Watermelon-Cucumber Gazpacho with Cabernet Reduction and Smoked Sea Salt

This is a refreshing take on a summer classic.  It’s great for healthy dining, easy entertaining, and just a great soup.

 (Picture to come)

• 8 lbs. Seedless Watermelon
• 5 cloves Garlic
• ½ Red Onion
• ½ Jalapeno Pepper
• ½ Serrano Pepper
• ½ Red Bell Pepper
• ½ Yellow Bell Pepper
• ¼ – ½ Seedless (English) Cucumber
• 15 Mint Leaves
• 1.5 fl.oz. Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1/3 cup Brown Sugar
• ½ – ¾ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper, to taste

Garnishes:

• Feta Cheese, crumbled
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Smoked Sea Salt
• Cabernet Reduction (1 bottle of Cabernet and ½ cup sugar, reduced to 1 cup)

1. Peel & cut the watermelon into 1” cubes.  Cut about 4 oz. of the melon into small dice and reserve.
2. Small dice about ¼ of the onion and reserve.  The rest can be chopped.
3. Seed the cucumber (reserving the pulpy center) and cut about ¼ of it into small dice and reserve.  Chop the rest.
4. Seed all of the peppers.  Cut ¼ of each into small dice, and reserve.  Chop the rest.
5. Mix all of the reserved pieces of peppers, cucumber, onion, and watermelon in a separate bowl and chill until ready to serve (this is your garnish)
6. In a blender, combine vinegar with about half of the sugar, the cucumber seed pulp, along with the chopped ingredients, and about ¾ of the mint (you may need to do this in batches).  Blend until smooth, streaming in olive oil as you go to help thicken the soup.  Taste after blended and season with salt, pepper, and more sugar (if needed)
7. Chill well and season to taste.
8. To Serve: Place some of the mixed diced vegetables in a bowl/glass and ladle the soup over.  Drizzle some of the Cabernet Syrup over the soup.  Chiffonade the remaining mint and sprinkle over the soup.  Crumble on some of the feta cheese and then drizzle with a touch of the olive oil.  Finish with a light sprinkle of the smoked sea salt just before serving. Serve while still very cold.

Pasta e Fagioli con Salcicce

WannaBChef's Pasta e Fagioli con Salcicce

I decided to make my own version of this classic Italian dish…and since Steve doesn’t like soups that are too brothy, I pureed some of the beans and cooked the pasta right in the soup – which helped thicken it up!

• Olive Oil
• 1 lb. Bulk Hot Italian Sausage
• 1 medium Yellow Onion, diced
• 4 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. Crushed Red Chile Flakes
• 1 Tbsp. fresh Rosemary, minced
• 1 Tbsp. fresh Thyme
• 2 cans White Cannelini Beans, drained and rinsed
• Roasted Tomatoes (see below), chopped
• 1 cup Red Wine (I used Cab. Sav.)
• 2.5 quarts Chicken Stock
• 6-8 oz. Ditalini Pasta
• 2 Tbsp. Basil, chiffonade
• Salt & Pepper, to taste
• Basil & Grated Parmesan or Asiago Cheese for Garnish

1. Heat a heavy-bottom pot over medium-high heat.  Add 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil and then add sausage, breaking it up into bite-sized pieces with a spoon.  Stir until browned, then remove from pot and reserve.
2. Add 1-2 Tbsp. Olive Oil more, and sauté the garlic, onion, and chile flakes for 3 minutes.
3. Add in Cannelini Beans, Roasted Tomatoes, rosemary , and thyme.  Stir well to combine. Sauté 2 minutes.
4. Deglaze the pan by CAREFULLY adding in the red wine, and using a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan.  Reduce to about 1 ounce of liquid, stirring frequently.
5. Add in the chicken stock and stir well to combine.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.  Using a stick blender, pureé some of the soup to help thicken it up.  Return cooked sausage to pot.
6. Stir in pasta and cook for about 7 minutes (subtract 1 minute from package directions al dente cooking time).
7. Reduce heat to a simmer, and season to taste with Salt & Pepper.
8. Just before serving, stir in basil.  Add more basil to the top and grated Parmesan if you like before serving.

If you’d like the soup more broth-y, you can skip pureeing the soup.  Also, you can cook the pasta separately and add it in just before the basil, just before serving (just be sure to cook the pasta according to package directions, then run under cold water to stop the cooking process).

Roasted Tomatoes

• 8 Roma Tomatoes, halved lengthwise
• 16 pieces fresh Thyme, about the size of the tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp Garlic, minced
• Olive Oil & Black Pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Place the tomato halves, cut side up, on a sheetpan and drizzle with olive oil.
3. Sprinkle some of the minced garlic on each half.  Top with a piece of Thyme sprig.
4. Roast in 400°F oven for about 1 hour, until the omatoes atart to brown.
5. When cooled, cut each half into bite-sized pieces, about 6 pieces per half.

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

The WannaBChef’s Setup for Success: Knives

WannaBChef.com’s ultimate goal is for you to be able to throw amazing dinner parties – for 20 or more, or just 2 – that will “wow” your guests, make you look like a superstar , and still let you actually ENJOY your party, rather than slaving away in the kitchen while your guests are host-less.

So, let’s get you starting off on the right foot, with The WannaBChef’s Set Up For Success Plan!  This is the best way I have found for you to get your kitchen set up to begin cooking and getting ready for your first big event.  Feel free to try it all out and see what works for you, and what doesn’t.  Make this Plan work for you so that you are comfortable, rather than try to mold yourself around a list that you’re not comfortable with.  This Plan will be broken down into several pieces, each focusing on one area/piece of equipment you need to get ready to cook.

