Meyer Lemon Mousse

Posted May 24, 2013

Filed under dessert, fruit, ice-cream. sorbet, Mousses, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

My mom did not really like Chocolate. I never really understood why growing up as I was a chocolate aficionado. Nothing could be better than chocolate then. Today, my world is changing. Though I still enjoy chocolate, I am much difficult with the kind of chocolate I will eat – preferably dark, 60% cocoa and from Europe…. Yeah I know…

These days however I am more tempted by citrus desserts and citrus mousse. When I saw this recipe on the net last week, it made me think of one of my mom’s favorite: Citron Glace so I had to try it. I made a few adjustments. The recipe was inspired from the Martha Stewart’s website.

Ingredients for 3 lemons:

4 Meyer Lemon ( 3 for the shell, and one for the zest)
1/4 cup of Myer Lemon Juice
1 egg separated
1/3 cup of sugar
2 tbsp of butter
1/4 cup of heavy cream
1 tbsp of sugar for the egg whites
1 pinch of salt

Using a very sharp knife, trim the tip end of each lemon so that they can sit straight. Cut the top of the lemon about 1/4 of an inch from the top. Repeat those steps with all 3 lemons.
With a spoon, carefully dig into the lemon and scoop the flesh out but being careful not to tear the lemon. Wrap the lemons in plastic wrap and refrigerate them so they will not dry out.
PLace the flesh into a container and squeeze the juice out of it by squeezing the flesh through a a fine sieve. Keep only 1/4 cup of the juice for this dessert, and refrigerate the rest for some other usage.
Place the 1/4 cup of lemon juice, the egg yolk and the sugar into a small saucepan and cook until the mixture thickens. Set aside.
When the mixture is thick, let it cool completely, then add the butter and mix. Stir in the zest. Cover the mixture with a plastic wrap and seal it well so that a ” skin” will not form.
PLace the heavy cream in a mixer and whip the cream until it forms hard peaks. Remove the whipped cream from the mixer and refrigerate.
Clean the mixer, add the egg and beat the egg whites with 1 pinch of salt and 1 tbsp of sugar to form glossy peaks.
Remove the lemon curd and the whipped cream from the fridge and fold the whipped cream slowly into the curd.
Fold the egg whites into this mixture.
Fill a pastry bag with this mixture, and fill the lemon shells with this mixture.
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. I personnally froze mine.
Make sure to take the lemons out at least before 30 minutes before eating them. The mousse will be slightly frozen. But i kind of like to eat them that way:-)

Your turn to give it a try and tell me how you like them;-)

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Colorful Winter Salad

Posted January 21, 2013

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

Summer offers such an array of beautiful colorful vegetables and fruits that it is easy to make your table fun and appetizing. Winter, on the other hand, is limited with its selection. So when I finally find fun vegetables like Belgium endives and radicchio I buy them to add a bit of color to my table and plate.

Belgium endives is a very common vegetable in France. It is served as salad and also as gratin. Whichever you ix it, you will want to add to the recipes something that counterpart the bitterness of the vegetable. And that is why in am using white balsamic vinegar in my recipe today:

Ingredients for 4:

1 head of radicchio
2 medium-sized endives.
2 tbsp of white vinegar
2 tbsp of walnut oil
1/8 tsp of salt
1/16 tsp of pepper
1/4 cup of gorgonzola cheese crumbled
1/4 – 1/2 cup of walnuts broken in small pieces.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.
Chop the salad thinly and add it to the salad. Toss well.
Add the chopped walnuts. and mix again.
Add the cheese and toss, or serve the cheese on the side in case people in your home does not care for blue cheese.
Eat up!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Delightful Fat Free Dessert: Strawberry Napoleon

Posted January 28, 2012

Filed under dessert, Fancy European Desserts, fruit, silpat, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

With January often comes new year resolutions… and that of losing weight. If you are one of those people, this strawberry Napoleon is the perfect dessert for you. It is fat free, easy to make and so delicious you won’t feel that you are on a diet.

Ingredients for 4:

phyllo dough,
honey,
1 cup of pistachios chopped thinly,
2 cups of strawberries sliced thinly.

Cut 36 rectangles of 2.5 x 4 inches out of one phyllo dough sheet. You may need to use several sheets to cut out those rectangles.
Lay those rectangles flat on the roulpat.
Warm up the honey so it is lukewarm. With a pastry brush, brush the honey over each of those rectangles.
Layer 3 rectangles on top of another and sprinkle powder sugar and pistachios crumbs.
Transfer those 3 layers rectangles on the large silpat. You should have 12 rectangles in all. Cook for 3-4 minutes at 400.
Remove the silpat out of the oven and let the rectangle cool until they are cold and hard.
Meanwhile slice the strawberries in their width in a bowl, add 1 tbsp of sugar and stir to coat.
To build the napoleon, place one rectangle, layer the starwberries, add another rectangle and repeat. Finish with a layer of the dough. ET voila!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

A Light Version of the Sweet Potato Casserole

Posted December 29, 2011

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

My students always tease me about French people eating escargots and frog legs and often assume that French people eat a lot of nasty things. But after I show them the wonderful food and desserts that are made in France, they quickly change their mind and beg to come with me to France. Of course I don’t tell them that in France, as many other countries in the world, most the animals’ parts are used for food. Growing up in France, I was encouraged to eat a lot of them. My mom introduced me to everything even though she did not always like them herself saying: “You have to try everything, you will not know if you like it until you try”or “Eat, it is good for you, it is full of iron ( talking about liver). Well because of her, I have always tried everything that was placed in front of me, and only made my judgement after tasting. She proved to be right. There is only one thing I do not care for till this day: Sweet Potatoe Pie.

