Strawberries Balls for The Super Bowl

Posted February 4, 2016

Filed under candy. chocolate, chocolate/ candy, deep flexipan, dessert, silpat, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

What type of food are you offering your guests for Super bowl??? Well, if I were hosting, I would be making all kinds of food… But I am not. We will be joining some friends of ours. So Guess what??? I will only be making a few things. Mini Pretzels, Mustard, Ham and Cheese Pretzels Bites and Chocolate Covered Strawberries.

I will be posting those recipes very soon. But today I am just going to share with you the easiest of all desserts: Chocolate Covered Strawberries.

All you need is good quality Chocolate, and fresh strawberries.

Ingredients for 1 box of chocolate or about 30 strawberries:

1 box of strawberries
6 oz. of bittersweet chocolate from Ghiradhelli
1 0z of white chocolate

I love the Ghiradhelli Chocolate because it is the ONLY chocolate that will melt perfectly to a liquid form in the microwave so Do not use Hershey, or Nestlé. The chocolate will not melt unless you add butter.

Place the chocolate chips in a small bowl. Place the chocolate chips in the microwave for 90 seconds. Stir and place it back into the microwave for 5 to 10 seconds if needed.
Take one strawberry at a time, and dip it in the chocolate. Place the chocolate onto a large silpat that you would have previously placed on a perforated sheet for support. Repeat until it is done.
Place the strawberries into the fridge to cool. When the chocolate has settled.
Place the white chocolate into a small container and melt it the microwave for a few seconds ( 30 seconds). It should soft to the fingers.
Pour the melted chocolate into a small plastic bag. Push the chocolate to the end of the plastic bag.
Cut the tip and draw lines on the strawberries to make it look like the football.
Place the strawberries back into the fridge to cool. Et voila!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Football Strawberries for Super Bowl

Servings: 10
Time: 10-15 minutes
Difficulty: Super Easy
Print

Ingredients for 1 box of chocolate or about 30 strawberries:

1 box of strawberries
6 oz. of bittersweet chocolate from Ghiradhelli
1-0z of white chocolate
1 plastic bag

I love the Ghiradhelli Chocolate because it is the ONLY chocolate that will melt perfectly to a liquid form in the microwave so Do not use hershey, or Nestlé.

Place the chocolate chips in a small bowl. Place the chocolate chips in the microwave for 90 seconds. Stir and place it back into the microwave for 5 to 10 seconds if needed.
Take one strawberry at a time and dip it in the chocolate. Place the chocolate onto a large silpat that you would have previously placed on a perforated sheet. Repeat until it is done.
Place the strawberries into the fridge to cool. When the chocolate has settled.
Place the white chocolate into a small container and melt it it the microwave for a few seconds ( 30 seconds).
Pour the melted chocolate into a small plastic bag. Push the chocolate to the end of the plastic bag.
Cut the tip and draw lines on the strawberries to make it look like the football.
Place the strawberries back into the fridge to cool. Et voila!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Feuille D’Automne

Posted November 21, 2015

Filed under chocolate/ candy, dessert, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Don’t you love fall. The air is getting cooler, the leaves on the tree change to orange and red, and you start smelling cinnamon in all the places you go. Cinnamon in the apple ciders, in the apple tarts and in the pumpkin pies.. I love fall for all those reasons, but also because I don’t feel so guilty cooking scrumptious desserts in those cool days. One of my favorite cake to prepare around this time of the year is called Feuille D’automne, or Fall leaves. The recipe was originally created by Gaston LeNotre ( reknown French Pastry Chef) in 1968. It is today a signature cake at all his pastry stores and restaurants. It is made with an almond Meringue, and a dark chocolate mousse. His recipe was adapted by me to make it a little less challenging. It is a beautiful cake that is also succulent. I challenge you to bring one at your next Thanksgiving gathering!!!

Ingredients for a cake for 8-12 people:

You will need to make 3 almond meringue disks, a chocolate mousse.

