Marzipan Truffles

Posted February 14, 2016

Filed under candy. chocolate, chocolate/ candy, dessert, Fleximolds, heart tray, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

What is Valentine’s Day? A day where we are given the chance to express our love, and feelings to a person who may know, or not know about us. It is a day where people flock to stores to buy boxes of chocolates, flowers and cards. We are brought to think that we have to buy things to show our love when we should just do things to show our love. Valentine’s Day should be a day to spend with your loved ones. It is having tea with your grandparents, going to the gym with the person that cares about you. It is cooking dinner from scratch with everyone!!! Not just you in the kitchen. It is going for a jog and then going for brunch. It is so many things…

It does not have to be fancy as long as it is with your loved ones, as long as it is planned.

Valentine’s day at our house was not fancy … We did not dress up. We did not buy fancy things..

I spent my week-end making things for my love ones. I made Raspberry, Banana, Pistachio Macarons for my in-laws, Pralinés and Marzipan chocolates for my husband. And my husband and I, we shopped together for what we were going to cook together.

My husband most favorite thing to eat, besides POTATOES ( kidding lol), is marzipan. It is very hard to find good ones in the States. And if you do find some,they are very expensive. Do you know that it is actually very easy to make some. So I actually decided to make some heart-shaped chocolate truffles for today. I thought I would share.

Ingredients for about 30 truffles:

about 4 oz. of ghiradhelli dark chocolate chips of coating
about 3 oz. of ghiradhelli White chocolate for decoration
1½ cup blanched almond
1½ cup powdered sugar
1/2 tbsp quality pure almond extract
1/2 tsp rose-water
1 egg white

Warm up the chocolate into a small bowl for 90 seconds and with a pastry brush, brush the sides of each heart.
place the tray in the fridge so that the chocolate will cure. Meanwhile prepare the marzipan.
Place the almond in the chopper and chop them until you have a powder mixture.
Add to it the powdered sugar in a food processor and pulse until combined and any lumps are broken up.
Add the almond extract and rose-water and mix to combine.
Add the egg white and process until a thick dough is formed. If the dough is still too wet and sticky, add more powdered sugar and ground almonds. It will firm up once it is refrigerated however.
Take the marzipan dough onto the roul’pat and knead a few times.
Form it into a log, wrap it up in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Take the log out, cut some pieces out.
Place one piece in each opening. Press down so that the marzipan is filling completely the chocolate heart.
Place the tray in the fridge to cool.
Warm the chocolate and close up the chocolate heart.
Place the tray back in the fridge.
gently remove the heart from the tray.
You may need to trim the edges of the heart with a knife for smoother edges.
For added decoration, decorate the chocolate with colored chocolate.
Place the chocolate onto the roul’pat together.
Place about 3 oz. of white chocolate of Ghiradhelli into a small bowl. Place it into the microwave and melt it for 90 seconds. Add some coloring of your choice. I used a dot of burgundy Wilton.
Place the chocolate into a small plastic bag and drizzle over the chocolates.
Let the chocolates cures before touching them.
Package the chocolates at your likings. Et voila!!!

Marzipan Truffles

Servings: 30 people
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Print

Ingredients for about 30 truffles:

about 4 oz. of ghiradhelli dark chocolate chips of coating
about 3 oz. of Ghiradhelli White Chocolate Chips for decorating
1½ cup blanched almond
1½ cup powdered sugar
1/2 tbsp quality pure almond extract
1/2 tsp rose water
1 egg white

Warm up the chocolate into a small bowl for 90 seconds and with a pastry brush, brush the sides of each heart.
Place the tray in the fridge so that the chocolate will cure. Meanwhile prepare the marzipan.
Place the almond in the chopper and chop them until you have a powder mixture.
Add to it the powdered sugar in a food processor and pulse until combined and any lumps are broken up.
Add the almond extract and rose-water and mix to combine.
Add the egg white and process until a thick dough is formed. If the dough is still too wet and sticky, add more powdered sugar and ground almonds. It will firm up once it is refrigerated however.
Take the marzipan dough onto the roul’pat and knead a few times.
Form it into a log, wrap it up in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
take the log out, cut some pieces out, and place one piece in each opening. press down so that the marzipan is filling completely the chocolate heart.
Place the tray in the fridge to cool.
Warm the chocolate and close up the chocolate heart.
Place the tray back in the fridge.
Gentlty remove the heart from the tray.
You may need to trim the edges of the heart with a knife for smoother edges.
For added decoration, decorate the chocolate with colored chocolate.
Place the chocolate onto the roul’pat together.
Place about 3 oz. of white chocolate of Ghiradhelli into a small bowl. Place it into the microwave and melt it for 90 seconds. Add some coloring of your choice. I used a dot of burgundy Wilton.
Place the chocolate into a small plastic bag and drizzle over the chocolates.
Let the chocolates cures before touching them.
For added decoration, melt more colored chocolate and drizzle over the chocolates.
Package the chocolates at your likings. Et voila

