Cassie’s Ruminations

Grilled Flat Iron Steak

Yesterday was a nice warm day – it got up to the high 50s. We got out to grill dinner before the rain returned. This is just a flat iron steak sprinkled very generously with montreal steak seasoning and grilled. The steak was a bit past the sell-by date, so we cooked it all the way to well done just out of a preponderance of caution, and it was still quite tasty. It would have been better medium rare, but that would have required me remembering it in the fridge before last night 😛 We served it with zucchini and mushrooms cooked in packets on the grill. The zucchini was cut into rounds, tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper, and sealed; and the mushrooms were tossed with a little bit of olive oil, 2 small cloves of minced garlic, salt and pepper, and a little pat of butter was placed on top before sealing the packet.

Posted in Beef, Food, Grilling, Vegetables | No Comments »

Jalapeño Poppers

These are straight from Ree at The Pioneer Woman. They’re incredibly tasty. I usually scrape out all the seeds and membrane from the peppers, which makes them pretty mild, but if you want more of a spicy hit, just leave in some of the membrane and seeds. Make sure that you wear gloves when you’re working with the hot peppers, otherwise the capsaicin in the essential oils absorbed into your hands could lead to some unpleasantness later on.

I have no good reason to have made these. I just wanted them, and as I knew that I’d be the only one eating them, I only got 4 peppers. The recipe scales very easily, so make as many as you want!

Jalapeño Poppers
Makes 8 appetizer bites

4 jalapeño peppers
4 oz cream cheese
4 slices bacon

Slice the bacon in half cross-ways so you end up with 8 even shorter pieces. Cut off the stems of the jalapenos and slice them lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and white membrane ribs. Press about half an ounce of cream cheese into each jalapeno half, filling it up and slightly mounding over. Wrap each bite in a piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick if necessary. Place on a metal cooling rack nested in a baking sheet (this will allow the fat to drain away). Cook for about 25 minutes or until the bacon is nicely browned and getting crisp and the cheese and peppers have bits of browning as well. Serve warm.

Posted in Appetizers, Food | No Comments »

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

Another dairy-filled dinner that Shaun wouldn’t appreciate tonight. I’ll have leftovers for lunches for the rest of the week too 🙂

This is some great comfort food – warm and filling. Sometimes I’ll layer thin slices of bell pepper in with the potatoes and pretend that the added veggie makes it healthy 😉

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
Serves 8

4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
2 cups half and half
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese, divided: 1 cup for the sauce and 1 to sprinkle on top
6 medium potatoes (about 2 pounds, I like Russet, Yukon Gold, or White Rose potatoes)
2 cups cooked ham cubed (about 10 oz)

Note: If you are in a hurry, boil the potato slices on the stove top for 15 minutes and drain them well. Then assemble as below and bake for 30 minutes with no cover.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a saucepan over medium low heat melt the butter, being careful not to brown it. Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper until smooth. Gradually add the half and half, whisking until the sauce is smooth and begins to thicken. Add 1 cup cheese and stir until melted. Taste for seasoning and re-season as necessary. Remove the sauce from the heat. If it gets too thick while you’re slicing potatoes, you can put it back over the heat and whisk in a little water or broth to thin it.

Slice up the potatoes into rounds. A mandolin works well here to get nice even slices.

Spray a 9″x13″ casserole dish with non-stick spray or butter it and fill it with alternating layers of potatoes, ham, and sauce, in that order. You should have enough for 2 layers. Top with remaining 1 cup cheese.

Bake covered for 45 minutes. Remove cover and bake 20 minutes longer or until the potatoes are tender and the top is golden.

Posted in Food, One Dish Meals, Pork, Potatoes | 1 Comment »

Baked Oysters with Artichoke Dressing

I saw this recipe on Elizabeth’s Edible Experience and just had to make it right away. Shaun’s out for some late nights with work, so I get to experiment in the kitchen, and this has many ingredients that I love that he isn’t too fond of, such as artichokes, oysters, and Parmesan 🙂 I modified it a bit as it was just me eating tonight, and my version is below. The dressing could easily be divided into two servings, but I love artichokes, so I kept the whole can. It was a very filling and tasty meal.

