Sun-Dried Tomato, Arugula, Ham and Parmesan Crustless Quiches

Posted April 13, 2013

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

After spending a week having copious breakfast, I tried to resume to my school breakfast this Monday ( smoothies or cereal bars), but was not satisfied and was famined by the time 10am came. So last night I decided to make some crustless quiches.
At first I thought of making one of my favorite, Asparagus and Boursin crustless quiches but since I had other ingredients on hand, i decided to play a bit.

My quiche may not look that appetizing, but it was very good and very satisfying. I think next time I will however place arugula at the bottom of the quiche and not at the top for esthetic reason.

Ingredients for 6 individual quiches:

6 tbsp of sun-dried tomatoes ( the soft ones, or the one preserved in olive oil)
6 tbsp of shredded parmesan
8 oz. of fat-free ham ( sliced thinly and cut in small squares)
3 oz. of fresh arugula chopped
5 eggs
2 1/2 cups of milk
dash of pepper

Turn the oven to 400.
Place the large round tray on a medium perforated sheet.
Divide the ham among each round.
Continue with the parmesan and finally the sun-dried tomatoes.
Divide the arugula equally in each round.
In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and the milk. Season lightly with some pepper.
Pour the egg mixture in each round equally.
Bake in a warm oven for 25 minutes.
Eat warm or cold.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Croissant Croque-Monsieur

Posted December 1, 2012

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

Growing up, we rarely ate sandwiches for dinner or lunch. The few times we ate sandwiches were on picnic, or when we were out and about. In France, there are two popular sandwiches: le petit fromage, or jambon fromage which consists of a half baguette cut in half with butter, Emmenthal and ham, and there is Croque- Monsieur and Croque-Madame. Those sandwich are made with sandwich bread, and consists of ham and emmenthal but are baked much like a cheese toast. My mom often made croque-monsieur for picnic. Sometimes, if she did want to cook on a saturday night, she would also make them. They were and they are still a favorite of mine. They are simple, but boy, they are yummy!!!.

Last night I had a cooking class and it was already past 8:00 before I settled to make dinner for my family. Needless to say that the envy to cook a healthy dinner was not there. Instead I looked and saw croissants that I had bought for my breakfast. We had some cold cuts left-overs and some raclette cheese which gave me the idea to prepare Croissant Croque-Monsieur.

We had a variety of meat ( Westphalian ham, prosciutto, salami, Genoa..) at my house so I had lots of meat choice to make up my croque-monsieur, but using ham is fine.

A regular croque-monsieur is made with ham and Emmenthal, but varying the meat and cheese make it even more fun! This evening I used raclette cheese.

Ingredients for 4:

½ lb of cold cuts
½ lb of cheese ( aged one, preferably or flavored such as Gruyère, Emmenthal, provolone)
8 croissants ( 2 per person)
Old-fashioned Dijon mustard.

Cut the croissant in half, open it up and spread the mustard on one face of the croissant. Then layer the meat ( I used about 4/5 strip of prosciutto). Then the cheese. Put at least 4 strips of cheese to cover the cold meat and the croissant. Close the croissant and bake in a warm oven at 350 for 7-10 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted. Eat with a salad. Et C’est tout!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Croissant Croque Monsieur

Posted November 22, 2011

Filed under paninis, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

You must have noticed that I don’t cook many lunches. I am usually so busy that I will eat on the run. I will usually have whatever is left-overs; it can be soups, salads… But with teenagers in the house, it is imperative to have things in the fridge that will cater to their enormous appetite. My husband being from Germany, always order some cold cuts for fixing sandwiches so I have to think to buy bread or various sauces to fix those sandwiches. This week-end however, I could not stop from buying those yummy looking croissants they had standing in the entrance way of the store ( why do they do that?!?! tempt you all the time;-) So instead of eating them up, breakfast was already past.. I decided I would fix Croissant Croque Monsieur for their lunches.

A Croque Monsieur is a typical French sandwich. It usually a hot grilled ham and cheese sandwich. Though the most common is fixed with gruyere or emmenthal, you really can use any cheese that make you fancy. Some Croque Monsieur are served with Creme Bechamel on top, but I skip that step…

The word “Croque” means Crunchy, the word “Monsieur” means Mister. “The reason behind the combination of the two words is unclear—and is colloquially shortened to croque. While the origins of the croque-monsieur are unknown, there are many speculations on how it was first created. The croque-monsieur’s first recorded appearance on a Parisian café menu was in 1910. Its earliest mention in literature appears to be in volume two of Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past (À la recherche du temps perdu) (1918)” Wikipedia.

No matter what “Croque-Monsieur” really means, it is a fun and fancy alternative to the monotonous wheat and salami sandwiches my kids eat most days;-)

I actually suggest that you should offer those for your guests if they are staying over your house over the week-end. They are so so easy to make and so yummy;-)

Ingredients for each person: 1 large croissant, 2 slices of Smoked Ham, 2-4 slices of sharp cheddar or cheese of your choice.

Slice the croissant in half in its length, then spread a bit of butter on one side of the croissant and a little bit of mustard (Dijon, or honey-mustard on the other half). Place the slices of meat on top of the bottom half of the croissant, then place the cheese and place the other half of the croissant on top. Cook in a Panini press, or place in a warm oven and cook for 10 minutes at 350. Et voila. Serve with a salad and more mustard.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!