Mango, Orange and Nectarine Smoothie or Soup

Posted August 6, 2013

Filed under breakfast, dessert, fruit, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

A typical American Breakfast often includes, bacon, eggs, hashbrown and biscuit. But is it something that most people eat?

I know in France we basically eat bread, jelly, and “biscotte” pour le petit-dejeuner. Sometimes we will eat madeleine, pain d’epice and croissant for breakfast, but that is not the norm. A few of us will also eat fruit, cheese and maybe a yogurt. My mom, she would eat herrings and sardines for breakfast. YUK!!! Some children will eat cereals.

I am pretty sure that we do no eat/drink smoothies… I drink them now from times to times, because they are easy to make, can be swallowed in a seconds and are easy to digest.

Last week, I bought tons of fruit with the intentions of making smoothies for my morning snacks ( since my trainer suggested that i eat every 2-3 hours) so i have been making a few here and there.

I drank this one today and it was very yummy;-)

I would personally serve it as a dessert in a martini glass at the end of a summer dinner. Light, fruity and easy on the stomach.

Ingredients for 2 servings ( or 2 full glass):

1 fresh mango peeled, and cubed
the juice of 2 oranges pressed
1 nectarine

Peel all the fruits and place them into a chopper or in a a mixer.
Press until the mixture is smooth.
Pour into individuals glasses, decorate as you wish and enjoy;-)

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Parmesan and Mexican Chili Pepper Chicken Tenders

Posted February 12, 2013

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

It was a bit late when I got home one night from a cooking class, and I know that you are not supposed to eat after 8:00, but when you are starving, you are going to eat… and it may be whatever you find. Luckily for me, we don’t have any bad snacks to snack on when we are hungry.. only cheese and fruits. Well those were not at all tempting, so I started gathering a few things on my counter to fix my dinner: chicken , parmesan, chili powder…

If you like chicken tenders with a bite, try those. They are pretty good! Not too spicy, just a bit… perfect;-)

Ingredients for 12 chicken tenders:

2 breast of chicken
1/2 cup of parmesan
2 tsp of Mexican Chili Powder
1/4 tsp of salt
1 egg

Turn the oven on the 400.
Clean the chicken breast of any fat.
Then place one chicken breast inside the roulpat and fold the roulpat over the chicken breast.
With the rolling pin, pound the chicken breast to flatten it a bit. Remove the chicken breast and repeat this process with the other ones.
Place the chicken breast on the chopping block and slice the chicken in its width in small strips of 1/3 of an inch. Place those strips in the metal bowl and add the salt and pepper.
Mix well to coat the chicken. Add the egg and mix well again to make sure that all chicken strips are well coated with the egg mixture.
In another bowl, mix the parmesan and the Mexican Chili Powder and mix well.
With your fingers, transfer the chicken strips in the bread mixture and mix so that the chicken fingers will be coated with the mixture. Take a large silpat or 2 medium silpat ( previously laid on perforated sheet) and lay the chicken breasts on the it.
Place the perforated sheet in the oven and cook for 6-8 minutes.

I ate those yummy chicken tenders with some steamed broccoli slaw. 😉

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Chicken Coated with Apricot, Bourbon and Mustard Sauce

Posted January 3, 2013

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

Have you indulged much over the holidays? I will say that i did not. Not because I tried to be good, but all that I made was gone before I had time to have second. The cookies that I made were offered to my fellow co-workers at school. The macarons I made for my Christmas gifts were mostly gone as gifts, and my buche de Noel was all eaten by my two children before I had the chance to eat a piece. Boo hoo..

Well for those of you who need to start fixing lighter dinner option, I will offer you this quick recipe of baked chicken.

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts
1/3 cup of apricot marmalade
1/3 cup of bourbon
2 tbsp of old-fashioned mustard
1 /4 tsp or more of red pepper flakes
salt
pepper

First you will want to tenderize the chicken so that it will more tender.
Cleanse the chicken by removing any nerves and fat.
Then rinse each chicken breast under running cold water.
Pat the chicken breasts dry.
One at a time, place a chicken breast on the rectangular roulpat, fold the roulpat over the meat and with the rolling-pin, pound the chicken lightly to flatten it.
Repeat this process for all chicken breast.
Place all the chicken breast on the deep flexipat, and season the chicken by sprinkling salt and pepper on both sides. Set aside.
Place all the ingredients mentioned above besides the chicken and the salt and pepper in a small saucepan and bring it to boil. Cook for a few minutes.
Divide the sauce equally into two small bowls.
With a pastry brush, brush the chicken with this mixture.
Cook in a warm oven at 400 for 15 minutes.
When the chicken is cooked, remove it from the oven and let it stand for a few minutes for the juices to be reabsorbed.
Slice the chicken and serve.
Drizzle more sauce over the chicken. Et voila!

