KitchenKatalog: Blog 270

I made mini pizza rolls to take to a super bowl party. I started with a wonton wrapper, added two pepperoni halves, a bit of (canned) pizza sauce and then some cheese. I folded them and baked them for about 12 minutes.

They came out okay. Nothing amazing. It also didn't hurt that I tried a different brand of pepperoni and it sucked. It was so oily that I actually just tossed the extras. These were a lot of work and I do not think I would rush to do them again. I did make about 50 of them!

I also tried a new experiment. I really like how the wonton wrappers taste when they bake. They get crispy and are flavorful. They are just pasta so I tried something different. I par-cooked pasta, drained it, tossed it with olive oil and then I roasted them.They came out looking like raw dried pasta but a bit easier to eat. Certainly strange. I was inspired by fried spaghetti have had before.

Reuben Cupcakes

I made reuben tacos using the regular cupcake recipe. I made the filling by taking a bunch of sauerkraut, some julienned zucchini (for extra bulk), some caraway seeds, a bunch of pastrami/corned beef and finally, some fat free thousand island dressing. It was very good and it was easy to chop it all together. The only major issue was that it was very wet.

I would make it again, but try to make it less wet. But the amount of filling was perfect.

Seitan Chorizo, Roasted Cabbage, and Fried Eggs

I made a combination of some of my classic meals. I started with roasted cabbage following the normal recipe. I used the second-from-the-last slicer setting which gave me smaller pieces. I liked that.

The main thing was the seitan chorizo. I basically followed the recipe exactly but I multiplied it by 1.5. The big thing here was how I ended up cooking it. I did what I had done before where I put it out on the pan before turning on the heat. This takes a while and is pretty messy. However, this time, I didn't really have enough room in the pan. As it started heating, it all stuck together so I chopped as I tossed like I do with ground beef. Well, it ended up breaking into crumbs! I wonder if I can cook it like that next time without having to break it up first. I will definitely try that next time. I liked this texture more too.

Finally, I topped it with two fried eggs (somewhere between over-easy and over-medium).

The whole meal worked very well. I really liked how the cabbage and the seitan combined and, mixed with the egg, was the perfect texture. I would do this combination again too.

Lentil Taco Stew

I made the pretty standard lentil taco stew. The only thing of note is that I was out of black beans so I used chick peas. Other than that, it was pretty much just the normal recipe. Delicious, but normal.

Summer/Fresh Kale + Shrimp Rolls and Cilantro-Parsnip Soup

First the fresh rolls. I bought larger 31cm wrappers which made it a lot easier. To fill it, I sliced a red pepper, julienned carrots, sautéd kale (I don't like it raw), cilantro and sautéd shrimp. All of them are pictured below laid out.

I made 5 rolls (3 dinner, 2 lunch) and they came out pretty good. They didn't have a huge amount of flavor but summer rolls don't usually. I could have probably done a bit more seasonings on the shrimp and the kale.

And then I made parsnip soup. I actually ended up throwing cilantro in since I had a ton leftover. It was very, very roughly based on this but I am not even going to include the recipe since I made so many changes. What I did is below:

So the meal was very good; especially the soup however the major downside is that it is actually a very expensive meal. Between the shrimp, the kale and the veggies, it added up quickly. Oh well, still a lot better than eating out.

HomeBrew 10: Irish Red Ale

I made an irish red ale off the recipe below. It is almost entirely based on the Brewing Classic Styles recipe except I switch to Maris Otter, added sugar (to dry it out and boost ABV). Finally, the roasted barley sold by my shop is 415L so it came out a lot darker too.

Also, this is my first time I did closer to regular BIAB. I did mostly full volume (~75%) with just some for a mash out withheld.

Jamil's Red

Original Gravity: 1.072

Final Gravity: 1.019

ABV (standard): 6.87%

IBU (tinseth): 24.47

SRM (morey): 25.97

Fermentables

Amount	Fermentable	PPG	°L	Bill %
2.3 lb	United Kingdom - Maris Otter Pale	38	3.75	78.6%
2.5 oz	American - Caramel / Crystal 40L	34	40	5.3%
2.5 oz	American - Caramel / Crystal 120L	33	120	5.3%
2.5 oz	American - Roasted Barley	33	300	5.3%
2.5 oz	Cane Sugar - (late addition)	46	0	5.3%

Hops

Amount	Variety	Time	AA	IBU	Type	Use
0.31 oz	Kent Goldings	Pellet	5	Boil	60 min	24.47

Mash Guidelines

Amount	Description	Type	Temp	Time
6.3 qt	Mash In Around 161 for 153 rest	Infusion	153 F	60 min
1.7 qt	Mash Out with boiling	Temperature	168 F	10 min

Yeast

Wyeast - Irish Ale 1084

Attenuation (avg):	73%	Flocculation:	Medium
Optimum Temp:	62 - 72 °F	Starter:	No
Fermentation Temp:	65 °F	Pitch Rate:	-

Notes

From Brewing Classic Styles. I am not sure about efficiency. It may be a bit too strong since I do not know about the number. I also played around a bit with the numbers.
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Added a bit of sucrose for ABV boost and to dry it out but I may cut if I come out high on boil grav or pre-boil efficiency

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Mash out volume and strike volume are from iterating. Exact temp for mashout doesn't matter as much.

Generated by Brewer's Friend -
Date: 2014-01-26 20:41 UTC
Recipe Last Updated: 2014-01-26 20:41 UTC

2014-01-26 Brew Day Notes:

2014-02-23 Bottling

Breakfast Cupcakes for Dinner

I made breakfast cupcakes for dinner using the regular method. For the filling, I started by sautéing half an onion and some canadian bacon (closer to ham than bacon). I then took that out of the pan and added 5 scrambled eggs. I combined them all and added it to the par-baked shells.

They came out pretty good. I overfilled the under layer and then didn't have enough for the top. And I forgot to salt the eggs but some salt at the end was enough.

I also made roasted(ish) asparagus. I usually do it at 425 for 10-15 minutes but I just did it at 350 for a bit longer and it worked fine. I liked chopping them into smaller pieces first since they get a bit stringy.

Edit/Update: (2014-01-24) As I think about it, I think this is an example where I could have cut calories/fat with half real eggs and half egg beaters. The flavors would have likely still been there. I'll do that next time

Black Bean Falafel (of sorts)

I kind of-sort-of-maybe-but-not-really made black bean falafel. I followed the basic falafel recipe and methodology but with a lot of changes. Obviously, I used black beans. Instead of cilantro and parsley, I used a mixture of herbs Meredith sent me home with. I think they were thai basil (though it may have been sweet/regular), mint and probably something else I can't remember. I And I mixed up the spices a bit by adding some Montreal chicken seasoning and going lighter on the others. I kept the olive oil, lemon juice, baking powder, and flour. I also am not sure if I added salt or not (I got distracted and couldn't remember).

I cooked them the same way but I let them go a bit longer since they were really wet and mushy. Even with that, the insides were much less cooked. I think that is simply the beans vs chick-peas.

Anyway, it was a fun way to use up the herbs and make an easy, fairly light meal (calories only really from the flour, beans, and the tiny bit of oil).

Method:	BIAB	Style:	Irish Red Ale
Boil Time:	60 min	Batch Size:	1.25 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size:	1.8 gallons	Efficiency:	80% (brew house)
Boil Gravity:	1.046 (recipe based estimate)