Cassie’s Ruminations

Bierocks

We went to a sadly disappointing Oktoberfest down in Puyallup this past weekend. The food was mediocre and overpriced, which wouldn’t have been quite as bad if they didn’t charge admission to the whole thing. There were a couple vendors, and a bean bag toss game set up, but not much else. The music didn’t get started until we were getting close to leaving, but was decent once it did get going. We don’t do much drinking, so I can’t comment on the beers, but I don’t think the event or food would have been improved by alcohol. Our Crater Lake root beers were quite good. 😛

Feeling deprived of tasty German food, I decided to make Bierocks for dinner tonight. I’ve blogged about these delicious baked dumplings before. These hit the spot!

Bierocks
Makes 12 bierocks, 4 dinner servings

1 tbsp canola oil
1/2 small sweet onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 lb lean ground beef (I use 7% fat)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
6 cups shredded cabbage (~10 oz, 1/2 of a small cabbage)
2 11-oz loaves of refrigerated bread dough
All purpose flour (about 1/2 cup)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the ground beef, season with salt and pepper, and brown well. Turn the heat down to medium. Add the garlic, onion, and cabbage, and sauté until the onion is tender and the cabbage is wilted down completely. Add the Worcestershire sauce and stir to combine. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool for 5-10 minutes.

While the mixture is cooking and then cooling, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut each loaf into 6 pieces (12 pieces of dough total). Flour a board or pastry mat and roll out each piece of dough into a round approximately 6 inches in diameter. Fill with 3 tablespoons of the filling and pinch closed, sealing completely. Place the bierock seam side down on a rimmed baking sheet that has been lined with foil and lightly spayed with non-stick spray. Space the bierocks with at least 1 inch between each one to avoid sticking. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake bierocks for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot.

Posted in Beef, Bread, Food, German, Vegetables | 1 Comment »

Teriyaki Glazed Chicken Thighs

Last night, I baked up some chicken thighs in a bit of soy sauce then brushed them with my teriyaki sauce for the last 10 minutes or so of cooking to get a nice glaze. I served these with some steamed broccoli, steamed jasmine rice, and stir fried savoy cabbage.

Teriyaki Glazed Chicken Thighs
Serves 4

4 large chicken thighs with skin and bone (about 2 lbs)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 recipe teriyaki sauce (below)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Place chicken thighs in a baking pan and pour soy sauce over the top. Bake for 45 minutes – 1 hour, or until the chicken thighs are almost cooked through (internal temperature of 160 degrees F). While the chicken is cooking, make the teriyaki sauce (below). Brush the nearly cooked chicken thighs with teriyaki sauce generously and continue baking for 10-15 minutes, or until the thighs are cooked completely (internal temperature of 165 degrees F).

Serve warm with extra teriyaki sauce.

Teriyaki Sauce:
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup dry sake
4 tbsp mirin or sweet sake
3 tbsp sugar
sprinkle of red pepper flakes
1 tbsp of cornstarch dissolved in 3 tbsp of water

To a saucepan, add all the ingredients except for the cornstarch slurry. Stir to dissolve the sugar and bring to a gentle boil. Add the cornstarch mixture and stir to combine. Bring back to a boil to thicken the sauce, then reduce heat to low and keep warm.

Posted in Food, Poultry | No Comments »

Growing Washington CSA – Week 16

Week 16!

1. Pluot-Dapple Dandy
2. Plums-Angelina
3. Peaches
4. Blackberries
5. Apples-Honeycrisp
6. Apples-Honeycrisp
7. Tomatoes-Sungold Substitute: Tomatoes-Cherry
8. Tomatoes-Sungold Substitute: Tomatoes-Cherry
9. Squash-Romanesco

Also, random tomatillos. I hope someone else isn’t missing theirs!

Posted in CSA, Food, Fruit, Vegetables | No Comments »

A Happy Birthday to Me!

Yesterday was my birthday, and I had a very nice day!

We started out with the Northwest Chocolate Festival, where we sampled lots of great local chocolates and watched a demonstration on stone grinding. Very fun. 🙂

After that, we walked from the convention center down to Pier 57, where we had lunch at The Crab Pot. We got one of the famous seafeasts, and thoroughly enjoyed the meal. I even got a little souvenir glass.

We thought about going on the Seattle Great Wheel, but the lines were long, so we just headed back to the convention center.

We headed homewards, stopping by See’s to get some of the fall pumpkin pie truffles, then settled in for movies on the couch.

