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!!!

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!!!

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
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!!!

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
Print

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!!!

Kartofel Salat or German Potato Salad Made Easy

Posted July 24, 2014

Filed under 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 class or read my blog, you will know that I often joke about my German husband liking his potatoes so much. He is well aware so when this week-end he heard on the Today’s Show that Potatoes were regarded as a super food and that it was better to eat one medium baked potato than 2 bananas, he teased, teased and teased me some more.
What he failed to mention, however, that those potatoes needed to be eaten without additional ingredients to have the benefits mentioned ( hard to do!!!), but I guess i need to let him enjoy his bragging rights for a while;-). Because I was unable to find the link to the video, I will share with you an article that I found while looking for it. Very interesting;-). The article entitled “The Ultimate Wonder Food” was published on The Daily Mail almost a year ago.

In his honor, I will share with you one of his favorite potato recipe: The German Salad, or also called Kartofelt Salat made the easy way.

Ingredients for 6 people:

6 medium sized potatoes ( I like the Yukon Gold)
1 cup of beef broth
1 small white onion chopped very thinly
1/2 cup of olive oil
1/4-1/2 cup of white vinegar ( it will depend on your taste, personally I like to use 1/2 cup).
1 tsp of salt
1/8 to 1/4 tsp of pepper
a bundle of fresh parsley chopped, or about 2-3 tbsp. of chopped parsley (optional)

Cook the potatoes in boiling water until they are cooked, but firm or place them into the large round mold, place the octogonal silpat on the top of the mold and microwave them for 12-13 minutes ( it will depend on your microwave).
When the potatoes are cooked, grab one with a kitchen towel, peel the skin and slice it thinly into a large bowl.
Warm up 1 cup of broth and pour it over the potatoes.
Then add the olive oil, the white vinegar and the chopped parsley and mix well.
Let the salad sit for a good 15 minutes so that the potatoes will have a chance to absorb the dressing. Et voila!!! Simple, easy and almost as good as the original one cooked in water.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Kartofel Salat or German Potato Salad Made Easy

Servings: 4-6
Time: 30 mins
Difficulty: easy
Print

Ingredients:

6 medium sized potatoes ( I like the Yukon Gold)
1 cup of beef broth
1 small white onion chopped very thinly
1/2 cup of olive oil
1/4-1/2 cup of white vinegar ( it will depend on your taste- personally I use 1/2 cup)
1 tsp of salt
1/8-1/4 tsp of pepper
a bundle of fresh parsley chopped, or about 2-3 tbsp of chopped parsley (optional)

Cook the potatoes in boiling water until they are cooked, but firm or place them into the large round mold, place the octogonal silpat on the top of the mold and microwave them for 12-13 minutes ( it will depend on your microwave).
When the potatoes are cooked, grab one with a kitchen towel, peel the skin and slice it thinly into a large bowl.
Continue the process until you have used all the potatoes.
Chop a medium sized onion and add it to the sliced potatoes.
Warm up 1 cup of broth and pour it over the potatoes.
Then add the olive oil, the white vinegar and the chopped parsley and mix well.
Let the salad sit for a good 15 minutes so that the potatoes will have a chance to absorb the dressing. Et voila!!! Simple, easy and almost as good as the original one cooked in water.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Steamed Rice

Posted June 9, 2014

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

Would you like to cook your rice in less than 15 minute mess free? I have the solution. Use your round mold to steam your rice. You can flavor your rice any way your want, by adding any spice to the water, or by even substituting the water with broth, tomato juice, and even coconut milk.

