Garlic Smashed Potatoes

Posted January 24, 2016

Filed under deep flexipan, Large round mold, octogonal silpat, potato, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, silpain, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

When you are married to a German man, and he wants to eat potatoes every evening, or almost every evening, you start being creative on fixing those potatoes. I either use recipes from families, and friends, or make up my own. The recipe that I am presenting to you today was inspired by one that I had seen on pinterest.

I cannot recall which recipe it was, nor who posted it, but I wanted to share with you my twist on it. As it is easy as 1, 2, 3 and it is really delicious!!!!

Ingredients for 4:

a bag of small new potatoes
olive oil
sea salt
2 tbsp of chopped parsley
1 large clove of garlic or 2 small ones

Place the potatoes in the sink and with a small bruch, clean them well.
Steam the potatoes for 6 minutes or until they are somewhat cooked. I use my demarle cookware because it makes my life easy, but you can use any steamer to steam your potatoes.
If using the demarle cookware, place the potatoes inside the large round mold and place the octagonal silpat on top of it. Place the round mold in the microwave and cook the potatoes for 6 minutes. They should be soft, but still firm.
Now, it is time to smash your potatoes. Get a cookie sheet ready by placing a parchment paper, or if you are using a silpat, place the silpat on top of a perforated sheet. Take one potato and smash it with a palm of your hand. I use either a kitchen towel to protect my hand from the heat, or my octagonal silpat.
Place the smash potato on the cookie sheet, or silpat and repeat until you have exhausted all potatoes.
With a knife or chopper, chop the parsley and the garlic very thinly. I used my Demarle chopper and it does a great job!!!In the demarle chopper, place 1/4 cup of olive oil, the garlic, fresh parsley and chop it all until you have a paste.
Either with the brush or with a spoon, top each potato with the mixture. Then sprinkle some sea salt and black pepper.
Place the potatoes into the oven at 400 and cook them for 15 minutes.

Enjoy!!!

( I don’t usually eat potatoes, but it was very hard to resist those, they were so yummy!!! The garlic gets crunchy, a true “delice”)

Parsley and Roasted Garlic Smashed Potatoes

Servings: 6-8
Time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: Super Easy
Print

Ingredients for 6-8:

a bag of small new potatoes
olive oil
sea salt
2 tbsp of chopped parsley
1 large clove of garlic or 2 small ones

Place the potatoes in the sink and with a small bruch, clean them well.
Steam the potatoes for 6 minutes or until they are somewhat cooked. I use my demarle cookware because it makes my life easy, but you can use any steamer to steam your potatoes.
If using the demarle cookware, place the potatoes inside the large round mold and place the octagonal silpat on top of it. Place the round mold in the microwave and cook the potatoes for 6 minutes. They should be soft, but still firm.
Now, it is time to smash your potatoes. Get a cookie sheet ready by placing a parchment paper, or if you are using a silpat, place the silpat on top of a perforated sheet.
Take one potato and smash it with a palm of your hand. I use either a kitchen towel to protect my hand from the heat, or my octagonal silpat.
Place the smash potato on the cookie sheet, or silpat and repeat until you have exhausted all potatoes.
With a knife or chopper, chop the parsley and the garlic very thinly. I used my Demarle chopper and it does a great job!!!In the demarle chopper, place 1/4 cup of olive oil, the garlic, fresh parsley and chop it all until you have a paste.
Either with the brush or with a spoon, top each potato with the mixture. Then sprinkle some sea salt and black pepper.
Place the potatoes into the oven at 400 and cook them for 15 minutes.
Enjoy!!!

( I don’t usually eat potatoes, but it was very hard to resist those, they were so yummy!!! The garlic gets crunchy, a true “delice”)

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Cranberry and Apple Normand Tart

Posted November 22, 2015

Filed under dessert, fruit, Large round mold, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, Tarts and Pies, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

I never have to pleasure to host Thanksgiving, because I am in charge of Christmas dinner every year, but also because my sister-in-law, the only born American in our family, wants to make sure that by hosting it, it will be a true one, with a Turkey, and the potatoes and the dressing.