I got tons of birthday greetings on Facebook, and some thoughtful gifts from my family and husband. A very nice day, indeed! 😀

Posted in Food, Ramblings, Restaurant Review, Seafood | No Comments »

Vanilla Cupcakes

These are a quick doctored cake mix recipe that turns out very well and is just perfect for weeknight baking. I frosted some of these with chocolate frosting and left others un-frosted. I’m bringing these into work today – a nice birthday treat for myself and my coworker, Gavin. 🙂 The vanilla paste adds a lovely vanilla flavor and little vanilla bean specks without the trouble of dealing with a vanilla bean. If you can’t find vanilla paste, vanilla extract will do just fine to bump up the flavor.

   

Vanilla Cupcakes
Makes 24 cupcakes

1 box vanilla cake mix (I used Betty Crocker)
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 cup water
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla paste (I use Singing Dog)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare 2 cupcake pans with cupcake liners.

Beat the eggs and vanilla paste until smooth and well blended. Add the water and butter and stir to combine. Add the cake mix and stir, then beat for 2 minutes with a hand held or stand mixer, until the batter is smooth.

Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick poked into the center of a cake comes out clean.

Let cupcakes cool completely, then frost if desired.

Posted in Cakes, Desserts, Easy, Food | No Comments »

Chicken, Zucchini, and Mushrooms in a White Wine Sauce

This is a take on my chicken skillets, which turned out particularly well, so I’m documenting what I did in hopes of being able to repeat it. 😉 I seasoned the chicken with my favorite Santa Maria seasoning and browned it up on both sides in some olive oil, added the zucchini and mushrooms, seasoned them with kosher salt, pepper, and garlic powder, then added some chardonnay, covered the skillet, and steamed for 8 minutes, until the zucchini was just cooked nicely.

Chicken, Zucchini, and Mushrooms in a White Wine Sauce
Serves 2, generously

1.5 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs
Santa Maria seasoning
4 medium small zucchini
8 oz white mushrooms
1 small bottle (187 ml) Chardonnay wine
kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder
1 tbsp olive oil

Cut the zucchini into 1/4 inch thick slices. Slice the mushrooms thinly.

Season the chicken thighs generously on both sides with the Santa Maria seasoning.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. When it starts to shimmer, add the chicken thighs. Brown the thighs well on both sides, about 3 minutes per side.

Add the zucchini and mushrooms to the skillet and season with kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.

Add the wine to the skillet, pouring along the side of the skillet so the seasonings stay on the vegetables, and cover the pan. Let the mixture steam for 8-10 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken thighs reaches 160 degrees F and the zucchini and mushrooms are tender.

Serve warm.

Posted in Food, Poultry, Vegetables | No Comments »

Growing Washington CSA – Week 15

Week 15!

1. Apples – Tsugaru
2. Pluot-Dapple Dandy
3. Peaches
4. Blackberries
5. Winter Squash-Bush Delicata
6. Tomatoes-Farmer
7. Squash-Romanesco
8. Potatoes-Red
9. Beets-Red Ace

Posted in CSA, Food, Fruit, Vegetables | No Comments »

Product Review: Kinder’s Pale Ale Applewood Smoked Brats

We found these awesome Kinder’s Pale Ale Applewood Smoked Brats at Costco. They’re some of the best bratwurst we’ve had! Very worth the buy. 🙂

Posted in Food, Pork, Product Review | 2 Comments »

Skabetti Sauce

I’ve blogged this recipe before, but this is a slightly tweaked version, with ground turkey and a smaller batch. It’s just about as good, and a delicious not-quite-fall meal. 🙂 Here’s what I said about it before:

This hearty recipe is handed down to me from my mother and was a staple in the house while I was growing up. She’s allergic to onions, and so always used zucchini instead for the veggie base, and I think it’s a great flavor. When I was very little, I couldn’t quite say “spaghetti,” so this was dubbed “skabetti sauce,” and thus it always will be.

…even when on mini rotelle like these. 😉

Skabetti Sauce
Serves 4-6, generously

1 tbsp olive oil
1 package, 20 oz, ground turkey
4 cloves garlic, pressed (divided)
1 medium zucchini, grated (about 2 cups)
2 28-oz cans diced tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp granulated sugar
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the turkey and brown well. Add 2 of the cloves of garlic and cook for another 30 seconds, until the garlic is fragrant. Add the zucchini and stir to combine well. Cook until the zucchini is translucent, about 2-3 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, the other 2 cloves of garlic, and the remainder of the seasonings, and stir well. Increase the heat to medium high and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over pasta.

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

Growing Washington CSA – Week 14

Week 14!

1. Apples – Zestar
2. Raspberries-Fall
3. Pluot-Dapple Dandy
4. Plums-Angelina
5. Peaches
6. Tomatoes-Big Beef
7. Squash-Romanesco
8. Squash-Romanesco
9. Sweet Corn

Posted in CSA, Food, Fruit, Vegetables | No Comments »