Ingredients for the Almond Meringues, also called Succes:

100 g de poudre d’amandes tamisée
100 g de sucre glace
200 g de blancs d’œufs
160 g de sucre en poudre

Ingredients for the Chocolate Mousse:

500 gr. / 1 lb bittersweet chocolate
125 gr. / 4 oz butter
180 gr. / 6 oz egg yolks
250 gr. / 8 oz egg whites
75 gr. sugar

Ingredients for the Chocolate Decoration:

400 gm dark chocolate couverture
cocoa powder
confectioners’ sugar

In a large bowl, sift the almond flour and the powdered sugar and set it aside.
In the bowl of a kitchen mixer, put the egg whites and whip until they are foamy.
Slowly add the sugar and continue to beat the egg whites until they are forming soft peaks. See below.
Add the almond mixture to the whipped eggs.
Fold the almond carefully so that the eggs will not deflate.
Lay a large silpat onto a large perforated sheet and pipe the almond meringue into circles to make 3 rounds of about 9 inches.
Cook in a warm oven of 250 for 90 minutes. Set aside.
We are now ready to make the mousse which is the filling in between the meringue layers.
Place the chocolate chips into a bowl and melt the chocolate either on the stove over boiling water, or in the microwave for 2 minutes. Add the butter and mix well.
Beat the egg whites into hard peaks and slowly add the beaten egg whites to the chocolate mixture.
To assemble the cake, place the metal round on top of medium silpat that would be placed on a medium perforated sheet, or fill 1/3 of the medium round mold with the chocolate mousse. Place one of the meringue disk above the mousse. Fill the other third of mousse, cover it up with another meringue. Place the last disk and end with the mousse.
Place the cake into the fridge overnight or for at least 4 hours.
When the cake is ready, Remove the cake from its mold either by peeling the silicone mold or removing the metal ring.
To prepare the chocolate that will wrap the cake, warm up the chocolate to a liquid state. Place a plastic wrap at the bottom of a metal pan, or a deep flexipan and spread the chocolate so that it will cover the entire pan in a very thin layer. Place the pan into the fridge or the freezer and let it harden.
Let the chocolate cool at room temperature until the chocolate begins to get cloudy. Refrigerate to set completely.
When the chocolate is set, bring the pans back to room temperature and wait a few minutes until the chocolate is pliable but not soft.
Draw strips of about 4 to 3 1/2 inches into the chocolate.
With a sharp knife, cut the strips.
Lift off the strip of chocolate and place the thin strips around the cake to hide the cake contours. Repeat to cover the entire diameter of the cake.

21. the chocolate will be somewhat soft enough to wrap the outside of the cake, but you will not be able to bend it. Let the cake rest for a few minutes and you will see that the chocolate will be able to fold and you will be able to fold it over the top.

22. With the rest of the chocolate, you can either make waves or make shavings that you would place on top of the cake for decoration.

23. Sprinkle some powdered sugar on top for added decoration.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Feuille D'Automne

Servings: 8-12 people
Time: 4 hours
Difficulty: Moderate
Print

Ingredients for a cake for 8-12 people:

You will need to make 3 almond meringue disks, a chocolate mousse.

Ingredients for the Almond Meringues, also called Succes:

100 g de poudre d’amandes tamisée
100 g de sucre glace
200 g de blancs d’œufs
160 g de sucre en poudre

Ingredients for the Chocolate Mousse:

500 gr. / 1 lb bittersweet chocolate
125 gr. / 4 oz butter
180 gr. / 6 oz egg yolks
250 gr. / 8 oz egg whites
75 gr. sugar

Ingredients for the Chocolate Decoration:

