Pineapple, Ginger and Soy Marinated Shrimps atop a Peach and Avocado Salad

Posted June 7, 2013

Filed under deep flexipan, Eating experiences, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, seafood, shrimps, silpat, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

If you have read a few of my posts, you must know that I buy my food much on impulses and yesterday was not different. There was a tray of fresh peach from Georgia at the grocery store, and as I passed it I could not help noticing their pleasant fragrant. Not sure yet if those peaches were gonna be good, I decided to only buy two. You just never know… sometimes they smell great, but they lack taste.

There was a shrimp recipe that I had seen in Cook Fresh Fine Cooking Magazine of Fall 2012 that I wanted to try and thought that those peaches could make a great side to that recipe so I bought them to make a salad with them. The recipe for the Pineapple and Soy marinated shrimps was inspired by a recipe called Tex-Mex Grilled Shrimps that was posted in the Cooking Magazine in 2012.

The shrimps can be eaten warm, or cold. I personally ate them cold with the Peach Salad for my lunch today. Yummy and so fresh!!!

Ingredients for the Marinated Shrimps for 3 people:

about 24 Shrimps or about 1 1/2 lb of large shrimps ( fresh or frozen)
1 tbsp of olive oil
1/4 cup of light sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup of pineapple juice
1 medium clove pressed
2 inches of fresh ginger grated
1 small lime
zest of one lime

Ingredients for the Peach Salsa:

2 small ripe but firm peaches
1 avocado ripe but firm
1/3 cup of fresh jicama.
3 scallions or about 1 tbsp. of chopped scallions.
1 lime juice
zest of 1 lime
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of champagne vinegar
a dash of pepper
a dash of salt

If the shrimps are frozen, thaw them out by placing them into a plastic bag and placing the bag into lukewarm water. The shrimps will thaw out within 30 minutes.
Rinse the shrimps under running water and pat them dry.
Place them into a large bowl and add all the ingredients mentioned above in the shrimps recipe. Marinade them for 30 minutes at least.
Meanwhile prepare the Peach Salad:
Rinse the peaches under running water and pat them dry.
With a sharp knife, cut the peaches into quarters. Then dice those quarters into 1/3 inch cubes. Place those cubes into a medium-sized bowl.
Cut the avocado in half. Place a spoon in between the avocado flesh and the skin and remove the avocado fruit from its shell. Slice the avocado in half and then cut the avocado in 1/3 inch cubes as well. Place the cubed avocado atop the cubes peaches.
Peel the skin of the jicama root. Slice the jicama in half. Then slice the jicama in 1/3 inch wide slices. Cut those slices into cubes as well. Place about 1/3 cup of those cube with the rest of the fruits.
Add the chopped scallions, salt, pepper, lime zest, lime juice, 1 tbsp. of olive oil, 1 tbsp of champagne vinegar and stir. Set aside.
Remove the shrimps from the marinade and place them into a deep flexipat that you would have placed onto a medium perforated sheet. You may want to skewer 6-8 the shrimps onto a wooden stick, but it is not necessary.
Cook the shrimps for 5-6 minutes.
To serve, spoon the peach salad on individual plates. And place shrimps atop the salad. Bon Appetit;-)

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

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Carrot and GInger Soup

Posted October 30, 2012

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

I was not feeling very well today. There has been so much going on at school, and so much viruses and “bugs” that it must have caught up with me today. I was a bit croaggy, but was hungry so I decided to make soup. Any soup would have probably done its trick. Soups make you feel better somehow. Well, I wanted to get rid of my carrots, and thought to use ginger as it usually heal any stomach ache. So here it is:

Ingredients for 4 individual bowls.

1 bag of carrots of 1lb.
1 inch of fresh ginger grated
6 cups of vegetable broth
1 sweet onion sliced and diced thinly
salt/ pepper to taste
parsley or chives for decoration

Peel and cut the carrots, and place them in the round mold. Place the octogonal silpat on top of the round mold, and place the mold in the microwave. Cook the carrots for 6 minutes. In a medium saucepan, warm up the olive oil. When the oil is warm, add the diced onions and cook at medium temperature until the onions are becoming translucent and golden. Add the grated ginger and cook for a minute or two. Then add the carrots to the onions and saute them for a few minutes. Add the warm broth, and bring to boil. Add 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of pepper, stir and bring the mixture to boil. When the soup has come to boil, reduce the temperature to low and cook for 3o minutes. Puree the soup.

