha in the dressing but that was about it for changes.
Meredith made Cream Biscuits again from The Food Lab. She followed the recipe but used 2 tsp salt (as opposed to 3/4 in the recipe). I think the extra salt really helped!
They were very good.
I made Tofu Satay using the regular satay recipe. I did it with orange juice and I cooked it with a combination of the broiler and the oven (on a cooling rack inside a tray).
It worked pretty well in the oven but not as good as the grill (though much less work!).
I made the relish with onions since we didn't have scallions. And skipped the cilantro
We had frozen Satay Sauce I guess from last time
Huevos with Salsa and some deli turkey meat (Makes for a quick thrown together meal). Pretty good as usual!
This was another spice packet meal like Korean Tacos. I followed their directions pretty closely. My most notable changes were to use more chicken and chicken breast.
I think it was overall okay but not amazing. It could have used more flavor though I also forgot to add the Szechuan pepper until the end (I don't think that was the problem though).
Rice was leftover from Butter Chicken
I liked smacking the cucumber. I think I would do that kind of preparation again
I made a mango pie for đťś‹-day using this NYTimes recipe (LOCAL) which is also featured in this article.
I really followed the recipe pretty closely with the following notes:
While it took a lot of appliances (food processor, mixer, and blender) and a lot of bowls (since you had to shuffle around), it all came together pretty smoothly. And since it wasn't baked, I didn't have to worry about the larger pan.
I thought the flavor was okay. It really just tasted like mango. Similarly, the texture was very gelatinous (surprise!). I think I would have preferred it be more of a custard with that texture and richness. But it was well received (and got second place in the contest)
I made Grilled Pork Loin Filet over Corn Salsa and Topped with Chimichurri using the same basic notes as the first time (including light on the oil and sous-vide pork).
I think the salsa was very good (made with extra corn and more onion) but the chimichurri was less flavorful (I do not think it was the reduction in oil, but could be) and, even though we sous-vide cooked it, the pork (not the smoked they call for) was surprisingly tough.
Cornflake Marshmallow Cookies -- back to top
Meredith made Cornflake marshmallow cookies using the recipe from Shutterbean (LOCAL). Her only change was to use salted caramel chips which we both thought was much better.
Meredith made a full batch but we can cook a few at a time as we want. They are very good, though super rich. The marshmallow caramelizes nicely on inside the cookies
Meatball Marsala -- back to top
I made meatball marsala with similar changes to the first time. I actually made the meatballs (for this and Koeftas) the night before and had them ready. I didn't fully caramelize the onions but I did use the hot-water deglaze idea of 15 minute caramelized onions.
Since Meredith didn't want sweetness, we opted to use something instead of butternut squash noodles. Instead we used spaghetti squash. I used the basic idea of Love and Lemons which was basically 400°F for about 30 minutes to be "al dente"1. We mixed it with regular pasta too.
I used heavy whipping cream since we had it leftover but I think that was a bit too strong. It was creamier than I would have liked though still very good.
Overall, a pretty easy meal with a nice mixture of prep-ahead of active cooking time
Since there really isn't much recipe to this, I am not posting a local copy ↩
Koefta Meatballs -- back to top
Along with the meatball marsala, I prepped Koefta meatballs. I used dried instead of fresh onions but otherwise followed the recipe. Last time I used the mixer which was super easy but I didn't like the springiness. This time, I tried something different. I put all of the ingredients in a bowl and used a spatula with something of a cutting and folding motion to bring it all together. That also worked well (though not as easy as the mixer) but left it with a better texture. I also added a tiny bit of oil to keep it more moist.
We threw together toppings. Cut up cucumbers and a za'tar-yogurt dip. Served on "street taco" tortillas. The real key was sriracha that gave it a lot of flavors.
Meredith made Fattoush following the recipe. The biggest changes were that she forgot the sumac and we served naan (instead of pita) and on the side. Plus, we used rotisserie chicken breast to give it protein
It was really good as usual. Lots of flavors and felt very healthy
Pasta with Asparagus and Basil Meatballs -- back to top
Meredith threw this together and it was pretty good. It was just some Trader Joes orecchiette pasta with asparagus and store-bought meatballs (see picture below). She also topped it with some cheese and crushed red pepper.
Pretty simple and tasty meal!
Turkish Stuffed Eggplant (Karniyarik) -- back to top
Meredith made Karniyarik using some of the notes from the first time. She used two serranos in the mix and also skipped tomato paste (and added extra tomatoes). It was really good. The meat needed a bit of salt but otherwise, this was an interesting and veggie-filled meal. (I sautéed spinach + kale mix with roasted garlic on the side).
Lemon-Garlic Shrimp -- back to top
Pretty typical lemon-garlic shrimp except I forgot all seasonings. I think I missed the crushed red pepper the most (shrimp are pretty salty on their own)
Meredith made a Bakewell Tart using Mary Berry's Recipe (LOCAL) but with Pâte Sablée from The Kitchn ( LOCAL). The biggest change to the recipe was to use Heidi's Raspberry Lavender Jam from a local place. Also, she used red food coloring which really worked just fine!
She's still experimenting with the crust but may try Mary's next time.
We really liked it overall and it was pretty well received!
-- back to top