So this leaves me with making appetizers, desserts and sometimes sides. Every year, I scratch my head trying to figure out what I will be bringing. I have yet to think about the appetizers, but I think that I know what I will be bringing: Feuille d’automne, Tart Tatin and Apple and Cranberry Normand Tart.

This evening, I would like to share with you the Apple and Cranberry tart that I will be serving. It is very different that anything I have eaten before, but it is very good, very filling however. The great part about this dessert is that you can substitute the apples with any fruits that strike you fancy. The recipe was adapted from a recipe from Stephane Glacier called Tarte Normande.

Ingredients for a large tart of about 12-16 persons:

Ingredients for the pie shell:

250 gr. of flour
188 gr. of butter at room temperature ( should be soft to the touch).
7.5 gr. of salt
50 gr. of milk
10 gr. of egg yolks
15 gr. of sugar

Ingredients for the apple mixture:

1000 gr. of apples peeled and sliced in 8.
80 gr of butter
120 gr. of brown sugar
1 tbsp of cinnamon

Ingredients for the normande filling:

also 1 cup of cranberry

225 gr. of eggs
275 gr. of sugar
38 gr. of sugar
190 gr. of melted butter

Ingredients for Mascarpone Whipped Cream

2 cups of heavy cream
1/2 of a mascarpone container ( if you do not have container, substitute with 1/2 cup of cream cheese).
seeds of a vanilla bean, or 1 tbsp of vanilla extract.
2-4 tbsp of sugar.

You will want to get the pie crust done first. In a mixer place the flour, salt and soft butter and mix well until you have a crumble texture.
Then add the other ingredients and mix well until you have an even texture dough.
Place the dough into a plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the apples. Peel and slice the apples and set them aside.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter and when the butter is sizzling, add the sliced apples.
Then add the cinnamon and the sugar and bring to boil.
Cook the apples for 10 minutes. Then pour the apples into the large round mold and place them into the oven at a temperature 450 of for another 10 minutes.
When the apples have cooked, remove them from the oven and let them cool.
Take the dough out, place it in between two roulpats (or in between 2 plastic wrap if you do not have a roulpat) and roll it out in a 12-14 inch circle. Place it back into the fridge to cool before placing it into the tart pan.
Meanwhile, prepare the mixture that you will be drizzling over the apples. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients for the normande filling. Set aside.
Take the dough back out, and gently peel the pie crust off the roulpat and place it onto the grande round ( if you do have a grande round, use a 12 inch round tart mold) that you would have placed onto a medium perforated sheet. Pat the dough down to make sure that it is fitting perfectly inside the tart pan. With a fork, prick the dough all over.
Drain the apples from its juice, and spread them out evenly onto the pie crust.
Disperse 1 cup of fresh cranberries on top of the apples.
Pour the normande mixture over the apples, and cook the tart for 50 minutes at 350.
Prepare the mascarpone whipped cream. In a mixer, place the cream, the vanilla seeds and the sugar, and beat the cream until it is getting thicker, but it is still runny. Add the mascarpone cheese, or the softened cream cheese and beat until it makes hard peaks. Place the cream into a container and keep it cool until you are ready to serve the pie.
Let the tart cool completely before eating. Serve with Mascarpone Whipped Cream. Yum, Yum!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Cranberry and Apple Normande Tart

Servings: 12-16
Time: 2 hours
Difficulty: Moderate
Print

Ingredients for a large tart of about 12-16 persons:

Ingredients for the pie shell:

250 gr. of flour
188 gr. of butter at room temperature ( should be soft to the touch).
7.5 gr. of salt
50 gr. of milk
10 gr. of egg yolks
15 gr. of sugar

Ingredients for the apple mixture:

1000 gr. of apples peeled and sliced in 8.
80 gr of butter
120 gr. of brown sugar
1 tbsp of cinnamon

Ingredients for the normande filling:

also 1 cup of cranberries

225 gr. of eggs
275 gr. of sugar
38 gr. of sugar
190 gr. of melted butter

Ingredients for Mascarpone Whipped Cream

2 cups of heavy cream
1/2 of a mascarpone container ( if you do not have container, substitute with 1/2 cup of cream cheese).
seeds of a vanilla bean, or 1 tbsp of vanilla extract.
2-4 tbsp of sugar.