At this point, you can do a few things. If you want to impress your guests, then drain your soup through a fine sieve to get rid of the large pieces.

You may also eat the soup ” au naturel”, but you may also add 1/2-1 cup of heavy cream to make the soup smoother.

Laddle the soup into individual bowls and add a sprig of chives for decoration. C’est tout!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Grown Up Fish Sticks

Posted August 22, 2012

Filed under entree, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, seafood, silpat, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

We all know that fish is one of those food that should be eaten more than once a week because of all the benefits it brings. Not only is it packed with healthful vitamins and minerals, it is also a major source of omega-3 fatty acids. It is also shown to reduce the chance of heart attack, and stroke in elderly people. I eat fish 3 to 4 times a week so I should be okay. My family on the other hand does not… so I am always trying to find ways to have them eat a little more healthier…

Since both my kids and husband like fish sticks, I thought of making my own and this is how this recipe came about. I accompanied the fish stick with a red-pepper jelly sauce, but just a few drops of lemon juice would be fine. ( Ketchup would probably work also, but I am not making that suggestion;-)

Ingredients for 4: 3-4 flat fish filet such as tilapia or catfish, 2 eggs, 1tbsp of hoisin sauce, 1/4 tsp of salt, 1/8 tsp of pepper, 1/4 cup of red pepper jelly, 1/8 cup of fat-free sour cream, 1 tbsp of fresh ginger grated, 1 tbsp of ginger powder.

Cut the fish filet in small strips or about 1 inch wide.

In a large bowl, mix the eggs, the hoisin sauce, 1 1/4 tsp of salt, 1/8 tsp of pepper and stir. Add the cut-out fish filet and mix so that the fish filet are well coated with the egg mixture. In another bowl, mix 1 1/2 cup of panko bread crumb, and 1 tbsp of ginger powder. Scoop the fish out of the egg mixture, and place it all in the breadcrumbs. Stir to coat the fish with the breadcrumbs. Remove the fish filet one at a time and place them on a large silpat that was placed on a perforated sheet. Cook the fish sticks in the oven for 6-8 minutes at 400. Meanwhile mix the sour cream with the red-pepper jelly and the 1 tbsp of fresh grated ginger.

To serve, place the fish filet on plates and drizzle the fish sticks with the sauce, or with lemon juice. Et voila!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Poached Sea Bass with Coconut Reduction

Posted February 10, 2012

Filed under Large round mold, octogonal silpat, seafood, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Meaty white fish are my favorite. Unfortunateley they are hard to find. So I cannot tell you how happy I was to see Sea Bass at the Fresh Market tonite:-)

I wanted it poached, with fresh vegetables and a light sauce. To tell you the truth, I did not really want to poach it in broth as most poach recipes called for so I thought of using my Demarle Cookware to get the same result. The recipe today was inspired by a recipe from Guy Fieri that was featured on the foodnetwork called Asian-Style Baked Mahi Mahi.

For two people, you will need the following ingredients: 1 large size sea bass piece ( about 1/2 lb or 8 oz. ), 1 cup of fresh snow peas, half of a red bell-pepper sliced thinly, 2 carrots peeled and sliced into small coins, 1/4 cup of coconut milk, 1/4 cup of chicken or vegetable broth, 1 tsp of fish sauce, 1/16 tsp of salt, 1/32 tsp of pepper, 1 tbsp of fresh or dry basil, 1 inch of fresh ginger grated, 1 large garlic clove pressed.

