Basil, Thyme and Parmesan Oven Roasted Potatoes

Posted July 18, 2013

Filed under Fleximolds, Large round mold, octogonal silpat, potato, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, silpat, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Do you love summer? I do, I do!!! I love the heat as long as I can go swimming and I love wearing those cute light summer dresses. For those of you who may not know me, I am really a girly girl. I wear a dress every time I can.

Summer is the best time to wear dresses because you don’t have to deal with panty hoses, and jackets to match. Plus summer dresses come in some many fun colors that it would be difficult to wear some of them in other season. Think about it- Would you wear a canary yellow, or a bright pink in winter or spring? I am certain that people would be looking at me as if I came from another planet if I did.

In the summer, and you may have noticed my lack of posts, I don’t like to stay in my kitchen too long because it gets hot with the stove on and I rather be outside enjoying the outdoor. Sometimes I even go for a jog at 9 in the evening because it finally gets cool. No need to say that for dinner it is not fancy, it is a lot of fish and chicken on the grill. I also to make salads, and easy things.

This past Sunday, for our family dinner I decided to fix steak with grilled asparagus and corn. Because there was not any room left on the grill for potatoes I decided to roast them in the oven. Quick, easy and yummy!!

Ingredients for 4-6 people:

8 small potatoes,
1/3 cup of parmesan,
2 tbsp of olive oil,
2 tbsp of dry basil
1 tbsp of dry thyme
1/4 tsp of salt,
1/8 tsp of pepper.

Peel the potatoes and slice them in quarters.
Place the potatoes in the large round mold, cover it the octogonal silpat and cook them for 5 minutes.
Empty the potatoes in a large bowl, drizzle the olive oil, and sprinkle the salt, pepper, thyme, basil, and parmesan. Toss the potatoes so that they are well coated with the olive oil and everything else.
Empty the potatoes on the large perforated sheet covered with a large silpat and spread out the potatoes.
Cook them in the oven for 15 minutes at 450.
Sprinkle some sea salt and eat up! Yum!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Thyme and Bacon Mashed Potatoes

Posted September 8, 2012

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

As you may already know, my husband being German loves his potatoes. But as a German, he enjoys his potatoes to taste good. Unfortunately too often when he orders out, he is often presented with a tasteless mass of purée. Now I understand why he often asks for extra gravy or sauce;-)

In order to avoid this mistake, you always want to think of flavoring potatoes while they are cooking. It is placing a few springs of herbs or placing a few teaspoons of broth in the water if you are boiling the potatoes or placing them along the potatoes while they are steaming. Today I used bacon and fresh thyme, but you really can use anything that strikes you fancy;-)
Ingredients for 4-6: 6-8 medium sized potatoes ( i used Yukon Gold) , 2-3 cup of milk or cream ( i use cream because it makes more smoother mashed potatoes), 1 tsp of fresh thyme, 2 tbsp of bacon bits, 1 tsp of sea salt, 1/4 tsp of pepper.

Peel and dice the potatoes in small square. Place the potatoes in the large round mold, add the fresh thyme, the bacon bits, 1 tbsp of water and cover the large round mold with the octogonal silpat.

Cook in the microwave for 14-15 minutes or until the potatoes are soft enough to be mashed. Empty the potatoes into a large bowl and with a potato masher, mash the potatoes. Warm up the cream in the microwave for 2 minutes or on the stove until it is almost boiling and pour the warm milk over the potatoes while you are stirring. Add salt and pepper and stir. Add more cream if you like your mashed potatoes to be more runny. Et voila!!!

I served those wonderful potatoes with a Salade Composee ( see post at a later date), and Smokey Mesquite Pork Tenderloin. It was so yummy!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooing!!!

Sun-dried Tomatoes, Goat Cheese and Thyme Quiche

Posted May 18, 2012

Filed under appetizers, breakfast, Fleximolds, Recipe with Demarle Cookware

Eating those quiches in the morning have been a blessing:-) no more time wasted in the morning to figure out what’s for breakfast and even though those quiches are very filling, they are so easy to digest and I don’t feel like a ” stone” is in my stomach.
And I actually look forward eating them. Often I just eat just because you have to eat, it is healthier but I actually look forward my little quiche in the morning. Today I thought I would try another recipe which what was in my fridge: Sundried tomatoes and goat cheese.

Ingredients: 1 package of pie crust, 5 eggs. 2 cups of milk ( skim, whole, or even heavy cream), 5 oz of crumbled goat cheese, 3/4 to 1 cup of Sundried tomatoes well-drained( conserved in olive oil), salt and pepper, about 5 fresh sprigs of thyme that you would have removed the leaves from.
Cut your dough so that it will fit your mold. I used the large round mold tray just because it makes great single portion and it makes 6 just enough for my whole week:-)
With a fork, perforate the dough so that the crust won’t make an air pocket while it is cooking.
You don’t have to use pie crust if you did not want to.., you could eliminate it to make crust less quiche.
Divide the Sundried tomatoes equally in each opening. And do the same with the goat cheese. Set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, break the eggs, add the milk, the thyme and the salt. Mix well. Empty the egg mixture equally in each opening and bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes. Et voila:-)

Bon appetit and Happy Cooking!!!!

