No. 646Recipe Card Posted on Leave a comment

French Lentils with Preserved Lemon & Herbs

French Lentils with Preserved Lemon & Herbs | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Feeling French today with this salad of Puy lentils, preserved lemon paste dressing and tons of herbs-No.646 in the Membership Collection.

Lentils make a healthy weeknight main salad or side and so easy to make. To start try to use French Puy Lentils. They are small, dark green and stay together when cooked. Slightly peppery the lentils hold up to the intense lemon dressing and spark of flavors from the herbs.

PRESERVED LEMONS

FRENCH LENTILS | Bijouxs Little Jewels

French Lentils | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Having preserved lemons is a flavor bomb for your cooking. Here is an easy recipe to make the lemons, and yes, patience pays off. The preserved lemons can be used in many dishes and a pungent lemon spread make from the lemons is what cranks up the flavor or the dressing for this salad. I added some on hand tangerines to the preserve as well.

PUY LENTILS

Puy lentils are a small, slate-gray/green variety of lentil grown in the Le Puy region of France, known for their unique peppery flavor and ability to retain their shape after cooking. They are protected by a designation that ensures their quality and origin, making them a sought-after ingredient in various dishes. Available on line.

 French Lentils with Preserved Lemon & Herbs | Bijouxs Little Jewels

For added zip I like to add extra Lemon Paste to the salad.

No. 645Recipe Card Posted on Leave a comment

Glazed Lemon Brownies

Glazed Lemon Brownies | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Brownies get some lemon love in the newest recipe in the Collection Membership No. 645 Lemon Glazed Brownies.

LEMON BROWNIES

OK, who does not love a brownie? Think outside the box to a lemon brownie-same tender cakes but with a light lemon glaze. The technique is basically the same as a chocolate brownie, but uses lemon infused sugar and lemon extract. A simple one-bowl mix and off to the oven to bake.

Glazed Lemon Brownies | Bijouxs Little Jewels

PAMPERED CHEF BROWNIE PAN

I was gifted from a neighbor her extra Pampered Chef Brownie Pan. I was not familiar with these pans, but all her brownies were perfectly sized. You can use the pan to make many other recipes in single serve sizes. Single-serve bake brownies are the way to go. Mine shown here have crispy brown edges which I did not mind, all from my ancient oven that seems to burn everything:) These can of course be bake in a standard 8×8 pan.

 

Glazed Lemon Borownies \ Bijouxs Litle Jewels

PICNIC PERFECT

These lemon brownies are a perfect picnic dessert. No melting chocolate to worry about and they can easily be wrapped in wax paper to travel to your outdoor event. Pack up some lemon love for your next picnic.

Glazed Lemon Brownies | Bijouxs Little Jewels

 

 

No. 613Recipe Card Posted on Leave a comment

Chicken Tagine with Green Olives & Preserved Lemon

Chicken Tagine with Green Olives & Preserved Lemon | Bijouxs Little Jewels

ON THE MENU tonight, Chicken Tagine with Green Olives & Preserved Lemon, a favorite No. 613 in the Membership Collection.

Tagines are exotic and comforting at the same time: the pungent spices, a juxtaposition of the salty and sweet, combined with meats and vegetables gently simmered tender in a delicate broth create a different take on a comforting stew. This simple chicken tagine is a Bijouxs I would like to share.

ABOUT TAGINES

More info: Tagine is the name of the stew, and also the name of the beautiful glazed clay vessel in which tagines are prepared. No worry, you do not need a tagine (the vessel) to make a tagine (the stew) – a heavy Dutch oven with a lid will do. The things I love about tagines (the stews), besides the incredible layers of flavors, are that they are easy to prepare and utilize less-expensive cuts of meats, pure Bijouxs.

Chicken Tagine with Green Olives & Preserved Lemon | Bijouxs Little Jewels

SIMPLE RECIPE

The basic technique for most tagines is rather simple, place the meat in the tagine (or dutch oven) add the vegetables, spices, and water, then cover and simmer, that’s it. Most tagines do not require an initial browning of the meat and utilize dried spices, olives, etc. many available in your pantry.

Chicken Tagine with Green Olives & Preserved Lemon | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Chicken Tagine with Green Olives & Preserved Lemon | Bijouxs Little Jewels

COOKING IN A TAGINE

In my beautiful azure blue tagine I purchased long ago from Global Table in NYC, it is import to heat the tagine slowly on the stove, a flame tamer really helps. I recently found a pretty tagine at Willams Sonoma. The key is that the ingredients do not dry out due to the conical shape of the lid which keeps the liquids flowing back onto the ingredients. Important for getting really tender chicken in this recipe.

Enjoy this recipe!

No. 609Recipe Card Posted on Leave a comment

Fusilli with Anchovy Butter & Lemon Garlic Breadcrumbs

Fusilli with Anchovy Butter & Lemon Garlic Breadcrumbs | Bijouxs Little Jewels

This recipe is a preview from my new cookbook “Simple Italian”. Curly spirals of Fusilli pasta are bathed in a mild anchovy butter, then tossed with crispy Garlic-Lemon Breadcrumbs-Recipe No.609 from the Membership Collection.

FUSILLI PASTA

Fusilli is one of the loved pasta shapes, the curly spirals are the prefect vessel to grab and hold the sauce, in this case, a mild Anchovy Butter pan sauce. I know, anchovy butter does not get your attention but the mild Unami flavor is an Italian classic. This recipe is a take on one from Ina Garten’s Be My Guest with Bobby Flay. So if Ina likes it, it has to be good.

GARLIC LEMON BREADCRUMBS

The crowning glory to the pasta are the Toasted Garlic-Lemon Breadcrumbs, not be to missed. The crispy crunch is the perfect finish for the creamy pasta. Beautiful Food by design.

SIMPLE ITALIAN FOOD

Simple Italian Cookbook | Bijouxs Little Jewels

This recipe is a preview of my 5th cookbook “Simple Italian” in now production. This project is close to home, with many of the recipes from my own family kitchen. Coming soon!

 

No. 580Recipe Card Posted on Leave a comment

Seared Halibut & Lemon Caper Sauce

Seared Halibut & Lemon Caper Sauce | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Living along the Southern California coast in my early days meant mountains of fresh fish available almost everywhere. Turns out I was a foodie even at 5 years old. I always ordered fresh pan seared halibut with lemon & butter at a local restaurant–Seared Halibut & Lemon Caper Sauce is another Bijouxs Little Jewel from the Collection.

5 YEAR OLD FOODIE

I began my love of food and my selective taste palate early on, I knew what I liked. Vegetables, salads and fresh fish were among my favs. I sensed a bit of agitation from my family for my very particular tastes, only food prepared a certain way. There are a few things I did not eat then and still avoid to this day, such as mayonnaise or ANY creamy salad dressings. I loved my Italian simple school lunch of dry salami on sourdough bread with a little oil and vinegar. Yes, my tastes have remained the same. Who knows that picky child may be a budding foodie!

FRIDAY NIGHT FISH

My family did engage in the ‘fish on Friday’ routine and we were lucky enough to have a great casual fish restaurant nearby. Long ago fish was not the pricy splurge it is now, we were working class folks, but still able to enjoy a night out for fresh fish. The restaurant served thick pieces of fresh halibut pan seared served with fresh lemons, this was my favorite. I rarely ordered anything different, I knew what I liked and still do.

Sharing another Little Jewel from the Kitchen – Seared Halibut & Lemon Caper Sauce. Join the Recipe Club Membership to access all 580 recipes anytime.