Mix all the ingredients mentioned above except for the vegetables and for the fish. Place the fish in this mixture and let it marinade for at least 30 minutes. After that time has elapsed, place the vegetables in the round mold, drizzle 3 tbsp of the marinade on top of the vegetables. Cover the round mold with the octogonal silpat and microwave for 2 minutes. Remove the round mold from the microwave, open it and place the fish atop the vegetables. Cover the round mold with the octogonal again and cook in a warm oven at 35o for 12-15 minutes. While the fish is cooking, empty the marinade in a small saucepan and bring to boil. When the mixture has come to boil, lower the temperature and let it simmer until the sauce reduces to half. To serve, place the vegetables on the plate. Place the fish atop of the vegetables and drizzle some of that sauce over the fish ( or not. The fish is great without the sauce, and if you are looking to cut down calories, then eat it without;-)

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Muscovado Coated Salmon stuffed with Cranberry Relish

Posted December 8, 2011

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

What to do with cranberries? I had some cranberry left after Thanksgiving and was at loss about to do with them. What do you do when you have left-over cranberries in your fridge? There are lots of things you can make with dried cranberries, but besides chutney, relishes and baked goods, I knew of very few recipes that used fresh cranberries. Well, since I did not want to lose those cranberries, I did just like everyone else. I google- searched cranberry recipes and found the page of Cape Cod Cranberry Grower’s Association. There I found a recipe of a salmon coated with a cranberry ginger mixture and I tried it… yuk, yuk yuk. So now here is mine. I liked it much better. Not so tart;-)

Ingredients per person: 1 salmon filet cut in half in its thickness, 1 cup of whole cranberries, 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 1 tbsp of grated fresh ginger. 1/2 tsp of butter, Muscovado brown sugar, 1/2 tsp of butter.

In a small saucepan melt the butter and turn the heat it so it will sizzle. Add the fresh ginger and saute them lightlty. Add the fresh cranberries and 1/4 cup of brown sugar( I used Muscovad0). Cook for about 5 minutes at medium temperature until the sugar starts melting. With a potato smasher, press on the cranberries so that the juice will come out. Stir and cook on medium-high for another 5 minutes. Set aside. Warm your oven to 375. Take a silpat and place it on a perforated sheet. Lay your salmon on the silpat. Open the salmon and scoop of few tablespoons of that relish onto the salmon. Close up the salmon. Sprinkle salt, pepper on the filet. Coat the salmon with Muscovado sugar. Bake in oven for 5-8 minutes ( it depends on the way you like your fish). Et voila!

It is perfectly paired with steamed rice au naturel. I hope you will enjoy this recipe as much as I have.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

An Asian Twist on the Pumpkin Soup

Posted November 11, 2011

Filed under appetizers, broth, chowder, soup, veloute, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

With this cool weather, there is nothing better than eating soups. I tried to fix soup as often as I can. Since at my house, I am the only one eating it, I have soup for several days in a row;-) at least that’s an easy lunch!!! I love butternut squash soup and pumpkin soup. But being lactose intolerant, I cannot add any dairy product to make them creamier so i thought maybe I should add coconut milk. Different but good. You ought to try.

Ingredients: 2 1/2 lbs of pumpkin peeled and diced, 5 cup of water, 1/3 cup of soy sauce, 1 sweet yellow onion sliced and diced thinly, 1-2 inches of fresh ginger grated, 5 tbsp of brown sugar, 1 1/2 cup of coconut milk, 1 tsp of powder ginger, salt and pepper to taste, dry coconut flakes for decoration, toasted sesame seed oil.

In a large pot, add 2 tbsp of toasted sesame seed oil. When the oil is getting hot, add the onions and saute. Then add the pumpkin and saute it. Lastly add the grated ginger and saute as well. Add the water and the soy sauce to the pot and bring to boil. When the soup has come to boil, reduce the temperature and add the ginger, and the salt and pepper. Stir well and cook for 30 minutes. With a mixer, puree the soup, then add sugar and cook for another 30 minutes at medium-low temperature. You may need to add salt and pepper if necessary. Before you serve the soup, add the coconut milk and stir. Serve in small bowls and sprinkle with dry coconut flake. You may also add chopped basil. Et voila!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Lemon Pepper Glazed Chicken with Pineapple and Blueberry Salsa

Posted September 1, 2011

Filed under entree, meat, poultry, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

What do you do when you have pineapple and blueberries left-overs, and no one at your home will eat fruits or desserts with fruits in it?! Well if you are me;-) you make salsa so I can eat them with my meal. Originally I was wanting to eat Grouper with this salsa, but Groupe is nowhere to be found in this town;-(oh well….