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Brie Tartlets with Confit Tomatoes

Posted August 8, 2015

Filed under appetizers, Fleximolds, mini muffin, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, tartlets

A friend of mine gave me some baby tomato plants last year, and despite me doing anything this year, they all came back and have given me many tomatoes. Ordinary I would eat the tomatoes off the wine because they are so good, but this particular tomato plant makes tomatoes that are not sweet and so I have to cook them, or accommodate them to eat them. As I was browsing easy vegetables appetizers, I came across a candied tomato recipe from the Power of Family Meal. I changed a few things and here it is:

Ingredients for 20 medium sized tartlets:

1 box of small baby tomatoes of about 1 pint ( the smaller the better- you really need 20 small tomatoes),
250 gr. or about 10 oz of brie cheese,
1 pie crust,
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar ( I used the Mediterranean Balsamic with Fig),
2 tbsp of brown sugar.
1/2 tbsp of olive oil.
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, warm up the oil and when it is sizzling,
Add the tomatoes that you would have cut in half.
Cook them for a minutes or two.
Then add the vinegar and the sugar, a dash of salt and pepper and bring to boil.
Cook for another 1 or 2 minutes. Set aside.
With a cutter, cut the dough to fit the tartlet pan ( you will want to use the medium or the mini muffin pan because the cheese may over flow).
With a shaper, push the dough down. Then with a fork, prick the dough so that the tartlet will stay flat and a pocket will not form at the bottom.
Cut the cheese in 1/2 inch thick slices, then in rectangles of about 1 inch wide.
Squeeze them and place them in each tartlet.
Spoon two halves of tomatoes in each brie tartlets.
Cook the tartlets in the oven at 400 for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile place the saucepan back on the stove to reduce the liquid to about half. When the tartlets are cooked, and removed from the oven, drizzle some of that juice on top of the tartlets and eat ;-))

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Brie Tartlets with Confit Tomatoes

Servings: 7-10 people
Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: Super easy
Print

Ingredients for 20 medium sized tartlets:

1 box of small baby tomatoes of about 1 pint ( the smaller the better- you really need 20 small tomatoes),
250 gr. or about 10 oz of brie cheese,
1 pie crust,
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar ( I used the Mediterranean Balsamic with Fig),
2 tbsp of brown sugar.
1/2 tbsp of olive oil.
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, warm up the oil and when it is sizzling,
Add the tomatoes that you would have cut in half.
Cook them for a minutes or two.
Then add the vinegar and the sugar, a dash of salt and pepper and bring to boil.
Cook for another 1 or 2 minutes. Set aside.
With a cutter, cut the dough to fit the tartlet pan ( you will want to use the medium or the mini muffin pan because the cheese may over flow),
With a shaper, push the dough down. Then with a fork, prick the dough so that the tartlet will stay flat and a pocket will not form at the bottom.
Cut the cheese in 1/2 inch thick slices, then in rectangles of about 1 inch wide. Squeeze them and place them in each tartlet.
Spoon two halves of tomatoes in each brie tartlets.
Cook the tartlets in the oven at 400 for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile place the saucepan back on the stove to reduce the liquid to about half.
When the tartlets are cooked, and removed from the oven, drizzle some of that juice on top of the tartlets and eat ;-))

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Bouchon de Cauliflower

Posted March 22, 2015

Filed under appetizers, large muffin, Large round mold, mini muffin, octogonal silpat, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, snacks, vegetables, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

As a child, I remembered staying hours at a table to finish my vegetables. I hated peas. Especially the ones that I called “facon grand-mere”. If you grew up in France, you would be able to recall those peas I am talking about, the ones cooked with sauteed onion, and maybe lettuce. It sounds disgusting, but now that I am adult, I love those peas.

