April is National Grilled Cheese Month!!!

So, what’s a chef to do to celebrate the tasty-est, most versatile warm sandwich’s featured month?  Host a cooking class, of course!

The Grilled Cheese Class will be on Wednesday April 14th (a great way to relax before rushing home to finish your taxes!), at Balboa Food & Wine School.  Sign up for the class here.

The Menu:

• Classic Tomato Soup, for dipping, of course!
• Grilled Mozzarella, Basil, and Prosciutto on Focaccia
• Grilled Provolone, Applewood Smoked Bacon, and Granny Smith Apple on Baguette
• Grilled Fontina & Roasted vegetables on Rosemary Bread
• Even a Dessert Grilled Cheese: Vanilla Raisin Walnut Cream Cheese & Strawberry Jam

Leave me your favorite grilled cheese combination (breads, cheeses, and fillings) in the comments below!

Any questions? E-mail me at Chef@WannaBChef.com

Get Cooking!

-Chef Rich

Private Classes

Have I mentioned that I am available for Private Cooking Classes?  They can be for individuals, couples, or groups – and the prices are flexible to reflect the size of the group.  We can set up classes at your home, a central location, or find another spot that works for everyone!  Or, if you prefer a more formal type of class, both of the schools I teach at offer private class sessions in their full kitchens.

Any questions?   Hit me up at Chef@WannaBChef.com

Keep Cooking!

-Chef Rich

Healthy, Sexy Cooking Class

Tonight’s Sexy, Healthy Cooking Class was a hit!  First, just a big thank you to all who came in tonight!  The appeal of taking a healthy cooking class isn’t always there, but I think I hleped the class live up to it’s name of being healthy AND sexy.  Plus, I tried to make all the dishes tasty, without the need to go overboard with butter, cream, or salt.  A perfect example of how to make a soup-er flavorful (sorry, I HAD to go there) dish, without a lot of fat is my Watermelon-Cucumber Gazpacho with Cabernet Reduction and Smoked Sea Salt.  There’s a TON of flavor going on in there, and the garnishes are optional – freeing you up to add only what you want!

The point behind tonight’s class was simple: you CAN make food that’s not just good for you, but that TASTES great!  All of the recipes are meant to be used as templates for working with foods you enjoy.  All of my recipes are not only foods that I like to cook with, but also eat (taking seasonality into account, too).  That being said, feel free to change up the recipes and make them your own.  Don’t like peaches, but love summer apricots – substitute those in for your Seasonal Fruit & Honey-Yogurt Parfait.  Or really change it up and add some homemade granola to the party!

Healthy cooking is all about state of mind – if you tell yourself that a dish will never be as good without one ingredient, you’ll never think it is!  Try to change up your routine – your next pasta night, try trading in your pasta for a zucchini with my Creamy Tarragon Chicken Breast with Zucchini Pappardelle.  You know that it’s not pasta, but you’ll feel just as satisfied!

Wanna go with a fun spin on soup and salad, try out the Grilled Avocado & Tomato Salad with Arugula Pesto paired up with a bowl full of rich Black Mussels in Spicy Tomato & Fennel Brodo.  The two dishes are a great compliment to each other, and can provide a satisfying meal on their own, without overloading your calorie count for the day.

Remember that food is a part of our lives – enjoy it, and be sensible sometimes about what it is you eat, and you’ll live longer, and eat more!