Sun-dried Tomatoes, Goat Cheese and Thyme Quiche

Posted May 18, 2012

Filed under appetizers, breakfast, Fleximolds, Recipe with Demarle Cookware

Bon appetit and Happy Cooking!!!!

Thyme Beef Kabobs

Posted September 2, 2011

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

When you go home to your family, do you ask them what they wish to eat? and what do they answer? I don’t know…. well, at my house they never really know what they want to eat, but they surely know what it is that they don’t want to eat… So my suggestions always end up nowhere, and I end up fixing either pasta, or potato something for the 3/4 of my family. I was going to grill my chicken, so since I did not want to spend hours in the kitchen, I thought to serve them beef tenderloin kebabs. Quick, and good!’

Recipe: 3 large tenderloins steaks, 1 red bell pepper, 1 purple onion, olive oil, 2tbsp of thyme fresh or dry, 1/16 tsp of pepper, 1/8 tsp of salt.

Cut the meat, and the bell pepper in 1 inch square. Cut the onion also in larger chunks so that you can use them for the kebabs. Place all in a large bowl. Add the olive oil, the thyme, salt and pepper and mix well. Skewer the meat, bell pepper and the onion onto the wooden skewers that you would have previously soaked in water ( to avoid the wood from burning on the grill). Grill on high for 2 1/2 minutes on each side.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Roasted Tomato Soup with Boursin Cheese

Posted August 11, 2011

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

Last time I went to the Farmer’s market, I purchased several pounds of tomatoes, and they were yummy!!!! But after a while, I really got tired of my tomato sandwiches, and my tomato salads so I thought of fixing a soup. It is so light and refreshing, and can be eaten cold or warm which is much appreciative in this heat! Tomato soups are really easy to fix because they don’t require much ingredients. Tomatoes have so much aroma as they are, that the soup necessitates very few other ingredients.

Ingredients: 2 lbs of tomatoes, 1 medium sized onion chopped, 2 cups of chicken broth, 2 tsp of fresh thyme, boursin cheese, 1/2 tsp of salt, 1 Tbsp of sugar, pepper to taste, and olive oil.

Turn your oven to 450. Slice the tomatoes in half, and lay them flat cut side down. Drizzle olive oil over them and cook in oven for 10 minutes. When cooked, slide the top of the tomatoes and remove the skin. Set aside. In a large saucepan, place 1 tbsp of olive oil and sautee the onions until golden and soft. Add the chopped thyme, the tomatoes, 1/2 tsp of salt, 1 tbsp of sugar, and the broth. Bring the soup to boil. Reduce the temperature and let the soup simmer for 5-8 minutes. Place the soup in a blender and puree it. Serve the soup in individuals bowls, add 2 tbsp of crumbled garlic and parsley boursin cheese, and savour;-)

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

White wine and Thyme Marinated Shrimps

Posted July 16, 2011

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

Summer is a great time to entertain. You can receive your guests outside and you can use your grill instead of using your oven or your stove. But what to cook? “Hamburger, steaks and brats…” would be what my husband wish to eat every time. But I like variety so this is not what we had last Sunday when my brother-in-law came for dinner. I had purchased those jumbo shrimps at the beach, and this is what we were going to have as well as brats for you know who;-)

The menu was fairly easy and really quick to fix:

White wine and thyme marinated shrimps on the grill with fingerling potatoes, tomates provencales, grilled asparagus, and corn on the cobb.

Ingredients for 8: 2 lbs of jumbo or large shrimps deveined and peeled, 2 bags of fingerling potatoes, 8 kernels of corns, 1 cup of white wine, 4 Tbsp of fresh thyme chopped, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

First you want to marinate the shrimps for a few hours. Place the shrimps in a ziploc bag, and add 2 tbsp of chopped thyme, 1 cup of white wine, 2-3 Tbsp of olive oil. Set aside.

When your quests have arrived and you are ready to eat. Turn on your grill to high heat . While the grill is reaching its temperature. You will cook the fingerling potatoes. We want to cut down the cooking time so we will microwave the potatoes so as to cook them before roasting them. Place the potatoes in the large round flexipan, cover with the octogonal silpat and microwave for 5 minutes. When it is done, place the potatoes in a large bowl, and add 3 tbsp of olive oil and thyme. Mix well so that the potatoes are well coated with the oil and herbs. Empty the potatoes on a large silform, add salt and pepper on them, and cook in oven for 15-20 minutes in a warm oven at 425. While the potatoes are cooking, stir them every 5 to 8 minutes to make sure they roast evenly.

While the potatoes are cooking in the oven, skewer the shrimps onto a wooden stick that you would have previously soaked in water. Sprinkle salt and pepper and set aside.

Then prepare the corn. Cook the corn in the round flexiform also for 5 minutes in the microwave and set aside until you are ready to cook the shrimps.

When the grill has reached its temperature and the potatoes are about done, cook the shrimps and the corn on the grill for 2-4 minutes on each side on high heat. Et voila!!!

I hope you will try! It is yummy and effortless!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!