Ingredients for 6 people:

2 cups of rice
4 cup of water
1/4 tsp of salt
1 tbsp of olive oil, or butter

Place the rice, water and salt into the large round mold. Place the round mold onto a plate. Cover the mold with the octogonal silpat and cook the rice for 13-15 minutes. It will depend on the rice that you will use and the microwave as well. At 10 minutes, remove the octogonal and fluff up the rice. Add either a tbsp of olive oil, or butter and continue cooking for another 3-5 minutes making a total of 13-15 minutes. Easy and mess free!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Maple Syrup Flavored Brussells Sprouts

Posted April 14, 2014

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

My mom was a great person, and a great cook. What I hated about her, however, is that she believed we needed to eat a little bit of everything on the premises that all food brought various vitamins and nutrients. That is the reason why she served us many vegetables, and other food such as liver because it was good for us. For example, liver and spinach were good for iron, oranges for their vitamin B. etc cetera…

I will tell you that even though she was a fabulous cook, I did not always like her cooking. One of the thing I really disliked as a child in fact was Brussels sprouts. They were bitter, smelled awful , and they were not gentle to my stomach.
It took me many years to cook them when I got married. I cannot remember exactly why I cooked them again. I think my husband liked them (in fact it is one of the very few vegetables he likes and will eat).
My children never liked them, but to follow the tradition, they had to eat them because eating vegetables is good for you.

However it did not matter how often, or how different I served them. Both my children hated them, making faces with every bite they took.

What happened one day really came as a surprise. Lisa and I were grocery shopping one day, and I picked up a bag of Brussel Sprouts. I surely thought that if she was going to comment on my choice, she was going to scream why I would choose to pick them. But she did not. Instead of a statement of disgust, she actually inquired to see if they were for us, and when I told us that they were not, she gave a sigh, looked pitiful and said: Mom , can you get some for us. Really???? Had I heard right? really ??? I was shocked!!!
All I can say is that you she probably likes them because i am using bacon and maple to flavor them, and I am using my demarle mold to steam them which makes them so much better, and so much tastier!

Ingredients for 4-6 people:

a bag of brussel sprouts ( about 12oz)
2 tbsp of bacon bits from costco
2 tbsp of maple syrup
salt
pepper
1 tbsp of olive oil

Place the brussels sprouts in the sink filled with water and a tbsp of white vinegar.
Cut the stem of the Brussel sprout, and peel the first and maybe the second leaf of the sprout. Repeat with each sprout.
Cut each Brussel sprout in half, and place them into the round mold.
Add the bacon bits. Place the octogonal silpat on top of the round mold to cover the round mold and place it in the microwave to cook for 5 minutes. Meanwhile turn the oven to 425.
When the Brussels sprouts are cooked. Pour the maple syrup and the olive oil over the Brussel sprouts and stir.
Place a large silpat over a large perforated sheet and spread the Brussels sprouts over the silpat.
Place them into the oven and cook for another 8-10 minutes or until they are getting a golden color.
Enjoy!!! I know my sweet daughter does. I hope that your family and children will enjoy them 🙂

Bon appetit and happy cooking!!!!

Pork Pot Stickers

Posted January 20, 2014

Filed under appetizers, Large round mold, meat, octogonal silpat, pork, poultry, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, roulpat, silpat, stainless steel cookware, veal, vegetables, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

I cook many things at home because I am very curious. And if something appeals to me I want to try it. But because my husband does not stray much from his favorite ( potato, pasta and German food), it is difficult to cook new things for him. So when there is something out there, different that he likes, I will jump on it and make it;-)

I love Asian Food, I love sushi and Thai. Since he will not eat sushi, we occasionally eat thai food though we have to really twist his arms and help him turn left to the Thai Place, and not to the right to his favorite German restaurant Gerhard’s:-)

There he will order two things, Pork Pot stickers and Beef Pasta stir fry.

I have not tried to fix the latter because the pasta are quite different and I am not sure that i could duplicate that, but since Pot Stickers are well liked at our house, I decided one day that I would try my hands at it. And I will say that they are so easy to make, yummy, really cheap and and and…………they can be frozen to be used at a later time;-)

If you try to make them, give your self some times because they will make a large bunch and it takes a bit of times to make the “ravioli”.

