No. 600Recipe Card Posted on Leave a comment

Artichoke Pesto Panini with Basil Vinaigrette

Artichoke Pesto Panini with Basil Vinaigrette | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Spring in the garden heralded by my first artichokes. Inspired, a new recipe for the Collection Membership a crispy Artichoke Pesto Panini with Basil Vinaigrette. Join and as a member access all 600 recipes.

SPRING IN THE GARDEN

As we all know this Spring weather has been a bit wonky everywhere, hard to plan a garden this year. I have held off on planting my lettuce and herbs, the fog has made it dismal here on the CA Coast. However, my tried & true artichokes mananged to squeek out a few artichokes.

Artichoke Pesto Panini with Basil Vinaigrette | Bijouxs Little Jewels

 

ARTICHOKE PANINI

The dreary weather has kept me indoors but I happened on a delighful recipe from Joy’s Once Upon a Thyme featured in Diner’s Driveins and Dives. Joy created a crispy artichoke panini served with the best dressing. They are located in beautiful lush Chehalis Washington.

Artichoke Pesto Panini with Basil Vinaigrette | Bijouxs Little Jewels

BASIL VINAIGRETTE

Her salad dressing is so much in demand that they sell bottles of it at the restaurant, really. While I do not have her exact recipe, I have come pretty closed by tinkering with the ingredients. The episode on DDD does tell more about the basil dressing, which she says people want to drink, it’s that good. Photo from website.

Artichoke Pesto Panini with Basil Vinaigrette | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Artichoke Pesto Panini with Basil Vinaigrette | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Artichoke Pesto Panini with Basil Vinaigrette | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Artichoke Pesto Panini with Basil Vinaigrette | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Artichoke Pesto Panini with Basil Vinaigrette | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Enjoy this crispy Artichoke Pesto Panini with Basil Vinaigrette. Cheers.

No. 598Recipe Card Posted on Leave a comment

Mixed Berry Flaugnarde

Mixed Berry Flaurarde | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Gorgeous fruits are making their appearance everywhere you look, yes, summer is almost here. Mixed Berry Flaugnarde, with a puffy light outer crust with creamy custard filling, could not be simpler – Bijouxs Summer Recipe Collection is here.

SUMMER BERRIES

When summer fruit become the cuisine de rigueur, it’s time for recipes that honor the fruit and are summer easy. These lovely fruits came from the Santa Barbara Farmers Market.

Mixed Berry Flaugnarde | Bijouxs Little Jewels

 

RUSTIC FRENCH DESSERT

A tried and true Bijouxs summer recipe is Mixed Berry Flaugnarde, and the best thing it is easier than pie. Many of you may already be familiar with classic clafouti, the delicate French baked custard dessert traditionally made with cherries, but a clafouti is a very flexible dessert. The simple custard mixture also very lovingly envelops other fruits but then it is referred to as a flaugnarde.

Mixed Berry Flaugnarde | Bijouxs Little Jewels
Simple on-hand batter ingredients such as eggs, sugar, milk and flour make a summer fruit find at the farmers market a great dessert in quick time. An easy traveler, the rustic flaugnarde can make its way with you to an event.

MIXED BERRY FLAUGNARDE

Mixed Berry Flaugnarde | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Mixed Berry Flaugnarde | Bijouxs Little Jewels
Bake in traditional round tart/pie pan, a small ovenproof skillet or in square/rectangular tart pans. Served carved into little bites or thin slices, then accompany with or without a scoop of vanilla ice cream or fruit sorbet.

Mixed Berry Flaugnarde – a simple summer dessert for summer’s bounty of fruits a new recipe in the Membership Collection. Join for access to all 598 recipes. Cheers.

 

 

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. 594Recipe Card Posted on Leave a comment

Daily Quiche

Daily Quiche | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Daily rotating quiche are served with a side of Shu farms market greens, simple and yet profoundly classic. The Daily Quiche is a perfect example of farm fresh ingredients used from local growers to create the menu at Sqirl Los Angeles. When I moved back to LA this was one of the first restaurants I sought out.

SQIRL RESTAURANT

Opened in 2011, this restaurant has created creative recipes using local ingredients. I loved the food and have enjoyed the cookbook from which this recipe is brought to us. I posed a jam recipe, and I actually had met Jessica very early on when she sold her jams at the Altadena Farmer’s Market. So good, I knew more what destined for her. She can take basic ingredients and make them special, like her thick buttery toast with Seedless Blackberry Cardamom Jam. So good.

DAILY QUICHE

No, you do not need to make this quiche daily, but at the restaurant they do. They mix up the ingredients for variety, however this take with spinach, garlic, shallots, feta cheese in a lush creamy filling is my choice. There is a nice balance of the rich filling to vegetables and herbs. The crust is buttery and substantial. Using local farm raised eggs from a local source is my choice. The eggs are from chicks right down the street from me-perfect.

Daily Quiche | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Daily Quiche: Bijouxs Little Jewels

Daily Quiche | Bijouxs Little Jewels

LOCAL EGGS

Daily Quiche | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Now that I am up in Ventura by the beach, I was so happy to find local eggs, right down the street from me. They are great, roaming free in the back yard.
Contact 805-258-8883 only if you want order, purchase and pickup. Thank you.

 

No. 592Recipe Card Posted on Leave a comment

Roasted Peppers with Boursin & Croutons

Roasted Peppers with Boursin & Croutons | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Roasted sweet baby peppers stuffed with creamy Boursin cheese and crispy croutons are the newest appetizer from Little Jewels from the Bijouxs Recipe Collection.

ROASTED SWEET PEPPERS

I love roasted vegetables and sweet peppers are fanastic simply oven roasted. Here’s how.
Place the prepped peppers in a baking dish, not a sheet pan. Simply season with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and sea salt. Bake until brown and blistered about 20 minutes. Remove from oven, cool then prep for the recipe.

BOURSIN CHEESE

Stuffed peppers are a classic I updated by using new find Boursin Dairy Free Cheese. It’s acutally good. Soft and creamy, easy for stuffing the peppers, you won’t miss the dairy.

Roasted Peppers with Boursin & Croutons | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Roasted Peppers with Boursin & Croutons | Bijouxs Little Jewels

EASY APPETIZER FOR GUESTS

Roasting the peppers create the perfect vessel for stuffing a dollop of the cheese, top with some crunchy croutons, and serve with crusty bread and extra olive oil. Easy to make and easy to serve. Roasted Peppers with Boursin & Croutons, another Little Jewel Recipe from the Membership Collection. Join for access to over 500 of my best recipes, no annoying pop-ups or tracking. Beautuful Food by Design.