Do you have one of those picky eaters at your house???

Though I was not a fan of vegetables, because they were often, just steamed and seasoned with salt and pepper, I liked cauliflower. I liked them because my mom would make a casserole like dish. It included a white sauce ( also called bechamel sauce) and a lot of swiss cheese. I guess yon can say that it was a healthier version of broccoli and velvetta.

I wish my mom had found ways to disguise the other vegetables I hate so much;-)

Today I would like to share with you a retake of the Cauliflower Béchamel Dish if you will. It is easy to make, yummy, and can be served as an appetizer. Today I used cauliflower, but you coud use any other vegetables to hide;-)

Ingredients for 20 bouchons, or 20 bites:

250 gr. or about 1 cup of cauliflower ( or any other vegetables)
20 gr. or about 1/8 cup of parmesan
30 gr. or about 1/3 cup of swiss cheese
30 gr. or 2 tbsp of flour
20 cl or 7 oz of milk
20 cl or about 7 oz. of cream
2 eggs
salt
pepper
camembert or Brie

Steam the vegetable so that it will be soft enough to mash. Of course you can do this however you wish. At my house, fan of the Demarle products, I like to use my large round mold. I place the vegetable in the large round mold. I cover the mold with the octogonal silpat, and steam the vegetables for 3minutes.
With a fork mash the vegetable, here the cauliflower.
Add all the other ingredients and mix well.
Season with salt and pepper so that they will be to your liking. A dash of each will be enough though.
Place the mini muffin tray on a perforated sheet. If using regular metalware, do not forget to spray the muffin tray with lots of oil so that the cauliflower bites will not stick. No need to do this with the demarle cookware.
Cut little squares of brie, or camembert of about 1/2 inch or 1/5 cm and place them in the opening of each mini muffin.
Pour the mixture over brie.
Cook in a warm oven at 400 for 15-20 minutes.
ENJOY!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Cauliflower Bouchons

Servings: 10 people
Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: Super Easy
Print

Ingredients for 20 bouchons, or 20 bites:

250 gr. or about 1 cup of cauliflower ( or any other vegetables)
20 gr. or about 1/8 cup of parmesan
30 gr. or about 1/3 cup of swiss cheese
30 gr. or 2 tbsp of flour
20 cl or 7 oz of milk
20 cl or about 7 oz. of cream
2 eggs
salt
pepper
camembert or Brie

Steam the vegetable so that it will be soft enough to mash. Of course you can do this however you wish. At my house, fan of the Demarle products, I like to use my large round mold. I place the vegetable in the large round mold. I cover the mold with the octogonal silpat, and steam the vegetables for 3minutes.
With a fork mash the vegetable, here the cauliflower.
Add all the other ingredients and mix well.
Season with salt and pepper so that they will be to your liking. A dash of each will be enough though.
Place the mini muffin tray on a perforated sheet. If using regular metalware, do not forget to spray the muffin tray with lots of oil so that the cauliflower bites will not stick. No need to do this with the demarle cookware.
Cut little squares of brie, or camembert of about 1/2 inch or 1/5 cm and place them in the opening of each mini muffin.
Pour the mixture over brie. the in a mini muffin
Cook in a warm oven at 400 for 15-20 minutes.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Mint Chocolate Pie, for PI Day

Posted March 14, 2015

Filed under chocolate/ candy, dessert, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, silform, tartlets, Tarts and Pies, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Some of you probably know that I teach school in my spare time;-) Yes, I have a job, a real job that helps me pay my bills;-) I teach French to children aged 5 to 14. I love it!!! Well this week, has certainly been an interesting week with some of my students talking about Pi day. Every time they came to my room, they kept asking if I knew that Friday was Pi Day, and telling me how crazy it would be. I remembered that when my children were in Middle school, they had a huge celebration at the end of their Pi Unit and were invited to bring in pies to share….Friday turned out to be a normal day, I was worried that they would be crazy coming to my class after eating pies, but the day went unnoticed;-) Yeah!!!

I did not really paid attention to that Pi Day until this morning, when I looked at all the e-mails that mentioned this historical moment???

So I looked it up…

Did you know that this year March 14 is a very special Pi Day, become it only comes once in a century.

