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!!!

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!!!

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!!!

Spicy Shrimps

Posted June 5, 2014

Filed under appetizers, deep flexipan, entree, mini muffin, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, seafood, shrimps, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

This past Thursday, I hosted a Beer Dinner Cooking Class for several members of a beer dinner club. The event was not closed and therefore many other people were able to join in the fun. We had fun, and since many attendees told me that they wished to do that again, I will say that everyone had a good time as well. I hope you will be able to join in the fun next time.

I used the Culinary Hub Kitchen downtown to host the event, and divided the kitchen into 6 stations. The attendees were divided into the various stations. Everyone was responsible for one course of the meal to be shared at the end.

Our “Chefs en Herbes” made the following dishes:

Bacon and Parmesan Stuffed Mushrooms
Apricot and Gorgonzola tartlets
Spicy Shrimps in Wontons Cups
Caesar Salad on Croutons Tartlets
Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin with a Beer and Balsamic Reduction
Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Boursin Potato Cupcake
And for the finale, we had The Chocolate Marceau with Sliced Strawberries.

Today i would like to share with you the recipe of “Spicy Shrimps”. The recipe was adapted from The Beeroness.com blog.

Ingredients to make about 60 bite-size appetizers:

4 tsp of paprika
10 garlic cloves either grated or minced
2 tsp of chili powder
2 tsp of red chili flake
1/4 cup of tomato sauce
1/2 cup of beer ( we used a blond, or light one)
8 tsp of butter
2 tbsp of honey
1 tsp of pepper
pinch of salt
2 lbs of raw shrimps, peeled, deveined
Olive oil.
a pack of 60 wontons
Oil in a vaporizator

Turn the oven to 400.
Peel, and remove the tails of the shrimps. Place the shrimps into a colander and rinse them over running water.
With a paper towel, pat the shrimps dry and place them into a bowl. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil, 1/2 tsp of salt, a dash of pepper and stir well to coat the shrimps.
Place the shrimps onto a large flexipan that you would have placed onto a medium perforated sheet and cook them for 8 minutes at 400.
Meanwhile, place 2 mini muffin pans onto two medium perforated sheets, and place a wonton in each muffin opening. Push the wontons in carefully so that the bottom will be flat, but be careful not to tear the wonton.
Spray olive oil over the wontons. Cook the wontons for 6-8 minutes or until they have become a golden brown.
When they are done, set them aside.
Prepare the sauce for the shrimps.
Melt the butter into a medium-sized saucepan.
When the butter is starting to sizzle add the garlic. Stir and cook for a minute or 2.
Add the other spices, then the tomato sauce and the beer. Mix well. Bring the mixture to boil, and when it has come to boil, turn it down and continue cooking until it reduces to half.
While the sauce is cooking, chop the shrimps very small, and add them to the sauce.
Spoon the spicy shrimps in the wontons cups and eat at once! Yum!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Graduation Cupcakes

Posted May 26, 2014

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

My oldest child, Lisa, graduated from High school this past Friday. What a milestone. As a parent, we are very proud when our children succeed and do well in school, but watching them walking up that stage is a feeling like no other. My heart was filled with lots of emotions: Pride, Joy and Sadness. I was proud, of course, of her and her accomplishments. I was happy to see her excitement when she received her diploma. And as you would imagine I was also a bit sad to realize that this young beautiful lady walking up that stage was my baby not too long ago, and that time has flown too quickly;-(

I am certain that if you have children, you have or will feel the same way I did. But for us, those feeling were even more important because she is and was the first person in our family to graduate from an American school!!! For my husband and I, this is something we had seen on TV until this past Friday. So it was very special to see our daughter walk that stage and receive her diploma;-) One that i will not forget!!!

Anyway, to celebrate this wonderful milestone, we had a few friends over for dinner. Nothing fancy, hamburgers, hot-dogs and a few other things. But for dessert, I had to make it special so we made:

Tuxedo strawberries

Blueberries and White chocolate mousse

and Graduation Cupcakes.

Ingredients for about 25 mini cupcakes:

1 cups of flour,
1/2 cup of granulated sugar,
3/4 tsp of baking soda,
1/4 tsp of salt,
1/4 cup of unsweetened chocolate powder,
1 egg at room temperature,
1/2 stick of butter,
1/2 cup of brown sugar,
1 tsp of vanilla extract,
1/2 cup of lukewarm water,
1/4 cup of buttermilk.

