What are YOUR favorite…..

…Comfort Foods or “Old School” Dishes?

Meatloaf?

Mac n Cheese?

Salisbury Steak?

What are the foods you used to it, but haven’t had in FOREVER?  Lemme know in my comments below!

-Chef Rich

I’ve been SOOOOO behind

Hey Everyone……anyone still out there?

I’m sorry for the uber-delays in updating the blog with new recipes/posts (my computer had died on me, and was using my dinosaur of a desktop).

Happy to report that I’m now sporting a new MacBook, so I will be back on track and posting new recipes this week!  Thanks to everyone who’s still checking out the site!

-Rich

Another Hot Day in SD

Today is yet another hot one here in Sunny San Diego…..ugh!

I’m finding myself standing in front of the fridge (no, not looking for a snack…though one does sound good…hmmm) just to stay cool.  Watching the dogs chomp down on ice cubes got me in the mood for something cool myself.  And, since it’s a holiday weekend, I figured a refreshing alcoholic beverage would be in order to get my own friday happy hour started!

So, I just whipped up a batch of Basil Red Sangria that I started making in the elimination house from Top Chef, and brought to the bar when I was Executive Chef at Confidential.  It’s a nice twist on a staple summertime drink, with the basil bringing a refreshing lighter note.  Feel free to swap out other fruits for some of the apples and oranges – I love using summer sweet plums, and even peaches (usually reserved for lighter white sangrias). 

Even if you’re not much of a red wine drinker, this Basil Red Sangria has mass appeal – or swap out the red wine for your favorite white!

Time to go cool off and sit in front of the fan for a bit….more postings (and recipes) to come when the weather here cools off!

-Rich

It’s HOT in San Diego…..

Today has been a surprisingly HOT day here in San Diego (we pay sunshine tax for nice weather – but this is a lil warm!).  And, since I happened to just post all of my Healthy, Sexy Cooking Class recipes on WannaBChef.com – take a second to see what you can put on your summertime menu at home for light, refreshing dishes that not only taste good, but are actually good for you!

Also, I’m working to get more pictures on the site – both of myself, and of all the recipes – they are in the works, so check back soon!

Ok, I’m off to find a fan to sit in front of……I can’t tell who’s panting more – me or my dogs!

Keep cooking (and in this summer heat, get outside and grill)!

The Calm Before The Storm….

Woday I’m working on getting all of my recipes together for tomorrow night’s “Sexy, Healthy Dining” Class at Balboa Food & Wine School (check out my “Classes” page for the menu, along with upcoming classes here in SD).  Funny how, being a chef who rarely measures anything, I am writing sepcific recipes for people to follow in my class…..

Last night I whipped up the Creamy Tarragon Chicken with Zucchini Papardelle, which turned out pretty nice, and surprisingly refreshing & filling all at the same time.  Dessert was the seasonal fruit & Honey-Yogurt Parfait…I changed it up and added some cubed angel food cake (store-bought) to add to it.

Tonight….not quite sure what I’m gonna make, if anything – all day I have been craving a burger & a beer…and I might just try to convince Steve to say yes – or, I’ll whip up something from the fridge (which needs to be cleaned out soon – getting pretty full in there…not yet scary, but getting close).  In the mean time, I’ll keep plugging away at tomorrow’s class recipes!

Work In Progress

We’ve been working a lot on changing the format and sturcture of the site.  Any feedback is always appreciated! Especially if there’s something you’d like to see on the site.  Just leave me a comment below.

That being said, please bear with us while we tweak a few ideas to get things just right.  Also, check out the guys who are getting this all set up for me at www.4MoreHits.com  They do great work, if anyone is looking to have a site built, or get more responses to you current website.

Play With Your Food…

…I can’t say to LITERALLY play with your food, but play around with your food ideas!  Take something that you know as a staple (like Shepherd’s Pie) and give it a few little tweaks and twists to change it up.  Today, I swapped corn, black bean, jalepenos, and cilantro for the traditional carrots, celery, peas, and thyme.  I also added some cumin to the mix to bring out a smoky, southwestern flavor.

Playing with your food - to me - is the best part of cooking – it’s where your true creativity gets to shine through.  It also helps to break up the mundane-ness of making something from your recipe arsenal.  Even as a chef, I get bored making the same things over and over again.  So, sometimes I like to look and see what I have on hand, then flip through my cookbooks and get ideas for dishes.  Today it was ground turkey, cilantro, and potatoes in the cupboard.  So I had to run to the store and fill in the gaps, but now we are gonna have something a little bit different.  After all, when was the last time you saw “Southwestern Shepherd’s Pie” on a menu or in a recipe book? (but, if it works out, I’ll happily be posting the recipe on here!)

The point – you don’t have to be boring when making dinner – take charge of the food and make something fun and new for yourself and your family.  Now time to see how it came out!

Keep cooking, and leaving me comments!

Getting back in the swing of things

Just an apology to everyone who checks this out (I’m feeling very “Julie” wondering who, if anyone reads this….) 

I haven’t been very good about keeping this site & blog updated, so I’m working to get back on track with more postings to come – including recipes, ranting & raving, and more Setting Up For Success Tips!

Please feel free to leave a comment, or write me at ChefRichSweeney at Yahoo dot com