Cooking by the book. From Family & Friends Cookbook comes a lovely starter for an intimate holiday gathering. Crispy Oysters with Chile Sauce are served with a sweet sesame chile dipping sauce. Celebrate with a little jewel.
BEAUTIFUL FOOD BY DESIGN
This recipe illustrates one of the core tenets of Bijouxs Little Jewels from the Kitchen, Beautiful Food By Design. Having worked most of my life in the creative world, the editor at Pasadena Magazine gave me this perfect tag line for my blog, fitting for my love of home cooking & design.
My background with food spans 30 years and my time in design is a good chunk of those years. Working in retail design and graphics, I have been given the ability to build my own brand, complete with a series of cookbooks, both in digital and in print. That said, I am alone at the reigns here and do every aspect of the blog and cookbooks alone (except for great tech support on the website through a friend I met early in the blog days). Thank goodness for his expertise.
Bijouxs, Little Jewels from the Kitchen, was founded in 2010, with a goal of bringing you the recipes that are the “little jewels” from my years of cooking. My emphasis has always been the home cook. Yes, you at home, who put a lovely home cooked meal on the table, more nights than not and support the family table, what ever that may look like. Real life.
CRISPY OYSTERS WITH CHILE SAUCE
I was privileged to prepare a private dinner for a lovely couple on the eve of their wedding. This was a small gathering in the garden, one of my fondest memories while working as a Private Chef. The menu was fabulous and began with Crispy Oysters with Chile Sauce, served on my clients beautiful oyster serve wear. The original photograph was taken by the Groom-to-be, himself a famous art photographer. I cherish this memory of friendship, love and a meal that came together perfectly as planned.
These oysters are crispy, lightly battered in a seasoned cornmeal crust and quickly fried until the crust is nicely browned. A simple sweet & spicy dipping sauce makes the perfect dip for these little jewels. I always get my oysters from a fish vendor I trust, and bring them home the day of cooking. I usually have the market shuck the oysters for me, then they are ready to prepare. I am not an expert at shucking oysters, and leave it to the pros. They fry up quickly so have everything ready to serve.
HOLIDAY SAVORS
To savor the holidays, I simplify larger gatherings and for smaller groups I tend to serve one course that is a wow. Crispy Oysters with Chile Sauce can be a lovely starter for any intimate gathering. Please enjoy this recipe and all the little jewels from the kitchen. Wishing you much joy.
As always, enjoy. B
