Father's Day

At six years old, I sat down after Sunday morning cartoons and wrote my very first story.  The illustrations were nothing to speak of, but the premise went something like this:

Bugs Bunny becomes a priest and takes over my parish church, Good Shepherd. 

Unexpectedly, he looks very sharp in a vestment.  He delivers a sermon that lasts only one minute long, and then Mass is over.  From the pulpit, a carrot is loudly, unabashedly chewed.  Before we all genuflect and skedaddle, one young lady is called forth from the congregation (myself, of course.)  And in an exercise of Divine intervention, Bugs makes an exception for me, little two-more-years-till-communion me, and lets me taste the sacramental wafer.  The end.

I gave the story to my father, a British Catholic in the tradition of Evelyn Waugh, and he loved it.  At a time when he mainly intimidated me (his accent, his suits and cigars, his bowls of spicy radishes) I found in his appreciation of this story a common thread for the two of us to hang onto. 

Father's Day, a holiday synonymous with grilling, is just around the corner. The image that comes to my mind is my dad having complete mastery over the grill with his grilling tools in hand. I'm sure this year there will be plenty of fathers wearing #1 Dad aprons standing by the grill ready to barbecue a number of different meats, hamburgers, and hot dogs. But how about taking over the reigns for dad this time around? Just tell him to relax and enjoy a beer while you grill up an impressive meal.

Lamb chops are perfect for grilling since the cut of meat is best prepared when seared on high heat. In this recipe, the lamb is marinated overnight in balsamic vinegar to give it that beautiful black crust once cooked. The vinegar also gives it a wonderful caramelized flavor. This recipe also works well for other meats too. And finally make sure to heat up the grill (or the pan) until it's sizzling hot. That's the key to perfectly seared meat. Go and fire up your grills for dad's day.