Sunday, June 17, 2007

A DADDY DAY FEAST

The Missus sure do know how to take care of Daddy on Daddy’s Day.

Since, alas, her own Daddy is defunct, and since both my Daddy and her step-Daddy live at a remove of several hundred miles, that leaves me as the only Daddy conveniently situated to enjoy her Father’s Day beneficence.

We’ll be having a Feast of Major Proportions.

SWMBO asked me what I wanted. Normally, I would have specified some sort of beefsteak. Bone-in rib-eye, perhaps? Filets? New York strip steaks? How ’bout a honkin’ big-ass porterhouse? All good...but I have been gorging on red meat all this past week, starting with a few monster rib-eyes that I grilled and sliced up last Monday, continuing through a sliced New York strip roast Tuesday evening, the leftover rib-eye Wednesday (shared with the Mistress), the gargantuan burgers and hot dogs we gorged upon at Gary and JoAnn’s Friday evening, and London broil Saturday with John and Jackie T-. I loves me some beef, but this was beginning to get ridiculous. Enough with the beef already! says the Inflated Gut d’Elisson.

Fish! That’s the ticket. We were pleased to find several huge slabs at Costco – not the usual farm-raised crap, but wild Alaskan salmon. The rich, red-orange flesh was irresistible. We’ll plank those bad boys on the grill with a liberal coating of potlatch seasoning and serve them with generous lashings of blueberry chutney – a batch of which I just cooked up this morning. [Thanks, Kimberly!]

Along with the fish we’ll have grilled asparagus, marinated in olive oil, kosher salt, and piment d’espelette (Basque red pepper). SWMBO just built a magnificent pasta salad, dressed with nothing but garlic-infused olive oil, chopped parsley, and basil. I tasted it. It kicks ass.

What else? Steamed green beans (just in case someone wants Basic Roughage) and a salad of mixed spring greens with strawberries, walnuts, and gorgonzola.

For dessert? Fresh apricots, served alongside scoops of homemade blackberry ice cream.

That blackberry ice cream is simplicity itself to make...and is, in fact, my sole contribution to this Big-Ass Meal. Here’s how to do it yerself:

Blackberry Ice Cream

3 cups blackberries
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp (approx.) vanilla extract

Using a food processor or food mill, purée the blackberries. Press the purée through a sieve to remove the seeds. Set aside a cup of the seedless purée.

In a non-reactive saucepan, add the sugar to one cup of the cream. Heat on low heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved completely. Add the remaining cup of cream and the blackberry purée and mix thoroughly. Add about a teaspoon of vanilla extract, more or less, to taste. Then stick the whole mess in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to chill and mellow out.

Now get out your ice cream freezer and freeze the mixture according to the directions that came with that selfsame freezer. Dish it out and spoon a little blackberry purée over it if you have any left over. Beats Ben and Jerry like red-headed stepchildren.

Ya want pictures? We got pictures...below the fold.



Spring Greens with Strawberries, Walnuts, and Gorgonzola
Mixed Spring Greens with Strawberries, Walnuts, and Gorgonzola.

Planked Salmon
Planked Salmon shares the grill with some chicken and apple sausages.

Pasta Salad
SWMBO’s kick-ass Pasta Salad. Green beans and grilled asparagus lurk in the background.

Blackberry Ice Cream
Blackberry Ice Cream with apricots and blueberries.

Eat yer hearts out!

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