Cassie’s Ruminations

Chicken in White Wine Mushroom Sauce

This is a slightly different take on my previous version of Chicken in White Wine Mushroom Sauce. A bit simpler, but just as tasty and just as healthy. I served this with sautéed zucchini and brown rice.

Chicken in White Wine Mushroom Sauce
Serves 4

1.5 lbs thinly sliced skinless boneless chicken breast (4-6 pieces)
kosher salt and black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
8 oz crimini mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 small bottle (187 ml) dry white wine (I used a pinot grigio)
1 tsp dried thyme leaves

Season the chicken breasts lightly with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Add the chicken breasts and brown well on both sides, about 4-5 minutes per side. Remove the chicken to a bowl and let rest.

Add the mushrooms and the other tbsp of olive oil to the skillet, season lightly with salt and pepper, and sauté until browned and starting to turn tender, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds until the garlic is fragrant.

Add the wine and deglaze the skillet, scraping up any browned bits. Add the thyme and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the wine by half.

Add the chicken back to the skillet and return the mixture to a boil. Cook the chicken for another 2-3 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. Serve warm.

Posted in Food, Poultry, Vegetables | 2 Comments »

Hello Spring!

Posted in Corgi | 1 Comment »

Turkey and Mushroom Penne

This is a very easy, quick, and hearty meal. We were feeling chilled today for no good reason, so a steaming bowl of pasta with protein and veggies was just the thing.

Turkey and Mushroom Penne
Serves 4-6

1 tbsp olive oil
1 package (20 oz) ground turkey
1 tsp Italian seasoning (mine is a mix of marjoram, thyme, rosemary, savory, sage, oregano, and basil)
1 package (8 oz) sliced crimini (aka baby bella) mushrooms
1 jar (23.5 oz) jarred marinara sauce (I used Archer Farms Simply Balanced Marinara)
1 lb dry penne pasta

Bring water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Add salt and pasta and cook per package directions.

While the water is coming to a boil and the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium high heat. Add the turkey and season with the Italian seasoning mix. Brown well. Add the mushrooms and the pasta sauce and stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes.

Drain the pasta well and dump the cooked noodles into the sauce mixture. Stir well and serve hot.

Posted in Easy, Food, Italian, Poultry, Vegetables | No Comments »

Smoked Habanero Salt Caramels from Bargello Bakery

I like the little convenience store in my office building. They often have neat local products for sale. Today, they had an assortment of caramels from Bargello Bakery and Confections down in Shoreline. The salted caramels caught my eye right away, but as I looked at the display, another flavor called to me – Smoked Habanero Salt Caramels.

These delicious, smooth, rich caramels are topped with a combination of habanero salt, alder smoked salt, and cherry wood smoked salt. These gorgeous confections are the ideal texture for a soft caramel, and the balance of sweet, heat, and salt is perfect. I’ll be buying more of these for sure!

Posted in Candy, Desserts, Food, Product Review | No Comments »

Happy Easter!

We had a nice quiet Easter – Emma put up with a flower headband for a few seconds and got to gnaw on the bone from our little leg of lamb as a reward. Steamed asparagus and artichoke (with lemon butter) rounded out our little holiday feast.

Posted in Corgi, Food, Lamb, Vegetables | 1 Comment »

Woolly Socks!

I just got a package in the mail from my Aunt Laura with a wonderful pair of hand-knitted wool socks and a sweet note. It made my afternoon!

Posted in Ramblings | No Comments »

Cherry Blossoms

I took a day off today and went down to the University of Washington campus with Shaun. It was a gorgeous sunny day, cool enough to walk around but warm enough to be comfortable too. I couldn’t have asked for a nicer day to see all the cherry blossoms in bloom!

Shaun gave me the grand tour of campus, I took lots of photos of the cherry trees, some of which are above, I got in some reading while Shaun was in classes, I got a fun pair of UW socks, and we got some awesome food too!

We had lunch at Samurai Noodle, a ramen place near campus. We split an order of the flavorful and tender pork gyoza, I got a bowl of the tampopo (chicken broth, egg based ramen noodles, roast pork, hard boiled egg, bamboo, naruto [fish cake], fried nori [seaweed], and green onion), and Shaun got the daily special, which was garlic shouyu today (chicken broth, egg based ramen noodles, roast pork, bamboo, green onion, and both fried and freshly grated garlic). After lunch, we walked north up the Ave and happened upon Sweet Iron Waffles. I had to try a Nutella waffle, which was very good. I was mildly disappointed that they only reheated the waffle on the iron rather than cooking one fresh, but with the yeast-raised recipe, I can see how that would be faster during busy periods. The dense, sweet waffle was a great balance of chewy and tender, and the Nutella topping was just perfect.