400 gm dark chocolate couverture
cocoa powder
confectioners’ sugar

In a large bowl, sift the almond flour and the powdered sugar and set it aside.
In the bowl of a kitchen mixer, put the egg whites and whip until they are foamy.
Slowly add the sugar and continue to beat the egg whites until they are forming soft peaks.
Add the almond mixture to the whipped eggs.
Fold the almond carefully so that the eggs will not deflate.
Lay a large silpat onto a large perforated sheet and pipe the almond meringue into circles to make 3 rounds of about 9 inches.
Cook in a warm oven of 250 for 90 minutes. Set aside.
We are now ready to make the mousse which is the filling in between the meringue layers.
Place the chocolate chips into a bowl and melt the chocolate either on the stove over boiling water, or in the microwave for 2 minutes.
Add the butter and mix well.
Beat the egg whites into hard peaks and slowly add the beaten egg whites to the chocolate mixture.
To assemble the cake, place the metal round on top of medium silpat that would be placed on a medium perforated sheet, or fill 1/3 of the medium round mold with the chocolate mousse. Place one of the meringue disk above the mousse. Fill the other third of mousse, cover it up with another meringue. Place the last disk and end with the mousse.
Place the cake into the fridge overnight or for at least 4 hours.
When the cake is ready, remove the cake from its mold either by peeling the silicone mold or removing the metal ring.
To prepare the chocolate that will wrap the cake, warm up the chocolate to a liquid state. Place a plastic wrap at the bottom of a metal pan, or a deep flexipan and spread the chocolate so that it will cover the entire pan in a very thin layer. Place the pan into the fridge or the freezer and let it harden.
Let the chocolate cool at room temperature until the chocolate begins to get cloudy. Refrigerate to set completely.
When the chocolate is set, bring the pans back to room temperature and wait a few minutes until the chocolate is pliable but not soft.
Draw strips of about 4 to 3 1/2 inches into the chocolate.
With a sharp knife, cut the strips.
Lift off the strip of chocolate and place the thin strips around the cake to hide the cake contours. Repeat to cover the entire diameter of the cake.
21. the chocolate will be somewhat soft enough to wrap the outside of the cake, but you will not be able to bend it. Let the cake rest for a few minutes and you will see that the chocolate will be able to fold and you will be able to fold it over the top.
With the rest of the chocolate, you can either make waves or make shavings that you would place on top of the cake for decoration.
Sprinkle some powdered sugar on top for added decoration.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Stuffed Zucchini with Roasted Bell Pepper, and Purple Onion

Posted October 4, 2015

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

I love, love vegetables. I love to eat them, but I often find myself at loss on how to prepare them. Of course, you can grill, roast, steam, saute all your vegetables, and you can vary the spices that you use, but I am not very creative when cooking vegetables and like many of you I end up making the same vegetables over and over again.

I cannot remember where I saw a recipe of stuffed zucchinis, but I thought why not stuffed them with vegetables instead of meat to make it a truly vegetable dish. So here it is :

Ingredients for 4 :

4 medium sized zucchinis about 4-5 inches long
1 small purple onion
1 whole roasted bell pepper ( a big jar can be found in grocery store or at Costco)
1/2 cup of parmesan, swiss cheese or even feta ( optional)
1 tsp of demarle rosemary and thyme spice
1/4 tsp of salt
1/8 tsp of pepper
1 tbsp of olive oil

If you have not purchased roasted bell peppers, you will need to roast the fresh ones yourself. It is quite easy. Since it just takes times, you may as well prepare a few more to keep in your fridge for more recipes. Slice the bell peppers in half. Place then onto the silpat skin up, and roast them for 30 minutes at 450. When they are roasted, let them cool first by placing a silpat over them to keep them from drying up. When they are somewhat cooler, place them into a plastic bag and let them cool completely. The reason why you will want to place them into a bag, is to allow them to “perspire” and it will be easier for you to peel the skin off.
After 30 minutes to an hour, when they are completely cool. Carefully peel of the skin. It should come off fairly easy. Et voila.
Slice and dice one whole bell pepper and place it into a large bowl.
Rinse the zucchinis thoroughly under running water. Then with a sharp knife, slice the zucchini in half in its length. With a melon grater, or a little spoon, grate the inside of the zucchinis. Place the “meat” of the zucchinis onto a chopping block, and chop the zucchini “meat” finely. Empty it into a bowl where you would have already placed the diced bell pepper. Set aside.
Chop the onion very finely.
In a large saute pan, warm up a tbsp of olive oil and when the oil is warm, saute the onion until it becomes a dark amber color.
Empty the onion in the bowl where you would have placed the zucchini’s “meat”.
Add the salt, pepper, 1 tsp of rosemary and thyme and 1/2 cup of cheese ( optional). Mix well.
Fill the zucchinis with the mixture and place them into a deep flexipan that you would have placed onto a medium perforated sheet.
Cook for 20-30 minutes ( it will depend how big they are. the larger, the longer they will need). Enjoy!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Stuffed Zucchinis with Bell Pepper and Purple Onion

Servings: 4-6 people
Time: 20-30 minutes
Difficulty: Super easy
Print

Ingredients for 4 :

4 medium-sized zucchinis about 4-5 inches long
1 small purple onion
1 whole roasted bell pepper ( a big jar can be found in grocery store or at Costco)
1/2 cup of parmesan, swiss cheese or even feta ( optional)
1 tsp of demarle rosemary and thyme spice
1/4 tsp of salt
1/8 tsp of pepper
1 tbsp of olive oil