You will want to get the pie crust done first. In a mixer place the flour, salt and soft butter and mix well until you have a crumble texture.
Then add the other ingredients and mix well until you have an even texture dough.
Place the dough into a plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the apples. Peel and slice the apples and set them aside.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter and when the butter is sizzling, add the sliced apples. Then add the cinnamon and the sugar and bring to boil.
Cook the apples for 10 minutes. Then pour the apples into the large round mold and place them into the oven at a temperature 450 of for another 10 minutes.
When the apples have cooked, remove them from the oven and let them cool.
Take the dough out, place it in between two roulpat, or in between 2 plastic wrap if you do not have a roulpat, and roll it out in a 12-14 inch circle. Place it back into the fridge to cool before placing it into the tart pan.
Meanwhile, prepare the mixture that you will be drizzling over the apples. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients for the normande filling and set it aside until you are ready to use it.
Take the dough back out, gently peel it off the roulpat, and place it onto the grande round ( if you do have a grande round, use a 12 inch round tart mold). Pat the dough down to make sure that it is fitting perfectly inside the tart pan. With a fork, prick the dough all over. Drain the apples from its juice, and spread them out evenly onto the pie crust.
Disperse 1 cup of fresh cranberries on top of the apples.
Pour the normande mixture over the apples, and cook the tart for 50 minutes at 350.
Prepare the mascarpone whipped cream. In a mixer, place the cream the vanilla seeds and the sugar, and beat the cream until it is getting thicker, but it is runny. Add the mascarpone cheese, or the softened cream cheese and beat until it makes hard peaks. Place the cream into a container and keep it cool until ready to serve the pie.
Let the tart cool completely before eating. Serve with Mascarpone Whipped Cream. Yum, Yum!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Tomatoes a la Provencale

Posted September 27, 2015

Filed under deep flexipan, grande mold, Large round mold, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, vegetables, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Hello readers, and everyone else. How are you?? I know, I know it has been a while. It is crazy how time passes and how I find it difficult to write my recipes and share them with you. Contrary to my lack of posts, I have been cooking. But my family and I have had so much family visiting recently that it is difficult to find time to allocate to my blog.

Any way here I am. Before you will have no more tomatoes in your backyard, I wanted to share this yummy and very very easy recipe of Tomates Provencales.

There are a million recipes out there, but really the best part of this recipe, is that you can pretty much use all that you have in your cabinets to flavor those tomatoes.

Indeed, the recipe calls for Bread crumbs, but you can substitute it with crackers, or bagel chips that you would have crushed. One day, I even used some white cheddar cheez-it because I did not have any more bread crumbs.

Ingredients for 4-6 people:
1-2 tomatoes per person, so about 8,
1/4 cup of italian bread crumbs,
1/2 cup of grated parmesan,
1 tbsp of garlic salt.
1 tsp of rosemary thyme seasoning from demarle

Place all the dry ingredients into a small bowl and mix well.
Cut the roma tomatoes in half.
Place them into a flexipan or a large round.
Sprinkle the bread mixture over the top of the tomatoes.
Drizlle some olive oil to wet the bread crumbs
Bake the tomatoes for 15-20 minutes.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Bacon, Parmesan and Beef Meatballs

Posted June 11, 2015

Filed under beef, deep flexipan, entree, grande mold, Large round mold, octogonal silpat, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, silpat, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Summer is here, and with it my summer vacation. One of the many perks of being a teacher is to have a very long summer vacation. And I am really enjoying it. No longer 5:00 am wake up calls, and no longer rush, rush, rush in the morning;-). It is gym in the mornings, lunches with friends, shopping here and there, and sunbathing;-))).

You would think that with all this free time on my hand, I would be bored and would have plenty of time cooking but between the gym, the kids and other things the day is passing by too quickly!!! And with the beautiful weather outside, I don’t really feel staying enclosed in my kitchen cooking dinner…

But dinner needs to be made….So why don’t I share with you another of my quick and delicious recipes; Bacon, Parmesan and Beef Meatballs;-))) You will just love it!!!

