Cassie’s Ruminations

Happy Holidays!

I wish you a happy and safe holiday season. I’m posting the Christmas card and letter that we sent out this year today, because I’m running behind 😛 If you don’t get one and think you should have, blame my forgetfulness and gently remind me to add you to my mail merge list 🙂 You can see a link to the Mukilteo Lighthouse over on the right sidebar there if you’re interested in more information. You also get a bonus picture of Emma for reading here 😉 My regular posts will continue below, and I’ll unsticky this post after the new year.

Dear Family and Friends,
Another year has gone by. Shaun and Cassie have been enjoying living in the Northwest. At the end of March Cassie was hired by Boeing and is working on the 787 airplane as a design engineer. The Navy keeps Shaun busy, for a little while longer at least. He took the LSAT this fall, did well, and now has applications into the local law schools. We welcomed Emma, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi puppy, into our home in June, and she’s been keeping us busy and entertained as we watch her learn and grow. The lighthouse pictured in the card is only a few miles from our house, and they have a little section of beach open to dogs. Emma will have a lot of fun visiting there come summer-time. Cassie starting writing a blog, mostly with recipes that she makes, but with a few scattered family updates as well: http://www.cassiepuff.net/blog/. That about wraps up our year in review, and we’re looking forward to the New Year!
Wishing You a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Love,
Shaun and Cassie (and Emma)

Posted in Corgi, Ramblings | No Comments »

Chile Rubbed Pork Tenderloin

This is a very flavorful roast. We cut up the meat after baking tonight for pork burritos. This would also be great in tacos or enchiladas or as the meat in a chili, or just on its own with a side of beans and rice.

Chile Rubbed Pork Tenderloin
Serves 8

2 lb pork tenderloin
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp dark chili powder (I like Gebhardt)
2 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp black pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
2 cloves garlic, pressed

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Mix together the oil and all of the seasonings in a small bowl to form a paste. Rub the mixture all over the pork tenderloins. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the internal temperature is 160 degrees F. Let the pork rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Posted in Food, Mexican, Pork | 1 Comment »

Beef Stew

This is very similar to my crockpot version of beef stew, but done on the stove top in about an hour. The only real change to the ingredients is adding more beef broth since it doesn’t have all day to sit in a crockpot and release juices.

Beef Stew
Makes 4-6 hearty servings

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup flour
2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon Emeril’s Essence, or other seasoning mix of your choice
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 clove garlic, pressed
6 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons brandy
2 tablespoons tomato paste
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon dried basil
⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
8 oz button mushrooms, quartered
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed
2 large carrots, cut into rounds
½ cup frozen green peas

Mix the flour, salt, Essence, and pepper in a large storage bag. Shake the beef in the bag, coating each piece completely. Set a large sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil to the pan and sear the beef in 2 batches, adding the second tablespoon of vegetable oil after removing the first batch until nicely browned. Add the extra flour from the bag to the pan with the oil and make a roux. Deglaze the pan with the beef broth and brandy, scraping up any stuck brown bits from the pan. Put the beef back into the pot and add the spices and herbs and tomato paste to the broth and stir to combine. Bring the mixture up to a boil and reduce the heat to medium.

Add the vegetables, except for the peas, to the pot and stir.. Let cook at a low boil for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes and carrots are tender. Add the peas to the stew and stir. Let simmer for another 10 minutes or until the peas are hot.

Serve with crusty bread.

Posted in Beef, Food, One Dish Meals, Vegetables | 1 Comment »

Hom Bao (Steamed Pork and Vegetable Buns)

Also spelled hom bow or hombows, these steamed pork and vegetable filled buns are one of my all-time favorite meals. They do take some effort, but boy is it worth it. My kid brother and I would beg Mom to make these, and every now and again on a weekend we’d clear off the big kitchen table and prepare these wonderful dim sum. I intended on making these this weekend, but life interfered, and so I made them tonight. It was about 3 hours total time from starting prep work to putting dishes in the dishwasher, so it’s definitely not a typical weeknight meal, but it was very spot-hitting!

I’m submitting this post to Joelen’s Wine and Dine: Chinese New Year event.

Hom Bao
Makes 24 buns

1 recipe Mandarin Bun Dough (recipe to
follow)
OR
2 12 oz cans of refrigerated biscuit dough if
you’re really in a hurry or don’t feel like
making the dough

1 tbsp sesame oil
1 lb ground pork
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger root
1 large garlic clove, minced
¼ tsp sugar
¼ tsp pepper
¼ tsp salt
⅓ cup soy sauce
1 lb chinese or napa cabbage, coarsely shredded
8 oz button mushrooms, sliced

Prepare the dough so that it can rise as you make the filling.

Brown the pork in the sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat with the ginger,
sugar, soy sauce, pepper, and salt. When the meat is browned, add the mushrooms and
cabbage. Cook until the cabbage is wilted down and the mushrooms are cooked. Turn
off the heat and let the filling cool.

Break off golf ball sized balls of the dough. Roll each one into a round about 5 inches in
diameter. Stack the rounds with a layer of wax or parchment paper between them so that
they don’t stick together.

