Category: Chicken

No. 613Recipe Card Posted on by — 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!

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Chicken Braised in Coconut Milk & Herbs

Chicken Braised in Coconut Milk & Herbs | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Coconut milk creates a savory creamy sauce for Chicken Braised in Coconut Milk & Herbs, the newest Little Jewel from the Collection Membership.

COCONUT MILK

This simple braising method creates tender chicken with a light coconut sauce infused with garlic and herbs. Braising is a cooking method that is not that widely used, but should be revisited in our cooking collection.

Braising is a cooking method that combines both wet and dry heat. Food is first seared at a high temperature, then simmered in a covered pot with a liquid. This method is great for tougher cuts of meat, making them tender. Perfect for these boneless chicken thighs.

FRESH HERBS

The fresh thyme is important to this recipe, adding a woody hint along with the garlic infusing flavor into the rich coconut milk braising liquid.

WEEKNIGHT COOKING

This brown+braise recipe makes an easy a weeknight dinner, the oven cooking portion requires no attention.
Chicken Braised in Coconut Milk & Herbs, another Little Jewel in the Collection Membership.

 

 

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Chin Chin’s Classic Chicken Salad

Chin Chin’s Classic Chicken Salad | Bijouxs Little Jewels

THE classic Chinese chicken salad from the Chin Chin restaurant-always a Little Jewel.

CHIN CHIN RESTAURANT

Very hard to believe that Chin Chin began as a counter and to-go eatery in Sunset Plaza years ago about 1983.  In those days as a young girl  I was driving over the hill from the valley to Sunset Plaza to get regular facials at famed spa Ole Henrickson and always stopped in for lunch. Sitting at the tiny counter (wish there were photos) I would order of course the Chicken Salad along with an orders of Chicken Fried Rice and Dumplings to take home for dinner.  All my family members were crazy about the food.

CHINESE CHICKEN SALAD

Along with sitting at the counter to eat, the-then tiny eatery had shelves with some products, most important were the jar of preserved red ginger, which is key to the salad.  I make the dressing ahead, enough for a few of salads. Fresh ginger and green onion are also elements in the dressing so the dressing must be used with a few days. Shredded poached chicken, iceberg lettuce and fried wonton strips and deep fried rice stix are added for crunch. All the ingredients are tossed in a large bowl with the dressing.

Chin Chin’s Classic Chicken Salad | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Alas, I no longer live near any of the Chin Chin locations and it took a but of searching, but I was happy to find a reasonable duplicate of the salad recipe online. I have been enjoying the salad at home. Here served with some chopsticks I kept from a to-go order a LA friend picked up for me not long ago.

Enjoy Chin Chin’s Little Jewel Salad.

 

No. 593Recipe Card Posted on by — Leave a comment

Santa Fe Salad

Santa Fe Salad | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Today I am recreating a favorite restaurant salad–Cheesecake Factory Santa Fe Salad another Little Jewel from the Kitchen.

CHEESECAKE FACTORY

Beginning in Beverly Hills in 1978 (wow) starting with just cheesecake then expanding to a full menu, the restaurant chain has thrived over the years. Of course the cheesecake is great, however one of their salads has remained a favorite-the Santa Fe Salad. Although the menu is a throw back to the 80’s, the food is still great.

SANTA FE SALAD MEMORIES

It may seem a bit dated, but this salad has a taste combination that remains flavor relevant. Fond memories of getting lunch with my bestie at my home in Pasadena. Sadly she has passed, but enjoying the salad reminds me of her. The core ingredients of the salad are simple, roasted chicken if desired, grilled fresh corn, black beans, tortilla strips and Romaine lettuce, but the dressing(s) are the KEY. Tossed with a Spicy Peanut-Cilantro Vinaigrette which is so yummy I like spike it flavor up with the addition of a side of their Peanut Sauce which I always order.

Santa Fe Salad | Bijouxs Litle Jewels

 

SANTA FE SALAD AT HOME

Now that the Cheesecake Factory is just not down the street, I took a try at making the salad myself, knowing the salad dressings would be the key. Yes there are a few components to the salad, however you can make the dressings ahead and store in the refrigerator. Of course, I searched around the internet and found a few versions of the salad recipe. Guess I’m not the only one who craves this salad. I came pretty close with my sleuthing and tinkering to try to get the flavors correct. The peanut sauce is not exact yet, but close. I serve the salad without the chicken, which is how I order it.

Santa Fe Salad

Food memories are always a Little Jewel.

 

No. 591Recipe Card Posted on by — Leave a comment

Chicken Pho Soup

Chicken Pho Soup| Litle Jewels from the Kitchen

Soup is comfort. The newest Little Jewel in the Collection is this light and fresh Chicken Pho Soup. A lovely take on classic Pho Soup, and it is made easy in the Instant Pot.
Enjoy recipe #591 in the Collection.

CHICKEN SOUP

This classic bowl chicken soup of comfort is elevated with traditional Vietnamese ingredients you enjoy in Pho Soup, only this is a lighter and fresher version. The broth is clear, with pieces of white meat chicken and tender rice noodles all in a spiced broth. Fresh herbs of cilantro, mint and basil are helped along with slices of fresh jalapeño.

Chicken Pho Soup | Bijouxs Little Jewels

CLASSIC PHO

Classic Vietnamese Pho Soup is traditionally made with beef, yet making it with chicken is also a great option. I became acquainted with the soup via a wonderful family restaurant near my home. I was beginning my career as a Personal Chef and asked the chef if he could share a little about the recipe. I did learn that the key is the broth. This recipe is a simplified version perfect for the home cook, and even better the chicken and broth are cooked in the Instant Pot! As we all know the Instant Pot shaves cooking time off of many long cooking dishes. The chicken is placed in the pot whole for 15 minutes of cooking and emerges falling off the bone tender. The herbs and spices that were sautéed in the pot prior, now come to bloom in full flavor.

INSTANT POT PHO

After the chicken cooks allow the Instant Pot sealing to lower and natural pressure to release. Carefully lift the chicken out of the broth, using the rack helps to lift the chicken carefully to a shallow pan to cool, then the skin is removed and the chicken meat is shredded for the soup. Now it’s time strain the broth and return to a medium pot on the stove. The salt pepper and fish sauce are added, then the shredded chicken, about 3 cups of meat.

BOWLS OF PHO

Now the fun begins, building the bowls of soup. Prepare the noodles per the package instructions, drain and set aside. First I fill each bowl with the hot broth and shredded chicken. Next to each bowl I add tons of fresh herbs, jalapeño, and green onions. Crispy fresh beans sprouts top each bowl. Soup it up! Sign up for my recipe newsletter to never miss the newest Collection recipe.

 

 

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