Tag Archives: asparagus

Roasted Mushrooms and Asparagus

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Filed under deep flexipan, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, silpat, vegetables, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

 

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One of the thing that I hear often from my customers and cooking classes participants is that they do not know what to cook. Ladies, cooking does not need to be a challenge! It does not have to be difficult. On the contrary. If you can buy fresh vegetables in seasons, then you will be able to vary your meals and eat healthy. Most seasonal vegetables and fruits are so flavorful as they come, that little needs to be done to make them taste great. Today I wanted to offer you this easy side. It is delicious, quick to make and so so healthy. Plus, look at the colors, don’t you want to just get a fork and dig in????

Ingredients for 4-6 people:

  • 1 asparagus bundle
  • 1-2 packs of mushrooms of 8 0z. each
  • 1 tsp of olive oil
  • 1 tsp of fresh thyme chopped ( if you do not have 1/2 tsp of dry thyme)
  • salt and pepper to taste ( a dash of each)

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  1. Place the vegetables in a large colander, and rinse the vegetables thoroughly under running water.
  2. Break the end of the asparagus by holding the asparagus at 3/4 and at the end, and bend until it breaks. ( by doing so you will be sure that your asparagus are not chewy, but tender).
  3. Then chop them in 1/2 inch. Set them aside in a large bowl.IMG_1839
  4. Cut the tails of the mushrooms and cut them in half or even quarters if they are too large.IMG_1838
  5. Add them to the asparagus.
  6. Drizzle the 1 tsp of olive oil and mix well to coat the vegetable well.
  7. Lay the vegetables on top of the silpat. Sprinkle some salt, pepper and the chopped thyme.IMG_1843 2
  8. Cook the vegetables for 5-7 minutes at 400.IMG_1844

9. Enjoy!!!IMG_1847

( And give it a try! Even those who came to my cooking class and who did not like mushroom or asparagus enjoyed it very much and even went for second;-)

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Roasted Mushroom and Asparagus

  • Servings: 4-6 people
  • Difficulty: Super easy
  • Print

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Ingredients for 4-6 people:

  • 1 asparagus bundle
  • 1-2 packs of mushrooms of  8 oz. each
  • 1-2 tbsp of olive oil
  • 1 tsp of fresh thyme chopped ( if you do not have 1/2 tsp of dry thyme)
  • salt and pepper to taste ( a dash of each)

 

  1. Place the vegetables in a large colander, and rinse the vegetables thoroughly under running water.
  2. Break the end of the asparagus by holding the asparagus at 3/4 and at the end and bend until it breaks. ( by doing so you will be sure that your asparagus are not chewy, but tender).
  3. Then chop them in 1/2 inch. Set them aside in a large bowl.
  4. Cut the tails of the mushrooms and cut them in half or even quarters if they are too large. Add them to the asparagus.
  5. Drizzle the 1 tsp of olive oil and mix well to coat the vegetable well.
  6. Lay the vegetables on top of the silpat. Sprinkle some salt, pepper and the chopped thyme.
  7. Cook the vegetables for 5-7 minutes or to your liking.

Bon Appétit and Happy Coooking!!!

Oven Roasted Asparagus with Sesame Seeds

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Filed under Eating experiences, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, silpat, vegetables, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

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Asparagus are one of those vegetables that can be seasoned so many ways to accomodate your entree. Since I was serving an Asian flavored dinner, I thought to flavor my aspargus with toasted sesame seed oil, and sesame seeds. Yum, and fast!

Ingredients for 4:

  • 12-16 asparagus
  • 1 tsp  of toasted sesame oil
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 1 picnh of pepper
  • 1 tsp of sesame seeds
  1. Trim the aspargus by breaking the ends.
  2. Then place then into a bowl. Drizzle the oil over the asparagus, and with your fingers, turn the asparagus inside the bowl so as to coat them well.
  3. Place the asparagus onto a small silpat that you would have placed onto a small perforated sheet.photo 1
  4. Cook them into the oven for 3 minutes if very tiny, 5 minutes if normal size, and 7-8 minutes if larger than your thumb. Serve with your entree. Yummy!!! Crunchy! Un vrai delice.photo 4

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Mixed Green Salad

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Filed under Crudite/ salad, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