I really enjoyed the day off!

Posted in Food, Ramblings, Restaurant Review | 2 Comments »

Layered Ratatouille Bake

This recipe is a wonderful veggie main course, rich in flavor, hearty enough to be dinner, and very healthy. I’ve been meaning to make a ratatouille like this for years (yes, ever since that Ratatouille came out), but I finally got around to it tonight. A Mandoline Slicer makes the slicing of all the veggies go much faster and you end up with nice even slices, so I highly recommend that route. I’ll definitely make this again as my CSA boxes come in over the summer! It would work well in the slow cooker or on a stove top as well. Next time, I think I’ll at least double up on the tomato sauce mixture and layer it in more as well.

Layered Ratatouille Bake
Serves 4-6, generously

non-stick cooking spray
1 medium eggplant
2 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow bell pepper
1 medium yellow onion
4 oz crimini mushrooms
3 large roma tomatoes
1 8-oz can tomato sauce (I like Muir Glen)
2 large cloves garlic, minced
pinch kosher salt
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried rosemary

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut the ends off of the eggplant and cut it in half lengthwise. Slice into 1/8 inch thick half moons and set aside. Cut ends off of the zucchini and slice into 1/8 inch thick rounds. Remove stem and seeds from bell pepper, quarter lengthwise, and slice into 1/8 inch thick strips. Trim the ends from the onion and slice into 1/8 inch thick rounds. Slice the mushrooms and tomatoes into 1/8 inch thick pieces as well.

In a small bowl, mix together the tomato sauce, garlic, salt, basil, and rosemary and set aside.

Spray a deep 8″ x 8″ glass baking dish with non-stick spray. Place a single layer of eggplant pieces in the bottom, slightly overlapping, using about half of the eggplant. Next layer in onion and bell pepper, followed by mushrooms, then zucchini, and finally tomatoes. Repeat the layers to use up the rest of the vegetables, again ending with tomatoes. Spread the tomato sauce mixture over the top to evenly coat.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes, or until the vegetables are all crisp-tender and the tomato sauce is bubbling.

Serve warm with crusty bread.

Posted in Food, French, Vegetables | 2 Comments »

Double Chocolate Double Cherry Cookies

These are a creation of mine inspired by a couple recipes in my favorite cookie book, The Colorado Cookie Collection. It’s a deliciously rich, cake-like cookie that goes over well with just about anyone.

Double Chocolate Double Cherry Cookies
Makes about 56 cookies

2 large eggs
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1.5 oz dried whole cherries, cut in half
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter (3 sticks), at room temperature
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup maraschino cherries, halved
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and place a rack in the lower half of the oven.

Beat the eggs and vanilla together in a small bowl. Add the dried cherries and cover the bowl. Let the cherries soak for 20 minutes to rehydrate.

While the cherries soak, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg mixture and beat again to combine. Add the flour mixture and stir until a stiff batter forms. Fold in the maraschino cherries and chocolate chips.

Form the batter into 1 inch balls (I used my #50 disher), and drop them onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet 1 inch apart.

Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the cookies to a cooling rack and cool for 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Keep extras in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Posted in Baking, Cookies, Desserts, Food | No Comments »

Chicken in Lemon and White Wine Sauce with Asparagus

This is a quick meal for a weeknight that I came up with on the fly. It turned out pretty well and I’m happy to share it here. I think brussels sprouts might work better as the vegetable, but the asparagus was quite alright too.

Chicken in Lemon and White Wine Sauce with Asparagus
Serves 4

1 tbsp olive oil
4 chicken thighs with skin and bone (1.75 – 2 lbs)
kosher salt and black pepper
1/8 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1 small bottle (187 ml) dry white wine (I used a pinot grigio)
1 cup chicken broth (I like non-fat, low sodium)
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp white pepper
1 bunch asparagus (thick spears)

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. While the oil heats, season the chicken thighs generously with salt and pepper on both sides. When the oil shimmers, add the thighs, skin side down. Brown well on both sides, about 5 minutes on the skin side and another 2-3 minutes on the other.

Scoot the chicken to one side of the pan and tilt slightly to pool the oil and rendered chicken fat on the opposite side of the pan. Add the flour to the oil and whisk to make a roux.

Add the lemon juice, white wine, and chicken broth to the skillet and whisk with the roux until a smooth mixture is formed. Season with garlic, salt, and white pepper and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to medium low. Place the asparagus on top of the chicken and cover the skillet.

Cook covered for 15-20 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees F.

Serve warm.

Posted in Food, Italian, Poultry, Vegetables | No Comments »