I served my chicken with oven roasted potatoes, zucchini spaghetti.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Salmon in Bourbon and Soy Sauce

Posted December 7, 2012

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

Well I guess it was about time that I post a salmon recipe. I have been hearing from many of you that you have used and overused some of my recipes and are ready for new ones. This one is very easy and only uses ingredients that you have in your pantry i am sure;-)

Ingredients for 2:

1/4 tbsp of bourbon
1/4 tbsp of soy sauce
1/4 tbs of dark brown sugar
salt
pepper
salmon for 2

In a small saucepan, mix together the first 3 ingredients, and bring the mixture to boil. Let it simmer for a few minutes until it reduces and becomes thicker.

If you have time, try to marinade the salmon for a few minutes. But if you do not have time, then place the salmon on a silpat or a flexipat and with a pastry brush, brush the salmon with the sauce. Cook the salmon for 5-7 minutes for a small filet or 13-15 for a large one. I like my salmon medium-rare.

You can use half of the sauce to marinade the salmon for a few hours or only for a few minutes ( 30 minutes), or use it right away as I did this evening.

When serving, place the salmon on individual plates. Drizzle some of the sauce over the fish.

I served the salmon with steamed brocoli slaw and basil mashed potatoes.

Quick and yummy!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Butternut Squash, Coconut Milk and Wasabi Soup

Posted November 24, 2012

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

What did you guys eat this evening? left-over turkey, and left-over food from Thanksgiving? I was not that lucky to have left-overs as I did not host Thanksgiving, and all I brought was eaten.

Then on the other hand, I am glad that I did not have any as I was wanting something more light for my fare. Soup was going to be it for me. The rest of my crowd, was on their own ( do not feel sorry for them-they had plenty of wonderful cold cuts and French cheese to make great sandwiched with…)

I had a small butternut squash in my fridge, and a few other things and since butternut squash soup is definitly one of my favorite soups, there was no hesitation as what my dinner was going to be. So while everyone was busy fixing their sandwiches, I came up with this recipe:

Ingredients for 4-6 people:

1 small butternut squash peeled, and cut in cubes
1 large sweet potato peeled and cut in cubes also
1 red onion thinly chopped
3 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
1 can of light coconut milk
1-2 tbsp of wasabi paste

Place the cubed butternut squash, and sweet potato in the large round mold. Cover the round mold with the octogonal silpat and cook for 5 minutes. Meanwhile in a medium-sized pot, warm up 2 tbsp of olive oil. When the olive oil is warm, add the chopped red onion and saute it. Stir and cook the onion on medium-high for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is a golden brown and is soft. Add the steamed vegetables and saute them as well. Warm up the broth and pour it over the vegetables. Bring this mixture to boil and when it has come to boil, lower the temperature to medium. Cook the soup for 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. With an immersion blender, puree the soup. Add the coconut milk and the wasabi and stir well. I added 2 tbsp of wasabi paste, but you may want to use less.

This soup was such a treat. I loved it, i hope that you will like it as well.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

2. I

Raspberry Smoothy

Posted September 13, 2012

Filed under breakfast, fruit, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

I love both of my children and I am always very proud of the little persons they have gotten. Of course as a mom of two teenagers, there are days when I am ready to pull my hair out because of the things they do, or the papers they sometimes bring home. Well today Lisa did something that made me feel so so proud. As I got home today, I found Lisa in my kitchen with various ingredients on the counter. Lisa is a great help in the kitchen, and she will at times fix herself dinner, but it is very rare that I will see her in the kitchen in the middle of the afternoon so having her in my kitchen took me a bit by surprise. But I stayed and watched her do… She put a dash of things here, and a sprinkle of this and that and it was all finished. She did not look at a recipe, and when it was ll done it was very very yummy!!! I dare you to try!!!

Ingredients for 2 smoothies:

2 cup of crushed ice,
1 1/2 cup of fat free strawberry yogurt,
1 cup of raspberry,
1/3 cup of milk,
2 tbsp of sugar.

In a chopper or in a blender, place all the following ingredients and pulse until the mixture is smooth and free of lumps. Pour into glasses, decorate as you wish and enjoy!!! I did even though it was not intended for me.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Fish or Chicken Taco Bowls

Posted July 26, 2012

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

What to eat when it is 100 outside??? light and easy fare that takes no time to cook. This recipe was inspired by a recipe from the Demarleathome website. I simplified the recipe so it would not take 15 minutes to cook but only a few minutes;-)

Recipe for 4 people: 4 soft Mexican tortilla shells (white or whole wheat), 2-3 tilapia or catfish filet, 1 mango ripe but firm to touch, 1 large avocado ripe but firm also, 1 lime, 2 tbsp of chopped cilantro, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup of italian bread crumb such as panko, 1 egg, 1 tsp of demarleathome zesty Mediterranean Herb blend, 1/4 of boston lettuce chopped, 1/2 cup of greek yogurt or fat free sour cream.

