Chili-Lime Meatballs

Posted June 9, 2014

Filed under appetizers, beef, deep flexipan, Eating experiences, entree, meat, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

I love, love Asian food, but my husband is not a fan so when I cooked this recipe adapted from an old recipe book from The Pampered Chef and he liked it, I was really really happy because it is so hard to cook for this man;-)

I hope that you will love it too. It is easy to make, fast to cook and delicious.

Ingredients for about 5-6 people:

1 pack of lean ground beef ( about 1.33lb)
4 slices of bread or 1/2 cup of bread crumbs
1/4 cup of milk
2 eggs
1/4 tsp of salt
1/8 tsp of pepper
4 tsp of Thai curry paste
4 green onions diced very thinly

Chili-Lime Sauce:

1/2 cup of soy sauce
1/2 cup of honey
2 tbsp of toasted sesame seed oil
1 inch of grated ginger
4 garlic gloves pressed
the zest of 1 lime
4 tbsp of lime juice ( you may need 2 limes to get 4tbsp)
4 tsp of Thai Red Curry
2 tsp of corn flour

In a large bowl, place either the 1/2 cup of bread crumbs or the 4 slices of bread and pour the milk that you would have previously warmed up.
With a fork, puree the bread.
Add all the other ingredients to the bread and mix well. You can either use your hand, or a kitchen mixer.
With a small scoop, scoop the meatballs and place them onto a deep flexipan that you would have placed onto a medium perforated sheet.
Cook then for 15 minutes at the temperature of 400.
Meanwhile prepare the sauce. In a small saucepan, mix all the ingredients and bring the mixture to boil.
When the mixture has come to boil, turn the heat down and cook for a few more minutes or until the sauce thickens
Place the meatballs into a large bowl, pour the sauce over them and mix well.
Serve with steamed rice, and roasted asparagus seasoned with toasted sesame seed.Yum, and fast!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Pineapple, Ginger and Soy Marinated Shrimps atop a Peach and Avocado Salad

Posted June 7, 2013

Filed under deep flexipan, Eating experiences, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, seafood, shrimps, silpat, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

If you have read a few of my posts, you must know that I buy my food much on impulses and yesterday was not different. There was a tray of fresh peach from Georgia at the grocery store, and as I passed it I could not help noticing their pleasant fragrant. Not sure yet if those peaches were gonna be good, I decided to only buy two. You just never know… sometimes they smell great, but they lack taste.

There was a shrimp recipe that I had seen in Cook Fresh Fine Cooking Magazine of Fall 2012 that I wanted to try and thought that those peaches could make a great side to that recipe so I bought them to make a salad with them. The recipe for the Pineapple and Soy marinated shrimps was inspired by a recipe called Tex-Mex Grilled Shrimps that was posted in the Cooking Magazine in 2012.

The shrimps can be eaten warm, or cold. I personally ate them cold with the Peach Salad for my lunch today. Yummy and so fresh!!!

Ingredients for the Marinated Shrimps for 3 people:

about 24 Shrimps or about 1 1/2 lb of large shrimps ( fresh or frozen)
1 tbsp of olive oil
1/4 cup of light sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup of pineapple juice
1 medium clove pressed
2 inches of fresh ginger grated
1 small lime
zest of one lime

Ingredients for the Peach Salsa:

2 small ripe but firm peaches
1 avocado ripe but firm
1/3 cup of fresh jicama.
3 scallions or about 1 tbsp. of chopped scallions.
1 lime juice
zest of 1 lime
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of champagne vinegar
a dash of pepper
a dash of salt

If the shrimps are frozen, thaw them out by placing them into a plastic bag and placing the bag into lukewarm water. The shrimps will thaw out within 30 minutes.
Rinse the shrimps under running water and pat them dry.
Place them into a large bowl and add all the ingredients mentioned above in the shrimps recipe. Marinade them for 30 minutes at least.
Meanwhile prepare the Peach Salad:
Rinse the peaches under running water and pat them dry.
With a sharp knife, cut the peaches into quarters. Then dice those quarters into 1/3 inch cubes. Place those cubes into a medium-sized bowl.
Cut the avocado in half. Place a spoon in between the avocado flesh and the skin and remove the avocado fruit from its shell. Slice the avocado in half and then cut the avocado in 1/3 inch cubes as well. Place the cubed avocado atop the cubes peaches.
Peel the skin of the jicama root. Slice the jicama in half. Then slice the jicama in 1/3 inch wide slices. Cut those slices into cubes as well. Place about 1/3 cup of those cube with the rest of the fruits.
Add the chopped scallions, salt, pepper, lime zest, lime juice, 1 tbsp. of olive oil, 1 tbsp of champagne vinegar and stir. Set aside.
Remove the shrimps from the marinade and place them into a deep flexipat that you would have placed onto a medium perforated sheet. You may want to skewer 6-8 the shrimps onto a wooden stick, but it is not necessary.
Cook the shrimps for 5-6 minutes.
To serve, spoon the peach salad on individual plates. And place shrimps atop the salad. Bon Appetit;-)