Get a big pot or a wok with a steamer rack going with water gently boiling.
Hold a round in your left hand. Fill each round with about 2 tablespoons of the filling.
Gather up the dough around the sides, pulling it up over the filling, and squish and
slightly twist together.

Place the completed dumpling on a piece of wax or parchment paper (you can reuse the
ones you were using before).

When you have enough to fill your steamer rack without crowding, put them in, being
careful to put them in such that you don’t unbalance the steamer rack and dump them in
the water.

Steam each batch for about 15 minutes or until the dough is cooked.

Remove the bao and place on a platter. Cover with a tea towel if you aren’t ready to eat
them yet. Continue until all the dumplings are cooked. If you have any leftover dough, simply roll them into golf ball sized rolls and steam them along with the last batch of hom bao.

Serve with various dipping sauces as desired. Hoisin sauce, sweet and sour sauce, and
oddly enough Lea and Perrin’s Worcestershire Steak Sauce are very good, as is the
following:

Cassie’s Dim Sum Dipping Sauce (1 serving, scale as you need too)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
A dash of ground ginger
A dash of sesame oil
Stir together.

Mandarin Bun Dough
2 tbsp sugar
1 ⅓ cups warm water
1 package active dry yeast (2 ¼ tsp)
4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp softened butter

Mix sugar and warm water in a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and stir to
dissolve. Let bloom for 5-10 minutes. Put the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the
center of it with your fingers. Slowly pour the yeast mixture into the well. Mix
thoroughly, adding the butter as you incorporate the yeast. Turn out the dough onto a
floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Dough will
be firm. Place in a large bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Let rise in a warm place for
about an hour. Turn out onto a floured surface. Dough is ready to use.

Posted in Asian, Food, Pork, Vegetables | 2 Comments »

Steamed Dungeness Crab

For dinner last night we had some fresh steamed dungeness crab. They’re just coming into season and are now quite affordable at the grocery store. They’re a great local treat, but it is a lot of messy work to get at the meat, especially if you’re unfamiliar with them. Here is a great link from Instructables on how to cook, clean and eat a whole crab. I steamed my two crabs for about 12 minutes over plain boiling water, let them cool for a few minutes, then served with a dipping sauce made of equal parts butter and lemon juice with a few shakes of Chipotle Tabasco. It was a very tasty, simple dinner.

Posted in Food, Seafood | 1 Comment »

Rich Rolled Sugar Cookies

This is a recipe from The Joy of Cooking with minor modifications. It’s a classic sugar cookie recipe. The holidays just wouldn’t be the same without a batch of these. They keep their shape quite well and are very tender and tasty. As with any rolled cookie, the key is keeping the dough well chilled. I got 56 cookies out of the batch this time as I was using smaller cookie cutters. I’ll be taking them into work for our holiday lunch on Tuesday. They’re unfrosted for now as we’ll be setting up a “decorate your own cookie” table. Don’t mind the one broken off stocking toe. 😛

Rich Rolled Sugar Cookies
Makes 3½ to 4½ dozen 2½ to 3½ inch cookies

½ lb (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened.
⅔ cup sugar
1 large egg
¼ tsp baking powder
⅛ tsp salt
1½ tsp vanilla extract (I used 2 tsp)
2⅓ cups all-purpose flour

Cream the butter and sugar together until very light and fluffy. Add the egg, baking powder, salt, and vanilla, and beat until completely combined. Slowly add the flour and stir until smooth. Divide the dough in half and place each half between two sheets of parchment paper. Roll to about ¼ inch thick and place each disk in the fridge to chill for half an hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pull one disk of dough out, roll to about ⅛ inch thick, and cut out desired shapes. Place cookies on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Save scraps to re-roll. When the dough is getting hard to handle, place it back in the fridge and pull out the other disk. Alternate with the dough until it has all been used. When you have a full cookie sheet, sprinkle with decorating sugar if desired, then place the sheet in the middle of the oven and bake until the edges are just turning golden brown. Joy of Cooking says 6-9 minutes; mine took closer to 12 minutes. Remove cookies to a cooling rack and cool completely before frosting.

Posted in Baking, Cookies, Food, Holiday Cooking | 1 Comment »

Seafood Fra Diavolo

This is a great warming meal for a chilly winter night.  We’re getting our first winter storm here in the Great Northwest, and the wind is biting and the rain is cold.  It’ll be turning to snow by tomorrow, and by Sunday our high will only be 29 degrees F.  Brrrrr!

I used Trader Joe’s seafood blend for this, but it works equally well with just shrimp, just scallops, or even chicken if you prefer. It has quite a kick to it, as Shaun and I both like the heat, so if you aren’t used to spicy food, start off with 2-4 cloves of garlic, a dash of black pepper, and only ¼-½ tsp of red pepper flakes.

