INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup butter; softened
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ tspn. vanilla extract
• 8 oz. cream cheese; softened
• 1, 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbs. lemon zest
• 6 Tbs. lemon juice
• 5 Tbs. fine granulated sugar; for brulee-ing

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8 x 8 glass dish with parchment paper and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. In large bowl, combine butter, sugar, flour and vanilla until dough forms. Press evenly into the bottom of the prepared dish. Set aside. In another bowl, whip cream cheese. Stir in sweetened condensed milk. Scrape sides and mix again. Pour in egg, lemon zest and juice. Mix until mixture starts to thicken, 20-30 seconds. Scrape sides and mix again briefly. Pour overtop cookie bottom and smooth the top. Bake 20-25 minutes or until cheesecake is set completely. Cool, then refrigerate. Cut into 16 squares and separate. Sprinkle the tops of each square with 1 teaspoon of sugar and spread around with finger to evenly distribute sugar. Torch the tops until the sugar melts and turns an amber color. {If you don’t have a torch, place under the broiler}. Return squares to fridge until ready to serve.

When I was thinking about what menu I was going to do for Father’s Day, I thought about simple food that I, and most dads, like. Steak. Shrimp. Simple salad. Cheesecake. Easy, huh? Well, here is the menu that I want to have on Father’s Day (hint, hint). I don’t mind doing the grilling if someone else does the dishes!

In This Menu:

• Wedge Lettuce Salad
• Shrimp Skewers and Rib Eye Steaks with Red Wine Mushroom Sauce
• Cheesecake with Blueberry Sauce

I think I like this salad because it is simple and that it also has a big piece of iceberg lettuce! I know, I know, iceberg is not as healthy as some other lettuces, but this is for Father’s Day! Sometimes we dads just want a big, old, crunchy piece of iceberg. It may not be the healthiest, but it sure is tasty!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 head iceberg lettuce cut into 4, wedge-shaped pieces
• 2 hard boiled eggs, cut in half vertically
• 1 large, fresh tomato, cut into quarters
• Dressing of choice
• 1 cup sliced black olives
• 1 cup crumbled blue cheese
• ¼ cup fresh chives

PREPARATION

Lay wedge out on plate. Put ½ egg on one side of wedge and 1 tomato quarter on other side. Drizzle dressing over the top of wedge lettuce then top with blue cheese, olives, and chives.

INGREDIENTS

For the Steaks:

• Four, 12 oz. rib eye steaks
• Olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper

Drizzle oil on both sides of steaks and rub with garlic, salt, and pepper.

For the Shrimp:

• 16 large shrimp, peeled except for tail and de-veined
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt and pepper

Drizzle oil on shrimp and lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper. Skewer 4 shrimp on a bamboo skewer and set aside.

For the Sauce:

• 3 cups dry, red wine
• 1 cup strong beef bouillon
• ½ cup diced onion
• ½ cup diced celery
• ½ cup diced carrot
• 1 bay leaf

2 cups fresh, sliced mushrooms, sautéed in butter.

PREPARATION

Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce for 20 to 30 minutes. Strain through a mesh strainer and place back on heat. Mix 3 tablespoons cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water. Slowly add to boiling sauce until desired thickness is reached. You do not have to add all of the cornstarch mixture. Add cooked mushrooms to sauce.

To Finish:

Grill steak to desired temperature, about 6 minutes per side for medium to medium rare. When steaks are almost done, place shrimp on hot grill. The shrimp will cook in about 2 minutes per side. Serve steaks with shrimp and top steak with mushroom sauce and serve with bicolor corn and your favorite potato.

For the Crust:

• ½ lb. butter-softened
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ t. salt
• Flour as needed

Mix butter, sugar, and salt in mixer. Add flour until pea-sized balls are formed. Form crust into 10 inch spring form pan two inches up the side.

For the Batter:

• 1 and ½ block cream cheese (this is 1 and ½ lb.) – softened
• 4 eggs
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• ½ cup sugar

Mix cream cheese, vanilla, sugar, and eggs in mixer until smooth. Pour into crust and bake in low oven at 200° for about 4 hours. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Run a warm knife around sides before removing side of spring form pan.