Why, because the number Pi is 3.141592653589793. And today being the 14th of March 2015 at 9:26 and 53 is closer to that number;-)

So what to do on this special day, well of course we need to bake some forms of pie, since we are celebrating the first five digits in the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.

In this special day, I will share with you a fun, easy recipe that are to please the little and the big ones: Chocolate Mint Pies.

Ingredients for 30-32 Medium Sized Tartlets

5 oz. of bitter-sweet chocolate Chips ( I used Ghiradhelli)
5 oz. of Andes Chocolate Chips
5 oz. of Heavy cream
1 pack of sugar cookie dough ( I used Pillsbury’s)

I guess you can use a mini muffin pan, but I used the Demarle Medium Tartlet Silpain that I placed on a medium perforated sheet for even cooking. The dough does not stick and makes a beautiful finish when you use the silpain;-).
Cut the sugar cookie dough with a sharp knife in rounds of about 1/6 to 1/4 of an inch.
Place each round in each tartlet opening, and press them down gently. If you want to use the whole log of sugar cookie, you will need to make two batches.
Cook the cookie dough at 400 for 7 minutes.
When the cookie dough is baked, remove the pan from the oven, and with a very narrow shot glass, or a shaper press the dough down so you will have a perfectly shaped and deep pie shell.
Let the pie shells cool down at room temperature.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling which is a sort of ganache. In a small bowl, place the chocolate chips and the andes chips.
Warm the cream either over the stove top, or in the microwave until it boils. I warmed mine up in the microwave because it only takes 90 seconds to 2 minutes.
When the cream is hot, pour it over the chocolate chips, but DO NOT STIR!! The chocolate chips will need to melt on their own. After 1 minute, start stirring either with a fork or a small whisk and stir until it becomes an even smooth texture. If you still see a few grains or the ganache is not completely smooth, warm it up over a bath of boiling water for a few minutes, or back in the microwave for 30 seconds.
Pour the ganache into a ziploc bag, cut the corner and carefully fill the pies.
Place the pies in the fridge to cool and for the chocolate ganache to take.
When they are completely cold, put a dab of frosting into a small zilpoc bag and decorate to make the Pi Sign. Et Voila!!! Yum, easy 😉

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Chocolate Mint Pi

Servings: 10 people
Time: 7 minutes
Difficulty: Super Easy
Print

Ingredients for 30-32 Medium Sized Tartlets

5 oz. of bitter sweet chocolate Chips ( I used Ghiradhelli)
5 oz. of Andes Chocolate Chips
5 oz. of Heavy cream
1 pack of sugar cookie dough ( I used Pillsbury’s)

I guess you can use a mini muffin pan, but I used the Demarle Medium Tartlet Silpain. The dough does not stick and makes a beautiful finish when you use the silpain;-).
Cut the sugar cookie dough with a sharp knife in rounds of about 1/6 to 1/4 of an inch. Place each round in each tartlet opening, and press them down gently. If you want to use the whole log of sugar cookie, you will need to make two batches.
Cook the cookie dough at 400 for 7 minutes.
When the cookie dough is baked, remove the pan from the oven, and with a very narrow shot glass, or a shaper, press the dough down so you will have a perfectly shaped and deep pie shell.
Let the pie shells cool down at room temperature.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling which is a sort of ganache. In a small bowl, place the chocolate chips and the andes chips. Warm the cream either over the stove top, or in the microwave until it boils. I warmed mine up in the microwave because it only takes 90 seconds to 2 minutes.
When the cream is hot, pour it over the chocolate chips, but DO NOT STIR!! The chocolate chips will need to melt on their own. After 1 minute, start stirring either with a fork or a small whisk and stir until it becomes an even smooth texture. If you still see a few grains or the ganache is not completely smooth, warm it up over a bath of boiling water for a few minutes, or back in the microwave for 30 seconds.
Pour the ganache into a ziploc bag, cut the corner and carefully fill the pies.
Place the pies in the fridge to cool and for the chocolate ganache to take.
When they are completely cold, put a dab of frosting into a small zilpoc bag and decorate to make the Pi Sign. Et Voila!!! Yum, easy 😉

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

If you like to see, or read this recipe, please share. Merci Beaucoup!!!

Fruit Pizza

Posted February 8, 2015

Filed under Cakes, cookies, deep flexipan, dessert, fruit, large muffin, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Looking for a fun dish to bring to a party, or for a quick treat to give your children?? This is it: Fruit pizza. Thank you Donna Waltz for giving me the idea. I would have never thought of it. But you are right, it is easy, fun to make, cheap and yummy!!!

