Close to home. The first thing you notice walking up the familiar drive is that the apple tree is beginning to lose its leaves, a dog runs up to greet you and as you make the climb up the stairs to the front porch the sound of voices drifts out of the open kitchen door, you enter, the screen door squeaks as it lazily closes behind you, then the smell of freshly baked biscuits hits your senses, Southern biscuits, a Bijouxs that brings you close to home. Continue reading Big Sur Biscuits
A treasured cookie recipe from a friend and fond memories–Jerry’s Persimmon Cookies a Little Jewel from Bijouxs. Continue reading Jerry’s Persimmon Cookies
Craving salty sweet caramel but not all the sugar? This Salted Sugar-Free Caramel Sauce checks all the boxes–sweet, golden and creamy sauce. I used it to top vanilla bean gelato, for a special treat. Let’s make it. Continue reading Salted Sugar-Free Caramel Sauce
Taking a drive to the far Northern section of California yields a bounty of beautiful places to visit. I loved driving up to Northern California, mostly as a child, picking wild berries that grew along the winding roads, up through Trinidad, the redwoods and Crescent City. Some of our most beautiful coast is also home to wild blueberries which produce a marvelous little jewel Blueberry Crumble. Continue reading Blueberry Crumble
From my curated Bijouxs Little Jewels recipe collection comes this Coffee-Cream Crunch Tiramisu. I have had the recipe in my file since I found it (1980’s? 1990’s?) A wonderful ‘cake’ constructed with ladyfingers, coffee buttercream and lavishly coated with toasted hazelnuts, a little jewel from the Collection.
Yes, there really is a Bijouxs Recipe Collection. Housed in a file box and binders containing recipes collected since I was 16 years old. Wow. I am so happy that I began the collection long ago. Nothing digital in those days, I resorted to ‘tear sheets’ from magazines, all filed by recipe category. Going through the file, each recipe takes me back to the time I collected it. Many recipes I have made, but there are hundreds I still hope to try. Most were collected from the top food and design magazines of the days, such as House & Garden, Saveur, Gourmet, W Magazine and other publications. My work as a designer led me to create Bijouxs Little Jewels from the Kitchen, photographing and sharing beautiful recipes for the home cook.
The history of this recipe goes way back, so far I don’t recall the exact date, but I can visualize the photos and recipes. I found the recipe clipped and pasted on a card in the file, thank goodness I did. This has been a go-to quick dessert. You can find ladyfingers at most supermarkets, which make this a cinch. The recipe is close to tiramisu, but not really. The ladyfingers are dipped in sweetened coffee, but the mascarpone cream is swapped out for a rich coffee buttercream. The toasted hazelnuts really add the texture. A friend suggested the nuts be chopped a little finer, that is your call. The original recipe was coated with rough chop hazelnuts, like my version pictured. Simple purchased ingredients, no baking, and make-ahead option make this a favorite dessert, right behind this cake.
Hard to believe but this recipe marks number 450! Crazy how fast the time has gone. I am very proud of keeping Bijouxs real. Real food prepared and photographed without all the styling. Keeping it real for over 10 years. I know there are now SOOOO many food blogs and recipes online. Thank you to those who have stayed with me and purchased my cookbooks. I hope that the recipes bring joy and beauty to the home cook.
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