For the Sauce:

• 2 pints fresh blueberries
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Juice of one lemon
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water

Place blueberries in a small sauce pan with butter, sugar, and lemon over medium heat and cook until berries begin to burst and release their juice. Turn heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Add ½ of the cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil. Add more of the cornstarch mixture as necessary to reach desired thickness. Let cool and serve over cheesecake.

I think you will enjoy this menu. The salad is one of the best I’ve had in a long time. The citrus dressing works perfectly for the Anjou pears and blue cheese. The tilapia is truly outstanding and the New York Cheesecake with Dark Chocolate Ganache is very simple to do.

Inspiration for the tilapia dish came from a great restaurant called The Dunes, owned by one of my favorite chefs, Jean George. I had the good fortune to eat there several years ago and had a great dish similar to this. This is my version. It sounds a bit strange to pour a broth around the mashed potatoes, but the blending of the potatoes with the broth is truly incredible. Enjoy!

In This Menu:

• Tilapia with Wasabi Potatoes and Miso Broth
• Anjou Pear Salad
• Cheesecake with Dark Chocolate Ganache

Wasabi Whipped Potatoes

• 1½ pounds of Deli mashed potatoes
• 1 small bag of fresh spinach
• 1 tablespoon Wasabi powder mixed with 2 teaspoons orange juice (water is fine, juice is better)

Bring 1 quart of water in a medium saucepan to boil. Add spinach. Cook for about 1 to 2 minutes, drain, and run spinach in cold water immediately to cool and set the color. Place cooked spinach and wasabi in food processor and pulse, scraping sides frequently until spinach is fairly smooth.

Heat potatoes in microwave, loosely covered, for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally until potatoes are ready to serve. Place potatoes in a large bowl and add spinach-wasabi mixture. Stir the spinach into the potatoes until you have a consistent color. Keep warm.

For the asparagus:

• ½ bunch asparagus, washed and trimmed
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• Coarse kosher or sea salt to taste
• 1 tablespoon dark sesame oil (in Asian section of our store)

Blanch the asparagus in lightly salted boiling water for about 3 minutes or until crisp-tender; do not overcook. Remove from heat and refresh under cold water; drain well. In a small saucepan, toss asparagus with remaining ingredients until evenly coated and warmed through.

For the fish:

• 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
• ¼ cup black sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 4 fillets of tilapia
• ½ cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 400°. Mix sesame seeds with bread crumbs, salt, and pepper in small bowl. Lay fish on a cookie sheet or baking tray with an edge. Brush each fillet with half of the olive oil. Set remaining olive oil aside. Sprinkle Panko mixture liberally over each fillet. Lightly dab the remaining olive oil on top of bread crumbs to help it brown.

Bake fillets for 12 minutes. Remove from oven.

To plate:

Put about a 3/4 cup scoop of the potatoes in the center of a shallow bowl. Carefully place fish on potatoes. Pour ½ cup Miso broth around potatoes. Top fish with 4 asparagus spears. Serve immediately.

For the dressing:

• 2 teaspoons minced, fresh ginger
• Juice of one navel orange
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Put ginger in a small bowl with the orange juice. Add sugar, salt, and black pepper. Slowly drizzle oil into juice while beating with a wire whip continuously until all of the oil is gone.

For the salad:

• 2 cups ice water
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 Anjou pears
• ½ cup chopped walnuts
• ½ cup blue cheese
• 4 small handfuls of your favorite lettuce blend

Mix ice water with lemon juice in a small bowl. Cut pears into quarters and remove core. Slice each quarter into three slices. Place slices in the acidulated water (fancy chef term for water with lemon!). The lemon will keep the pears from turning brown. In another bowl toss the lettuce with about 2 tablespoons of the dressing. Have four plates ready and place equal amounts of the dressed lettuce in center of each plate. Remove pears from water, drain, then place in same bowl you tossed the lettuce in. Add the walnuts and blue cheese to pears. Add dressing and toss to coat pears completely. Stack pears on top of lettuce and serve. Serve immediately.

1 New York Cheesecake from our bakery

For Ganache:

• 1 cup good quality, dark chocolate
• ½ cup heavy cream

In a double boiler, melt chocolate. Add cream and mix well with a wire whip. Remove from heat and ladle over center of cheesecake. Serve immediately.