Justin & Meredith Winokur's Kitchen Cooking Notebook
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Home > 92
KitchenKatalog: Blog 92
Tuesday, September 22, 2020, 12:00 PM
Meredith made salmon salad. Very good as usual!
Monday, September 21, 2020, 07:26 PM
I've been wanting to make smash burgers for some time. I followed the Serious Eats recipe (LOCAL, including the video and PDF of The Food Lab).
I used the bottom of a small frying pan with non-stick aluminum foil to smash. I did them on the Baking Steel outside on the grill. I also broke the one rule Kenji said not to break and used a different cheese. I didn't expect to need as much pressure as I did! But I think it worked well enough. The later ones were done better (as you can see in the photo).
I used 85-88% lean beef since that is the fattiest that Keller's sells but I think it worked okay.
Sunday, September 20, 2020, 07:56 PM
We had friends over for a socially distant dinner and made sous vide brisket, green beans, and potatoes.
The brisket was the normal Serious Eats method. I bought "Choice" instead of "Prime". Even though prime is supposed to be better, the choice was a nicer cut, with less fat, and a better size (though more expensive so about the same cost). I still trimmed away a good amount of fat (estimated 1 lbs, 7 oz). I did add about 1/2 tsp of liquid smoke in each of the two bags (cut as best as could with the grain to make it easier to cut against it later). I cooked it for about 30 hours and then finished it on the grill for about 3.
| When | Weight | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| In package | 11.38 lbs | Package label |
| Bagged | 9.96 lbs | Before sous vide. Includes bags |
| After draining | 7.16 lbs | based on 2.77lbs of liquid but also missed a lot |
| Cooked | 5.31 lbs | Likely started out with less than above |
I also tried to make a gravy with the sous vide juice. I reduced it to about 2 cups (way too much) while skimming. I then made a slurry of 3 tbsp cornstarch and 1/4 cup water. It worked but was so salty that you could really barely eat it.
Meredith made her regular green beans. She let the marinate for about 2 hours. The thing is, the longer they marinate, the better they taste and the worse they look!
Also, we had leftover vinaigrette from last week so Meredith made potatoes again. They were really good!
Sunday, September 20, 2020, 09:17 AM
Nothing particularly special except I wanted to note that I made french toast with the challah and also served it with apples and honey. I tried to use honey in the french toast liquid but it didn't mix well. I think I need to heat it first next time
Saturday, September 19, 2020, 07:07 PM
Regular roasted gnocchi except maybe doubled.
Saturday, September 19, 2020, 10:01 AM
Caroline and I made challah for Rosh Hashanah. We decided to try yet another different recipe, this time from The Perfect Egg.
I didn't make any real changes, though Caroline spilled the proofing yeast so I had to start that again and wait.
I kneaded it by hand in the bowl a lot until it was together enough to move to the food processor to let it really knead.
I also did two full rises before shaping and then another 20 minute rise once shaped. It came out pretty big! I could smell the yeast after the second rise but it tasted fine.
I feel like it is still missing some of the yellow I associate with challah (and brioche) but I liked the flavor enough.
Wednesday, September 16, 2020, 08:11 PM
We made [Chicken Tawook][ct] and Baba Ganoush. For the Baba Ganoush, we roasted the eggplant on the grill. I didn't realize you were supposed to prick them so one exploded...oops. While we did 45 minutes, I think it needs longer next time. They didn't have the char I would have liked.
The chicken was tasty as always. Meredith also cut up her home-grown cucumber.
Monday, September 14, 2020, 03:02 PM
Turkey Arugula Patties, which I actually made during lunch (made it easier) and Roasted Broccoli Soup
I made the same basic type of mistake with both recipes. In the turkey, I completely forgot about the garlic but I later thought garlic powder sounded good so I added some. Similarly, on the soup, I completely forgot about sautéing some onion but later added onion powder. For both of these, it was not my intention to replace the ingredients I forgot but it worked out that way.