bon appétit!
One of the many fun things about working for ACH Food Companies was being able to “play” in the research & development kitchen. I just love “inventorizing” recipes for different occasions. I created this recipe just for my boss at the time, Fulya Eren, and used it not only as a dip but also as a pizza sauce. If you don’t have a food processor, you can also use a blender.
1 15 ounce can garbanzo or cannellini beans, drained & rinsed
½ lemon, freshly squeezed, or 1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/3 cup tahini
2 cloves fresh garlic
1 7 ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. lemon pepper
½ tsp. ground cumin
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Place all ingredients in bowl of a food processor, blend until well combined, about 1-2 minutes. Serve with crackers, chips or with fresh vegetables.
One of my favorite appetizers is Caprese Salad Skewers. These delightful little gems are so easy to make and so yummy to eat.
1 large container of Marinated Cilegine Salad, or Cilegine Mozzarella
1 large container of Cherry Tomatoes
Fresh Basil
Salt & Pepper
Balsamic Glaze (can be purchased in grocery store)
Skewers
Skewer with one mozzarella ball and one cherry tomato. Repeat with remaining cheese and tomatoes. Place skewers on a serving platter, drizzle with balsamic glaze, chopped fresh basil, salt & pepper.
Bon Appetito!
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus & Caprese Skewers
Baked Olives and Grilled Bread
It has been a long time since I posted anything on my blog. Thanks to one of my blog followers that was at a “Gail’s Pizza Parties” last week who told me she really liked my blog posts and misses them, I am now dedicated to returning to blogging and adding new recipes weekly!
I thought I would share my recipes from “Cookin’ For A Livin'”, a cookbook developed by myself, my boss at the time, Pete Friedman, and an amazing photographer, Jon Hunter.
Baked Olives & Grilled Bread is one of my favorite recipes that I developed in the lab/kitchen. Not only is it an easy dish to prepare, it is also very colorful and healthy!
Buon Appetito!
Avocado Salsa
8 EASY Party Dips
Tiramisu Chocolate Mousse
8 Game Day Appetizers
Sliders 4 Ways
Shrimp Cups
Mini Mac ‘n Cheese Cups
Hope you all enjoy this small collection of holiday appetizers.
Boun Appetito!!!!
How to Care for an Iron Skillet
Courtesy of “Tasty”
Tasty Treats for your Holiday Parties
With Chinese New Year right around the corner (Monday, February 8th) what better way to celebrate this occasion, then with some fall off the bone, flavorful, easy to make, Chinese Ribs.
I was in the mood for something different last night for dinner when I decided to make these ribs. I hadn’t had them in a very long time. What a great surprise to see my daughter Jenny go back 2 times for more ribs. These really are “finger lickin’ good”!
Cut one rack of ribs (I used baby back) into individual pieces. Lightly salt and pepper ribs.
Place 2 tablespoons of canola oil in a skillet or or dutch oven skillet with oil. Add ribs and brown on all sides over medium high heat. Deglaze ribs with 1 ¼ cups of your favorite Sake….I used 
Add ½ cup soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, 1 teaspoon of ginger, and ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
Cover pan and reduce heat to simmer for 2 hours or until the meat pulls away easily from the bones.
Remove ribs from skillet and place on a sheet pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
Add 1 tablespoon Karo® light syrup, 2 tablespoons of your favorite barbecue sauce, ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes, ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger and 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds to skillet. Stir until heated throughly.
Using a silicone pastry brush, brush glaze over ribs and place under broiler for 2-4 minutes, or until slightly golden brown.
Click below to download the recipe:
Hope you enjoy these “finger lickin'” ribs as much as we do!
Buon Appetito!
Chinese Braised Ribs
Live at 9 – Rob’s Favorite Char-Grilled Oysters
I just LOVE taking pictures of my food and then upload them to Facebook. Some people call this “food porn”….I call it “sweet temptations”. One of my favorite photos is my char-grilled oysters. I just wish I enjoyed eating oysters….but we won’t go there. People always find it funny that I can make something taste so good when I won’t even eat it. You just need to know which flavors go with what. I suppose I have been blessed with this ability.
This is a very easy take on the famous “Drago’s Charbroiled Oysters” from New Orleans. In this recipe, I steam open the oysters. If you choose this method, be careful not to over steam them. If possible, open them raw.
Char-Grilled Oysters
1 dozen oysters, steamed open*
Compound Butter
1 ½ sticks butter
⅓ to ½ cup parmesan cheese
¼ cup fresh flat leaf parsley
2 cloves garlic, whole
½ teaspoon Spice Islands® Lemon Pepper
Prepare compound butter:
Place butter in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and process until well combined, scraping down the bowl as needed. Divide butter into 12 pieces, 1 tablespoon each, for topping on oysters. Remaining butter can be kept frozen for up to 6 months.
Heat the grill to medium high.