Take the large round mold tray and lay a tortilla in each opening. Set aside.

Cut the fish in small strips and place them in a bowl. Add 1/4 tsp of salt, 1/8 tsp of pepper, 1 egg and stir well to coat the fish with the egg mixture. In another bowl, add 1/2 cup of panko breadcrumb and 1 tsp of zesty mediterranean herb and mix well. Take the fish out of the bowl, and place the fish strips in the bread crumbs. Stir well to coat the fish with the bread crumbs. Place the fish strips on the silpat and cook in the oven for 4-5 minutes in an already warm oven of 400. At the same time, place the large round tray in the oven also to cook the tortillas.

While the tortillas and the fish strips are cooking, prepare the salsa. Peel the mango and the avocado. Slice and cut in small cubes the fruits. Place those cubes into a large bowl. Add the zest of a lime, the juice of a lime, 1 tbsp of chopped cilantro, 1/4 tsp of salt, 1/8 tsp of pepper to the fruit and mix well.

The sauce/ dressing: mix the sour cream/ or the greek yoghurt and 1tbsp of cilantro and mix well.

To serve, place each tortilla cup on a plate. Fill the cup with about 1/2 cup of chopped lettuce. Top the lettuce with about 1/3 cup of mango/avocado salsa. Place the fish on top of the mango salsa and add a dollop of the sour cream mixture. C’est tout!!

NB: if you don’t like fish, you may substitute the fish with chicken. Tenderize 2 chicken breasts, cut the chicken strips into small strips and coat the chicken with the pank mixture as explained above. Cook the chicken for 6-8 minutes at 400.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

An Easy Side for the Sunny Days: La Peperonata facon Sophie;-)

Posted June 5, 2012

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

Don’t you get tired of eating the same thing over and over again?!?! I do. I love vegetables, but I find myself at loss at finding fun vegetable recipes. Summer offers a large array of vegetables ( corn, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, summer squash), but I am always cooking them the same way, roasted, or in salads. So it is always nice to find a new recipe that allows you to cook some of those vegetables in a way that is foreign to you.

As I was visiting my twin sister, she introduced me to a vegetable dish that she called ” La peperonata”.

Originally la peperonata is a vegetable stew made of tomatoes, peppers and onions. But my sister made it different as she added peperoni to hers, and this was so so good.

Ingredients for 6-8: 2-3 tbsp of olive oil, 1/2 bag of sliced pepperoni, 2 lbs of roma tomatoes rinsed and quartered, 2 lbs of sweet yellow onions sliced thinly, 2 lbs of red peppers cored and sliced in thin strips, 1 clove of garlic peeled and crushed, 1 tbsp of italian seasoning, 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp of pepper.

In a large pot, warm up the olive oil and heat it up over a medium-high heat. When the oil is warm, add the onions and the pepperoni to the pan and saute them. Saute until the onions are golden and translucent. Add the sliced peppers and saute them also for a few minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes, the salt, the pepper and the italian seasoning and bring it all to boil. Be careful to stir so that it will not scorch. Lower the temperature to low, cover the pan with a lid and cook for 30 minutes. Make sure to stir periodically to prevent scorching. Add more salt, and pepper if you deem necessary.

We ate this wonderful vegetable dish with Merguez ( spicy italian sausages). Yum!!! It is so nice to be home;-)

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Tasty Appetizer: Gorgonzola and Apple Pie

Posted May 11, 2012

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

My fridge is like Ali Baba’s treasure. They are various left-overs, and many bits and pieces of things : herbs, cheese, sauces, condiments. One of the item is a large piece of Gorgonzola cheese. I love that cheese, but being lactose intolerant, I am slow to eat it. In my previous post, I gave a recipe for a crustless quiche.

Since I had some pie crust left, diced apples and gorgonzola I thought it would make for a fun appetizer. And tasty it was!!! I love pear and gorgonzola, but apple and gorgonzola was great also.

For 30 small tartlets: 1 pack of pie crust ( 2 pie crusts), 2 cups of very very small diced apples, 1/2 cup of gorgonzola crumbled, 1/2 tsp of salt, and 1/4 tsp of freshly ground pepper, 1/4 tsp of cinnamon.

On the roulpat, roll out your dough and with the 2″ cutter, cut out small pie crusts. Place those pie crusts on each opening of the mini tartlet tray. Using the pie shaper, push the dough down. Then use a fork to perforate the dough so that bubbles will not occur. In a large bowl, add the apples and sprinkle the salt and pepper and the cinnamon. Mix well and spoon 1/2 tsp of the apple mixture in all the little pies. Sprinkle some gorgonzola on top of the apples and cook for 13 minutes in a warm oven at 375. C”est tout!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Summer Vegetable Mix

Posted May 3, 2012

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!!!