A Day for My Dad

I celebrated Father's Day a little early this year. I actually had something planed for months and have been dying to tell him, so when today finally arrived, I was more than ready to share the big surprise with him.

As I've mentioned before, my Dad and I are so much alike it's actually a little scary. I attribute so much of who I am today to him. My interest in travel is because he showed me so many amazing places throughout my life, my spiritual faith is because he instilled the values and foundations of a purposeful life with me, my strong will and sense of adventure is because he taught me to never fear and to always face life straight on, and my passion for cooking is completely dedicated to the many wonderful years of him teaching me the joys of food and all it has to offer.

When I was in 5th grade, my dad surprised me by taking me to a cooking class where I learned how to make my very first recipe; roasted potato "fries." It was truly an amazing experience and I will never forget how that class inspired me to learn more.

So, 13 years later, I decided to re-visit this experience with who better than my dad! I booked us a 4 hour cooking class that featured an array of dishes centered around vegetables from the garden. This was beyond perfect for us!

I arrived at my parent's house to pick up my dad and finally let him in on the day.

Here he is opening the card with the brochure of the class......

Like father, like daughter...
Dad getting pumped for the class...



Look at this menu! In case you can't make it out, the dishes included; Warm Asparagus & Mushroom Salad with Shaved Radishes, Sweet Corn and Squash Soup, Parmesan Zucchini Sticks with Smoky Roasted Romesco Sauce, Orzo with Grilled Shrimp, Summer Vegetables, and Pesto Vinaigrette, Gnocchi with Pancetta and Asparagus, Grilled Apple Chicken over Spruced-up Sprouts.
The chef at work.....

The salad.....

This was very tasty, but as she was making this dish, I was constantly thinking of ways that I could enhance it. (which I did, I'll get to that a little later though)

Orzo with shrimp. This was my favorite. I loved the grilled vegetables. She showed us a method of roasting a red pepper right over the burner on your stove. Sadly, I do not have a gas stove, so I will not be attempting this any time soon, but it was a really neat concept.

The main courses. OMG the zucchini was out of this world. I will definitely be recreating this soon. I ate most of the veggies and left the chicken. I did taste a small bite, but only confirmed my dislike in a big old piece of plain meat. It tasty way to chickeny for my liking. :(

After the class was over, we spent another hour browsing the wonderful shop and picking up some great little kitchen supplies. Funny, most girls can spend hours in the mall or in a shoe store, but me....not a chance! I hate shopping for clothes but could spend all day in a grocery store or a kitchen shop.


Luckily, I didn't do any serious damage, but I did find a few great things to add to my kitchen, like a rotating spice rack, some raw agave nectar, a small sample size of a champagne maple mustard, and a really fantastic water bottle that will be perfect for toting green monsters.



I wasn't super hungry for a big dinner (after all of the food tastings we did today) but for some reason I still had that salad on my mind and realized that I had every ingredient in the veggie bin to make it. So, I decided to recreate it by adding a few of my own enhancements.


First, I made a dressing that consisted of fresh lemon juice, fresh herbs from my garden (basil, dill, and parsley, white wine vinegar, and some of that new champagne mustard I bought) Then I tossed this in a bed of arugula, spring greens, sliced radishes and beets. I sauteed some mushrooms in a little EVOO, salt and pepper, and added a splash of white wine. Finally, I added chopped asparagus and let this cook down for a few minutes. I put the warm veggies on top of my greens and there it was, a fabulous fresh salad in 5 minutes!

Now, without sounding too egotistical, I must say, I feel my version may have been a just a bit better.

I definitely think mine looked a lot prettier, but I will let you be the judge.....

(The chef's salad)

(My Salad)

When Toly got home later in the evening (he spent the day at his parents house) I immediately informed him that Sammy and I had decided that it was definitely an ice cream kind of night, and asked if we go go on a family trip to Brusters. He was right on board!

We have not been to Brusters all seasons. They have some of the very best homemade ice cream I have ever had and it is such a treat to have on a warm summer night.

My all time favorite flavor in the world is the White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle!!! OMG it is to die for. We usually only make a few trips to Brusters a year, and last year, every time I went, they never seemed to have it and I would be so bummed until one day I asked about it and the girl let me in on a little secret. Even if it's not listed, they usually have some in the back but it's not fully ready to be dished out in mass quantities yet.

When we got there, my flavor was NOT on the board, but I pleaded with the girl and she said she would get me a big dish as long as I kept it a secret! (Whoop whoop, I was one happy camper!!!) I even did so well at not telling the nosy woman behind me who kept asking what kind of ice cream I got. Haha, I told her it was something totally different so she was probably a little disappointed when her cone came out not looking like mine. Oh well, I was beyond happy!


Just look at this dish of heaven. I contemplated ordering a 1/2 gallon to take home to keep on hand for after my wisdom teeth surgery this week. But, I didn't want to overdo it!

As good as this was, I was so stuffed after 1/2 and couldn't finish it all.

But I know one little guy who would have gladly taken care of my remains.....

Sammy is OBSESSED with ice cream.

He gets his own "doggie" dish.

The most I have seen this dog eat at one time. We have a hard time getting him to eat his food every day but, I swear if we covered it in ice cream, he would devourer it!

It was such a wonderful day and an even better weekend. Bummer tomorrow is Monday and I must go back to work after have off for a week, but thankfully, it's another short week for me. Well, I take that back, it's kind of a crappy week because on Thursday I will be getting my wisdom teeth out! Sucks, I know, but at least I will be able to enjoy an ice cream diet for a few days. ;)

Hope you had a great weekend!