fred e-scapes the kitchen
ByLike many other women, I feel the pressure to make Father’s Day a special day for the wonderful father of my children. Unlike many other women, I feel exceptional pressure when it comes to the cooking part of the day, since my husband, Fred, does almost all (OK, all) the cooking in our house.
Breakfast was easy enough. We started off the day with a glass of Bele Casel Prosecco (the perfect way to start ANY day!) and Alyssa and Eric helped me make heart-shaped French Toast, sausage and homemade hash browns. So far, so good.
Dinner, however, was a little more challenging. I try to prepare a fancier meal than usual to celebrate the special day. Sometimes it works – sometimes it doesn’t. I think this year was definitely a success – even if the prep time was far longer than I’d imagined and we ate dinner at 10:00 p.m.
We started off with lime-seared scallops (Fred LOVES scallops), served over a bed of baby greens, accompanied by Dominique Roger’s (Domaine du Carrou) Sancerre 2006. The citrus edge and crisp finish of the Sancerre was a nice pairing with the fresh lime.
For the entree, I selected a Father’s Day classic – NY Strip Steak from the grill. I, too, was the recipient of fresh garlic scapes from Dale’s garden. Since I didn’t even know what garlic scapes were, let alone how to use them, I enlisted the help of Susan (Thanks Susan) and her wet rub:
A handful of scapes, roughly chopped. A few sprigs each of rosemary and thyme from the garden. Healthy grinds of both salt and pepper. All whirred up in the Cuisinart (yes, I even broke out the Cuisinart – after all it was Father’s Day!) with a little olive oil from Paolo De Marchi’s Isole e Olena.
I coated the outsides of the steaks and prepared an aluminum foil packet (makes for an easy clean-up) of thinly sliced potatoes and again – a little bit of Isole olive oil, salt, pepper and my new favorite ingredient, garlic scapes. It all went on the grill and was served along side of some Jersey-Fresh greenbeans.
To celebrate the special day, I broke out my signed (by Aljosha Goldschmidt) bottle of 2003 Corzano e Paterno Chianti Riserva I Tre Borri. Delicious!
I asked Dale if he had more scapes, but apparently, they are an extremely limited, seasonal item. But that’s OK, since I probably wouldn’t be needing them until my next trip to the kitchen – Father’s Day, 2008!
Happy Father’s Day, Fred!
download the tasting notes for these wines in PDF format
I love that title. Who came up with that one??
Not to mention the wine that was consumed with these meals!
Why is that I’m never invited to these good meals? I’m going to have to start inviting myself again!