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I get so busy that sometimes putting food on the table can be a challenge. This past Monday was one of those days. I was out running errands when I got a text saying:” what’s for dinner?” I am not one that likes to eat out, or order out so i rushed home to cook dinner, an easy and fast dinner: Quiche Lorraine and Salad. But I get so bored with salad, that i tried to search for things to put in it. And this is what I came up with. Doesn’t it look pretty???;-)

Ingredients for 4:

  • 1/2 box of aragula
  • 1 fresh corn or a small box of corn
  • 1/4 cup of shredded carrots
  • 4 fresh asparagus
  • 1 cup of cherry tomatoes halves
  • 2 tbsp of balsalmic vinegar
  • 3 tbsp of olive oil
  • 1 tbsp of dijon mustard
  • 1/8 tsp of salt
  • 1/16 tsp of pepper
  1. In a large bowl, mix together the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Set aside
  2. Trim the asparagus, then cut them in about 1/4″ pieces. Set aside.
  3. Place the corn in the large round mold, place the octogonal silpat on top of the round mold and cook it for 2 minutes. Cook, then trim the corn of the cobb.
  4. Add all the vegetables to the bowl where the dressing was made and toss the salad. Serve on individual plates with a piece of Quiche Lorraine.

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Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Parmesan And Basil Roasted Asparagus

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Filed under appetizers, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, silpat, vegetables, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

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Looking for a quick vegetable that is so yummy by itself?! Search no more. Make those yummy asparagus to compliment any meat or fish.

Ingredients for 4:

  1. Turn the oven to 400.
  2. First rinse the asparagus under running water.
  3. Trim the end not by using a knife, but by breaking the ends, holding the end with one hand, holding the asparagus closer to the end with your other hand.
  4. Place all the asparagus inside a bowl.
  5. Drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil over the asparagus, and with your hands stir so that all the asparagus are well coated with olive oil.
  6. PLace the asparagus flat on a silpat that you would have placed on a perforated sheet.photo 1
  7. Sprinkle some salt, and pepper.
  8. Sprinkle some Basil/ Rosemary Demarle Seasoning and some parmesan.photo 2
  9. And cook in the oven for 3 minutes if they are smaller than your pinkie, 5 if they are the size of your index ( which is the normal size), and 7-8 if they are bigger than your thumb.
  10. Remove from the oven and enjoy!!!

photo 3Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Arugula, Asian Pear, Asparagus, and Wasabi Soy Peas Salad

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Filed under appetizers, Crudite/ salad, entree, meat, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, stainless steel cookware, vegetables, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Yesterday I wanted to change things up, so i bought a flank steak for our dinner. Because neither my husband, not my daughter were fan of the meat ( they found it tough;-(, they only like beef tenderloin). I was left with a bit of meat left-over. So tonite I fixed myself this salad to accompany the cold flank steak meat I had left, and it made me feel so happy from inside and out.

Good looking food makes me happy, and if it tastes great and has the advantage to make me feel great, then it makes me even more happy from the inside. I loved the balance between the sweetness of the vinaigrette/the asian pear, the tartness of the arugula salad, and the spiciness of the wasabi soy bean. Un vrai delice!!!

Ingredients for  the salad for 2:

  • 4 handful or about 2 oz. of arugula salad
  • 4 fresh asparagus sliced in an angle with a potato peeler
  • 2-4 tbsp of wasabi coated peas ( whole, or broken in pieces)
  • 1/2 of an Asian pear

Ingredients for the dressing: 

  • 2 tbsp of champagne vinegar
  • 2 tbsp of walnut oil
  • 1 tbsp of maple syrup ( of good quality)
  • 1/8 tsp of salt
  • 1/16 tsp of pepper

First you will want to prepare all the ingredients that will go into the salad. With a potato peeler, slice in an angle the asparagus into small and thin strips. Set aside. Then cut the pear in half. Core the half that you will use. Then with a sharp knife, cut thin half slices out of the Asian Pear. Set aside.

Prepare the vinaigrette. In a large bowl, mix the walnut oil with the champagne vinegar. Then add the maple, salt and pepper and mix well to emulsify the vinaigrette ( or dressing) a bit.

Add the arugula salad to the bowl. Then add the sliced pears, sliced asparagus, and wasabi soy peas. You can add them as they are, but if you are worried about your teeth, then break them in pieces ( those things are quite hard)using a mortar. Toss the salad.