Ingredients for a pizza for 8 people:

1 and 1/2 pack of sugar cookie dough
2 cups of fruit of your choice ( I used 3 kiwis, 6 large strawberries and a few chunks of pineapple).
1 container of mascarpone cheese ( italian cream cheese to be found in the Euopean section of the dairy product) or you can substitute with cream cheese.
1 cup of heavy cream
1/4 cup of sugar
1 tbsp of vanilla extract

Cut the sugar cookie dough in 1/3 or 1/4 of an inch. Place each slice inside the pan of your choice ( I chose the grande mold. If you choose the deep flexipan, you will need 2 cans of sugar cookies. )
Turn the oven at 350 and cook the cookie pizza for 15 minutes. It will be very soft at first, but let it cool completely and it will firm up.
While the cookie is cooling, prepare the topping. In a large mixer bowl, beat the mascarpone with the sugar, vanilla extract and whipped cream until you have a whipped cream.
Spread the cream over the cookie.
Decorate the pizza with fruit of your choice.
Eat up;-)

Fruit Pizza

Servings: 8-10 persons
Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: Super
Print

Ingredients for a pizza for 8 people:

1 and 1/2 pack of sugar cookie dough
2 cups of fruit of your choice ( I used 3 kiwis, 6 large strawberries and a few chunks of pineapple).
1 container of mascarpone cheese ( italian cream cheese to be found in the European section of the dairy product) or you can substitute with 8 oz. of cream cheese.
1 cup of heavy cream
1/4 cup of sugar
1 tbsp of vanilla extract

Cut the sugar cookie dough in 1/3 or 1/4 of an inch. Place each slice inside the pan of your choice tat you will have placed on a medium perforated sheet( I chose the grande mold. If you choose the deep flexipan, you will need 2 cans of sugar cookies. )
Turn the oven at 350 and cook the cookie pizza for 15 minutes. It will be very soft at first, but let it cool completely and it will firm up.
While the cookie is cooling, prepare the topping. In a large mixer bowl,
Once the cookie is cold, beat the mascarpone with the sugar, vanilla extract and whipped cream until you have a whipped cream.
Spread the cream over the cookie, and decorate the pizza with fruit of your choice.
Eat up;-)

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

If you like what you read, enter your e-mail on the box on the right of this post, and please share. Merci beaucoup!!!;-)

Soft Balls for the Superbowl;-)

Posted February 1, 2015

Filed under Cakes, dessert, mini muffin, petit four, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

To keep with the news, why not make soft balls for the Superbowl:-)

I am just kidding. But since this year Superbowl is all about soft and spongy balls, we decided to bring this time not a Super Bowl cake, but molten chocolate mini cakes.

Ingredients for 40 mini footballs:

5 eggs
2 sticks of unsalted butter
8 oz of good quality chocolate ( ghiradhelli)
1/2 cup of sugar
icing of your choice to make the lines on the cheese

Place the chocolate and the butter in a small bowl and microwave it for 90 seconds.
Meanwhile, beat the sugar and the eggs together a few strokes ( enough so you will not see the sugar any more.)
Mix the butter and the chocolate chips so that it will look like syrup.
Pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and stir.
At first it will be very liquid, but as you stir, it will become thicker and looks like goo.
Pour the mixture into the mold of your choice. I chose the quenelle mold, but you can use the mini muffin mold.
If you choose this mold, cook the cakes for 5 minutes for 400.
Let the cakes cool completely in the mold until they are cold.
Unmold them, and decorate them as you wish. I chose brown icing to make the lace of the balls. Enjoy!!!

Soft SuperBowls

Servings: 10-20 people
Time: 5 minutes
Difficulty: Super Easy
Print

Ingredients for 40 mini footballs:

5 eggs
2 sticks of unsalted butter
8 oz of good quality chocolate ( ghiradhelli)
1/2 cup of sugar
icing of your choice to make the lines on the cheese

Place the chocolate and the butter in a small bowl and microwave it for 90 seconds.
Meanwhile, beat the sugar and the eggs together a few strokes ( enough so you will not see the sugar any more.)
Mix the butter and the chocolate chips so that it will look like syrup.
Pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and stir.
At first it will be very liquid, but as you stir, it will become thicker and looks like goo.
Pour the mixture into the mold of your choice. I chose the quenelle mold, but you can use the mini muffin mold.
If you choose this mold, cook the cakes for 5 minutes for 400.
Let the cakes cool completely in the mold until they are cold.
Unmold them, and decorate them as you wish. I chose brown icing to make the lace of the balls.Enjoy!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

If you like what you read or see, please share;-) Merci beaucoup!!!