Ingredients for about 80:

1 bag of brocoli slaw
12 oz or 1 pack of ground chicken, turkey or pork(today I used pork).
3 tbsp of fresh ginger grated
2 garlic cloves pressed
2 egg whites
1/4 tsp of salt
1/8 tsp of pepper
1 pack of wontons

Ingredients for the sauce:

1/2 cup of soy sauce
2 tsbp of rice vinegar
1 tbsp of hoisin sauce
1 tsp of toasted sesame oil

Steam the brocoli slaw according to directions, (or place it into the large round mold, place the octogonal silpat on top of that and cook it for 5 minutes.) Let it cool.
When the brocoli is cold, chop it.
Place it into a large bowl, add the meat, all the other ingredients and mix well.
Place the rectangular roulpat on your counter and lay as many wonton on it as you can. Place about a teaspoon of the meat mixture in the middle of each wonton.
With a silicone brush, wet the sides of each wonton with water and close the wontons to make a triangle.
If you do decide to freeze them, place them flat on a large silpat that you would place on a large perforated sheet. Make sure that they are not touching or they will stick to one another and it will be impossible to separate them as they are very fragile. Freeze them as such and when they are frozen, place them in a ziploc bag to keep for later use.
Place a large frying pan on the stove, melt one tbsp of butter and when the butter is sizzling, place as many wontons as you can in the pan.
Sear them for a minute and then turn them.
Throw 1/4 cup of water over the pot stickers and place the lid over them. Cook them for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile prepare the sauce that goes with it.
Eat while they are warm.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

French Green Bean Salad in Maple Dressing

Posted November 21, 2013

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

Do you have teenage children? I do, I have two. And though I hate that they are grown already and soon ready to leave me, i do enjoy the fact that they are driving on their own. It has truly been a blessing having my daughter drive herself and her brother to school and run errands for me. And run errands, she does… every day. The other day i sent her to get some French green beans for a cooking class and in spite of finding some, she bought some regular green beans, not quite the same taste, or texture. I cooked them the same way I would have my French green beans, but i was not too too satisfied. Any way, we cooked them, we ate them and there were gone.

Because I had another bag in the fridge, i decided to fix a salad with them. Growing up in France, we often had green beans salad with fresh sliced onions. I never was fond of it, that is why I decided that i could use cooked onions instead. I also added maple syrup to my vinaigrette to sweeten the taste of the vinaigrette = Bingo;-) I loved, loved, loved it. I hope that you will give it a try.

Ingredients for 4-6:

1 bag of green beans ( about 16 oz.)
2 tbsp of Dijon Mustard ( or other strong mustard)
2 tbsp of champagne vinegar
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of maple syrup ( good quality)
1/8 tsp of salt
1/16 tsp of pepper
1-2 tbsp of olive oil
1 small onion or 1/2 of a large onion to make 1/4 cup of caramelized onions.

Drop 1-2 tbsp of olive oil into a large frying pan and heat it up until it is starting to sizzle. Add the chopped onion and saute it for a few minutes stirring constantly.
Reduce the heat and continue cooking the onions until they are becoming an amber color. It will take at least 8-10 minutes. Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper, stir and set aside to cool.
Rinse the green beans, trim the ends and place them in the round mold. Place the octogonal silpat on the large round mold. Place the round mold on the microwave and cook it for 4 minutes.
When the beans are cooked, let them cool. Cut them in 1/2 inch.
In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients to make the dressing ( oil, olive oil, salt, pepper, maple, mustard). Add the cut beans and the caramelized onions and mix well.

You may add 1/4 cup of toasted pecans, 1/4 cup of gorgonzola cheese crumbled, and 1/4 cup of cranberries ( that you would have previously soaked in water for 2 minutes) for extra flavor and for variation.

Well, i have to say that this salad was a winner at my table, even my son and husband went for second. Yeah!!!! And I have enjoyed it so much myself that I have been eating it for dinner and lunch these past 2 days.

I know that i will be serving it for Thanksgiving, easy fast and still yummy;-) I hope that you will give it a try.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!