If you have not purchased roasted bell peppers, you will need to roast the fresh ones yourself. It is quite easy. Since it just takes times, you may as well prepare a few more to keep in your fridge for more recipes. Slice the bell peppers in half. Place then onto the silpat skin up, and roast them for 30 minutes at 450. When they are roasted, let them cool first by placing a silpat over them to keep them from drying up. When they are somewhat cooler, place them into a plastic bag and let them cool completely. The reason why you will want to place them into a bag, is to allow them to “perspire” and it will be easier for you to peel the skin off.
After 30 minutes to an hour, when they are completely cool. Carefully peel of the skin. It should come off fairly easy. Et voila.
Slice and dice one whole bell pepper and place it into a large bowl.
Rinse the zucchinis thoroughly under running water. Then with a sharp knife, slice the zucchini in half in its length. With a melon grater, or a little spoon, grate the inside of the zucchini. Place the “meat” of the zucchinis onto a chopping block, and chop the zucchini “meat” finely. Empty it into a bowl where you would have already placed the diced bell pepper. Set aside.
Chop the onion very finely.
In a large saute pan, warm up a tbsp of olive oil and when the oil is warm, saute the onion until it becomes a dark amber color. Empty the onion in the bowl where you would have placed the zucchini’s “meat”.
Add the salt, pepper, 1 tsp of rosemary and thyme and 1/2 cup of cheese ( optional). Mix well.
Fill the zucchinis with the mixture and place them into a deep flexipan that you would have placed onto a medium perforated sheet.
Cook for 20-30 minutes ( it will depend how big they are. the larger, the longer they will need). Enjoy!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Boursin Hash Brown Cupcakes

Posted July 22, 2014

Filed under beef, Creams and Puddings, entree, loaf mold, pork, potato, poultry, stainless steel cookware

I cannot remember where we were, but my husband ordered a Boursin Gratin. I am not usually a fan of potatoes but those were so fragrant that i had to try them. I was surprised by the taste. It had “un je ne sais quoi” that simply made me want to eat more. And it melted in my mouth…. It was so so good. Because I did not dare to ask the waiter what was the recipe, I tried to come up with mine. So here it is. My husband declares that they are out of this world. He is German, he knows his potatoes so i will believe him;-) I dare you to try.

Ingredients for 12 large cupcakes size:

1 1/2 bag of frozen hash browns ( each bag being 30oz.)
1 1/2 cup of heavy cream
1 1/2 box of Boursin Cheese ( French Cream Cheese flavored with herbs and garlic) Cheaper at Costco!!!
1 1/2 tbsp of garlic salt ( I used Lawry’s Garlic Salt)
1/8 tsp of pepper

1. Defrost the hash brown by either placing the bags in your fridge overnight, or by placing the hashbrown in the large round mold, covering it with the octagonal silpat and microwaving it for 3 minutes. 2. In a large bowl, mix the cream, the Boursin cheese, the garlic salt and the pepper.

3. Then add the defrosted hash browns. Mix well.

4. Place this mixture into the opening of the large muffin pan that you would have placed on top of a medium perforated sheet. ( It is great for portion control;-) You do not need to spray any oil in the Demarle Cookware, however you will need to, if using any other mold. 5. And cook for 30 minutes at 400 or until the potatoes are a golden brown. You may need to cook longer if you are using tin muffin pan. Also do not forget to spray them with oil. 6. Voila!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Boursin Hash Brown Cupcakes

Servings: 6-12
Time: 45 minutes
Difficulty: easy
Print

Ingredients for 12-15 large cupcakes or 25-30 mini size:

1 1/2 bag of frozen hash browns ( each bag being 26 oz, or 737 gr. )
1 1/2 cup of heavy cream
1 1/2 box of Boursin Cheese ( French Cream Cheese flavored with herbs and garlic) Cheaper at Costco!!!
1 1/2 tbsp of garlic salt ( i used Lawry’s Garlic Salt)
1/8 tsp of pepper

Defrost the hash brown by either placing the bags in your fridge overnight, or by placing the hashbrown in the large round mold, covering it with the octagonal silpat and microwaving it for 3 minutes.
In a large bowl, mix the cream, the Boursin cheese, the garlic salt and the pepper.
Then add the defrosted hash browns. Mix well.
Place this mixture into the opening of the large muffin. ( It is great for portion control;-) You do not need to spray any oil in the Demarle Cookware, however you will need to, if using any other mold.
And cook for 30 minutes at 400 or until the potatoes are a golden brown. You may need to cook longer if you are using tin muffin pan. Also do not forget to spray them with oil.
Voila!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Super Moist Meatloaf