Seafood Fra Diavolo
Makes about 6 cups of sauce

3 tbsp olive oil, divided
6 cloves garlic
2 cans diced tomatoes, 14.5 oz each (I used one plain and one fire roasted)
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp dried basil
¼ tsp black pepper
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 lb seafood blend (I used Trader Joe’s, which contains about equal parts shrimp, bay scallops, and calamari rings), defrosted if necessary

1 lb pasta of your choice (I used whole wheat spaghetti here, which made a very nice backdrop for the spicy sauce)

Boil salted water for the pasta. As it is boiling, press 3 of the cloves of garlic into 1½ tbsp of the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When the garlic is just starting to turn golden and is fragrant, add the tomatoes, oregano, basil, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a gentle boil then turn the heat down to simmer.

Add the pasta to the water when it reaches a rollicking boil. When it is about half done (check the box for the cooking time for your pasta shape – mine took about 10 minutes total), press the other three cloves of garlic into the remainder of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. When the garlic is fragrant, add the seafood blend and stir fry until the shrimp are pink and the scallops are just opaque, about 3-4 minutes.

Pour the tomato sauce into the skillet and stir to combine. Turn the heat to low and let simmer for another minute or two.

Drain the pasta and serve!

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

Oil and Vinegar Coleslaw

This coleslaw has no mayo, which makes it nicely suited for picnics, potlucks, and other places where you won’t necessarily have refrigeration. I also prefer the vinaigrette over a creamy sauce in any case. Today I cheated a bit and used a 1 pound bag of coleslaw mix (green and red cabbage and carrot, pre-shredded) instead of chopping my own cabbage and carrot.

Oil and Vinegar Coleslaw
Makes 4 servings

¼ cup white wine vinegar
2 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 lb green cabbage, about half of a large head (or use a mix of green and purple cabbage for more color)
1 large carrot (about 5 oz)

Shred the cabbage and carrot and place them in a large serving bowl. Whisk together the vinegar, oil, sugar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, then pour over the cabbage and carrot and toss to coat. Let sit for 20 minutes for the flavors to mingle, then serve.

Posted in Food, Sides, Vegetables | 2 Comments »

Ham Hocks and Beans

This recipe is a traditional Southern dish that I inherited from my in-laws. It’s hearty, delicious, serves a crowd, and is very cheap to make.

Ham Hocks and Beans
(for at least a 5 quart slow cooker)
Makes 8 servings (about 2 cups per serving)

1 lb dry pinto beans
Smoked ham hocks or shanks, about 1 lb total weight
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp Gebhardt chili powder
1 bay leaf
1 tsp black pepper
½ tsp salt
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 quart ham stock OR chicken broth OR water

Rinse the beans and pick out any stones or bad beans then place the beans in a large bowl, cover with water, and soak them overnight. In the morning, drain the beans completely. Place all the ingredients in a crock pot, making sure that the liquid covers the beans and ham hocks completely, nestling the hocks into the beans. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or until the beans are tender and the meat is falling off the ham hocks. Remove bay leaf and discard. Remove ham hocks, shred meat off the bones and stir it back into the beans. Serve with cornbread and coleslaw.

Posted in Beans, Budget, Food, Pork, Slow Cooker | No Comments »

Turkey Tamales

Yet another use for leftover turkey. I haven’t made these yet this year, so the pictures are from last year, but hopefully I’ll get to these soon with some of the now frozen leftover meat.

This is a take on a traditional Mexican meal. I use regular masa rather than tamale mix masa, but either one will work fine – just follow the instructions on the package to make the dough. Most of the time I just use parchment paper rather than soaked corn husks. It’s easier to get a consistent size and shape for the wrapper that way. These are time consuming to make, but fun, so get a group of friends and have a tamale party 🙂

Turkey Tamales
Makes about 16 tamales

Ingredients:

Tamale Dough:
2 cups masa (Maseca is the brand I use)
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 cups warm turkey stock (or water)
⅓ cup butter
⅓ cup canola oil
Parchment paper

Filling:
1 lb leftover turkey (or the meat from a store bought rotisserie chicken or one pound of ground turkey, browned)
1 tbsp dark chili powder (Gebhart recommended)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp onion powder
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced

Topping/dipping sauce of your choice
I usually make green chile sauce to go with these (recipe below), but they’re fine naked, and kids seem to like them with ketchup.

Instructions:

Tamale Dough: Combine the masa, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Mix in the stock with your fingers to make a soft dough. In a separate bowl, beat together the butter and canola oil until light and fluffy. Add the masa mixture and beat until the dough has a spongy texture.

Filling: Shred the turkey finely and mix with the seasonings.

Assembly and steaming: Spread about two tablespoons of masa evenly over the center of a square of parchment paper. Add a tablespoon of filling in a line down the middle of the masa. Gently roll the dough around the filling and twist the ends of the parchment together to seal. Place in a large steamer and steam for about an hour, or until the masa is firm and easily pulls away from the parchment.

Green Chile Sauce
2 tbsp butter
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp flour
2 cups chicken stock (I usually use turkey stock since I have it on hand from the turkey carcass)
1 can (7 oz ) diced green chiles
1 tsp ground cumin

In a sauce pan over medium heat, warm the butter and sauté the garlic for a couple minutes until just turning golden brown. Stir in the flour to make a roux and heat until bubbling and smooth. Add the chicken stock, the green chiles, and the cumin and simmer over low heat until thickened.

Posted in Food, Leftovers, Mexican, Poultry | 3 Comments »