Ingredients: 1/2 cup of soy sauce, 1/4 cup of honey, 1/4 of Miel de Maguey, juice and zest of one lime, 4 chicken breasts, 1 cup of pineapple sliced very thinly, 1/2 cup of fresh blueberries, 2 inch of fresh ginger grated coarsely, 1 tbsp of mint chopped very thinly, 1 tbsp of honey.

First you will want to prepare the marinade for the chicken: You will need 1/2 cup of soy sauce, 1/4 cup of Miel de Maguey (Mexican Alcohol of Agave), 1/4 cup of honey, juice and zest of one lime, 2 tbsp of corn starch.) Put all the following ingredients in a small saucepan, and mix well. Bring the mixture to boil, and stir until the sauce has thickened a bit. Turn the heat off and let it cool. Keep half of the marinade for marinading the chicken, and keep the rest of the marinade for drizzling over the chicken once it is cooked. You will want to marinade your chicken at least 2-4 hours before cooking it.

While the chicken is marinading, fix the salsa. You will need for the Pineapple salsa: 1 cup of pineapple sliced very thinly, 1/2 cup of fresh blueberries, 2 inch of fresh ginger grated coarsely, 1 tbsp of mint chopped very thinly, 1 tbsp of honey. Mix all together and set it aside until you are ready to serve it.

Place the chicken on the silpat, and glaze the chicken with the marinade. Sprinkle some lemon pepper over the chicken and cook for 15 minutes at 375. Brush the chicken every 8 minutes with the marinade. You can also cook the chicken for 1-15 over high heat on your grill.

To serve, slice the chicken and serve the salsa over it.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

NB: This salsa would be great over fish! very light…

Shrimps and Mango Kebabs with Zucchini and Squash Tagliatelle

Posted August 8, 2011

Filed under entree, seafood, shrimps, vegetables, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Each Sunday evening it is tradition at my house to cook a really good meal. I was not going to elude that task, but this gorgeous weather outside did not give me the envy to stay indoors for hours to cook our Sunday meal. I was going to grill. That would cut down on preparation time as well as clean-up. I had seen those gorgeous jumbo shrimps at the fresh market, and still had a mango left in my fridge so I thought it would be nice to pair the two.

Ingredients for 2 : 5 jumbo shrimps per person ( so 10 jumbo), 1/2 of ripe but firm mango peeled and diced, 1 tbsp of chopped fresh mint, 1 garlic clove crushed, 1 tbsp of grated fresh ginger, 1 tbsp of sherry wine, 1 tbsp of brown sugar, 1/2 tsp of yellow curry, salt and pepper to taste, 1 tbsp of olive oil.

Peel and deveine the shrimps, but make sure to keep the end tail. Set aside. In a medium size bowl, mix all the ingredients above and mix well. Add the shrimps and the mango to the marinade, and mix well to coat the shrimps and mango. Let marinade for 10-15 minutes. Then thread 5 shrimps, and 4 mango pieces onto the skewers. Cook the kebabs on a hot grill for 3-5 minutes, make sure to turn them at least one. The shrimps should be pink.

Zucchini and Squash Tagliatelle: 2 small zucchini and 2 small yellow squash, 1 tbsp of butter, 1 tsp of fresh mint, salt and pepper to taste.

With a vegetable peeler, slice the zucchinis and the squash into thin long strips. Place them in the large round flexiform, top with the octogonal silpat and microwave for 2 minutes. Once the vegetables are cooked, turn the stove to medium heat, and place 1 tbsp of butter in a frying pan. When the butter is starting to sizzle, drop the vegetables, and quickly stir them. Season with salt and pepper and add the chopped mint.

To serve, place the zucchini tagliatelle at the bottom of the plate, and place the shrimp kebabs on top of it. Devour!!! It is truly delicious. Though next time, I think I will try with fresh pineapple instead of mango, I think it will be equally good;-)