Cooking for Father’s Day can be tricky.
Getting the family together, creating a menu and preparing the dishes all takes a certain amount of skill and perhaps a dash of luck.
One might think having a professional chef for a husband would make the challenge all the more difficult.
But for Daphne Brogdon, the star of Food Network’s “Daphne Dishes”, having a professional chef for a husband actually makes the meal a bit easier. Brogdon is planning a special meal for her husband, award-winning chef Mark Peel that will be shown on the Food Network at 11:30 a.m. ET/PT.
“All chefs are starving when they get home,” she said. “They don’t eat. They’re making the food. So my husband is thrilled with pretty much any food I have ready for him when he gets home. But if I have a good meal like this he’s super thrilled.”
In addition to serving as a TV host, Brogdon is a standup comic and video blogger at coolmom.com and momversation. She said the show spawned out of the comedic videos and the ties to cooking through her husband.
“It’s mixing comedy, basic cooking with some tips and tricks that I’ve learned from being married to a professional chef and working in restaurants,” she said.
Here’s what Brogdon has planned for the “Dinner for Dad” episode:
Beet, Avocado and Endive Salad
Recipe courtesy of Daphne Brogdon
2 medium beets, peeled
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons honey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Belgian endives
4 radishes, thinly sliced
1 small avocado, cubed
Special equipment: rubber gloves, optional, and a mandoline
Put on a pair of rubber gloves and slice the beets into thin rounds on a mandoline. Stack the rounds and then slice them into thin strips (aka julienne). Place the julienned beets on a paper-towel-lined plate. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, orange juice, balsamic vinegar, honey, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Remove 8 leaves from each endive, and reserve. Slice the remaining endives 1/2 inch thick. Combine the sliced endives, radishes and avocado in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add half of the dressing and toss to coat.
In a second bowl, add the julienned beets and pour over the remaining dressing. Toss to coat.
Set up 4 salad plates. Arrange 4 of the reserved endive leaves on each plate, with the stem ends pointed toward the center. Top each leaf with some of the avocado-endive mixture and then with some of the beets. Serve immediately.
Yield: 4 servings
Active Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Two and Two Potatoes
Recipe courtesy of Daphne Brogdon
4 large russet potatoes, pricked with a fork
4 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 cup milk
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup grated Gruyere
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
1/2 cup grated sharp Cheddar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and rub with the olive oil. Bake until soft enough to yield to gentle pressure, about 1 hour. Let cool for 10 minutes.
Heat the milk and butter in a small pot over low heat. Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh into a bowl, leaving just a little bit behind to give the skins some structure. Place the scooped-out potato skins back on the baking sheet and set aside.
Mash the potatoes with a masher until there are no large clumps. Add the heated milk and butter as well as the Gruyere, sour cream, half of the chives, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix with a wooden spoon until well blended and smooth. Scoop the mashed potatoes back into the potato skins and top each with some of the Cheddar.
Return the potatoes to the oven; bake for 20 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, garnish with the remaining chives, and serve.
Yield: 4 servings
Active Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Spice-Rubbed Strip Steaks with Sweet-and-Spicy Onion Sauce
Recipe courtesy of Daphne Brogdon
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 strip steaks, about 8 ounces each
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup beef broth
1 tablespoon hot sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Mix together the paprika, chili powder, coriander, 1 teaspoon black pepper and 1 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle the steaks on both sides with the spice mixture. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onions and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and slightly golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste and pepper flakes, and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the beef broth, hot sauce and Worcestershire. Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Keep warm.
Prepare a grill or grill pan for medium-high heat.
Grill the steaks for 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium rare. Let rest for 5 minutes. Serve topped with the onion sauce.
Yield: 4 servings
Active Time: 55 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes (includes chilling time)
Dad-hattan
Recipe courtesy of Daphne Brogdon
2 ounces bourbon whiskey
3/4 ounce sweet vermouth
2 dashes bitters
1/4 ounce Velvet Falernum liqueur
1/4 ounce maraschino liqueur, such as Luxardo
1 maraschino cherry plus 1/4 ounce syrup, such as Luxardo
Special equipment: a cocktail shaker
Combine the bourbon, vermouth, bitters, Velvet Falernum, maraschino liqueur and maraschino syrup in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake, and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.
Yield: 1 cocktail
Active Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