In a bowl, sieve the flour, baking soda, salt and chocolate powder, and set aside.
In a mixer, place the butter and the granulated sugar and the brown sugar and beat until it becomes light and fluffy.
Then add the egg and beat it in.
Add the vanilla.
In a bowl, mix the water and the buttermilk.
Incorporate the flour mixture in three times, mixing in the water mixture in between each time.
Beat at a very low-speed, just enough to mix the flour in well.
Beat on high for a minute until all the ingredients have been incorporated.
Empty the batter into a ziplock bag, cut a corner and fill each of the cupcake openings to about 2/3.
I used the mini muffin tray from Demarle.
I cooked the cupcakes 12 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool before piping the frosting.

Frosting:

1 bag of bittersweet Guiradhelli chocolate chips,
1 1/2 sticks of butter at room temperature,
1/2 cup of sour cream,
1/4 cup of sugar.

Place the chocolate in a microwaveable bowl and heat the chocolate up for 90 seconds. Stir and cook it again for another 30 seconds. Repeat if necessary.
Let the chocolate cool a bit, then add the butter and beat it.
Add the sour cream and beat on high until it fluffed up. If it is still too soft, place it in the fridge for a few minutes to get cold.
Take it back out and beat it to fluff it up.
PLace the large round tip inside the pastry bag.
Place the frosting in a pastry bag and pipe the frosting on top of the cupcakes.

For the Decoration:

1 bag of large reese cups
3 barks of bittersweet chocolate from ghiradhelli
one bag of M&M
Sour Patch candy
1 square of vanilla chocolate bark

Unwrap the reese cups. Then cut squares of chocolate of about 1 inch.
Place a bit of the frosting on top of the Reese and place the chocolate square.
With a bit of frosting, glue the M&M on top of the chocolate square.
With scissors, cut small strips into the sour patch candy, and attach the strip onto the chocolate square to make it look like the tassel.
Place the vanilla bark into a small container and microwave it for 20 seconds.
Pour the chocolate into a small piping bag, or even into a ziploc bag and write the date of the graduation year.

Et voila!!! Enjoy!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Capuccino Cupcakes

Posted April 26, 2014

Filed under chocolate/ candy, Creams and Puddings, dessert, Fleximolds, loaf mold, mini muffin, petit four, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, tartlets, Tarts and Pies, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Any excuse to play in my kitchen is a great excuse. A few days ago, someone asked me how to bake perfectly round cups using sugar cookies or regular cookies. I had used them many times to make fun treats, but had never really tried to use them and bake them empty so I thought to give it another try. Well, as a result I was left with an array of empty shells to work with. Being a fan of chocolate, and coffee I decided to make those cute yummy treats. I hope that you will enjoy them. Plus, they are a fun treat to make with children. Easy, Mess free and Yummy!!!

Ingredients for 24 mini cupcakes:

1 pre-baked sugar cookie dough ( i don’t have any preference, I used Pillsbury)
1/2 cup of heavy cream
4 oz. of bittersweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp of sugar ( optional – i don’t because i like dark chocolate but those of you who may like sweet desserts, i would)
1 tbsp of coffee granule
1/2 cup of heavy cream for the whipped cream
2 tbsp of mascarpone or cream cheese at room temperature.
a few coffee beans for decoration.

Turn the oven to 400. Place the mini cupcake tray on the medium perforated sheet and place a cookie square in each hole.
Cook the cookies 10 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven, and with a shot glass ( i hope that you have one, or the back of a large spoon), press the dough down to make a well.
Place the cookies back in the oven and cook for another 3-5 minutes ( it will depend on your oven).
Let them cool completely and prepare the filling.
Place the chocolate chips, sugar and coffee in a bowl and set aside.
Place 1/2 cup of heavy cream in a small bowl and cook for 1 minute or until it is hot.
Pour the cream over the chocolate mixture and let it set for 1 minute to let the chips melt.
Stir until you have a very liquid mixture free of lumps. Place it in the fridge to cool.
Meanwhile prepare the whipped cream. We are adding the mascarpone cheese so that the whipped cream will not fall.
Place the cream and the cheese into a small bowl and whip until you have stiff peaks.
Remove the chocolate mixture from the fridge, place it in a kitchen mixer and whip it until you have a fluffy mousse.
Place the chocolate whipped ganache into a ziploc bag, or pastry bag and fill each cup to half.
Then, fill another ziploc bag with whipped cream and pipe the cream on top of the chocolate.
Decorate with coffee beans. C’est tout!!!