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

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Lime, Honey and Soy Marinated Chicken

Posted April 19, 2013

Filed under deep flexipan, entree, Large round mold, poultry, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, roulpat

Lime again?!?! Well yes… I have so many that I need to use them. Just kidding. I loved the shrimps that i fixed a few days ago that i thought to do the same with chicken. Except that I needed to season the chicken with some salt and just thought of soy sauce instead. Well, this chicken is a winner in my book. ” C’est gouteux et fin “comme on dirait francais;-) It is tasty, it has a delicate flavor and it is perfect for this season: light and delicious:-)

Ingredients for 2 people:

2 chicken breasts
2 tbsp of lime juice
2 tbsp of honey
the zest of 1 lime
2 tbsp of soy sauce.

clean the chicken breasts of any nerves and fat.
rinse the chicken breast under running water.
Pat dry the chicken breast with a paper towel.
place a chicken breast on the small roulpat and fold the roulpat on top of it.
with a rolling-pin, beat the chicken to flatten the chicken breast and even it out.
Place the chicken in a ziploc bac.
in a small bowl, mix all the ingredients mentioned above and stir.
pour this mixture over the chicken and marinade the chicken for 30 minutes to 2 hours.
Remove the chicken breasts from the bag and place them inside the round mold or on a flexipan and cook them for 13-15 minutes at 400. If using a regular pan, cook your chicken for 20 minutes.
remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest for a few minutes before cutting it.
serve the chicken with roasted or steamed asparagus. Et voila!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Lime Curd

Posted April 17, 2013

Filed under Creams and Puddings, dessert, fruit, Mousses, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, stainless steel cookware, Tarts and Pies, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Spring is finally here and I am so glad;-) I am certainly enjoying this weather. It has been so nice to be able to do my jogging outside, and not inside this boring gym.

Well this weather has also given me envy of citrus. You saw the recipes I posted last week. Well this weekend I got busy and made a few treats. Lime curd, Limoncello and Meringue Tartlets and Lemon Squares. Today I will post the recipe of the lime curd.

I had never made lemon curd until today because I was never a fan.

My mom on the other hand, was and would eat it every morning on her tartines along with her tea, and sometimes sardines… Yes my mom had some surprising tastes.

she would make me try but i enjoyed confitures ( jelly) much more. It was so as tangy.

Once would have thought that I would change my mind as I traveled through England and was offered the best of the best. But no…No matter the brand I never really liked lemon or lime curd.

I despised it so that i never ate it again until tow years ago. My sister had started to make some confiture and wanted me to try all that she was making so I could be the judge. I will tell you that I was relunctant to try that lemon curd, but hers was so yummy that it gave me envy to make my own one day. Well every year I plan to make some and every year time passes and I forget to make some. This week-end since I did not have a lot to do, and I had many many lime on hands, I decided to make not a lemon curd, but a lime one.

It is much more tart than a lemon curd, but I kind of like it better. Not as sweet.

Ingredients for 2 cups:

6 egg yolks
the zest of 2 limes
juice of 4 limes, or about 1/2 cup of lime juice
1 cup of sugar
1 stick of butter

In a large bowl, mix the egg yolks and the sugar together until the mixture is thickening and is becoming whitish.
Add the lime zest and the lime juice and mix well.
Place this mixture over boiling water and keep stirring until the mixture is becoming really thick ( it should look like a mayonnaise). It will take between 5-8 minutes to get to this .
Remove the bowl from the boiling water and add the butter. Mix well.
Place the lime curd into the fridge. Et voila.