Ingredients for the meatballs to serve 6-8 people ( about 5-6 meatballs per person):

2 lbs of ground beef
3/4 cup of parmesan shredded
3/4 cup of bacon bits
3/4 cup of bread crumbs
1 tbsp of fresh oregano chopped
1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp of pepper
1/2 tsp of garlic salt
2 eggs
2 cans of 24 oz. of tomato sauce ( I used from Barilla )

Mashed Potatoes:

6 medium-sized potatoes
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup of italian cheese
2 cups of milk, or cream
1/2 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of pepper

Place all the ingredients listed for the meatballs except the tomato sauce in a large bowl.
Either with your hands, or a kitchen mixer mix everything.
With a small cake scoop, make meatballs.
Place the meatballs into a pan of your choice. I used the deep flexipan from Demarle. I like those pans because they are non-stick and clean so well.
Cook the meatballs for 10-15 minutes at 400.
Then transfer the meatballs into a large casserole pan of your choice. I used the grande round from Demarle that I placed onto a medium perforated sheet for support, and pour 2 cans of tomato sauces of any flavors.
Place the meatballs back into the oven and cook them for another 10-15 minutes.
Meanwhile prepare the sides of your choice. I decided to fix garlic and italian cheese mashed potatoes.
Peel the potatoes, and dice them. You can either place the potatoes into a large pot, cover them with water, add 1 tsp of sea salt, and cook them until they are soft. For an easier solution, you can place the diced potatoes into a large round mold.
Add the pressed garlic, then place the octogonal silpat atop the round mold, and microwave the potatoes for 15 minutes.
When the potatoes are soft, drain the water, mash them. Then add the cheese, the milk or the cream and whip them.
Spoon the potatoes on each plate and place the meatballs atop the mashed potatoes. Sprinkle some cheese, and enjoy!!! Miam…

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Bacon, Oregano and Parmesan Beef Meatballs

Servings: 6-8 people
Time: 30-40 minutes
Difficulty: Very easy
Print

Ingredients for the meatballs to serve 6-8 people:

2 lbs of ground beef
3/4 cup of parmesan
3/4 cup of bacon bits
3/4 cup of bread crumbs
1 tbsp of fresh oregano chopped
1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp of pepper
1/2 tsp of garlic salt
2 eggs
2 cans of 24 oz. of tomato sauce ( I used Barilla )

Mashed Potatoes:

6 medium sized potatoes
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup of italian cheese
2 cups of milk, or cream
1/2 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of pepper

Place all the ingredients listed for the meatballs except the tomato sauce in a large bowl.
Either with your hands, or a kitchen mixer mix everything.
With a small cake scoop, make meatballs.
Place the meatballs into a pan of your choice. I used the deep flexipan from Demarle. I like those pans because they are non-stick and clean so well.
Cook the meatballs for 10-15 minutes at 400.
Then transfer the meatballs in the grande round from Demarle that I placed onto a medium perforated sheet for support, and pour 2 cans of tomato sauces of any flavors.
Place the meatballs back into the oven and cook them for another 10-15 minutes.
Meanwhile prepare the sides of your choice. I decided to fix garlic and italian cheese mashed potatoes.
Peel the potatoes, and dice them. You can either place the potatoes into a large pot, cover them with water, add 1 tsp of sea salt, and cook them until they are soft. For an easier solution, you can place the diced potatoes into a large round mold.
Add the pressed garlic, then place the octogonal silpat atop the round mold, and microwave the potatoes for 15 minutes.
When the potatoes are soft, drain the water, mash them. Then add the cheese, the milk or the cream and whip them.
Spoon the potatoes on each plate and place the meatballs atop the mashed potatoes. Sprinkle some cheese, and enjoy!!! Miam…

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Cinnamon Rolls…

Posted June 7, 2015

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

The first time I came in the USA was in 1993, It was just a few months shy of my 21st birthday. It was an eye-opening experience I will tell you… If at first I was not really impressed with the environment I had landed in ( Mid June, 100 degree weather, high humidity, lone house amid large acreage, in the rural environment of South Carolina…), I soon learned to like it, and appreciate it. Today it will be exactly 21 years since I first put my foot on this strange land, and I am happy to have stayed and to have chosen it as my home. One of the thing that really took me by surprise, at first, was the size of everything: big houses, huge plated dinners, large interstates, gigantic cars…But what surprised me the most was what people ate. I could go on and on for hours about the food I was not accustomed to see, but today I will talk about cinnamon.

