(10 seconds each to read and are almost that quick to prepare)
By Lisa Messinger
Food and Cooking at Creators Syndicate
Father's Day sometimes provides a challenge. Perhaps you want to challenge Dad to tennis, or basketball, or checkers - just spend cherished time with him - but you also want to provide those gourmet touches that make holidays so special. Don't worry that you have to give up one for the other.
It's all in the details - and why not make those fine points gourmet tricks? Grilled corn-on-the-cob, for instance, is a basic summer staple. The recipe below, though, shows how easy it is to spruce it up in seconds with a brush of fresh thyme aioli.
Burgers, too, are often an easy, bland choice. But what if you stuff the summer favorite with Dad's favorites? Don't just follow a stuffed burger recipe. Take the one below as a springboard and use Dad's favorite cheese, his favorite crumbled sausage and his favorite diced vegetable for a custom-made Father's Day treat.
All of the recipes and food ideas here are meant for adult preparation, though kidlets and adults will most likely enjoy the results.
Following are some other quick ideas that pay off dividends with time left over for fun activities with Dad:
- Serve sandwiches on store-bought muffins, such as egg salad with a sprinkle of fresh tarragon on corn muffins or ham and Swiss cheese with honey mustard on bran muffins.
- Shape ready-to-bake refrigerated breadstick or roll dough into Dad's initial, bake and serve to the guest of honor and dining guests with a dipping sauce of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and grated Parmesan cheese.
- Pump up iced tea by going half and half with root beer or ginger beer.
- Make a slit in store-bought croissants, sprinkle in chocolate and caramel sauces and chopped peanuts before heating slightly in microwave or oven. Serve with Dad's favorite ice cream or frozen yogurt.
Fun fare like this also proves food preparation can be easy, nutritious, inexpensive, fun - and fast. They take just 10 seconds each to read and are almost that quick to prepare. The creative combinations are delicious proof that everyone has time for creating homemade specialties and, more importantly, the healthy family togetherness that goes along with it!
Another benefit: You effortlessly become a better cook, since, for many, there are no right or wrong amounts. These are virtually-can't-go-wrong combinations, so whatever you - or your kidlet helpers - choose to use can't help but draw "wows" from family members and guests.
CORN-ON-THE-COB WITH FRESH THYME AIOLI
6 ears corn, husked
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme
2 garlic cloves, crushed through a press
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Lemon wedges, for serving
Yields 6 servings.
Prepare an outdoor grill for direct cooking over medium heat (350 F to 450 F).
With a long tong, carefully place the corn on the grill grate, brush all over with the butter and cover the grill. Grill, turning occasionally, until the corn is hot and a few kernels are toasted dark brown, about 12 to 15 minutes.
In a small bowl, mix together the cheese, mayonnaise, thyme, garlic and pepper.
Using a heatproof spatula, spread top of the corn ears with some of the mayonnaise mixture. Cover the cooker again and grill until mayonnaise is partially melted and set, about 30 seconds. With the utensil, give the corn a quarter turn and spread the exposed top with more mayonnaise. Cover and continue grilling, turning, and spreading the mayonnaise on the corn, until the corn is coated and the mayonnaise mixture is half-melted, about 2 minutes more. With long tongs, carefully transfer the corn to a platter and serve hot with lemon wedges on the side.
-The Big Book of Sides.
DAD'S CUSTOM-MADE STUFFED BURGERS
1 & 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 clove garlic minced
1 teaspoon hot sauce
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 onion, chopped (see Note)
4 strips cooked crispy bacon, cooled and diced (see Note)1 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese (see Note)
4 burger buns
Garnish:
Lettuce
Tomato
Pickles
Yields 4 servings.
In a bowl, combine beef, garlic, hot sauce, salt and pepper, being careful not to overmix. Form 8 even thin patties, about 1 / 2-inch thick each. Set aside.
In a skillet, saute onions until tender, about 5 minutes. Let onions cool. Place onions and cooked bacon in a bowl with cheese. Form a spoonful of bacon-onion-cheese mixture in a ball and then place in the center of 4 patties. Top each with another patty and seal the edges.
Grill burgers over medium-high heat, carefully flipping once until desired doneness is reached, approximately 4 minutes each side for medium. The USDA recommends that ground meat reach an internal temperature on an oven thermometer of 160 F. (Burgers instead could be seared on medium-high in a skillet for about 4 minutes on each side until reach desired doneness.) Serve in buns with garnishes.
Note: You can make this tasty Food Network recipe as is. If you want to customize it for your dad (or yourself!), use the measures for the diced bacon, chopped onions and grated Cheddar cheese, but instead substitute his favorite cooked meat (like sausage or ham), vegetable and cheese.
-FoodNetwork.com
QUICK TIP OF THE WEEK: In addition to sophisticated recipes, Jacquy Pfeiffer's
The Art of French Pastry bubbles with simple takeaway tips. For instance, if you've ever been told to let dough "rest," here is famed pastry chef Pfeiffer's lesson: "What it means is that some of the gluten was activated during the mixing, so the dough needs to rest to allow the gluten to relax and get weaker. The resting will also allow the starch in the flour to act like a dry sponge. It has the power to absorb and retain moisture so that dough can come together and hold its shape. But it needs time. Let any dough made with flour rest for even an hour after mixing and, even if it's a sticky whole wheat dough, you will see that it comes together."
Lisa Messinger is a first-place winner in food and nutrition writing from the Association of Food Journalists and the National Council Against Health Fraud and author of seven food books, including the best-selling The Tofu Book: The New American Cuisine with 150 Recipes (Avery/Penguin Putnam) and Turn Your Supermarket into a Health Food Store: The Brand-Name Guide to Shopping for a Better Diet (Pharos/Scripps Howard). She writes two nationally syndicated food and nutrition columns for Creators Syndicate and had been a longtime newspaper food and health section managing editor, as well as managing editor of Gayot/Gault Millau dining review company. Lisa traveled the globe writing about top chefs for Pulitzer Prize-winning Copley News Service and has written about health and nutrition for the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, Reader's Digest, Woman's World and Prevention Magazine Health Books. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com.
