McDermott - On and Off the Grill: Family Favorites from the Gourmet Dad

In this day and age dads play amuch larger role in the raising and caring of their kids. The countlesshours of carpooling, soccer, karate and dance-class shufflings here and there. Thecreative creations and science projects you help with. Being there for skinnedknees, Christmas Day toy assemblies, tree houses and campfires. From cutting theumbilical to welcoming your first grandchild and everything in between, dads arethere for it all, helping shape their childrens future.

With five kids and a loving wife, I get spoiled rotten on FathersDay. It starts with coffee in bed followed by whatever the kids and Tori havewhipped up for breakfast. I love it. Whatever they make is amazing, and Toriorchestrates the whole thing: breakfast, lunch and dinner. Seeing my little broodfuss over me melts my heart. They take it very seriously and I get showered withhomemade cards and artwork and hugs and kisses that carry me through until nextFathers Day.

In this book, Ive included some of my favorite new family-friendlyrecipesfor Fathers Day or any other daywhether youre a father or not! I hope youand your family enjoy them, and have an amazing Fathers Day.

4 sausages (breakfast sausage, brats, Italian sausage; theres no wronganswer here)

4 slices thick-cut bacon

cup homemade or frozen store-bought hash browns

8 cherry tomatoes

cup baked beans

4 large eggs

Pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

4 slices grilled thick-cut rustic bread or Grillin Bread

Sriracha Ketchup (1 part sriracha and 2 parts ketchup mixed well)

1. Heat a large cast-ironskillet on your grill over medium-high heat. If you dont have a large cast-ironskillet, you can cook the Iron Skillet Breakfast in two batches in a smallerskillet. (By the way, the best and cheapest place to get a cast-iron skillet isa restaurant supply store. Theyre well worth the purchase.)
2. Once the skillet is hot,add the sausages and cook for about 6 minutes, turning occasionally. Then addthe bacon and cook for another 5 minutes. Next, place the sausages and bacondirectly on the grill to finish the cooking process and char them up. Watch outfor flare-ups from the bacon grease as it drips into the heat source. Once theyare grilled, remove the sausages and bacon to a clean plate and set aside.
3. Drain off a third of thegrease left in the skillet. Add the hash browns and cook until golden brown,about 8 minutes.
4. While the hash browns arecooking, throw the cherry tomatoes on the grill and blister and char them,turning them frequently. Then remove them to a clean plate and set aside.
5. Once the hash browns aregolden brown, spread them out evenly in the skillet. Spoon the baked beans atopthe hash browns and spread them out evenly. Next, place the reserved sausagesand bacon on top of the baked beans.
6. Create 4 openings aboutthe size of a golf ball in your concoction and crack an egg into each. Seasonwith salt and pepper and throw the reserved cherry tomatoes in randomly. Closethe top of the grill and cook the eggs to your liking. Take a peek every once ina while to check on the doneness of the eggs.
7. Sprinkle the Iron SkilletBreakfast with parsley and serve with grilled thick-cut rustic bread or GrillinBread and Sriracha Ketchup. You may never cook breakfast indoors again.

I love the taste of the grill on the French toast. Its a nice contrast to the sweetness of the honey and the strawberries.

Bacon Cream Cheese

8 slices bacon

12 ounces (1 bars) Philadelphia Cream Cheese

Marinated Strawberries

1 cup warm water

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 tablespoons triple sec, Grand Marnier or amaretto (optional)

14 fresh strawberries, washed, hulled and halved

French Toast

8 large eggs

cup milk

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 baguette, sliced lengthwise, then cut into 6 equal pieces (discard the heels of the baguette)

1 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Pinch of salt

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Toppings

cup honey mixed with cup water

1 jar of your favorite strawberry preserves

3 tablespoons finely minced fresh mint

1 tablespoon finely minced fresh basil