Justin & Meredith Winokur's Kitchen Cooking Notebook
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posts/2025/12
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Meredith kind of just winged it. Had some tomato paste. I think the mashed potatoes were from Costco.
White Bean Soup -- back to top
Meredith made White Bean Soup [Weekday Vegetarians] though she had to use pinto beans for some of it. It was fine. Not amazing but certainly good. The kids rejected it even with the tip on serving.
Rudolph Nose Cookies -- back to top
Meredith and the kids made Italian Cherry Almond Cookies though they rebranded them "Rudolph Nose Cookies". The kids had a blast making the thumb prints and they were easy!
Pizza and Spinach Artichoke Trees -- back to top
Trader Joes pizza dough. We also used leftover filling from the spinach artichoke trees.
Meredith played around with ChatGPT and generated this recipe Spinach + Artichoke Puff Pastry Trees
There was a lot of leftover puff pastry so I combined it where I could and tried to make some kind of leek tart. I put leeks down on a greased parchment paper then used leftover balsamic reduction and put the dough on top. I've seen this a ton of times on Instagram, though I didn't follow any specific recipe. The general idea was okay but between the sweet of the balsamic and the heat of the bottom rack, it kind of burned. Oops.
I also tried to make cheese twists with a similar fate...
We hosted a Hanukkah Party!
The main items from us were:
Emily brought home-made challah and cookies (other picture). A friend brought other appetizers.
This was a challenge. I roughly tripled the recipe, and kind of played it by ear. I baked them though had a lot of oven trouble. Then the bottom rack burned badly as you can see! I ended up cutting off the bottom and cooking the rest to make it form better. It actually worked out okay in the end! And they all tasted pretty good.
I did have very good helpers!
We bought [Christmas] donuts and peppermint bark. Someone brought babka. Emily made cranberry cookies. They were very good and we will try to make them in the future
Not pictured, but Emily also brought a Hanukkah cookie decorating kit which was a success
Meredith made this for a Winter Solstice Party. If I get more details, I will update it.
I made a triple batch (36) of Armadillo Eggs. Note, I rewrote the recipe following these to be more precise and easier. I also stuffed and bacon wrapped extra jalapeños and dates.
We brought 1 batch to Wes and Katy's, halving each one. That worked pretty well once they were cool enough.
Christmas Waffles -- back to top
Nothing especially special about the waffles themselves but Caroline wanted "Christmas Waffles" so I played around with the food coloring in Kodiak Cake mix.
We didn't have dessert today but will make thing in the coming days
I did the normal Grandma Huffsmith's Dressing (stuffing), with Ann's Changes, and Cornbread using boxed cornbread and the noted stuffing mix. The only real note is that I took it out a bit sooner than usual since it felt a tad dry already. I also didn't try to stuff (no pun intended) it all in the pan and just left some out. I may use that to make waffles in the future since it is less cooked through. Everything is still fully cooked. I also doubled or more the garlic at each step.
I did my normal sous vide brisket except it was just the flat. And since it was just the flat, I cut it normally in half (against the grain) rather
than how I usually do it long-ways.
I cooked it at 155°F for about 72 hours.
It was a "choice" brisket but I think it still came out good enough. You could tell that it was fairly lean by how little fat was in the sous vide juices.
I would do this again! It was so, so, so much easier to prep and trim with barely any trimming needed. And it made a much more reasonable amount. The only time I would do a full packer brisket is if I am cooking for a party. And even then, I'd consider extra of the flat. Even though it isn't as flavorful, it is the part I prefer eating and I ended up with so much less fat.
Assisted by ChatGPT, I made the a gravy out of the remaining liquid. It was not very fatty, otherwise I would have tried to cool and skim it.
Here are the steps
ChatGPT said to first simmer for 5-10 minutes to reduce. I forgot to do that and hence, used 2.5 Tbsp butter/flour to 2 cups liquid.
It was really good though also salty. But it worked well on top of the dressing/stuffing and potatoes.
Recipe as it stood when made: Biscotti @ 2025-12-25
I was very frustrated with my biscotti last week (no post) because it just crumbled so badly and was very hard to cook. Some of it is that our oven is in bad shape but I also think the recipe isn't doing me any favors.
So, based on a long ChatGPT conversation (HTML Copy), I am going to try a few changes and with my comments
| Change I will try | Comments/Updates after the fact |
|---|---|
| Bake longer on first bake. I will bake at 325°F for 35-40 minutes. I will check the temperature but I won't rely on it. | Needed longer and I bumped it up to 350°F for a bit. Was about 205°F when I pulled it |
| Cool for 15 min then refrigerate for 20-30 min. Cut only once it is cooled | Did this but used a fan to cool it faster. Worked well! |
| Slice, but not saw, with serrated knife. I will play with this and see. I can always switch it up while slicing. | I didn't like this. I went back to just slicing with a chef's knife |
| Chop pistachios and warm them up | I think it helped. I was worried it wouldn't have the green but I think it still did |
As I noted in the table, I think this was a success! I did still struggle to get it fully cooked, though I partially blame the oven. It was about, or slightly over, 205°F when I took it out.
I still had to toast it about the same but the end result was less break-a-tooth crispy. I suspect it was closer to what it should be but I could always adjust the toast time
I need to update the recipe. I will in the future
Microwave Honeycomb Candy -- back to top
I was browsing Instagram and came across Microwave Honeycomb Candy [olivia_onehe on Instagram] and decided to try.
My first attempt burnt at 3 min. My second, I did 2 min than a lot of 10, then 5, then 2 second bursts. I forget the final time. It didn't burn per-se and looked like both this and other videos.
But it tasted kind of burnt. And just not that good really.
Oh well. It was a fun science experiment.
Hand Cut Pasta and Seared Zucchini -- back to top
I decided to try something fun and made two recipes I have been saving on Instagram:
I had the kids help with the noodles and it worked okay. I ended up with a bit more water than I wanted. I also only cooked them for about 2 min as per ChatGPT's advice. That seemed to be enough though they were chewy. More like dumplings than noodles (which makes sense).
Still, it was fun all around. And the zucchini was good. Maybe not a "revelation" but still good enough. And it all came together super fast!