You can eat it with your tartines ( toasts), in the morning, mix it in your yogurt or use it to make some lime tarts. Easy and Yummy!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Coooking!!!

Shrimps Flavored with Lime and Honey

Posted April 10, 2013

Filed under entree, Large round mold, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, seafood, shrimps, silpat, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Please pardon my absence. It was Spring break at our house last week, and just like my children, I too took a break. It was much needed, I am feeling much rested and refreshed.

For spring break, we went away for a week and I did not cook a bit. It was nice to be taken care of, for a change. Though I enjoyed the food very much, I am going to need to be watching my diet in the next few weeks if I want to wear those summer dresses and bathing suits;-)

For tonite, I decided to have shrimps for dinner. I used what I had on hand.

Ingredients for 4:

1 bag of brocoli slaw
1 pack of 24 oz. large shrimps deveined and peeled. I used frozen shrimps, but of course you could use fresh ones as well.
zest of 1 lime
juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp of honey
1/32 tsp of salt
1/32 tsp of pepper
2 tbsp of olive oil

If using frozen shrimps, thaw them out by either leaving them in the fridge the night before, or by defrosting them in the microwave.
With a paper towel, pat the shrimps dry.
Empty the shrimps in a large bowl.
Add all the other ingredients to the shrimps and mix well.
Marinade for 30 minutes if possible.
Turn the oven to 400 and place the shrimps on a large silpat that you would have placed on a large perforated sheet.
Cook for 6 minutes.
You can also quickly saute the shrimps in a frying pan. Just warm up 1 tbsp of butter and when the butter is sizzling, add the shrimps. Cook them for a few minutes ( 2-3 minutes) or until they are becoming pink.
While the shrimps are cooking, empty the broccoli slaw into the large round mold, place the octogonal silpat on top and cook the slaw in the microwave for 3 minutes.
Add a dash of salt and pepper into the cooked brocoli slaw and stir.
To serve, spoon the brocoli on each plate and place some shrimps on top of the brocoli. Et voila!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Lime Panna Cotta

Posted March 4, 2013

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

With Spring around the corner, I fell like a refreshing dessert this week-end. I wanted something with light pastel color… What to do??? I thought of a panna cotta, it is light, and refreshing. Today I used lime but you can use any other seasonal fruit.

Panna cotta is one of my favorite desserts, because it requires very few ingredients, it is easy to do and can make some quite amazing looking desserts without efforts. All you need is find a fun tray to mold your panna cotta into.

Today i used the petal tray from Demarle.

Ingredients for 12 flowers panna cotta:

2 1/2 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of lime juice
1 pack of gelatin from
zest of 2 limes

Rinse the 2 limes that you will be using.
grate the zest of each lime using a small grater.
Set the zest aside.
Squeeze the juice out of the 2 limes.
In a small bowl, empty the content of 1 pack of gelatin. Pour the lime juice over it and stir. Let it rest for a few minutes until the gelatin expands.
In a medium-sized saucepan, pour the heavy cream, the zest, the sugar and the gelatin and stir.
Cook the mixture over a medium temperature and bring to boil.
Cook for 5 minutes.
Then pour the mixture into the container of your choice. I chose to use the petal mold.
Place the tray into the freezer for 2-4 hours.
To serve, unmold the flowers onto individual plates, and let the Panna cotta thaw out at room temperature for 30 minutes.
I placed 2 flowers per plate and decorate the plates with some more lime zest.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Pan-Fried Mahi Mahi with Star Fruit and Red Currant Salsa

Posted September 23, 2012

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

This week-end I sent my daughter to the grocery store to get me a few things. Not only did she come with the right ingredients;-), but she also brought some exotic fruits. She bought some star fruits as well as a pomegranate. I knew she loved pomegranate because she always begs me to get her some when they are in store, but I was so surprised that she took it on herself to buy star fruits. When i saw them, she said: “Look Mom, what I bought for you….” How sweet was that?!?! Of course i replied that she was so sweet and that we could do a mango or a lime cheesecake and that we could use those fancy star fruits as decoration;-)

Well two days ago, I found more star fruits in my fridge except that I still had not used the one that were already there so i asked her why she had bought more.. her reply was: “You were so happy to want to use them, and I really wanted to find out how they tasted that I bought some for me”.