Posted July 22, 2014

Filed under entree, Fleximolds, large muffin, meat, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

After a few days of absence, it was super nice to be home, see my family and enjoy the comfort of my bed. Though my day was busy getting back to customers, I was happy to return to my kitchen and cook a homey dinner. What to cook?? I figured since my husband outmost favorite is ground beef and potatoes, I decided to fix an American Meatloaf, Boursin Flavored Potato Casserole and Steamed Broccoli.

Ingredients for 12 individual meatloafs:

1 1/2 lb of lean ground beef
2 cups of italian or regular bread crumbs
1 small onion sliced very thinly
1/8 cup of chopped parsley
2 eggs
1 can or 14.5 oz of tomato sauce ( or even diced tomatoes)
1/4 tsp of salt
1/8 tsp of pepper

Place all the ingredients into a large bowl.
Mix well.
Place the large cupcake tray onto a medium perforated sheet and fill each cupcake hole with the meat mixture.
If you do not wish to cook them all, place the tray into the freezer and freeze the meatloaves overnight. When frozen, place them into a ziploc bag, and cook them in the oven as you need them.
If you are cooking them all. Place the tray into the oven and cook then for 30 minutes or for 40 minutes into a regular tin muffin mold when fresh, or 50 when frozen at 400.
Serve sides of your choice. I served those meatloaves with Boursin Hash Brown Casserole. My family love, love them;-)

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Super Moist Meatloaf

Time: 45 minutes
Difficulty: easy
Print

Ingredients for 12 individual meatloafs:

1 1/2 lb of lean ground beef
2 cups of italian or regular bread crumbs
1 small onion sliced very thinly
1/8 cup of chopped parsley
2 eggs
1 can or 14.5 oz of tomato sauce ( or even diced tomatoes)
1/4 tsp of salt
1/8 tsp of pepper

Place all the ingredients into a large bowl, and mix well.
Place the large cupcake tray onto a medium perforated sheet and fill each cupcake hole with the meat mixture.
If you do not wish to cook them all, place the tray into the freezer and freeze the meatloaves overnight. When frozen, place them into a ziploc bag, and cook them in the oven as you need them.
If you are cooking them all. Place the tray into the oven and cook then for 30 minutes or for 40 minutes into a regular tin muffin mold when fresh, or 50 when frozen at 400.
Serve sides of your choice. I served those meatloaves with Boursin Hash Brown Casserole. My family loved them;-)

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Peach Espuma

Posted July 21, 2014

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

Espuma is a a foamy dessert, a whipped concoction made of fruit. Unlike many other mousse, in the Espuma, air or gas is added to a juice or a broth to make a lighter texture.

“Natural flavors (such as fruit juices, infusions of aromatic herbs, etc.) are mixed with a neutrally-flavored gelling or stabilizing agent such as agar or lecithin, and either whipped with a hand-held immersion blender or extruded through a whipped cream canister equipped with N2O cartridges.”

An espuma or thermo whip is commonly used to make these foams through the making of a stock, creating a gel and extruding through the N2O canister.

I wanted to present you the Peach Espuma because I like to serve it along a peach tart.

Ingredients for 4 Espumas:

1 cup of water
2 peaches
1 tbsp of green tea leaves
1/8 cup of sugar and 2 tbsp of sugar
1/2 packet of gelatin

Fill a medium saucepan with water, and bring to boil.
When the water is boiling, drop all 2 peaches in the saucepan at the same time, and keep turning them around for a minute or so, so that they will cook evenly, and will be easy to peel.
Peel the skin of the peaches.
In another saucepan, fill 1 cup of water. Add the peaches that you would have quartered, 1/8 cup of sugar, 1 tbsp of green tea leaves, and bring to boil. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.
Remove the peaches from the water, and puree the peaches with a hand mixer.
Sieve this puree. Set aside.
In a small bowl mix 1/2 pack of gelatin with 1 tbsp of water and let it expand.
Place the puree back in a small saucepan, add 2 tbsp of sugar, and bring to boil.
Add the gelatin, and stir.
Remove the pan from the stove and let the puree cool completely.
When the puree is cool, pour it into a whipping container such as ISO. Follow the instructions to make the espuma. Fill small glasses with the espuma for each guest.
To serve your dessert, place the tart, the glass of Espuma, and a scoop of ice-cream on a plate.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Croquembouche