Tools of the Trade – Knives

Every job has certain tools or equipment you’ll need.  In the kitchen, these tools vary by the cook’s experience and personal tastes.  Here’s the WannaBChef’s basics of what you’ll need to get cooking, starting with Knives.  I can’t stress the importance of good, quality, knives that you are comfortable using.  The knives you choose need to fit your hand well, and not be too heavy (or too light) for your own taste.  This is definitely one area of equipment that you don’t want to cut corners or go cheap on.  Investing in a good set of knives is just that – an investment.  As long as you take care of your knives, they will last you a good long time.  However, even the best knives can be destroyed if they aren’t cared for properly, but that’s another blog.

The core knives that you need to have are:

• Chef’s Knife (usually 7″ is sufficient for home use, thought some people like an 8″ or even 10″ knife)
• Paring Knife (usually 3-4″)
• Utility Knife (this is usually a 6-7″ knife, but with a smaller blade than a Chef’s Knife…it kinda looks like a larger paring knife)
• Serrated Bread Knife (this one looks like it has “teeth” to cut through crusty loaves of bread, and can be used for other cutting as well)
• Flexible Boning Knife (again, about 7″, with a strong but flexible blade to use when breaking down chicken, fish, etc.).

Along with these core knives, you may find sets that offer more knives giving you a full range of cutlery for more uses than you will know.  If you find a brand that you like, and can afford the cost, full sets of knives can be an amazing deal, rather than just buying each individual piece separately.  You also may find that you like different brands for different knives.  Don’t be afraid to go to your local houseware store or kitchen supply / knife store to “test drive” a few knives.  Most stores will let you hold the different knives you are interested in, and some even have testing areas where you can try them out on cutting boards.  Ask questions while you are in the store, and don’t be afraid to shop around.  You may try out several brands at a local boutiques housewares store, and then research on-line stores to find the same knives at a great discount.  I personally like to shop at www.KnifeMerchant.com.  There, you can find a huge array of brands and knives to satisfy all of your cutlery needs.

Knives are a (surprisingly) personal choice.  I prefer a lighter knife, so I usually lean towards the Asian manufacturers like Global & Mac.  If you like heavier knives, you may want to explore the European styles of Wustof or Henckel.  Again, the best advice is to go and feel the knives for yourself to see what YOU like best.  There are pros and cons for every knife brand, so ultimately it comes down to your personal choice.

While shopping for knives, make sure you also have a Honing Steel to use to help keepthe edges of your knives sharp and ready to go.  These are available in metal, ceramic, and even diamond edges, each offering a different type of honing for your blade, so ask which type of Honing Steel is best for the knives that you choose.  Some knives may eveb require use of a certain type for the knives to perform at their best (like Global & Mac knives using a ceramic steel to keep a sharp edge).

When you get home, where are you going to keep those shiny and sharp new knives?  Most sets will come with some type of Knife block, or you may want to look at a Magnetic Knife Strip to store your knives on (you mount it to the wall, so make sure you have a convenient place in your kitchen for it).  Most blocks will have a place to store all of your knives (usually with slots to spare), and even have a space for your Honing Steel, and usually a slot for kitchen Shears.  Bottom line is to make sure that you have a safe place to store your knives, that will protect both you - from the sharp blades; and your knives – from you!  But, I’ll go into that more in a separate blog about knife maintenance and storage.

Now you should be ready to go out and pick up some new knives for yourself.  If you have a set of knives that you enjoy using, you don’t need to go out and buy a whole new set.  You may, however, want to explore the option of having your knives professionally sharpened if you have had them for some time.  This is usually inexpensive, and you can ask about services that may be offered at your local housewares store.

The Great American Restaurant Hunt

As I have mentioned on WannaBChef.com before, and many of the local publications have been discussing, I’m in the process of searching for a restaurant to call my own.  This has been a lengthy process which has required not only time and attention, but also a creative eye to take an existing (or raw) space, and envision my own restaurant.  Now, I think that we have found a location, we have submitted the paperwork to the landlord….and we wait….

While I tear my hair out playing the waiting game, I figured I should get a little jumpstart on WannaBChef’s actual content of the site.  Please bear with me, as we are working to have a comments section, and an e-mailing list put on the site…but all the good stuff takes time  )

Welcome to WannaBChef.com!

Hey Everyone, and welcome to my new website, WannaBChef.com.  WannaBChef.com is a new spin on the idea that everyone wants to be able to throw an AMAZING dinner party for their friends, but not everyone has the know-how to get it done.  That, combined with tougher economic times, means it’s time to tie on your apron and get cooking!!

WannaBChef.com’s goal is to help people get over their fear of cooking and entertaining, and to help streamline the process so you not only get to host the party, but be a guest, too!  In addition to this, I’ll be adding more of my own personal recipes for home cooking (maybe just an intimate dinner party for 2?….), and my own reviews of products and equipment that come across my cutting board.

I invite you to leave me comments with any requests that you’d like to see, and any questions that I can answer for you on here.  It’s only the first day, and I’m excited to see how WannaBChef.com can help!

And, for those of you not sure, yeah, this is Richard Sweeney from Top Chef Season 5, NYC.    I’ve now left my job as Executive Chef of Confidential Restaurant + Loft here in San Diego, and am in the process of opening up my own restaurant.  I’ll share all the details of the process with you all as we go – if nothing else, it’s a wild ride.