Curious to find out that she knew how to eat them, I asked her if she even knew how to eat them ( because I sure do not… I have used them many times as decorations, but I never actually ate one..). She replied that she knew. Whoah, I would have fallen off my chair, had I been seating I was so surprised. She later confessed that she had looked it up on the internet and proceeded to explain to tell me what was the best way to eat them.

It seems that you need to trim the corners of all pointy sides. Then when you slice the fruit, you need to remove the seeds because they are a bit hard like those in certain grapes. That’s that easy. Well because of her, I ended up eating one and they tasted pretty good, a bit watery to my taste but I am glad I tasted one.

I am a very proud mom, and I know that my daughter is a jewel, but at that instant she made me so so proud. It was as if I was seeing a mini-me. She is paying attention in the grocery store, and just like me, she is curious and wants to know what new food tastes like. That’s definitely my baby girl;-)

Well, I got so busy this week-end that I never actually had time to fix that lime cheesecake and I did not have time to use those star fruits. Of course, they were starting to get brown spots which meant they had to be used pretty quickly. I had bought two beautiful pieces of Mahi Mahi, and thought that it would be fun to use that star fruit as salsa to accommodate that fish. So here it is:

Ingredients for 2: 2 large piece of Mahi, 2 lime juice, and zest, 2 tbsp of honey, 2 scallions chopped thinly, 2 star fruits, 1/2 cup of red currants, 1 tbsp of sherry wine, 1 tbsp of fresh basil chopped.

In a small bowl, mix the zest, the juice of one lime, 1 tbsp of honey and mix well. Pour the mixture over the fish filet and let the fish marinade for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Turn the oven to 400. After the fish has marinated, melt 1 tsp of butter in a small frying pan and sizzle the fish on all sides. Place the fish in the large round mold, sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper on both filet. Cover the mold with the octogonal silpat and cook the fish in the oven for 10 minutes. The fish will be cooked as if “poached”.

While the fish is cooking, prepare the salsa.

Chop 2 star fruits. Add the currants, the lime and zest of 1 lime, the chopped scallions, 1 tbsp of honey, 1 tbsp of sherry wine and mix well.

I serve the fish over some couscous.

Couscous: 1 cup of couscous, 1/4 cup of almond sliced, 1 cup of water, 1/4 tsp of salt, 1 tbsp of butter.

Fill 1 cup of water in a container and microwave for 2 minutes or until the water is boiling ( you may also boil the water over the stove into a little saucepan). Place 1 cup of couscous into a bowl and pour the water over the couscous, the almond, the salt and the butter. Mix to fluff up the couscous.

To serve, place 1/2 of couscous on the plate. Place the filet on the couscous, and place the salsa over the fish. Eat!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

A New Trend: Ceviche…

Posted July 10, 2011

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

Ceviche has been around in France for many years, but I just started noticing this new dish on menus here in the USA this summer. Ceviche is actually a dish from Peru. As described in Wikipedia, “Ceviche (also spelled cebiche or seviche) is a seafood dish popular in the coastal regions of the Americas, especially Central and South America. The dish is made from fresh raw fish marinated in citrus juices such as lemon or lime and spiced with chilli peppers. Additional seasonings such as onion, salt, and pepper may also be added. The origin of ceviche is disputed. Possible origin sites for the dish include the western coast of north-central South America, or in Central America. Other coastal societies such as the Polynesian islands of the south Pacific are also attributed the invention of the plate. The Spanish, who brought from Europe citrus fruits such as lime,could have also originated the plate with roots in Moorish cuisine. However, the most likely origin of the plate lies in the area of present-day Peru”.

In France it is particularly popular in the summer as it requires no cooking and is a very tasty yet very light appetizer. Ceviche can be made with any fish, and seafood but the most common one are made with salmon and white fish.

Today I will propose you a ceviche of salmon:

You will need for 4 people: 1 lb of fresh salmon, 2 tbsp of fresh shallots, 1/4 cup of finely chopped jalapeno pepper ( not necessary), 1/2 cup of cilantro, 1/4 cup of freshly squeezed lime juice, 3/4 tsp of sea salt, 1 tsp of pepper, 6 tbsp of olive oil.

Place the salmon in a chopper and chop coarsely. Add all the ingredients above to the salmon, and let it rest for 2 to 4 hours in the fridge. To serve, spoon the salmon mixture in individual plates or bowls. Serve with chips, or belgium endives or by itself. Yummy!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking !!!