One woman, one tiny kitchen, seven hours and loads of ingredients

Judging by the title, can anyone hazard a guess as to how I spent Father’s Day yesterday?

As with any special occasion or holiday, I am a firm believer that a good homemade meal is the best gift that anyone can give or receive. Perhaps I’m just obsessed with food, but I personally appreciate the time, thought and effort that goes into preparing a meal much more than the usual hokey commercial gifts.

For Father’s Day I decided to prepare the quintessential Man Meal - a feast befitting a king…or at least a man with a “very” large appetite!

I won’t get into all the little boring details, but I will tell you that I was glued to my kitchen from 7:30 in the morning to 2:30 in the afternoon. Some folks would call me crazy, but I think the effort was worth it in the end; I walked away with several ‘winner’ recipes and a happy ‘Pappy’ with a full belly.

Le Menu

Baked Brie with Strawberry Mint and White Wine Coulis
Frozen Grapes

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Dijon Potato Salad
Pickled Cherry Tomato Salad
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Rotisserie Eye of Round Roast with Beer Caramelized Onions
Seasonal vegetables
Tea Biscuits
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Rhubarb and Strawberry Galette with Fresh Whipped Cream
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Wine: Peninsula Ridge 2001 Arcanum

What truly sets this meal apart in my mind, is that fact that everything was made from scratch, right down to the biscuits and garden picked rhubarb. Typically I focus on just a few select recipes and cheat it with my side dishes or desserts, but this time I decided to challenge myself.

The only setback of the meal was a torrential downpour provided compliments of Mother Nature right before hubby was supposed to get the roast on the BBQ. Because the motor for our ‘spit’ is fairly flimsy, we decided that it would be best to throw the roast in the oven rather than having rotisserie conk-out half way through cooking. The meat was still tasty (thank God for 24 hour-marinades) but it would have been much better on the BBQ. Poor hubby was so excited to use the rotisserie and had spent a considerable amount of time and effort trying to elongate the rotisserie to fit our unusually long BBQ (very much à la MacGyver); it thought I detected a few tears in his eyes when the storm came rolling in.

Overall, I think I'll give myself a 9 out 10 for the meal. Perhaps I’ll top my performance next weekend when I prepare more delectable goodies for Hubby’s “TROPICAL 28” Birthday Bash. I’ve been dying to make some Peruvian Empanadas and I have a feeling that the ideas will only grow from there.

Cheers and Bon Appetit!