Posted May 18, 2014

Filed under Cakes, Creams and Puddings, dessert, Fancy European Desserts, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, silpat, stainless steel cookware, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Last week was Mother’s day and as such, it called for a fabulous dessert. But what to do??? Having seen eclairs, profiteroles at every corner of cooking magazines and facebook profiles, I could not help but making my own the night prior to Mother’s Day. So at 10 o’clock in the evening, this is what I was doing in my kitchen.

Ingredients for 16-20 small cream puffs or croquembouches:

80 ml or 2 oz of milk
80 ml or about 2 oz of water
70 gr, or about 5 1/2 tbsp of butter
1 pinch of salt
10 gr. or 2 tsp of sugar
100 gr. or about 1/2 cup and 2 tbsp. of flour
2 eggs

Creme Patissiere, or Vanilla Pastry Cream

330 gr. or 11 oz. of milk
1 vanilla bean
4 yolks
70 gr. or 1/4 cup and 1 tsp of sugar
12 gr. or about 1 tbsp of flour
12 gr, or about 1 tbsp of corn starch

Caramel:

1 cup of granulated sugar
patience

In a saucepan, heat up the milk, water, salt, and sugar.
Add the butter cut up in pieces.
When the butter has completely melted, bring the mixture to boil.
Remove the pan from the stove and add the flour by stirring very well.
Place the pan back on the stove ( it must be turned off, but will still be warm), and stir and stir with a heat-resistant spatula until the dough starts becoming a ball and will no longer stick to the rims of the pan.
Remove the pan from the stove, empty the dough into a cold bowl and add the eggs to the dough one at a time, mixing well after each egg.
Place the dough in a pastry bag, with the large circular tips make large rounds of about 1 1/2 inches wide on a large silpat that you would have previously lay on a large perforated sheet.
Place the perforated sheet in a warm oven of 350 and cook the cream puffs for 20 minutes. The dough should be brown and dry on all sides. If the dough is a little bit soft, continue cooking the puffs for 1-3 more minutes. Take them out to cool. Set them aside to prepare the pastry cream or creme patissiere.
In large bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until the mixture becomes whitish.
Add the flour and the corn starch to the eggs and mix.
Open the vanilla bean, scrape the seeds out of the bean and put them into the milk.
Warm up the milk over the stove, or in the microwave for 2 minutes.
Pour the hot milk into the egg mixture and stir. Place the milk/ egg mixture back onto the stove and cook until the mixture is bubbling and is becoming really thick. Remove the pastry cream from the stove, and place it into a bowl. Set aside.
Pour the pastry cream in a round mold..
Cover the pastry cream with some plastic wrap and place it into the fridge to cool.
When the cream is completely cool, make a small indentation to fill the cream puffs with the pastry cream and lay them upside down for easier access when you are going to fill them up.
Fill the pastry bag with the vanilla cream and fill each cream puffs.
Place the puffs back onto the silpat, and prepare the caramel.
Empty the cup of sugar into a medium-sized saucepan and place the saucepan onto the stove at a medium high temperature. DO NOT STIR!!!
Only start stirring once the sugar is turning an amber color on the outside rim of the saucepan. Stir until all the sugar has turned that amber color. Reduce the heat to low, and leave the pan on it so that the caramel will not harden.
Dip the head of each cream puff into the caramel and place them back onto the silpat until the caramel has hardened, and has cooled.

Eat when they are cool. I dare you to only eat one, or two. They are so good, you will want to eat them all at once!!!Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Tuxedo Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Posted February 6, 2014

Filed under dessert, fruit, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, silpat, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

If you have been following me, you should know that my love is cooking. You will find me in my kitchen pretty much anytime I am home. Though Cooking is truly my passion, it is not my profession just yet;-). I teach French to elementary children during the day. It is much fun and I really enjoy it! It is quite neat to hear them say :”Bonjour Madame Wagner” when they come into my classroom.