Caramel Rice Pudding

Posted January 24, 2015

Filed under breakfast, Large round mold, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, sunflower, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

If you were to close your eyes and think of childhood dishes, what would it be? For me, it would have to be crepes and Caramel Rice or Polenta Pudding. I still see my mom boiling the rice, or the polenta in the vanilla flavored milk. I still see her stirring the caramel and pouring the polenta or the rice pudding in the caramel. It would bubble up and almost spill over the dish. It smelled so good and looked so yummy then, that it was hard to wait another 10 minutes for the dish to bake in the oven.

Though I dreamed of this dish for ever, I never prepared it because it was made with rice or polenta and because it is not exactly a light dessert. At my age, I tend to gravitate to lighter dessert. Those that are not so heavy on your stomach, and those that not do so much damage to your waste line;-)

This weekend, however, in light of stepping up my diet and including more starch in my diet ( i have been having problem of low blood pressure, and hypoglycemia), I decided fix Caramel Rice Pudding.

As i was fixing the various steps, I found it really difficult not to devour the rice pudding before it was completely finished….

Ingredients for a dish for 8-12 people:

250 gr. or 1 cup of rice
1 liter or about 4 cup of whole milk
100 gr. or about 1/2 cup of sugar
2 tbsp. of vanilla extract
5 yolks
100 gr. or about 1/2 cup of raisins
100 gr. or about 1/2 cup of sugar

Place the rice, sugar, vanilla extract and milk in a large pot. Mix well and cook over a medium-high heat until it comes to boil.
Then turn the oven to 400, and when the temperature has reached its temperature, place the pot in the oven and let the rice cook for 15 minutes.
While the rice is cooking, place another pot over the stove, add 100 gr. of sugar, and turn the heat to medium-high. DO NOT STIR!!!
When the sugar is starting to melt and becoming golden amber color, start stirring. Let the sugar melt completely into a golden caramel.
Either pour the caramel into a dish of your choice, or leave it into your pot if you don’t want to present your dessert. I used the scalloped Square mold from Demarle because the caramel does not stick in it and it makes a beautiful cake!!!
Add 100 gr of sugar, the raisins and the 5 yolks to the rice pudding and stir well.
Pour in the rice pudding a top the caramel. Do not stir.
Place the pot, or the dish back into the oven, in a water bath of about 1/2 inch, and cook the rice for another 10 minutes. YUM!!!! Try not to eat all at once when taking it out of the oven;-).
Before eating, invert the cake to show off.

Caramel Rice Pudding

Servings: 6-8 persons
Time: 25 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Print

Ingredients for a dish for 8-12 people:
250 gr. or 2 cups of rice
1 liter or 4 cups of whole milk
100 gr. or about 1/2 cup of sugar
2 tbsp. of vanilla extract
5 yolks
100 gr. or about 1/2 cup of raisins
100 gr. or about 1/2 of sugar

Place the rice, sugar, vanilla extract and milk in a large pot.
Mix well and cook over a medium-high heat until it comes to boil.
Then turn the oven to 400, and when the temperature has reached its temperature, place the pot in the oven and let the rice cook for 15 minutes.
While the rice is cooking, place another pot over the stove, add 100 gr. of sugar and turn the heat to medium-high. DO NOT STIR!!!
When the sugar is starting to melt and becoming golden amber color, start stirring. Let the sugar melt completely into a golden caramel.
Either pour the caramel into a dish of your choice, or leave it into your pot if you don’t want to present your dessert.
When the rice has cooked for 15 minutes, add the sugar, vanilla extract, raisins and yolks and mix well.
Pour the rice pudding mixture atop the caramel. Do not stir. Place the pot, or the dish back into the oven and cook the rice for another 10 minutes. YUM!!!! and try not to eat all at once;-)

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

If you like what you see and read, please share;-) Merci Beaucoup!

