Rotisserie Chicken Salad

Posted March 24, 2014

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

A few weeks ago the band of my son’s high school hosted a band competition. To raise money, they asked parents to bring in treats for the bake sales, and helped to cater the event with food for both the directors and the judges of the band.

If you knew me, you will find that I am one that likes to give a hand everywhere I can even when time is limited so I did.

I offered to help cater the luncheon for the judges. On the menu, they had a real Southern treats ( or at least that what i think;-)

Spiced Pecans
Cheddar Wafers
Petite Chocolate Cake with Chocolate ganache and
Rotisserie Chicken Salad on Croissant
And Fresh Fruits.

Because I had so many compliments on the chicken salad, i thought to share to recipes on my blog so that if someone wants it, they can just use this blog entry.

Ingredients for 36 mini chicken sandwiches on Croissants, or 50 triangular tea sandwiches:

1 rotisserie chicken deboned and “peeled”
3/4 to 1 cup of mayonnaise
1 tbsp of garlic salt
1/2 cup of celeri stick sliced in half and chop very very thinly
1/4 cup of red onion chopped very very thinly ( optional)
1/2 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of pepper

Remove the skin and peel off the meat from the bones.
Chop the chicken meat very thinly with the sharp knife. I use all the parts, but if you only like the white parts, you certainly can only use that.
Place the chicken into a kitchen mixer and add all the other ingredients.
Using the white paddle used for batter, mix the chicken salad until the chicken is well mixed.
Season with more salt and pepper if needed.
Serve the chicken salad as you wish, on croissant, or in Phillo cups as shown above. I used my mini muffin tray from demarle. Too cute!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Green Bean Casserole My French Way;-)

Posted December 20, 2013

Filed under Large round mold, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, vegetables, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

The first time I was introduced to a casserole was about 15 years ago. My husband and I had been invited to a dinner party/ dinner club and everyone had been invited to contribute to the meal by bringing something. I cannot recall what i brought, but what i recalled is the food that i tasted. Some was good, some average and some just below average. What i remembered is a green bean casserole. I had never seen green beans served other than steamed, sauteed in a pan, or served as a salad before that evening. I tasted it and though many people went on and on about it, i was really not impressed.

I will tell you that I never really ventured to make a green bean casserole until this week-end. In the october issue of Fine Cooking, there was a recipe that looked so yummy that I needed to try it. Except that i hardly followed the recipe because I did not have everything on hand.

Ingredients for a casserole of 8-10 people:

2 lbs of green beans rinsed and trimmed
1 leek
1 onion
1 box of mushroom
2 tbsp of butter
3 tbsp of flour
1 cup of white wine
1 cup of broth
1 cup of milk/ or cream
salt and pepper

Rinse the leeks, chop them very thinly and set them aside.
Slice the onion in half. Slice 1 half in thin rings.
Place them into a bowl, drizzle some flour, mix them well.
Fry them a bit a time in a sauteed pan until they are golden brown. Set them aside.
Chop the other half of the onion.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter and cook it until it is sizzling. Add the onion and saute them until they are becoming a light yellow and are translucent. Add the leek and do the same.
Then add the sliced mushrooms. Cook them until they are brown and the liquid has evaporated.
Add the flour and stir well.
Add the white wine and bring the mixture to boil.
Lower the temperature, add the broth, the cream and cook until the mixture is thickening.
Meanwhile, steam the beans for 4 minutes until they are cooked, but firm.
I choose the use my round mold to steam the beans because it is much quicker: trim the green beans and place them into a large round bowl. Add a pinch of salt. Place the octogonal silpat on top to close it off and cook the beans in the microwave for 6 minutes.
Drain the water, place the beans into a casserole dish. I chose my large round mold again because it is non-stick so no scrubbing;-) when it will be cleaning time.
Pour the sauce over the beans, mix well and cook the “casserole” for 20-30 minutes.
When it is time to serve the casserole, mix the casserole to distribute the sauce. Sprinkle the sauteed onions over the casserole and enjoy;-)

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Spiced Up Corn

Posted November 3, 2012

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

One of my dear friend and customer asked me last week if there was anything wrong with my website because he was no longer getting recipes… I felt so bad!!!