Anyway, our school hosted a luncheon for the board members of our district today to thank them for their service. Of course they were served cafeteria food, but for desserts, my principal had asked that I make some bite-size treats so this is what i decided to serve them:

Vanilla cheesecakes,
Lemon pies,
Red Velvet Cupcakes and
Tuxedo Chocolate Covered Strawberries.

I was teaching when the board came in, and ate their lunch. When I went back to get my trays, all my treats were gone;-)

A good sign, right??? I understand that all went well . Even my assistant principal thanked me for all the “Ahhs” she heard and all the comments they made when eating my treats.

Great!!!

Today I thought I would share my tuxedo Chocolate Covered Strawberries. They are quick, easy to make and… they make for a great treat for the Upcoming Valentine’s Day.

Ingredients for 20 strawberries:

20 beautiful strawberries
1 cup of good quality chocolate
1 square of vanilla chocolate bark.

Rinse the strawberries under running water.
With a paper towel, pat them dry.
Place the chocolate into a bowl and cook it in the microwave for 90 seconds. If the chocolate is not completely fluid, keep cooking in the microwave for 10 seconds until the chocolate is free of lumps and liquid like water.
Hold the strawberries by its green and dip into the chocolate to 3/4 .
Set the strawberry over a silpat that you would have placed onto a perforated sheet.
Continue until you have used all the strawberries.
Place the strawberries into the fridge until they are set. Meanwhile, place the square of vanilla bark into a bowl and microwave for 60 seconds or until it is completely soft.
Pour the chocolate into a small ziploc bag. With a good pair of scissors, cut the tip of the bag.
Decorate as you wish. I did tuxedo collar and buttons.
Place the strawberries in the fridge until you are ready to eat them.
Place the strawberries out at least 30 minutes before consummation. Et voila;-)

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Spanakopita

Posted January 12, 2014

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

I have always loved spanakopitas. They are so yummy. Yet I will tell you that I never tried to make them because they look so difficult to make. Well, over the holidays I bought a large bag of fresh spinach for my morning smoothies, not really thinking that the bag I purchased would be so much. And since we were going away for a week I decided I would make some for appetizers for the holidays. I used the recipe from a Costco Cookbook that I adapted to use what i had on hand.

It was really good, and guess what??? It was really not that hard to make. Just needed to be patient.

Ohh and you can fix them in advance and freeze them for later use.

Ingredients for about 30:

15 oz of frozen spinach thawed out, or fresh one that will weigh to 15 oz cooked.
2 eggs
3 cups of feta cheese or 2 cups of feta and 1 cup of ricotta ( will make the spanakopita more
4 scallions chopped very thinly
2 tbsp of the dill/ lemon demarle herb blend
1 clove of garlic pressed
1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg
1/2 salt
1/4 tsp of pepper
1 pack of phillo pastry

Mix all the ingredients together and set them aside.
Open the filo dough and cut the filo dough into 3 strips. Take one strip out, and roll the other ones back into the plastic so they will stay moist.
Pull apart 2 layers from the stack, keep the other one under a moist paper towel. Either brush some melted butter, or olive oil, or if you have spray some Pam.
Spoon 1 tbsp of the spinach mixture and place it in the corner of the large triangle. Fold the corner where you placed the spinach onto itself so that it will form a triangle. Continue folding until the filo has been used and the end result looks like a triangle.
repeat all those steps until you have used all the spinach mixture.
Spray the spanakopitas with some butter and cook them into a warm oven for 8-12 minutes at 400. Eat warm.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Cranberry and Pecan Coated Salmon with Roasted Cauliflower

Posted June 4, 2013

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

Sometimes it is just nice to repeat some of the dish that i posted. One of my favorite recipe is the Pecan and Cranberry Coated Chicken so tonight I decided to use this topping to fix my salmon. Yummy!!

Ingredients for 1 single sized salmon:

2 tbsp of cranberry that you would have previously soaked in 1/4 cup of hot water for rehydrating them,
2 tbsp of pecan,
1 tsp of brown sugar,
1/2 tsp of olive oil,
1/16 tsp of salt,
1/32 tsp of pepper

Place the salmon filet on the deep flexipan or silpat and season the salmon with salt and pepper by sprinkling it lightly. Set aside.
In a small chopper, place 2 tbsp of cranberry, 2tbsp of pecan, 1 tsp of brown sugar, 1/2 tsp of olive oil, and chop this mixture well.
Coat the salmon with it.
Cook in oven at 400 for 5-6 minutes. Enjoy!!!