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!!!

Hachi Parmentier and Haricots Verts with Sun-dried Tomatoes

Posted February 28, 2012

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

On sunday, I usually like to cook a nice gourmet dinner but a lot happened this week-end that made me feel a bit drained. As a result comfort food seemed to be a quick solution to my laziness.

Ingredients for the hachi parmentier for 4: 6 medium-sized potatoes, 2 1/2 cup of heavy cream, 1 lb. of lean ground beef, fresh parsley, 1 medium onion, 1 cup of swiss cheese, 1/8 tsp of garlic salt, 1/16 tsp of pepper, seasoning…

To make the Hachi Parmentier, you will need to make mashed potatoes, you may make them the traditional way cooked in water, or you can cook them in the round mold and save time!!! So peel the potatoes, dice them in small cubes, place them in the round mold. Add 1 tsp of water and a dash of salt, cover the round mold with the octogonal silpat and microwave for 7-8 minutes. Mash the potatoes with a potato press until it is very smooth. Add the warm heavy cream that you would have previously warmed up in the microwave for 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of swiss cheese and stir until the potatoes make a smooth “puree”, not too runny and not too thick. You may need to add more cream if needed. Add the garlic salt, the pepper and stir. Add more salt if you deem it necessary. Set aside. Now you need to prepare the beef that will go in the mashed potatoes. Slice and dice your onion. Saute your onion in a frying pan in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Saute your onion until golden and translucent. Stir in the beef and cook it until it turns brown. Add 1/8 teaspoon of pepper, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of fresh parsley ( dry parsley is fine too). Taste and add more seasoning if you think it requires more salt.

Empty half of the potato puree in the round mold. Add the cooked beef and cover the beef with the rest of the potatoes. Sprinkle another 1/2 to 1 cup of swiss cheese and cook in the oven at 375 for 15 minutes to brown the cheese.

While the hachi parmentier is cooking, prepare the haricots verts.

Ingredients for the haricots verts: 1/2 bag of green beans from Costco or 2 small bag of 8 oz. 2 tbsp of sundried tomatoes ( preserved in oil) chopped thinly, 1/2 tsp of basil, 1/8 tsp of sea salt, 1/16 tsp of pepper.

Trim the haricots verts and place them in the round mold. Cover the mold with the octogonal silpat and microwave for 6 minutes. Uncover the round mold, add all the ingredients mentioned above and stir well.

To serve, spoon the hachi parmentier on the plate, add a few haricots verts and serve.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking !!!

Lemon and Garlic Pan Saute Trout with Dill Haricots Verts

Posted September 7, 2011

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

Today is my youngest child’s birthday. He turned 14. We had chosen not to celebrate his birthday with a big family dinner since we had 2 family birthday parties this week-end already, and he had marching band rehearsal until 6:45. I really felt bad to postpone his birthday until next Sunday so I wanted to make sure that he would at least eat something he would love. So this morning, i inquired him about his wishes for dinner. Guess what he answered;-)….. “I don’t know” That’s what he said. Well, now I had to figure out what to cook. And I chose to prepare caesar’s salad, spaghetti carbonara and chocolate cake for them…So now that their meal was chosen, all I had to do is figure out my meal. And my answer came when I saw those good looking fresh trout filet at Publix this evening. Yum!!!

I love trout. It is very mild in taste and if prepared properly does not have a fishy taste. I love its meat. It is very fine and delicate. The fish is so thin that it requires very little cooking time. Great advantage when you are trying to fix two dinners at once ( like me). The best part of this fish is that it requires no frills. It is such a good fish, that just flash saute with a little bit of butter and parsley is enough! But what to fix with it… Haricots verts seemed like a great addition!

Ingredients ( for 1 person): 1 trout filet, garlic salt to taste, 1 tbsp of butter, half of a lemon.

Pat dry the trout filet with a paper towel, and sprinkle garlic salt and pepper on either side. Turn your stove to medium high. In a medium sized saucepan, melt the butter and let it sizzle. When the butter is browning, place the trout skin up in the pan. Saute the trout for 1-2 minutes until it goldens. Flip the trout and saute it for 1-2 minutes again until the skin is becoming brown and crispy. Squeeze half of a lemon all over the trout. Lower the temperature to low- medium, and cover the frying pan with a lid. Keep it covered for 1-2 minutes until the trout is cooked through, and the meat has turned to white ( and is no longer pink). Be careful not to overcook.

Lemon and Dill Haricots Verts: 1 bag of haricots verts, 1 tsp of lemon dill demarle herb mix, salt to taste.

While the trout is cooking, place the haricots verts in the large fleximold, cover with the octogonal silpat and cook for 3 minutes. When the beans are cooked, add 1 tsp of lemon/ dill Demarle herb mix, 1/2 tsp of olive oil, and salt to taste to the beans and mix well.

To serve, place the dill haricots vert on the side of the plate, and place the trout filet on the other side. For decoration, slice very thin slice of lemon and place atop the fish. Not bad for a dinner cooked in less than 5 minutes:-)

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!