I never liked cinnamon growing up. I despised it so much, in fact, that it would me make me sick. I could not smell it, much less eat it.

Cinnamon is pretty inexistant in France. You will see it, at times, in recipes of homemade ginger bread, but you will never see it mixed with apples. So I really was astonishing to me to see the amount of cinannon that was used here in everything: Apple pies, pies, sweet potatoes casserole, gum, candies. The family, I stayed with that first year, would prepare cinnamon toasts which was a piece of bread slathered with butter, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, and then toasted. The odor was so strong, it would make me want to exit the room. As time went by, though, my sensitivity to cinnamon disappeared. I really think it is because I got used to smell it in everything, especially at Christmas and Thanksgiving.

Today after 20 years, I cook with it occasionally, and it will not bother me. I actually like it. How funny how your senses change and adapt over time;-)

How ironic that after 20 years, I am sharing with you a recipe of Cinnamon rolls. Why did I cook them?? For whatever reason, I craved to eat them. And I was not about to buy the Pillsbury kind;-)))

The recipe I used is from Paula Deen. I adjusted a few things though.

This recipe is good to make about 14 cinnamon buns:

Ingredients:

1 package of yeast
1 cup of warm milk
1/4 cup sugar
6 tbsp of butter melted
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:

1 stick of butter melted
3/4 cup of sugar
1-2 tablespoons ground cinnamon (in the recipe, it suggests using 2, but I used one and it was plenty!!)

Glaze:

6 tbsp of butter at room temperature
1 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, or vanilla bean extract ( much better)
6 oz. of cream cheese at room temperature.

Turn the oven to 2oo, or turn your warming oven if you have one.
In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in about 2 tbsp of warm milk, and set aside.
In a very large bowl mix milk, sugar, melted butter, salt and egg.
Add 2 cups of flour and mix well until the dough is homogeneous.
Then add the yeast.
Finally add the rest of the flour ( it may another 1 1/2 to 2 more cups).
Knead dough inside the bowl.
Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and place the bowl in the oven that you would have turned off and propped the door open. Let the dough rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
When time is up, take the dough and place it on the roulpat ( non-stick silicone map) that you would have spread over you counter.
With the rolling-pin, roll out the dough into a 11 by 20-inch rectangle. You will not need flour is your dough is the right consistency and is not sticky. I did not need any.
Place the butter in a small bowl, melt it in the microwave for 30 seconds or until it is melted and with a brush, brush the butter all over the dough.
Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the buttered dough.
Roll the dough up from the top so that you will end up with a 20 inch long roll.
Cut the rolls into 12 to 15 slices.
I placed mine into the large round mold, but it was not enough room for the dough to expand, so you will use the grande mold. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in the pan. If you have any melted butter, drizzle it over the dough.
Place the pan back either into the oven to the warming drawer, and let rise until dough has doubled, about 45 minutes.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until it is a nice golden brown color.
While the rolls are baking, prepare the glaze. Place the butter and cream cheese in the microwave and warm them up for 20 seconds so that they are soft. Place the cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla into a kitchen mixer, and beat the mixture on high.
Spoon and spread the glaze over the rolls as soon as you are removing them from the oven.
And try not to eat them all at once. Yummy!! And yes, I have been eating them. Such a yummy easy treats for my weekend breakfast;-)) You TRY!!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Cinnamon Rolls

Servings: 5-15 people
Time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: Moderate
Print

Ingredients:

1 package of yeast
1 cup of warm milk
1/4 cup sugar
6 tbsp of butter melted
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:

1 stick of butter melted
3/4 cup of sugar
1-2 tablespoons ground cinnamon (in the recipe, it suggests using 2, but I used one and it was plenty!!)