I too was introduced to oysters at a very early age by my dad. All of my extended family lives in the Pacific Northwest, and we were visiting my dad’s mom one summer. We went to Mo’s Chowder House, and Dad got a raw oyster cocktail and encouraged me to try one. Mom and Grandma were disgusted and tried to tell me I didn’t have to try it. This only encouraged me, as I wanted to be brave, and to gross out my cousins 😉 I tried it, loved it, and have loved them ever since!

Baked Oysters with Artichoke Dressing
Serves 1

For the dressing:
½ tbsp olive oil
2 oz pancetta, finely diced
¼ Tbsp butter
1 large clove garlic, pressed
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 14-oz can quartered artichoke hearts
Juice from 1 small lemon
2 tbsp panko breadcrumbs
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese

8 oz medium to large oysters (fresh), drained

For the topping:
1 tbsp panko breadcrumbs
1 tbsp Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the pancetta and cook until crisp. Add the garlic and parsley and stir to combine. Cook for another minute or until the garlic is turning golden and is fragrant. Add the artichoke hearts and cook for another two to three minutes. Add the lemon juice and stir to combine. Remove from the heat. Add the bread crumbs and Parmesan and stir again to combine.

Place the oysters in a single layer in the bottom of an oven safe dish. Spoon the dressing on top and sprinkle with the additional panko and parm.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the top is nicely brown and the oyster liquor is bubbling.

Serve hot.

Posted in Food, Seafood | 1 Comment »

Brazilian Lemonade

This is my attempt at the Brazilian Lemonade served at the Rodizio Grill. In Brazil it’s known as Swiss Lemonade – “Limonada Suiça.” I think it turned out quite well. Next time I’ll return the mix to the blender to get it more frothy.

It’s still pretty chilly here in Washington, but it’s warming up, and this limeade was a nice reminder that warmer days are coming.

I’m submitting this (along with my Peru Com Bacon to Joelen’s February Wine and Dine Event featuring Brazil in honor of Carnivale.

Brazilian Lemonade
Makes 48 fl oz (about 4 glasses)

4 juicy limes (look for limes that are fragrant, have thin and smooth skin, and feel heavy for their size), or ½ cup lime juice
½ cup sugar (fine sugar will dissolve better)
6 cups water
4 tbsp sweetened condensed milk

Cut the limes in half both equatorially and longitudinally to create quarters. Cut each quarter in half so that you end up with 8 even small chunks from each lime, skin still intact. Add the limes to a blender with a splash of water. Blend on a high speed for about 20 seconds or until the limes are pretty well liquefied. Pour the mixture through a strainer into a pitcher, pressing on the pulp with a spoon to get as much of the juice out as possible. Add the sugar and water to the pitcher and stir to dissolve the sugar. Stir the sweetened condensed milk into the pitcher briskly to form foam on the top. Taste and add a bit more sugar if necessary. Serve over ice.

Posted in Drinks, Food, Latin | 1 Comment »

Shrimp Fra Diavolo

One of our stand-by dinners tonight – very similar to the seafood fra diavolo recipe posted earlier, but with a pound of 31-40 size shrimp instead of the seafood mix. I didn’t have a can of roasted tomatoes, so I just used two cans of regular diced tomatoes.

Posted in Food, Italian, Pasta, Seafood | 2 Comments »

Chicken Noodle Soup

Today was a chilly day here in the Pacific Northwest. Snow and cold rain all day. Tonight definitely called for some soup! I made a pot of chicken noodle soup and a little loaf of honey wheat bread in our bread maker. It hit the spot!

Chicken Noodle Soup
Serves 4

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic
1 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into small bite-sized pieces
10 baby carrots, or 4 regular carrots, cut into coins
2 quarts low sodium chicken broth
¼ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp ginger powder
¼ tsp thyme leaves
dash cayenne pepper
4 oz dried egg noodles

Heat the olive oil and butter over medium high heat in a large sauce pan. Press the garlic into the oil and when it starts to sizzle and turn golden, add the chicken. Brown on all sides. Add the carrots and stir to combine. Cook for another 3-4 minutes or until the carrots are turning tender. Add the broth and seasonings and bring to boil. Add the noodles and cook as directed on the package, usually about 10 minutes. Serve hot with bread.