Bite-size Spicy Surimi Crab Salad

Posted July 28, 2014

Filed under appetizers, Crudite/ salad, mini muffin, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

I love, love sushi but my family besides my son does not like it at all. So at default of going to a sushi restaurant, I often buy some sushi at the Fresh market for Lunch. My top favorite is Spicy tuna, Spicy shrimps and Spicy crab salad in Fried Tofu. It is outstanding!!!

One week, I craved that one so much that I actually purchased it three days in a row. It is not that expensive, but more than I really want to keep on spending so one day I just asked the Sushi Chef what he used to make the spicy sauce so that I too could make it at home. So now instead of buying it one, i can fix it myself at home as often as I want to eat it. Yeah!!!!

Ingredients for 12-15 bite size Appetizers:

1 pack on wontons
olive oil to spray
1 pack of Surimi Crab ( 8 oz.)
1/4 cup of mayonnaise
1 tsp of sriracha sauce ( You can also substitute the mayo and the sriracha sauce with 1/4 cup of sriracha mayo found in the Asian Aisle of your supermarket)
2 avocados cut and diced thinly
1 small can of candied ginger
salt
pepper

Turn the oven to 400.Place the mini muffin tray onto a medium perforated sheet.
Place one wonton in each mini muffin indentation, and push the wonton down so that it will lay flat.
Spray some olive oil and cook them for about 5-7 minutes or until they are golden brown.
Chop the crab, add the mayonnaise and the sriracha sauce and mix well. Set aside.
Dice the avocado very thinly and season with a bit of salt and pepper.
Now it is time to assemble. In each wonton cup, place a bit of the diced avocado,
then spoon the spicy crab salad and top it all with a bit of ginger.
Et voila!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Bite-Size Spicy Surimi Crab Salad

Servings: 3-5
Time: 10mins
Difficulty: Super Easy
Print

Ingredients for 12-16 bite size Appetizers:

1 pack on wontons
olive oil to spray
1 pack of Surimi Crab ( 8 oz.)
1/4 cup of mayonnaise
1 tsp of sriracha sauce ( You can also substitute the mayo and the sriracha sauce with 1/4 cup of sriracha mayo found in the Asian Aisle of your supermarket)
1 avocado cut and diced thinly
1 small can of candied ginger
salt
pepper

Turn the oven to 400. Place the mini muffin on top of the medium perforated sheet.
Place one wonton in each mini muffin indentation and push the wonton down so that it will be flat.
Spray some olive oil and cook them for about 5-7 minutes or until they are golden brown.
Chop the crab, add the mayonnaise and the sriracha sauce and mix well. Set aside.
Dice the avocado very thinly and season with a bit of salt and pepper.
Now it is time to assemble it. In each wonton cup, place a bit of the diced avocado, then spoon the spicy crab salad and top it all with a bit of ginger. Et voila!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Meyer Lemon and Poppy Seed Pound Cake

Posted July 26, 2014

Filed under Cakes, dessert, Fleximolds, Large round mold, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, sunflower, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

One of my customer asked if my mold would hold a pound cake and how long it would take for it to bake. Since I am not one that bakes a lot of pound cakes, i decided to fix a few so as to check those details and also to find the best recipe ever. I will say that my favorite pound cake comes from the blog page entitled Plain Chicken. I did change a few things. I needed to reduce the quantities and I substituted butter to the shortening she had listed in the recipe ( not fan of this). Anyway, try it, it is delicious;-)

Ingredients for one Pound cake:

1 cup or 2 sticks of butter
2 cups of granulated sugar
2 cups of flour
2 tsp or 10 gr. of baking powder
2/4 tsp of salt
4 eggs at room temperature
2/3 cup of milk
4 tbsp of lemon juice or about the juice of one entire lemon
the zest of one lemon
4 tbsp of poppy seeds

Turn the oven to 350.
In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients ( flour, salt, baking powder and poppy seeds) and set aside.
In a mixer, place the butter and the sugar and beat until it has doubled in size and is very fluffy.
Add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the milk. Mix well in between each addition.
Mix in the lemon zest and the lemon juice.
Pour in the mold of your choice. I chose to use the sunshine mold. Make sure that you leave an inch off the top so that the cake will not overflow.
Bake in the oven at 350 for 55 minutes ( you may cook it a little more times if you are using a tin or a glass bakeware. Demarle bakeware seems to bake things much quicker. Also all oven cook at different temperature so you may need to check for doneness with a toothpick.
Eat as such, or with sides of your choice;-) Yumm….

