Justin & Meredith Winokur's Kitchen Cooking Notebook
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KitchenKatalog: Blog 301
Tuesday, October 30, 2012, 08:39 PM
The spaghetti squash was based very loosely on the recipe below. Basically, I just used it for tips on how to deal with red-curry paste. I wasn't making soup though, so I didn't really need the majority of it. Anyway, I used about 2 tbsp of red curry paste though I didn't measure so who knows. I followed the instructions on frying it a bit in olive oil. I used 1 cup of (Osem) chicken broth with splenda instead of sugar.
The one thing I need to keep in mind in the future is that it takes a long time for all of the water to cook down. I should plan for that better time wise. Also, maybe a cup of water is too much. With tomato sauce, you are putting it on top but with the curry, both this time and last, it is more about the flavoring.
For the fritters, I followed the standard recipe, again with extra seasonings (paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, TJ's 21 seasoning, etc). However, instead of onion, I used_a lot_ of minced, dried onion. Probably a bit too much as it took over the flavor, but that wasn't a big deal. I did my normal pressing of the zucchini between trays with paper towel, but it was still pretty wet. I ended up letting it cook a bit longer to dry it out more. Also, for the first time ever, I didn't have to scrape it off the tray to flip. I do not know what changed, but I am not complaining.
I just reread the recipe and I used twice the amount of egg. Oh well. I'll be more careful next time.
20-Minute Thai Red Curry Noodle Soup with Chicken (From Serious Eats)
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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2805, 2012-10-30_203909
Monday, October 29, 2012, 08:59 PM
I made shrimp and grits a lot like last time. I only used 1/2 cup of grits but I think I had more shrimp. I did the grits with the directions below, except I used 1.5 cups almond milk and 1/2 cup water. I added a lot of salt, a bit of smart balance plus lots of seasonings. I do not recall all of them, but I know I used crushed red pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, some habanero tabasco. I also had some tomatoes so I cut them up and threw them in as well. The tomato didn't do much, but I had it so I used it. I also added some colbyjack cheese but not too much. I think I can skip the cheese next time
I just did the shrimp in a frying pan with pam. Nothing special.
Overall, the meal was pretty good, though not as good as I recall it being last time. Maybe I should have done more to bring out the shrimp flavor. As I said, I'll skip all cheese next time as it gets lost.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2801, 2012-10-29_205945
Sunday, October 28, 2012, 08:20 PM
First, the brussel sprouts. It was a while ago that I made them so I had to refresh my memory of how I was doing it. I followed a Serious Eats recipe. I'll reiterate it here for future reference. I heated the oven to 500_with_ the pans. Then I put the halved sprouts on the hot pan. Some people recommended flipping it to cut side down but I decided to leave it as is. I had already tossed them with a bit of olive oil and lots of salt and pepper. Anyway, I put them on the pan and put them in the oven for about 20 minutes, rotating half way. One thing about doing it this way is you really have to watch the leaves that broke off since they will burn.
For the shakshuka, I followed the recipe pretty closely. with an extra serrano and a very large jalapeńo. I also skipped the parsley and used a mix of regular and hot paprika instead of the smoked. For both the paprika and the crushed red pepper, I used a lot extra. I also threw in some garlic powder. I didn't make any more changes that I can recall except messing with the times as needed. I was worried that the eggs were overdone but they were perfect. Since I wasn't doing bread, I wanted slightly harder (somewhere between runny and medium) and that is exactly what they were. I used lite feta instead normal. Oh, and I used 6 eggs. It made a lot but it was enough for 2 meals. (Despite what the recipe says)
I didn't really taste the fennel but it was my first time cooking with it and I liked it. I smelled it a lot while cooking. I wonder if I can do anything to add more of its flavor. I am sure I did taste it in there, but maybe not very strongly.
Shakshuka with Fennel and Feta (From A Sweet Spoonful)
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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2796, 2012-10-28_202002
Friday, October 26, 2012, 08:02 PM
This was inspired by the recipe below. I followed the idea pretty closely, or at least the idea. Dealing with squid is gross! They are just really strange. And I had to clean out the body part to get rid of the sand and stuff. I was careful to make sure it was well defrosted and then I blotted it dry. However, when I added it to the oil, so much water came out that I had to let it steam and cook out for a while. I was worried that it would be overcooked and rubbery, but it wasn't too bad. I also added a lot of other seasonings but I do not remember what they were.
