Father’s Day meal ideas to satisfy dad’s taste buds

When you search for “Father’s Day food” on the internet there seems to be one thing they all have in common, meat! When it comes to manly foods, steak, hamburgers, and barbeque foods reign supreme.

Chef Jenn wanted to put that theory to the test and stopped by to make some meaty food ideas to make for dad this weekend.

Dad Sundae

Ingredients:

• 1 piece of cornbread
• ½ cup baked beans
• 4 ounces BBQ meat (pork, chicken, beef will all work)
• ¼ cup coleslaw
• 2 tablespoons fried onions
• Fresh parsley to garnish

Preparation:

1. To build the sundae, place piece of cornbread in the bottom of a bowl of sundae glass. Then layer the baked beans, BBQ meat, coleslaw, and top with fried onions and parsley.
2. This sundae can be served hot or cold.

Average Dad Nacho’s

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Sloppy Joe Mix (recipe below)
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 1/3 cup green bell pepper, minced
  • ½ cup large yellow onion, minced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 2/3 cup ketchup
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
  • 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 large bag of tortilla chips
• 1 cup Monterey jack cheese
• ½ cup diced tomatoes
• ¼ cup thinly sliced green onions
• 1 cup beer cheese for drizzling (recipe below)
  • 1 ½ tablespoons butter
  • 1 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup lager beer
  • ½  cup whole milk
  • ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • ¼ tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp kosher salt
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Heat oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the ground beef. Do not stir ground beef until a crust begins to form (2 minutes). Then, break apart ground beef to brown through.
3. Add the onion and green bell pepper to the same skillet and cook 2-3 minutes, until soft.  Add garlic and tomato paste to the skillet. Stir to incorporate all ingredients.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together ketchup, water, brown sugar, mustard, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, salt, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Add the mixture to the skillet and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes. Remove from heat when done.
5. Next, make beer cheese by melting butter in a saucepan and add the flour to form a roux (thick paste). Whisk in beer then whisk in milk. Over medium heat, continue to cook until mixture thickens (about 5-7 minutes). Add in the mustard, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, stir to combine. Remove from heat and add in cheddar cheese whisking until the cheese is melted. Set aside.
6. Assemble nachos by placing tortilla chips on a baking sheet. Top with shredded Monterey jack cheese. Next, add the sloppy joe mixture and place in the oven for 10-15 minutes.
7. Top nachos with diced tomato, drizzled beer cheese, and green onions.

“It fell in the couch” Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup of pretzels, additional to top cookies
• ½ cup of peanuts, additional to top cookies
• ½ cup of potato chips, additional to top cookies
• ½ cup M&M candy’s or Reese’s Pieces, additional to top cookies
• ¾ cup of chocolate chips

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine butter, vanilla extract, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes).
3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Slowly add dry ingredients to the butter and sugar. Mix until just barley incorporated. By hand, fold in the pretzels, peanuts, potato chips, candy, and chocolate chips.
4. Scoop out a well-rounded tablespoon of cookie mix and press down slightly. Place additional pieces of pretzel, peanuts, chips, and candy in the top of the cookies as desired.
5. Bake for 11-13 minutes.

Learn more recipes from Chef Jenn, at jennywiththegoodeats.com.