I will tell you that there were many things that did not appeal to me much until I tried. I am glad today that I had the courage to try them beside my first repulsion, because some of them are now my favorites! Casseroles and more particularly sweet potato casseroles (Potato, brown sugar and marshmallow mixed together?!?!YUK) would have been missed if I had not listened to my mom;-)

Today I will present one of my favorite dish for the holidays: Sweet Potato Casserole.

Though I love the traditional recipe with heavy cream, and brown sugar, I will give you a recipe that is much lighter and that is still very tasty. You will need:

Ingredients for 6 people: 3 large sweet potatoes, 1 cup of light chicken broth, 6 shallots, brown sugar, cinammon, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Peel the potatoes and cut them in large cubes. Place the cut potatoes in a large round mold, cover with the octogonal silpat and microwave for 10 minutes. Once cooked, empty the potatoes in a large bowl and mash them with a potato masher. Add 1 cup of hot broth and whip the potatoes. Add 2 tbsp of brown sugar, a dash of nutmeg, of cinnamon, pepper and mix well. Add salt if you deem necessary. Empty the puree sweet potatoes in a dish and set aside.

Peel the shallots and cut them thinly. In a small frying pan, warm up 1 tbsp of butter and sizzle the shallots. Cook them at medium-high temperature until the shallots are dark brown and are becoming crisp. Add 1 tsp of brown sugar and cook for another minute. Sprinkle the shallots on top of the puree and place the dish in the oven. Cook at 350 for 15 minutes. Et voila!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Oven Roasted Squash and Zucchini

Posted October 12, 2011

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

I know, I know, this recipe is not a fall recipe but it is such a simple recipe that I wanted to share it with you. If you are at loss about what to fix, but still want to eat healthy, why don’t you oven roast your vegetables. You can prepare anything. Most vegetables will cook at 400 for 8 minutes unless they are denser like root vegetables ( potatoes, parsnips, butternut squash…). Yu can oven roast brocoli, cauliflower… really anything you see in the store. In fact you could also roast fruits amid vegetables. Today I fixed squash and zucchini roasted in the oven.

Ingredients for 4: 2 medium-sized zucchinis and 2 medium-sized summer squashs sliced thinly in disks, salt, pepper, 1 Tbsp of olive oil, herbs such as Herbes de Provence, 1/3- 1/2 cup of grated parmesan.

Rinse your vegetables and slice them thinly in narrow disks. Place the vegetables in a large bowl. Drizzle the olive oil over it, sprinkle 1/8 tsp of salt, 1/16 tsp of pepper, and 1/2 tbsp of seasoning. Lay the vegetables flat on a silpat and cook in an already warm oven at 400 for 8 minutes. Et voila!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Easy Tomato Tart

Posted August 26, 2011

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

If you are looking for recipes to cook all those tomatoes that are growing in your backyard like me ( Haha …. I wish…), search no more. You can fix this yummy recipe that takes no time to fix or cook and is so much better than pizza.

Ingredients: 1 sheet of puff pastry, 5 roma tomatoes on a vine, 2 cups of flavorful cheese such as provolone, asiago, parmesan, emmethal, 2 tbsp of assorted herbs such as Herbs de Provence, or Italian Seasonings, or even Thyme.

Spread the dough so that it will cover your silpat or your baking sheet. Make sure to place the dough around the edges. Perfore the dough with a fork so that air pockets will not form during baking. Spread 2 cups of cheese on the dough. Slice the tomatoes very thinly and layer them over the cheese. Sprinkle the seasoning on top of the tomatoes as well as salt and pepper. Place in a warm oven at 400 and cook for 15- 20 minutes. The edges of the dough should be golden.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Zucchini and Squash Tagliatelle

Posted August 8, 2011

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

I love vegetables, but it is difficult to find recipes that are fun and light. I had seen a salad of thin strip of squash and zucchini, and that’s where I got the idea of cutting them in thin strips, and serving them as tagliatelle. That was a good light substitution for real pasta… since I don’t eat pasta;-)

Ingredients for 2: 2 small zucchinis 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 and EAT! Yummy… it is so light….I highly recommend you try!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

A Summer’s Favorite: Succotash

Posted May 31, 2011

Filed under vegetables

In the summer I don’t like to eat a lot, and when I do eat, i like it to be light and refreshing. Luckily summer has so many fresh produces that it is easy to have a full dinner with just vegetables. My favorite thing to eat is Ratatouille but I can eat, eat , eat and eat vegetables all day long. Today I will propose you with a bean recipe that is very light unlike the Barbecue beans you will often see at cook-outs. It is a nice substitution, that is at the same time light and not so heavy.

Ingredients ( 4-6 people) : 1/2 bag of frozen corn ( 1 lb), 1 bag of frozen baby-lima beans, 4 strips of bacon uncooked, 1/2 sweet onions, pepper and salt to taste, 1 Tbsp of fresh thyme 1/4 cup of heavy cream if you desire.

Cut the bacon in small strips and cook in a saucepan until the bacon is cooked but not crispy, remove the bacon drippings. Add the diced onion and cook until it becomes translucent and golden. Add the frozen lima beans and corn and cook with the bacon and onions for about 2 minutes. Add 1 -1 1/2 cup of water. Season with salt and pepper ( about 1/4 tsp of pepper, 1 tsp of salt) and thyme. Cook for about 15 minutes. At the end, you may want to add cream to have a creamier succotash.

Bon Appetit!