Father’s Day is around the corner and a friend of mine has asked for a few ideas for her dad’s special day. “Each year, she said with mild frustration, we do the same thing for him. Grill steak, toss baked potatoes in the oven and my sister brings a pie. Please help….”
We sat and talked about what her menu for Father’s Day and I found through conversation that her desire to change up her cuisine runs deeper than just that special day for dad. She is tired of preparing the same old recipes for her family each week and has fallen into a bit of a food “routine”. Two parents, each working a full-time schedule, leave little time for meal planning and she has finally decided enough is enough. We spent time tossing new ideas around and expanding on old ones. Two heads in this case were much better than one.
I will expand on this conversation and fix the week night meal routine (or rut) in another post, for now, let’s get to a few tasty recipes for dad.
Salads ~ Salad does not need to be boring. If you love munching on soft leafy greens, let your imagination run a bit wild. Add a handful of cheese, blue, goat, feta or any kind of cheese you love. They are your taste buds, do what makes them happy. If each member of your family has a different idea of what their ultimate salad should be, it may work best to set up a basic spinach and greens with a collection of ingredients to the side. Toss a few berries, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries in a few separate bowls, a few crumbled cheeses, slivered almonds, pecans, and perhaps dried cranberries. Sit down and talk to your family, ask them what they would like to see on the dinner table. Once the ideas start bouncing around, great recipes begin bubbling and brewing and the possibilities are endless. Yes, even for a salad. Balsamic Blueberry Salad
Greek Salad by BBC Good Food. Now that we have the ‘leafy green salad” taken care of, here is an additional option. A beautiful salad that is full of color, bursting with flavor and pairs well with grilled meat. This is a fantastic salad with a prep time of only 15 minutes and if you simply do not like an ingredient, take it out, if you wish to add another flavor, do it. Twist, tweak…. it’s your meal. Shopping list; Large vine tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, kalamata olives, dried oregano, feta cheese and Greek extra virgin olive oil. Full recipe and method here
by TraegerGrills
Smoked Beef Tenderloin Steaks with Blue Cheese and Peppercorn Butter by Traegergrills.com. Throwing a steak on the grill is a quick and delicious way to prepare a meal, with little or no clean up. Since Dad is usually the grill master, it’s time to turn the tables, pamper and treat him like a king. One of the tastiest methods I have found for kicking flavor up a notch is working with a compound butter, and the most fantastic portion of that, is you can whip up any combination of flavors you wish (see this past post for compound butters) This particular recipes uses the following ingredients; Butter, blue cheese, garlic, sherry, chives, peppercorn and salt. Since compound butters are incredibly simple to prepare, two or more completely different flavors for your dad and guests to choose from is a wonderful option. Full recipe and method for steak here
Stay tuned…we have more delicious ideas for Sunday’s menu. In the meantime, take a trip down memory lane and revisit last year’s post. It may give you a great idea or two. Last Minute Menu Ideas for Dad
That steak recipe is calling my name. I might shove my hubby out of the way for that one. No wait, that’s wrong, I’d never do that.