Posted in Food, Poultry, Soup | 1 Comment »

Swai en Papillote

Swai en Papillote. Sounds fancy, huh? In reality, nothing could be simpler!

Swai is a type of mild white fish, slightly sweet and almost egg-y tasting, that is farmed mostly in southeast Asia. It is also called Basa or Vietanmese Catfish, though it is not related to the American catfish species.

It was on a great sale this week, so I picked up a couple fillets to throw on the grill in a foil packet. This method is great for delicate fish – it cooks quickly, keeping the fish moist, and really lets the flavor of the fish shine.

I served this with the bruschetta vegetable mix and some couscous cooked in chicken broth with a bit of parsley. A very fast and easy dinner!

Swai en Papillote
aka Grilled White Fish Packets
Serves 2

1 pound of Swai (or other mild white fish, e.g. tilapia or cod) fillets
1 tsp kosher salt
1 lemon, thinly sliced

Pre-heat the grill to medium high heat. Spray a large sheet of aluminum foil with non-stick spray. Set the fillets down side by side so they are touching but not overlapping. Sprinkle with kosher salt and layer the lemons on top. Fold the aluminum foil over the top to form a water-tight packet, leaving the fish fillets as flat as possible. Set the packet on the grill and close the cover. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until the fish is opaque and easily flakes.

Posted in Food, Grilling, Seafood | 2 Comments »

Baked Honey Ham

Tonight’s dinner was a nice little locally produced honey ham (from Hempler’s Meats) baked in the oven and served with some roasted asparagus. I love the big bone-in hams, especially made with a variation of Nigella Lawson’s recipe for Ham in Cola, but with just the two of us, that makes rather too much.

Baked Honey Ham
Serves 4-6

1 small boneless honey ham, 2.5-3 pounds
½ cup water
¼ cup honey
¼ cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place the ham in a baking dish, cut side down. Pour about the water into the pan with it. Cover with foil. Bake for about two hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees F. Remove the ham from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 500 degrees. Mix together the honey and brown sugar and spoon it over the ham, covering the entire surface as much as possible. Return the ham to the oven for 10 minutes or until the glaze is starting to harden. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Posted in Food, Pork | No Comments »

Guacamole

Guacamole is another one of those intensely personal things. This is the way I make mine: chunky, garlicky, and fresh. Tweak it to suit your own tastes! We had this as a condiment with some beef and bean burritos.

A couple notes on ingredients:

A ripe Hass avocado (aka California avocado) will have a dark skin and will give slightly when pressed near the stem. If it feels mushy when you pick it up, it’s too far gone, and if it doesn’t give at all, you’ll need to let it ripen for a day or two on your counter before using it.

I buy limes in a big bag at Costco, wash them, cut off the peels (zesting the good looking ones first), then toss them all in a blender and liquefy them. I then press the resultant puree through a sieve and pour the juice into ice cube trays. I freeze them up, dump them into a freezer bag, and get perfect little blocks of fresh lime juice to use in recipes or drinks.

Guacamole
Makes about 1 cup, enough for 4 burritos

1 large ripe Hass avocado
1 tbsp fresh lime or lemon juice
1 small Roma tomato or other variety – about 50 g in weight
½ tsp ground cumin
1 clove garlic
dash cayenne pepper

Halve the avocado lengthwise and remove the pit. Using a knife, carefully slice down through the flesh to the skin of the avocado making a grid pattern. Scoop out the avocado blocks with a spoon into a bowl. Sprinkle immediately with lime juice to prevent oxidation. Cut the tomato into small cubes and add to the bowl with the cumin and cayenne. Press a clove of garlic into the bowl too. Using quick chopping motions with a spoon, mix the ingredients together. You want some of the avocado to be mushed up, but there should still be discernible chunks.

Posted in Dips Spreads Sauces and Condiments, Food, Mexican | 1 Comment »