If you don’t have any left-over meat, but wish to have the same. Get a small flank steak. Place the flank steak on a plate. With a pastry brush, brush a little bit of olive oil on once side. Sprinkle salt, pepper and 1 tsp of green onion herb blend on that one side.

Place a frying pan on a stove and turn the heat to medium-high. In a large frying pan, melt 1 tbsp of butter. When the butter is sizzling, place the meat and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then with a fork, turn the meat. Brush olive oil, sprinkle salt, pepper and green onion herb bland and cook for another 2-3 minutes (5 to 7 minutes total for medium-rare). Transfer the meat to a cutting board and let it stand covered with foil for 5 minutes. Then slice very very thinly.

Serve on individual plates. Disperse the meat on top of the salad and eat up. So so yummy!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Pasta Primavera

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

This week I feel like I am playing catch up with all the things that need attention. It is cleaning up the yard of all the dead flowers, planting new ones, trimming bushes. It is getting back to customers for cooking classes… Anyway, though I am still on vacation, my days are filled with things to do. This evening as I was still on the phone at 8pm, I needed to find something quick to fix for dinner and since the kids love their pasta carbonara, I decided to fix pasta primavera… a little healthier than carbonara;-)

Ingredients: 2 tbsp of butter, 1 cup of grated parmesan, 2 cup of heavy cream, 1 egg, 1/8 tsp of pepper, various vegetables ( I used 1 red pepper, 1/2 asparagus bundle, 2 corn husks), 1 pack of pasta of your choice ( spaghetti, fettuccini, ..)

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. In a small saucepan, melt the butter. When the butter is melting, add the heavy cream and the parmesan. Stir as the mixture is warming up. When the mixture is hot, add 1 egg and mix well. Keep stirring, but reduce the heat to medium so as not to curdle the sauce. Keep stirring until the mixture is becoming thicker. When the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, add the pepper, stir and lower the temperature to low just to keep the mixture warm. While the pasta is cooking, prepare the vegetables. Place the corn into the large round mold. Place the octogonal silpat on top and microwave for 4 minutes. Remove the mold from the microwave and with a knife remove the kernels off the cobb. Set aside. Trim the ends of the asparagus and cut the asparagus in 3 inches segments. Place them into the round mold, add the sliced red pepper, the corn and microwave for 3 minutes. Set aside.

Drain the pasta, and empty them back into the pot. Add the sauce and the vegetables and stir. Divide this mixture among the numbers of guests in your house, and sprinkle some fresh parmesan atop this mixture. Et voila!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Green Asparagus and Boursin Breakfast Quiche

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Filed under breakfast, entree, Fleximolds, poultry, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

This past Monday, as I came down into my kitchen for breakfast, I suddenly realized that there was nothing for breakfast except bread and croissants ( What a pity;-). And of course those items were nothing I cared to eat. So knowing how important breakfast is, I set up to prepare me a “tartine” of whole wheat bread and peanut butter. And I did prepare it, but looking at it really did not inspire me. So I left for work with an empty stomach ( yes, i know…). So guess what I did when I arrived home that evening, i made sure to prepare something for my breakfast. Quiches are the best things in the world. You can just about add anything in it. So since I had lots of green asparagus and cheese is always a great addition since it adds flavors, I looked for something that would “marry” well with the asparagus…. And i found Boursin;-)

Ingredients for 12 cupcakes size quiches or 6 larger one: 6 eggs, 2 cup of milk ( or skim milk, or even heavy cream), 30 asparagus, 1 boursin cheese ( I used parsley and garlic, but shallots would work well as well.), 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp of pepper.

Trim the end of the asparagus by breaking them. Then cut the asparagus in 1/2 inch segments. Place the asparagus in the round mold, cover the mold with the silpat and cook in the microwave for 2 minutes. Divide the asparagus equally in the tray that you will be using. In a large bowl, break the eggs, add all the other ingredients and stir to mix well. Empty the content equally in each opening of the tray and cook for 15 minutes. 

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Summer Vegetable Mix

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

MAIS is the French word for corn. As I picked up the beautiful ears of corn this evening at the grocery store, i could not help remembering some of my childhood memories about corn. I am sure that now most grocery stores in France sell corn on the cobb, but when I was young, there were not to be found in the store. My mom and I we would go to the nearest corn field and pick up the corn ears that we wanted to eat. It was fun;-) Of course, eating corn on the cobb was very short-lived and very seasonal since you had to pick up corn when it was still young and a pale yellow;-)at the beginning of the summer.

