Cassie’s Ruminations

Pays d’Auge Chicken for 2

This is a somewhat easier take on my Pays d’Auge chicken, inspired by the mushrooms and apple brandy of the Pays d’Auge region in France. As I mentioned wanting to try in that post, I’ve used boneless skinless chicken thighs here and reduced the quantity of sauce. I kept the same amount of mushrooms, though, as we like them. A green salad accompanied the chicken.

Next time I do it this way, I might reduce the quantity of sauce even more, or make some rice in real quantity to sop it up. I made myself a little instant cup of brown rice – Minute Ready To Serve Brown Rice, which worked very nicely and helped fill out the meal for me, but Shaun’s still on the no carb bandwagon for now, so I didn’t bother with the rice maker. There was a fair bit of leftover sauce that I’m taking with my other little cup of rice for lunch tomorrow.

Pays d’Auge Chicken for 2
Makes 2 generous servings

¼ cup butter
¼ cup all purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup apple cider
1 tbsp apple brandy
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 large clove garlic, pressed
⅛ tsp onion powder
¼ tsp dried thyme leaves
⅛ tsp white pepper
⅛ tsp kosher salt
1 lb small mushrooms, halved
1 tbsp paprika

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

As the oven warms, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk to create a roux. Let the roux cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the chicken broth, apple cider, apple brandy, Worcestershire sauce, and spices, and continue to whisk together until the roux is completely incorporated. Turn heat to medium high and continue to stir until the sauce comes to a boil and thickens. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Place the chicken pieces into an 8″ x 8″ baking dish. Scatter the mushrooms over and around the chicken, and then pour the sauce over the top. Sprinkle with generously with paprika. Bake at 375 degrees F for 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through – internal temperature of 165 degrees F in the thickest part of a thigh.

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

Low Carb Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

This is a low carb take on my stuffed cabbage rolls. I replaced the rice with more zucchini and some finely chopped cauliflower, which worked surprisingly well. The filling was a little drier, but still quite good.

Low Carb Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Serves 4

1 medium head of cabbage
1 lb ground beef (I used 15% fat)
1 egg
2 medium zucchini (about 1 lb), grated
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ cup finely chopped cauliflower
2 small (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp butter

Blanch or steam the cabbage for about 5 minutes to tenderize the leaves. Let cool and then separate 12 large leaves from the head of cabbage, being careful to keep them as intact as possible.

In a mixing bowl, add the beef, egg, zucchini, cauliflower, salt, and pepper, and mix together well.

In another small mixing bowl, stir together the tomato sauce and the vinegar.

Over medium heat, melt the butter in a saucepan or deep skillet large enough to hold all of the rolls in a single layer.

Spoon a heaping ¼ cup of the mixture into the center of a cabbage leaf and fold the leaf around the filling. Repeat with the remaining leaves until you have 8-12 rolls.

As you complete each roll, add it, seam side down, to the skillet. Pour the sauce over the whole thing and cover.

Turn the heat to medium and cook covered for about 30 minutes or until an instant read thermometer placed into the center of a roll reads 180 degrees F. Serve hot.

Posted in Beef, Food, Vegetables | No Comments »

Chicken Cacciatore

Chicken cacciatore today for dinner. A hearty and healthy meal 🙂

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

Ginger Lime Flank Steak

Yet another recipe inspired byEveryday Food: Great Food Fast. We’re coming to the end of the ones we marked, so new cookbooks o’ the month or so coming soon 😛 The flavors in the marinade were hardly noticeable, but any longer and the lime juice would have started to make the meat mealy, so I’m not quite sure where to go with this one. I think it’ll just end up it the “not bad, but not doing again” pile. Oh well. I served this with some roasted portabella mushroom slices and steamed snap peas.

Ginger Lime Flank Steak
Serves 3

For the marinade:
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tbsp freshly grated ginger
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1.5-1.75 lbs of flank steak
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 tsp canola oil

Mix together the marinade ingredients in a large zip top bag. Add the flank steak and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Heat the oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Remove the steak from the marinade and season generously with salt and pepper. Sear in the skillet on both sides, about 7 minutes per side, then move to the oven to finish cooking for about another 5-10 minutes.

Let rest for 10 minutes, then slice thinly against the grain and serve warm.

Posted in Asian, Beef, Food | No Comments »

Pan-Seared Lamb Loin Chops

This was a very easy and flavorful meal. I was making a Costco trip today, mostly to get aluminum foil, which I failed at. They’re doing some re-jiggering and have a large section of what used to be freezer aisles cordoned off and empty. The freezer rows are all rearranged, but I could still find everything there. The back rows that used to have the napkins and aluminum foil were gone though, just the cups and kleenex and tp remained, and I could not find the new location for the foil. Drat. On the upside, I walked by the meat cases, saw that they had their gorgeous lamb loin chops, and picked up a pack for dinner. I served these with some steamed broccoli and cauliflower and some fresh tomatoes.

Pan-Seared Lamb Loin Chops
Serves 2 generously

2 tsp canola oil
8 1″ thick lamb loin chops (bone-in), about 1.75-2 lbs
kosher salt and black pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Season the chops lightly with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the chops. Cook for 5 minutes or until nicely browned, then flip the chops and cook for another 5 minutes to brown the other side. Move to the oven and cook for another 5-10 minutes, or until done to your tastes. 130 degrees F internal temperature for a nice medium rare, up to 170 degrees F for well done.

