Ranch Chicken Cupcakes

Posted September 29, 2013

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

Food is good, but in my eyes it is better in bite size;-) Why?? because you can try more things, and not feel so guilty, plus bite size food is easier to serve than dips at parties! A few days ago I was browsing the internet and I came across this recipe of Buffalo Chicken. I am not much into spicy food so I would have normally passed this recipe, but it was so cute that i had to try. Well it was a hit at home with the kids. They loved, loved, loved it!!! Next time you have guests over for appetizers, or for tailgate give them a try.

Ingredients for 20 mini cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups of cooked chicken ( which is about 1 1/2 breast of chicken),
1 8oz. package of cream cheese at room temperature,
1/2 cup of ranch dressing,
1/2 tsp to 1 tsp of buffalo wing sauce ( or more ),
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese,
30 wonton wrapper,
more cheddar cheese to sprinkle
and about 1/4 cup of gorgonzola cheese.

You can cook the chicken by boiling in water, or you can place it into the round mold,
Sprinkle a bit of salt, place the octogonal silpat on top and microwave it for 5-6minutes.
Set the chicken aside to cool and prepare the rest of the mixture.
Into a large bowl pour in the cream cheese, 1 cup of cheddar cheese, buffalo wing sauce, salt, pepper. Mix well.
Shred the chicken and add it to the mixture. Set aside.
With a small cookie cutter cut two small circles in 10 wontons. set aside.
place the mini cupcake tray on the perforated sheet.
Place one wonton in each mini cupcake hole.
Fill the chicken mixture to half, place one round, or circle ( that you would have previously cut in your wonton) and top this round with the chicken mixture all the way to the top.
Sprinkle with some cheddar cheese, then some gorgonzola cheese.
Bake the cupcakes for 12-15 minutes or until the top is nicely crusted.
As soon as you are removing the cupcakes from the oven, sprinkle more gorgonzola cheese, drizzle some buffalo sauce and eat up!!! Miam, Miam, Miam!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Gorgonzola and Caramelized Purple Onion Quiche

Posted September 24, 2013

Filed under Fleximolds, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, stainless steel cookware, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Do you have days when life is so crazy that dinner time arrives, and there is nothing on the table. Last night was this kind of night. I had nothing planned to make. Nothing really in the fridge and yet we needed to eat dinner. So what do you do?? Well, you either order out ( something that we do not do), or find things to use in the fridge. And this is what I did. I searched, found gorgonzola cheese and lettuce. I did not even have a pie crust so I actually made it from scratch, but you certainly can make your own.

Ingredients for 1 quiche for 6-8 people:

2 large purple onion diced thinly
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 cup of gorgonzola cheese crumbled
2 cups of heavy cream
4 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
1 pie crust

In a large frying pan, warm up the olive oil. When the olive oil is sizzling, add the chopped onion and saute it.
When the onion is starting to become an amber color, turn the heat down to medium and keep cooking for 10 minutes until the onions are becoming a darker brown and becoming softer. Set aside.
Place the pie crust inside the tart mold, or the round mold.
With a fork, prick the bottom of the pie to prevent an air pocket to form at the bottom of the pie.
In a large bowl, empty the caramelized onion, crumbled gorgonzola, eggs, cream and mix well.
Pour this mixture into the pie crust.
Cook for 25 to 30 minutes.
Serve with a salad. Miam, Miam, Miam.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Fettuccini a la Gorgonzola with Roasted Pancetta, Purple Onions and Tomatoes

Posted March 15, 2012

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

If it was up to my husband and my children, they would eat Spaghetti a la Bolognese or Spaghetti Carbonara every time I wanted to fix pastas. But today I did not listen to their wishes. I had some Gorgonzola in the fridge and decided it would be the dressing for todays’ pasta.

Ingredients: 1/4 purple onions sliced thinly, 1 cup of baby tomatoes sliced in half, 1 pack of fettuccine, 2 tbsp of butter, 1 cup of heavy cream, 1/3 cup of gorgonzola crumbled, 1/4 cup of pancetta very thinly sliced, 1 egg, salt and pepper, olive oil.

Place the sliced onions and the halved tomatoes in a large bowl, add 1 tsp of olive oil and mix to coat the vegetables. Spread the vegetables on the silpat that you would have previously placed on a perforated sheet. Sprinkle the vegetables with salt and pepper. Roast the tomatoes and onions for 8-10 minutes at 375.

Place the pancetta on a silpat as well and roast it too for 8-10 minutes. It will become crisp.

While the vegetables are cooking, cook the pasta according to package directions. And while this is cooking, prepare the gorgonzola sauce.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter and when it is starting to sizzle, add the warm heavy cream. Stir, and turn the heat down to medium-low. Add the crumbled Gorgonzola, a dash of salt and pepper and stir while cooking until the gorgonzola is completly melted. Add 1 egg and mix well at a low temperature until the sauce is getting thicker. Set aside.

Drain the pasta, and add the sauce to the pasta. Mix well. Add the roasted vegetables and mix again. Spoon the pasta on each plate and crumble the pancetta on top of the pasta. And serve with garlic bread and arugula salad. Et voila!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

My Autumn Salad: Aragula with Apple, Grapes, Pecans and Gorgonzola.

Posted September 29, 2011

Filed under What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

My husband had some family visiting from Germany these past weeks, and to be polite I agreed to have them over for dinner. Though they stayed over for several weeks, we never could find a common time to share dinner but yesterday. Yeah!!!! So what to cook when you are in a hurry and have worked all day. No worry;-)… It is feasible….

I had 2 hours to do my grocery and do the cooking… But I made it:-)

Here is what I fixed:

Autumn Salad with Candied Pecans, Apple and Grape
Roasted Summer Squash and Zucchini
Pesto Coated Salmon
Sun-dried Tomato and Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breast
Spaghetti with fresh basil and Asiago
Chocolate Fudge Cake with Chocolate Ganache
Roasted Pear Creme Brulee Tart

This evening I will share with you the recipe of my Autumn Salad

Ingredients: 1 box of arugula Salad, 1/2 cup of pecan, 1 tbsp of olive oil, 1/8 tsp of Mexican Chili powder, 1/16 tsp of black pepper, 1 tbsp of brown sugar, 1 apple cored and sliced, 1 cup of red grape cut in half, 4 tbsp of balsamic vinegar, 3 tbsp of walnut oil, 1/8 salt, 1/16 tsp of pepper, 1/2 cup of gorgonzola cheese crumbled.

In a large bowl, pour 4 tbsp of balsamic vinegar, 3 tbsp of walnut oil, 1/8 tsp of salt, and 1/16 tsp of pepper. Mix well. Set aside. In a plastic bag, place the pecans, 1 tbsp of olive oil, 1/8 of black pepper, 1/4 of mexican chili powder, 1 tbsp of brown sugar, close and shake well so that the pecans are well coated. Cook at 450 for 10-12 minutes in an already warm oven. Remove from the oven and let them cool. In the bowl where you already fixed the dressing, add the salad, the sliced apple, the sliced grapes, and the candied pecans. Mix well. Your guests can add gorgonzola on their own salad. I don’t generally add the cheese to the salad since not all guests eat such a strong cheese. But you should definitely add it to your salad. The bitter taste of the cheese counterbalances the sweetness of the fruits and nuts. I hope you will give it a try.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!