Justin & Meredith Winokur's Kitchen Cooking Notebook
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posts/2022/02
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Peanut Butter Bananas Foster Croissant Toast -- back to top
We wanted to make something decadent with the rest of the Croissant Toast (see Pesto Egg on Croissant Bread). So Meredith came up with this idea. She made a peanut butter mousse (or something liked that). She really just came up with it as she went.
Then we made Bananas Fosters [Kenneth Temple] as the topping. That worked really well except the spices didn't mix well. Next time, I'd add them a bit before the flambé
We would make this again for sure. Maybe with a Liege waffle instead! Or French Toast
Thai Red Curry with Tofu -- back to top
Meredith made Thai Red Curry with Vegetables [Cookie and Kate] following the directions more or less. It was okay but not as good as a restaurant. I think it (a) needed more salt and (b) a better curry paste.
We pre-steamed the broccoli so it would have time to cook but it was too cooked by the end. We also threw in some old green (wiggle!) beans we're trying to use up.
We did add baked tofu. We had read that freezing it first will make it more absorbent. Not sure if it made a difference but we tried it. And, very excitedly, Caroline liked the plain tofu (with hoisin).
Crispy Cheese Bread -- back to top
I had this idea before and I tried it on a corn tortilla (below) this morning and then I did it with english muffin bread for lunch.
I "grilled" the bread a la grilled cheese (light mayo coating on both sides). Then I took it out and laid down cheese. As it bubbled, I added some Adobo powder and then I added back the bread.
It was pretty good! Not the revelation I was hoping for but certainty tasty and different.
I also had salad for lunch.
Lasagna Soup with a full jar of sauce (24 oz) and then just three cups of water. I added a note to the page too.
It was delicious as usual!
Pretty standard Hot Dish [My Name is Yeh] except I had a 3 lbs (chub) of ground beef so I tried to go heavy on everything else. Still, it ended up a bit too much beef! And trying to do that in four layers was hard!
One idea I may try next time: Cook the tots separately and top it after they are cooked and crispy!
We hadn't made it in a while but we remembered that Japanese Curry is delicious. This was based on mild "Vermont Curry" blocks.
We did carrots and potatoes. We also had tofu that we froze first, the defrosted.
Meredith used Crispy Baked Tofu [Cookie and Kate] on the tofu too. Unfortunately, Caroline didn't like that very much!
Pumpkin Protein Bars -- back to top
Meredith made Pumpkin Protein Bars [Eating Bird Food]
Scallops and Mushroom Pasta -- back to top
This was our 7th Anniversary Dinner. We didn't go too "all out" but made some fancy stuff.
For the scallops I followed Sous Vide Scallops with Lemon Butter [Izzy Cooking] pretty closely. They were good but not especially amazing. And I think our scallops got a bit freezer burned.
We also made One-Pot Creamy Wild Mushroom Pasta [The Kitchn]. I did it with only 11 oz pasta. I do not know if that made the difference or not but it was very soupy. Still really delicious. And so easy!!!
Croque Monsieur Pinwheels -- back to top
We had leftover béchamel from Croque Monsieur [Bon Appétit] we made the other day (but no post). Meredith had the idea to try to use it to make pinwheels à la Ham and Cheese Pinwheels [Well Plated]. They were really good! We will do this again.
One note: Meredith tried to make it with using plastic wrap and one without. It was much easier without. I added a note to the page.
Meredith also roasted broccoli which we served with Green Goddess Salad [Baked By Melissa]
Bean and Avocado Salad -- back to top
Meredith made a bean and avocado salad with the dressing from Spicy Salmon Black Bean Salad [The Kitchn]. I also made leftovers into nachos which was pretty good
Pinwheels and Hot Dish -- back to top
We had people over for lunch and decided to make the same thing as last week. We also made a batch with just cheese to be more like cheese straws. Both were very good except the cheese didn’t want to stay much while being rolled.
And there was a small oopsie while making the béchamel. I caught my finger in a drawer and tossed my phone. I’m trying to catch it, I made it worse! See below. (The sauce was still boiling so any germs would be killed)
Also had hotdish from last week
Heart Shaped Pavlova -- back to top
Meredith (and Caroline) made a heart shaped Pavlova [The Kitchn] for Valentines Day. Meredith use gel food coloring and a toothpick to make a pretty pattern too (which we then covered up 🤷)
I made the whipped cream with a bag of crushed freeze-dried strawberries. However, I am not sure if I over whipped it or if the powdered strawberries broke the structure but it was more like butter when we were done. And still needed food coloring to get the color. So it was more like a butter cream. Oops🙊.
We topped it with sliced grapes, strawberries, and pomegranate arils
Soy Chorizo Ragu -- back to top
Soy Chorizo Ragu w/ Zucchini Noodles
Mexican Street Corn & Quinoa Bowl -- back to top
Mexican Street Corn & Quinoa Bowl [Healthier Together by Liz Moody]
Pumpkin Oatmeal Brûlée -- back to top
POM Pumpkin Oatmeal Brûlée. Used some cinnamon sugar on top.
Black Bean Brownies -- back to top
Black Bean Brownies [Eating Bird Food] with toasted coconut. Meredith liked it for her "second dinner" but I thought the texture was weird
We made Greek nachos like we’ve done before. Used turkey shawarma seasoning. We didn’t have red onions so this had to do. We were also out of feta.
Meredith made her usual tzatziki.
Tofu in Indian Simmer Sauce -- back to top
We made a simple meal of pressed and roasted tofu in some Maya Kaimal Madras Curry India simmer sauce. Worth noting that Meredith did not like this sauce!
I made the rice after first "toasting" them in some butter to get them crispier.
Hamburger Helper -- back to top
Hamburger Helper [The Defined Dish]
Vegan Ceviche [Karla's Closet] with pinto beans added to bulk it up
Meredith threw this together for breakfast. She and Caroline really liked it!!!
Samoa Oatmeal:
1 cup old fashioned oats
2 cups water
3 chopped dates
1 tbsp brown sugar
Pinch of salt
Sprinkle of cinnamon
Cook, then stir in about a tbsp chia seeds, 1 tbsp of mini chocolate chips, and 2 tbsp toasted coconut flakes. Top with splash of lite coconut milk, more mini chips, and coconut flakes.
Shaved Pork Sandwiches -- back to top
We wanted to make Philly Cheese Steak (ish) sandwiches like we had done a few (1) times (2) before (3) but, alas, they were out of shaves steak. They did have shaved pork so we tried that instead! I sautéed onions and peppers and removed from the pan. I then sautéed the shaved pork and added back most of the mix. I also added cheese.
I topped it with a slice of cheese and broiled it for a bit.
It was decidedly not as good as steak but really not too bad either!
Birthday Cake Cookie Dough Energy Bites -- back to top
Meredith made Birthday Cake Cookie Dough Energy Bites [Ambitious Kitchen] with two types of sprinkles. Using the cookie scoop made it much easier too!
Mango Lassi Chia Pudding -- back to top
Mango Lassi Chia Pudding [Cook Republic]
Tacos and Teddy Grahams -- back to top
Barely worth posting but I made tacos. I sautéed onions and peppers (with leftovers too). I decided to keep that separate which was kind of nice. I separately browned lean ground beef with taco seasoning. We also had pickles as one of the toppings because pickles on tacos is surprisingly good!
For dessert, we made a (belated) Valentine's Day thing. Just Teddy Grahams with sugar hearts joined with frosting (frozen leftovers from two years ago. Surprisingly still pretty good!). Not the most interesting or tasty but Caroline had fun.