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Meyer Lemon and Poppy Seed Pound Cake

Servings: 12
Time: 75 mins
Difficulty: easy
Print

Ingredients for one Pound cake:

1 cup or 2 sticks of butter
2 cups of granulated sugar
2 cups of flour
2 tsp or 10 gr. of baking powder
2/4 tsp of salt
4 eggs at room temperature
2/3 cup of milk
4 tbsp of lemon juice or about the juice of one entire lemon
the zest of one lemon
4 tbsp of poppy seeds

Turn the oven to 350.
In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients ( flour, salt, baking powder and poppy seeds) and set aside.
In a mixer, place the butter and the sugar and beat until it has doubled in size and is very fluffy.
Add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the milk. Mix well in between each addition.
Mix in the lemon zest and the lemon juice.
Pour in the mold of your choice. I chose to use the sunflower mold. Make sure that you leave an inch off the top so that the cake will not overflow.
Bake in the oven at 350 for 55 minutes ( you may cook it a little more times if you are using a tin or a glass bakeware. Demarle bakeware seems to bake things much quicker. Also all oven cook at different temperature so you may need to check for doneness with a toothpick.
Eat as such, or with sides of your choice;-) Yumm….

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Boursin Hash Brown Cupcakes

Posted July 22, 2014

Filed under beef, Creams and Puddings, entree, loaf mold, pork, potato, poultry, stainless steel cookware

I cannot remember where we were, but my husband ordered a Boursin Gratin. I am not usually a fan of potatoes but those were so fragrant that i had to try them. I was surprised by the taste. It had “un je ne sais quoi” that simply made me want to eat more. And it melted in my mouth…. It was so so good. Because I did not dare to ask the waiter what was the recipe, I tried to come up with mine. So here it is. My husband declares that they are out of this world. He is German, he knows his potatoes so i will believe him;-) I dare you to try.

Ingredients for 12 large cupcakes size:

1 1/2 bag of frozen hash browns ( each bag being 30oz.)
1 1/2 cup of heavy cream
1 1/2 box of Boursin Cheese ( French Cream Cheese flavored with herbs and garlic) Cheaper at Costco!!!
1 1/2 tbsp of garlic salt ( I used Lawry’s Garlic Salt)
1/8 tsp of pepper

1. Defrost the hash brown by either placing the bags in your fridge overnight, or by placing the hashbrown in the large round mold, covering it with the octagonal silpat and microwaving it for 3 minutes. 2. In a large bowl, mix the cream, the Boursin cheese, the garlic salt and the pepper.

3. Then add the defrosted hash browns. Mix well.

4. Place this mixture into the opening of the large muffin pan that you would have placed on top of a medium perforated sheet. ( It is great for portion control;-) You do not need to spray any oil in the Demarle Cookware, however you will need to, if using any other mold. 5. And cook for 30 minutes at 400 or until the potatoes are a golden brown. You may need to cook longer if you are using tin muffin pan. Also do not forget to spray them with oil. 6. Voila!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Boursin Hash Brown Cupcakes

Servings: 6-12
Time: 45 minutes
Difficulty: easy
Print

Ingredients for 12-15 large cupcakes or 25-30 mini size:

1 1/2 bag of frozen hash browns ( each bag being 26 oz, or 737 gr. )
1 1/2 cup of heavy cream
1 1/2 box of Boursin Cheese ( French Cream Cheese flavored with herbs and garlic) Cheaper at Costco!!!
1 1/2 tbsp of garlic salt ( i used Lawry’s Garlic Salt)
1/8 tsp of pepper

Defrost the hash brown by either placing the bags in your fridge overnight, or by placing the hashbrown in the large round mold, covering it with the octagonal silpat and microwaving it for 3 minutes.
In a large bowl, mix the cream, the Boursin cheese, the garlic salt and the pepper.
Then add the defrosted hash browns. Mix well.
Place this mixture into the opening of the large muffin. ( It is great for portion control;-) You do not need to spray any oil in the Demarle Cookware, however you will need to, if using any other mold.
And cook for 30 minutes at 400 or until the potatoes are a golden brown. You may need to cook longer if you are using tin muffin pan. Also do not forget to spray them with oil.
Voila!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!