The meal was pretty good and it made a lot! I used the full lbs of squid but less pasta (and I used the "plus" kind). I even had enough left over for breakfast the next day (I know, squid for breakfast; GROSS!, but it was fine)
Pasta with Squid and White Beans (from Serious Eats)
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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2792, 2012-10-26_200255
Wednesday, October 24, 2012, 07:57 AM
This was inspired by the recipe below. I have to say, it started off very flavorless. I kept adding more seasonings (including curry powder, garam masala, garlic powder, salt and Osem). I tried to keep it kosher for the sake of it. It still never really got a lot of flavor. I finally gave up and decided to just eat it. While half way through, I remembered I bought [lite] feta cheese for a later recipes. The original one called for goat cheese which I ignored. I cut off a bunch of them and putting that in brought out a lot of flavor. Not just the feta itself but a lot of other flavors. Then it was pretty good. I wouldn't rush to make it again any time soon, but I wouldn't write it off. And, it was very low points.
Cauliflower 'Couscous' with Goat Cheese (from The Stone Soup)
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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2785, 2012-10-24_075709
Sunday, October 21, 2012, 11:55 AM
I made the usual Moussaka. Despite what I noted last time, I again forgot how intense it is to make this. There really isn't a moment when you can stop.Especially when trying to keep the mess contained. I followed out adapted recipe pretty closely. However once the beef mixture was done, I tasted it and was lacking a bit so I added more spices. It didn't have the full affect since they didn't cook into it for 45+ minutes but it helped.
I again sliced the eggplant length-wise with the mandoline. That made it much easier. Also, I didn't worry about layering it a bit since the slices are pretty thin after being cooked. Another thing I did differently was, after laying out the potatoes, I sliced them to make cutting easier later.
It took so long to make that by the time it was in the oven and the kitchen cleaned, it was late. While it was cooking, I realized I wasn't that hungry. So I actually ate something else and just had a bit of this for dinner. It made 3 nice sized lunch portions, a large dinner portion (for the next day), and a smaller side-dish type portion which I froze.
The bit I ate was very good though, as I said above, the sauce could have used a bit more flavor. And maybe less salt.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2781, 2012-10-21_115509
Friday, October 19, 2012, 08:22 PM
The basic roasted veggies with chicken sausage. I used a lot of onion and pepper. About 1lbs of potato. I also used artichoke hearts
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2777, 2012-10-19_202208
Thursday, October 18, 2012, 02:54 PM
I made spaghetti squash vindaloo. I had bought this vindaloo curry sauce (pictured below) a while ago but I have been hesitant to use it since the whole thing has 250 calories. But, I decided I could use it with spaghetti squash and be okay. So, I microwaved the squash (more on that below). As it was almost done, I mixed a bit more than a cup of water, this paste and some other seasonings (garlic powder, curry powder, crushed red pepper, minced onion, etc). I added the squash and let it boil away for a while. I probably could have let it go even longer but I grew impatient. It ended up being pretty good. Some spice but lots of flavor. Not the normal vindaloo flavor I expected, but still good. I originally saved some, but decided to eat it all. Basically, the only calories were from the sauce.
I also made zucchini chips, first noted here, and then done again here. Like the last time, I used the thicker setting (3mm). The interesting thing is they cooked very unevenly, even on the same tray. The ones that have a little bit of brown were incredible. They had a lot of sweetness, a nice crisp, and lots of flavor. The other ones were mushy and bad. I do not know why there was such disparity. I think next time, I'll go back to the thinner setting and watch them very closely.
_Note on the spaghetti squash:_As I did for the first time here, I cut it first, took out the seeds, and then microwave dit. I noted then that cutting it raw was hard. Well, I figured out the trick this time. I cut off the top and bottom, and then I was able to cut length-wise very easily. Taking out the seeds while it was cold was, again, so much easier.Definitely the way to go. I pammed it, put some salt and pepper on, and microwaved it, skin side down, for 13.5 minutes.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2330, 2012-10-18_145444