Glaze:

6 tbsp of butter at room temperature
1 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, or vanilla bean extract ( much better)
6 oz. of cream cheese at room temperature.

Turn the oven to 2oo, or turn your warming oven if you have one.
In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in about 2 tbsp of of warm milk, and set aside.
In a very large bowl mix milk, sugar, melted butter, salt and egg.
Add 2 cups of flour and mix well until the dough is homogeneous.
Then add the yeast.
Finally add the rest of the flour ( it may another 1 1/2 to 2 more cups).
Knead dough inside the bowl.
Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and place the bowl in the oven that you would have turned off and propped the door open. Let the dough rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
When time is up, take the dough and place it on the roulpat ( non-stick silicone map) that you would have spread over you counter.
With the rolling-pin, roll out the dough into a 11 by 20-inch rectangle. You will not need flour is your dough is the right consistency and is not sticky. I did not need any.
Place the butter in a small bowl, melt it in the microwave for 30 seconds or until it is melted and with a brush, brush the butter all over the dough.
Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the buttered dough.
Roll the dough up from the top so that you will end up with a 20 inch long roll.
Cut the rolls into 12 to 15 slices. I placed mine into the large round mold, but it was not enough room for the dough to expand, so you will use the grande mold. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in the pan. If you have any melted butter, drizzle it over the dough.
Place the pan back either into the oven to the warming drawer, and let rise until dough has doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake for about 20 minutes or until it is a nice golden brown color.
While the rolls are baking, prepare the glaze. Place the butter and cream cheese in the microwave and warm them up for 20 seconds so that they are soft. Place the cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla into a kitchen mixer, and beat the mixture on high.
Spoon and spread the glaze over the rolls as soon as you are removing them from the oven. And try not to eat them all at once. Yummy!! And yes, I have been eating them. Such a yummy easy treat for my weekend breakfast;-)) Yuu TRY!!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Easy Pan Sauteed Potatoes

Posted June 3, 2015

Filed under Large round mold, octogonal silpat, potato, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, vegetables, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Whoah.. I cannot believe that it has been several months since I wrote or posted something. I apologize!!! Life has been busy … I am certain that it has been the same on your side of the world. Well one of the benefits of being a teacher, is that you have several weeks off in the summer. This allows me to do all the things that I have been wanting to do, but did not find the time to…

One of them has been sleeping a bit later, and the other one has been to write my recipes so here it is.

Today the recipe will be very simple, and very quick. I will serve as a side, and I hope that you will enjoy it.

Ingredients for 4:

6 medium-sized or 8 small Yukon Gold
1 cloves of garlic pressed
1 tsp of fresh chopped parsley
salt
pepper
2 tbsp of butter ( or goose, or duck fat)

Peel the potatoes, cut the potatoes in slim slices, and steam them. You can steam them however you can ( in a microwable bag, a steamer) until they are steamed, but they are still firm. If you have some of the Demarle cookware, place the potatoes into the large round mold, that you would have placed on a plate. Cover the large round mold with the octogonal silpat and microwave the potatoes for 6 minutes.
Carefully lift off the octogonal silpat to let the steam out.
Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, warm up 2 tbsp of duck/ goose fat or butter until it is sizzling.
Add the potatoes, and cook them over a medium high stove. Let them cook a bit ( 1-2 minutes) before flipping them.
And continue the process until the potatoes are the texture that you want.
When the potatoes are cooked, add the chopped parsley and garlic and stir.
Season with salt and pepper and serve warm.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Simple Pan Sauteed Potatoes

Servings: 4 people
Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: Super Easy
Print

Ingredients for 4:

6 medium-sized or 8 small Yukon Gold
1 cloves of garlic pressed
1 tsp of fresh chopped parsley
salt
pepper
2 tbsp of butter ( or goose, or duck fat)

Peel the potatoes, cut them in slim slices, and steam them. You can steam them however you can ( in a microwable bag, a steamer) until they are steamed, but they are still firm. If you have some of the Demarle cookware, place the potatoes into the large round mold, that you would have placed on a plate. Cover the large round mold with the octogonal silpat and microwave the potatoes for 6 minutes.
Carefully lift off the octogonal silpat to release the steam.
Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, warm up 2 tbsp of duck/ goose fat or butter until it is sizzling.
Add the potatoes and cook them over a medium high stove. Let them cook a bit ( 1-2 minutes) before flipping them.
And continue the process until the potatoes are the texture that you want.
When the potatoes are cooked, add the chopped parsley and garlic and stir.
Season with salt and pepper and serve warm.