I love fresh corn, and more particularly corn on the cobb, so I am really happy that it is available here all year long. Corn is so easy to fix,  and it only needs a bit of butter and sea salt to taste great! Because  I had bought a little too many ears, I was left with a few ears to fix and since I had a few other vegetables I decided that mixing asparagus, corn and tomatoes would be a fun and tasty vegetable fix for the summer.

Ingredients for 4: 2 ears of corn, 12 asparagus spears, 1 cup of cherry tomatoes, 1 tbsp of butter, 1/8 tsp of salt, 1/16 tsp of pepper.

Place the corn in the round mold and place the octogonal silpat above the round mold. Cook in the microwave for 5 minutes. Be careful to remove the round mold from the microwave and with a sharp knife remove the corn from the ears. Set aside. Break off the ends of the asparagus and cut the asparagus spears into 1/2 inch segments. Slice the tomatoes in half. Place the corn, asparagus and tomatoes back into the round mold. Cover the mold with the octogonal silpat and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from the microwave again, add the butter and the salt and stir. Et voila!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Asiago, Asparagus and Roasted Bell Pepper Tart

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Filed under appetizers, deep flexipan, entree, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, roulpat, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

What to fix when you have little time to be in the kitchen. Hum… I don’t know. My husband offered to make croque-monsieur but I thought that maybe my kids would enjoy something a bit better than that.  I don’t like to “laisser mes renes”, so it is difficult for me to let go of my kitchen even when I am overwhelmed.  I went straight home from school on Thursday so I had to make do with what was in my fridge. After finding my treasures, I decided to fix them a tart with roasted bell pepper, asparagus and Asiago cheese. Not too bad…and it was fast, and yummy!!!

Ingredients: 1 sheet of puff pastry, 1 red pepper roasted cut in thin strips ( you may roast your own or buy those cans of roasted bell pepper ( they are cheaper than making your own), 1 bundle of fresh green asparagus cut in 2 inches, 1/2 red onion sliced very thinly, 1 cup of bacon ( optional), 3 cups of young Asiago cheese grated, 1/2 cup of parmesan shredded, salt, pepper and 1 tbsp of rosemary, thyme seasoning from DemarleatHome.

Roll out the dough on the roulpat and with a rolling-pin roll the dough so that it will fit the medium flexipan. With a fork, perforate the dough so that air bubbles will not form. Spread the shredded Asiago cheese all over the dough. Then spread the vegetables. Sprinkle the bacon over the vegetables, then the 1 tsp of rosemary seasoning, then the parmesan. Cook in a warm oven at 425 for 20 minutes. So simple, so quick and soooo good;-)

You may serve this great tart with a green salad. C’est tout!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

A Quick Appetizer for the Holidays: Proscuitto Wrapped Asparagus

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Filed under appetizers, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, silpat, vegetables, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

There are so many appetizers you can fix for the holidays. In fact the list is endless. When I entertain, I like to offer a balanced buffet of various appetizers  by presenting dishes of all food group ( meat, seafood, vegetables, fruits, sweets). It is a challenge, though, to find  appetizer recipes that are “healthy”, are made with vegetables, and that your guests will eat. Yes… that your guests will eat;-) For that reason, it seems that my selection is repetitive: Marinated grilled vegetables, stuffed mushrooms and wonton cups filled with various vegetable mixture often come back on my buffet because they are easy to make and they will disappear.  A friend of mine, also a great chef: Rodney, mentioned fixing this recipe. I enjoyed it so much that I thought I would share it with you.

Ingredients:

1 bundle of asparagus from Costco ( they are big), one pack of prosciutto, 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar.

Wrap the asparagus with a slice of prosciutto and lay the asparagus on the silpat. Cook in oven for 6-7 minutes at 375. ( only 3 minutes for very small, and 5 minutes for medium-sized).

Eat them warm as they come out of the oven. There are great as they are. You may however add reduced balsamic vinegar over them for added flavor. Place the 1/2 cup of balsamic in a small pot and bring to boil until the vinegar has reduced to its half and is becoming thicker, almost a syrup. Drizzle over the asparagus.  Et voila!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!