Place oysters on the grill, shell side down. Cover grill and cook oysters for 2-3 minutes. Place on tablespoon butter on top of each oyster. Cover grill and continue cooking an additional 2-3 minutes.
*To clean, place oysters in a colander in and rinse under cold running water. If necessary, scrub off any mud and debris with a scrub brush.
For Roasted Red Pepper Hummus Recipe, Fruit Kabob Flag, Cucumber Boat and Yellow Squash Goose, click on the link below:
Char-Grilled Oysters
Buon Appetito!
WREG “Live at 9” – Making Fresh Mozzarella & Grilled Caprese Sandwiches
Fresh Mozzarella
1 pound fresh mozzarella curd*
6 cups water
3 tablespoons kosher salt
Slice the curd into thin slivers and place in a large mixing bowl.
Bring 6 cups of water to a boil over high heat, add the salt and bring back to the boil.
Gently pour enough boiling water over the curd to cover, let it sit for a few minutes to temper the curd. Use 2 wooden spoons to gently gather the curd together in the center of the bowl. Use the spoons to scoop the mass out of the water and hold it above the bowl, allowing the weight of the cheese to cause it to stretch back down to the water. Repeat lifting the cheese and letting it stretch until it looks smooth and shiny.
To shape the cheese, lift the cheese out of the water and roll it into a tight ball. Pinch the bottom of the ball to seal the seam. The surface of the ball should be smooth and shiny.
Place the form balls into an ice-water bath to cool. If more flavor is desired, salt can be added to the water bath.
Wrap finished mozzarella balls highly in plastic wrap. Serve within 24 hours for optimum flavor and texture.
*Mozzarella curd is available at specialty cheese shops, or on the web at www.goldenagecheese.com.
Grilled Caprese Sandwiches
Yield: 4 sandwiches
Prep time: 10 minutes
Grill time: 4 minutes
8 slices Italian Bread
¼ cup fresh basil leaves, stems removed
2 tablespoons pine nuts
¼ cup Mazola® Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 roma tomatoes, sliced
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
Salt & pepper to taste
Combine the basil and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add the oil and process until fully incorporated and smooth.
Brush pesto mixture on one side of each slice of bread. Layer tomatoes on 4 slices and add salt and pepper to taste. Top with mozzarella slices and remaining bread slices; firmly press sandwiches together.
On a preheated grill over medium high heat, place sandwiches on an angle and cover (close grill cover if grilling outside or use either a pan lid or a metal bowl, inverted, if grilling inside). Cook 2 minutes, rotate 90° and continue cooking an additional 2 minutes, covered. Flip sandwiches over and repeat process as above. Serve on a bed of leafy greens, if desired.
Grilled Caprese Sandwiches
Buon Appetito!
I love being a mom-in-law! Today my beautiful daughter (in-law) sent me a text asking for a recipe for her office (she’s a wonderful dentist) “Cinco de Mayo” party next week. I guess you can say she knows where to turn when looking for a recipe. I immediately thought of one that I wrote for a cookbook several years ago, however that recipe never made the final cut. Here’s the recipe…
| 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained |
| 1 cup tomato salsa |
| 2 tablespoons Weber Gourmet Burger Seasoning |
| 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce |
| 1 to 2 tablespoons canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, or to taste1 to 2 tablespoons adobo sauce from canned chipotle in adobo |
| 1 teaspoon Spice Islands Ground Cumin |
| 2 tablespoons Mazola Extra Virgin Olive Oil |
| ½ to 1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack or Queso Fresco cheese |
| Tortilla chips for dipping
Directions: Combine black beans, salsa, burger seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, chipotles, adobo sauce, cumin, and oil in a blender or food processor; pulse until blended but still chunky. Place bean mixture in a two-quart casserole dish. Top mixture with shredded cheese. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until slightly golden and bubbly. Serve with chips for dipping. Note: Tonight when I made this dip I was out of canned chipotle peppers, so I substituted 1 tablespoon Chipotle Pepper Seasoning and 1 teaspoon of liquid smoke! It rocked!!! Quick Facts: |
Kinta’s Famous House Margarita
1.5 ounces Tequila (Reposado)
1.5 ounces Triple Sec
1.5 ounces freshly squeezed lime juice (about 3 limes)
1 cup Ice
1 lime
kosher salt
Rub the outside of 1 glass with cut lime. Dip into a plate of Kosher salt.
Combine the Tequila, Triple Sec and lime juice and ice into a cocktail shaker, shake well
and pour into prepared glass…..
Recipe courtesy of Kristopher Wallenta
Kinta’s Restaurant
Happy Cinco De Mayo
Thank you all for supporting my blog…2014 in review. 2015 will be even bigger and better!
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 11,000 times in 2014. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
2015 Galena’s Cucina Wall Calendar
Galena’s Cucina 2015 Calendar
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