Here’s a little secret amongst chefs…we are always looking for something new.  I gotta say, new ideas are hard to come by, as there is not too many original ideas.  So we take to tweaking, swapping, deconstructing and reconstructing, anything we can do to maintain our hunt to be inventive and creative.   Like most chefs I have a pile of food magazines, some cookbooks, and a ton of websites I pour over weekly looking for inspiration.  While some people might see this as unoriginal, I believe it’s more of a catalyst to my own work; after all, it’s the hand of the chef that makes the flavors sing.

During the weekly voyage thru those piles of magazines and multiple websites, I came across, what I thought was a homerun! It would be perfect for a southern Labor Day cookout.  When we entertain at home, we like to have simple, easy and tasty food, along with a few surprises for our guests to enjoy.  Watermelon Cocktail Sauce would do just that, refreshing, zippy and quite the “A- ha”.

Watermelon Cocktail Sauce

 The method is pretty simple…put all of the ingredients except the cocktail sauce or ketchup in a food processor and puree.  Once all the ingredients are puréed smoothly, transfer into a mixing bowl.  The cocktail sauce or ketchup is there to thicken the sauce if necessary.  Add a tablespoon at a time and stir well until the sauce is thick enough; this can vary depending how juicy your watermelon is.  The watermelon cocktail sauce can be made in advance and refrigerated.