I know and I apologize to my dear readers for my lack of “posting”, but I have been so busy with parenting, giving cooking classes and other projects that I have not had time to post many recipes lately. Not to worry. I still cook and my recipes add up on my computer, and one day they will come again in your inbox;-) It is not so much the cooking or the writing that takes time, it is the proofreading and the editing that takes me a while..
Anyway, the other day I was fixing a corn dip for a friend of mine and the recipe was so yummy that I decided to adapt it to my dinner so i thought i would share with you today.
So here it is:

You will need for 4-6 serving:

1 onion chopped thinly
1 jalapeno pepper chopped ver thinly as well
1 red pepper chopped
1/4 cup or about 8 scallions chopped very thinly as well
2 tbsp of butter or olive oil.
Cayenne pepper and salt to taste
2-4 cups of corn ( fresh or frozen) (2-4 because it depends how much you want to cook, and how much left-over you want.)

First sauté the onion in the butter or the olive oil in a large saute pan. When the onion is becoming a light brown color, add the red bell pepper, scallions and jalapeno pepper. Stir and sauté for a few minutes. Then add the corn ( fresh or frozen). Cook this mixture on medium for a few minutes until the corn turns yellow and is cooked. Season with salt and pepper. Add a pinch or a dash of cayenne pepper depending on how hot you like your food and enjoy!!!

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!!!

Sauteed Scallops over a Bed of Brussels Sprout Stir Fry.

Posted February 20, 2012

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

Besides sweet potatoes, winter vegetables are not as attractive to my children are as the summer ones. As a result I have to find ways to cook them in various ways. Today I was trying to use those extra brussels sprouts that no one wanted to eat.

Ingredients for 2: 1/4 white sweet onion cut thinly, 3 strip of bacon cut in thin strips. about 20 brussels ( or have a small bag), 6-8 fresh scallops, salt, pepper, 1/4 cup of white wine.

Clean the brussels sprouts by cutting the end and peeling the first layers of leaves. Place then in a bowl of water to rinse them. Remove them from the water and cut them in half. Place them in the round mold and cover the round mold with the octogonal silpat. Microwave for 3 minutes. Cut them in thin strips and set aside.

In a large frying pan, place the bacon and cook on medium-high until the fat is melting. When the fat is melting, add the diced onion and cook until the onions are becoming golden and soft. The bacon should still be soft. Add the diced brussels sprouts and saute them in the onion and bacon mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste and stir. Add the wine and cook until the wine has evaporated. Empty the content of the pan in a large bowl and start cooking the scallops. In the same frying pan, add 1 tbsp of butter and cook at medium-high until it starts sizzling. When the butter is sizzling, add the scallops and cook them for 1 minute on each sides just enough to brown them. Sprinkle some salt and pepper to taste. To serve, place the brussels sprouts stir fry on the plate and place the scallops a top the vegetables. How easy what that?!?!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Pan-Seared Sirloin Patty with Caramelized Onion and Cream Reduction

Posted October 27, 2011

Filed under beef, meat, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

It was 6:30 when I was making my way home. I called home to check on everyone and to ask about dinner. Instead of a dinner suggestion, I was told to get some pizza so as to have dinner ready as soon as I got home and also as not to let me cook since it was already late. Though it was nice of my husband to suggest that I do, I was not going to do that, you know me better. Instead I was going to get something easy to fix and quick!!! For them: sirloin patty with caramelized onions and cream reduction and steamed new potatoes. Me, roasted fall vegetables and maple, mustard and pecan coated pork chop.

Sirloin Patty with caramelized onion and cream reduction.

Ingredients: 3 sirloin patties, 1 purple onion diced and chopped, 2 tsbp of butter, salt and pepper, 1 cup of heavy cream, salt and pepper.

In a frying pan, melt 1 tbsp of butter and when the butter is sizzling add the diced onion. Cook the onions on low-medium heat until they become brown and golden. Season with salt and pepper by sprinkling a little of each on the onions. Remove the onions from the pan. In the same pan, add 1 tsbp of butter and melt it. When it is sizzling, add the sirloin patties. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the steak and cook for 2 minutes. Flip the patties and cook for another 2 minutes. When they are cooked to the temperature that you like, set them aside and place them in warm oven to keep them warm. Meanwhile, add 1 cup of heavy cream in the frying pan and bring it to boil. Season with salt and pepper and keep cooking until the cream is reduced to its half and has become thicker.

To serve the steak, place the steak on the plate, spoon a little bit of sauce over the steak and spoon some onions over the sauce. Et voila!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!