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
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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!!!

Rosti Potatoes

Posted February 26, 2015

Filed under deep flexipan, Large round mold, octogonal silpat, potato, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

If you have attended one of my cooking classes, you will have heard of my husband because I speak of him often.. Why? because he is the reason I have to fix two dinners each night, and why I love my demarle cookware so much because it allows me to cook everything so quickly and the clean-up is so fast!!!

This evening my husband wanted to eat Meat Salad and Rosti Potatoes. He fixed the meat salad himself and was going to grate the potatoes to fix his rosti potatoes, when I offered to make them for him. If you have never made Rosti Potatoes, you should try them. There are quite yummy. They are very crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. They are usually made in a frying pan, but made in the deep flexipan, or in a metal cookie sheet, will be a much easier and healthier option.

Ingredients for 8 people:

1 package of frozen hash brown of about ( 30 oz. ) to be found in the frozen aisle section
1 package of 6 cheese Italian cheese ( 8 oz. )
1 stick of butter melted completely ( in the microwave for 4 minutes)
2 tbsp of roasted garlic and chives spice from Demarle
1 medium size onion or two small ones diced thinly.
1/2 tsp of pepper
1 tsp of salt or more to taste

Turn the oven to 425.
To thaw out the frozen hasbrown, place them in the fridge the day prior to cooking the dish, or place the content of the package into the large round mold, cover the mold with the octogonal silpat and microwave it for 6 minutes. Set aside.
Cut the butter and place it into a small bowl. Cover the bowl with something so that it will not splash out.I am using my octogonal silpat😉
Pour the potatoes in a very large bowl, add the diced onion, salt, pepper, cheese, melted butter, the demarle spices and mix well.
Place the grande flexipan onto the large perforated sheet and empty the content of the bowl onto the flexipan. If you do not have this cookware, use a very large cookie sheet and spray it with olive oil. With a spatula, pat the potatoes down.
Place the pan into the oven on the top tier and cook the potatoes for 30minutes. They will be nicely crispy and brown on both sides:-)
Eat as a side to whatever you are fixing. At our house, it was Meat Salad ( only German can understand….), but I know you guys can come up with other sides;-) Yummy, simple, and cheap.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Rosti Potatoes

Servings: 8 people
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Super Easy
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Ingredients for 8 people:

1 package of frozen hash brown of about ( 30 oz. ) to be found in the frozen aisle section
1 package of 6 cheese Italian cheese ( 8 oz. )
1 stick of butter melted completely ( in the microwave for 4 minutes)
2 tbsp of roasted garlic and chives spice from Demarle
1 medium size onion or two small ones diced thinly.
1/2 tsp of pepper
1 tsp of salt or more to taste

Turn the oven to 425.
To thaw out the frozen hasbrown, place them in the fridge the day prior to cooking the dish, or place the content of the package into the large round mold, cover the mold with the octogonal split and microwave it for 6 minutes. Set aside.
Cut the butter and place it into a small bowl. Cover the bowl with something so that it will not splash out.
I am using my octogonal silpat;-)
Pour the potatoes in a very large bowl, add the diced onion, salt, pepper, cheese, melted butter, the demarle spices and mix well.
Place the grande flexipan onto the large perforated sheet and empty the content of the bowl onto the flexipan. With a spatula, pat the potatoes down.
Place the pan into the oven on the top tier and cook the potatoes for 30minutes. Eat as a side to whatever you are fixing. Yummy, simple, and cheap!

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
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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!

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
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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!!!