No. 596Recipe Card Posted on Leave a comment

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. 588Recipe Card Posted on Leave a comment

Slow Cooker Gingerbread Pudding

Slow Cooker Gingerbread Pudding | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Slow Cooker Gingerbread Pudding has now become an extremely addicting fovever-favorite, another Little Jewel from the Kitchen.

GINGERBREAD

Is there any better smell than gingergread baking? You have to wait until you open the Instant Pot, but wow, there it is. Traditional spices of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg along with molasses make this almost-impossible pudding work. All the things you love and more are here in this recipe.

SLOW COOKER PUDDING

Ok, I admit I was a bit skeptical about making a pudding in the slow cooker. Acutally, it turned out better than I thought and I got to try a new cooking mode on my Instant Pot. I love the Instant Pot as a pressure cooker, and it was also spot-on as a slow cooker. (You can also cook the pudding in a traditional medium size slow cooker set on HIGH)
 Slow Cooker Gingerbread Pudding|Bijouxs Little Jewels

GINGERBREAD PUDDING

I love my old English Gingerbread recipe a great classic, but this pudding now has become a new favorite. The pudding is soft, almost runny, filled with all the spices you love, plus a buttery brown sugar topping that sets this pudding apart. I cannot resist a spoonful before serving.
Slow Cooker Gingerbread Pudding | Bijouxs Little Jewels
Slow Cooker Gingerbread Pudding Bijouxs Little Jewels
Slow Cooker Gingerbread Pudding – another Little Jewel from the Kitchen.

 

No. 553Recipe Card Posted on Leave a comment

Dishoom’s Gunpowder Potatoes

Dishoom's Gunpowder Potatoes| Bijouxs Little Jewels

You got me with the Masala Chai. The Indian recipes found in Dishoom: From Bombay with Love are amazing. I have been dabbling with Indian cuisine for years but this book’s Gunpowder Potatoes are worth the read. Armchair traveling from Bombay with Love is a Little Jewel from the Kitchen.

BOMBAY CUISINE

Indian cuisine is soo so much more than just curry. I like to bring you the best recipes from all cuisines to the website, cook’s love to learn and share.

The recipes in From Bombay with Love are from Mumbai and are dishes that are traditionally found in that region. Learning to cook the world’s cuisines is a challenge, however the flavors are well worth it. Dishoom’s Gunpowder Potatoes are a prime example of complex spices and flavors that really make humble new potatoes sing. This is also a good entry point into Bombay cooking, The potatoes make a unique &  flavorful side to accompany an entree.

Dishoom's Gunpowder Potatoes | Bijouxs Litle Jewels

GUNPOWDER POTATOES

Flavors building on flavors is the key to these potatoes. Toast and grind the trio of spices to release the oils and scents from the spices.
Simply steamed small new potatoes are then broiled to achieve a crispy golden crust. The tender potatoes are cut into craggy pieces using a large metal spoon. These rough edges absorb all the favor goodness.

Next the rest of the ingredients including the melted butter with onions, cilantro, lime and chili, are tossed with the bowl of hot potatoes. Optional is Kebab Masala, a unique Indian spice blend, I do recommend adding it, it adds another depth of flavor (found on Amazon of course).

Dishoom's Gunpowder Potatoes | Bijouxs Litle Jewels

 

From Bombay with Love – Little Jewels from the Dishoom Kitchen.

 

No. 548Recipe Card Posted on Leave a comment

Poached Chicken and Mushroom Bowl

Poached Chicken and Mushroom Bowl | Bijouxs Little Jewels

A recipe of simple comfort for trying times. Poached Chicken and Mushroom Bowl is a fresh and healthy bowl, another Little Jewel from the Bijouxs Kitchen Recipe Collection.

POACHED CHICKEN SOUP

Soups feel both cleansing and comforting. A warm bowl that makes the meal, with perhaps a glass of wine?
This soup starts with a chicken in a pot, nothing fancy. Added to flavor the broth are fresh ginger, onion, garlic and carrot –all are left unpeeled and cooked along with the chicken. In about an hour you have delicately poached chicken and a clear and flavorful broth for the soup and more.

COMFORT BOWL

After removing and shredding the chicken, add it back briefly in the stock, in which you have cooked the mushrooms and scallions. The soup is now created. Prepare your serving bowl by placing a scoop of cooked brown rice, top with shredded chicken. Next add the hot stock along with the mushrooms and green onions.

oached Chicken and Mushrooms Bowl | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Add a tablespoon or so of Bragg Liquid Aminos if you want a bit more umami flavor to the soup. Voilà, Poached Chicken and Mushroom Bowl is served.

 

No. 543Recipe Card Posted on Leave a comment

Via Carota Burger

Via Carota Burger | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Simplicity, a burger with no bun, no ketchup, not bit of distraction. A taste from my childhood, via the upscale NYC Via Carota Burger, truly a little jewel.

CLASSIC BURGER

Culinary fads come and go, the the Bijouxs remain. This trendy burger is really from my past. To begin, at 5 years old my Grandmother would get a cast iron skillet scorching hot and fry up a simple burger that created a very crispy crust. Because I was a very discerning eater even at 5, I loved my burger plain with lots of salt and pepper.

Fast forward. Living the Hollowood life as a young wife we frequented Ma Maison, and the first appearance of 22 year old Chef Wolfgang Puck. Of course when his cookboook, Wolfgand Puck’s Modern French Cooking for the American Kitchen was published I began cooking from the book. One we loved for dinner was Ground Steak with Roquefort Cheese and Green Peppercorn Sauce, still a winner with the stained pages from the many times I have made this recipe. It is from his first cookbook, prior to Chef stardom, Wolfgang Puck’s Modern French Cooking for the American Kitchen, order original used from Amazon.

VIA COROTA NYC 

Acoss the country one of the best Italian NYC restaurants, Via Carota, serves the Carota Svizzerina. This is hand-chopped grassfed steak, served just how I love it, seared on a flat-top (aka my Grandmother’s cast iron skillet) and served naked on the plate, lightly seasoned with garlic and rosemary, perfect.

Via Carota Burger Bijouxs Little Jewels

Via Carota Burger | Bijouxs Little Jewels

SVIZZERINA

The recipe name is from the chef’s mom in Tuscany where, they used to serve these “plain” ground burgers as a way to get children to eat meat, no bun no ketchup, please. Served seared on the outside and very rare on the inside and topped garlic cloves and rosemary cooked in olive oil. A key to the recipe is to hand-chop a New York strip steak (or lightly chop in a food processor) the meat, so it is still chunky and served seared and rare on the inside. 

Via Catora Burger simplicity, a true Little Jewel.