Posted in Food, Lamb | 1 Comment »

Supersoft Emma

Emma went to the groomer today and came back supersoft and nicely brushed. She loves going to the groomer, and they love her too 🙂

Posted in Corgi, Ramblings | 3 Comments »

Greek Chicken and Squash Kabobs

This was a nice and easy meal, inspired by a similar one in Everyday Food: Fresh Flavor Fast. I doubled the marinade amounts, omitted the onion, and probably about tripled the amount of other veggies. I also didn’t bother with the yogurt and feta dipping sauce. It turned out quite nicely. Next time I might add some tomatoes to roast as well. This would also work well on the grill.

Greek Chicken and Squash Kabobs
Serves 4

2 lbs skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces
4 small zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch thick rounds
3 medium yellow squash, cut into 1/2 inch thick rounds

For the marinade:
4 tbsp olive oil
6 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper

Whisk together the marinade ingredients and divide evenly between two gallon sized zip top bags. Add the chicken to one bag and seal, pressing out all the air. Add the zucchini and yellow squash to the other bag and seal as well. Shake both bags well to coat all the pieces. Let marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat the broiler with a rack about 8 inches from the heat.

Spread the squash out onto a foil lined rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Place the pan under the broiler and cook the squash for about 10 minutes, or until getting nice and deeply browned on the tops. Move the pan to the bottom rack in the oven to keep warm.

While the squash is cooking, thread the chicken pieces onto skewers and place on a cooling rack nested in a foil lined rimmed baking sheet. When the squash is done, place the chicken under the broiler and cook for about 12 minutes total, turning halfway through.

Remove the chicken from the skewers and serve with the squash.

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

Grilled Buffalo Bacon Burgers

This was a tasty and easy summer meal for a lovely sunny day 🙂 Doing the low carb thing, we used lettuce for our buns, which worked out very nicely. We didn’t miss the bread at all, which was a very pleasant surprise. We grilled up both the burgers and the bacon on the grill. The bacon turned out very well, but it was a pain to clean up the grill afterward, so we probably won’t repeat that bit. However, burgers with lettuce “buns” will definitely be done again and again this summer! We kept this simple with just the burger, bacon, fresh tomatoes, and lettuce, and the simplicity really let every ingredient shine.

Grilled Buffalo Bacon Burgers
Serves 3

1.5 lbs ground buffalo
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 package thick sliced bacon, 1 lb

Preheat grill.

Mix the buffalo with the salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce with your hands until just evenly distributed. Form 3 large patties, about 1 inch thick.

Turn grill to low. Place bacon and burgers on the grates and cook for about 20 minutes, turning the bacon 2-3 times and the burgers just once.

Serve with condiments as desired.

Posted in Beef, Exotic Meats, Food, Grilling, Pork | No Comments »

Barramundi Piccata over Greens

Barramundi is a mild white fish that the store had on sale this week. I’m sure this would work great with any other mild white fish as well, like tilapia or even cod or halibut. The lemon caper piccata sauce complements the fish very nicely. This was a very nice light dinner!

Barramundi Piccata over Greens
Serves 2

1 small head bibb or butter lettuce
3 oz baby arugula

2 small lemons
1 clove garlic
1/2 tbsp capers

1 tbsp butter
1/2 tbsp olive oil
2 fillets barramundi or other mild white fish
kosher salt and black pepper

Wash and dry the lettuce and arugula. Toss to combine and heap onto two plates.

Squeeze the juice of one of the lemon into a small bowl. Add the garlic and capers and set aside. Slice the other lemon into thin slices and set aside as well.

Melt the butter and heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the fish fillets and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until just starting to brown and cooked through. Place a fillet on top of each pile of greens, leaving as much of the oil and butter in the skillet as possible. Return the skillet to the heat and add the lemon juice, garlic, and capers and deglaze the pan, stirring to make a light sauce. Cook for 1 minute to meld flavors, then spoon over the top of the fish and greens. Top with fresh lemon slices and serve warm.

Posted in Food, Salads, Seafood, Vegetables | 1 Comment »

Ginger Lime Chicken Thighs

Yet another recipe inspired by Everyday Food: Fresh Flavor Fast. This was good, but probably not enough to repeat again. The flavor combinations were somewhat new to us. Neither of us is much a fan of retail curry powders, so I made my own omitting some of the spices that one or the other of us did not like. My spice mix recipe is below, if you’d like to duplicate it, otherwise, use your favorite. I served this with some steamed broccoli and cauliflower and some quinoa taboule.

Ginger Lime Chicken Thighs
Serves 2

2 tsp freshly grated ginger root
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp curry powder
2 green onions, trimmed and minced
kosher salt and black pepper
4 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, about 2 lb

Heat broiler with a rack about 8 inches from the heat. In a small bowl, mix together the ginger, lime juice, curry powder, and green onion. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray lightly with nonstick spray.

Place the chicken thighs on the sheet and season generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Using your fingers, gently loosen the skin from the meat around the top of each piece, leaving the edges sealed. Divide the spice mixture evenly under the skin of each thigh, rubbing it into the meat. Turn the thighs skin side down and place under the broiler.

Cook for 5 minutes then remove from the oven and flip the thighs skin side up. Return under the broiler and cook for another 8-10 minutes, or until the skin is crispy and browned and the internal temperature is 165 degrees F. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Cassie’s Curry Powder
Makes about 4 tbsp

2 tbsp tumeric
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp coriander
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Place all spices in a little canning jar and shake well to combine.

Posted in Food, Middle-Eastern and Indian, Poultry | No Comments »