Sunday, June 12, 2011

Father’s Day 2011: New Memories and a Traditional Grilling Recipe


Father's Day 2014-  Grilling for Father's Day then and now.   Dad passed nearly 2 years ago and this previous blog post from 2011 is a tribute to him.  Thanks Dad for all the great grilling memories! I proudly am a grilling Dad too!

Father’s Day 2011 is a lot more special for me this year.  My father moved into a senior living center after several hospital stays and a stint in an assisted living center right across the street from our house.  Fortunately his health has improved and he is adjusting well.  Even more fortunate is the fact that I’ve been able to spend more time with him in the last 6 months than I have in the past 10 years. It has been a blessing to be there for him—after all it is my turn. 

And now I have a whole new set of memories of my father:
·      Delivering a short snort of scotch to Dad every afternoon at 4:30 PM
·      Sitting in rocking chairs on the front porch of the living center enjoying our scotch.  We were Denny Crane and Alan Shore of the TV show Boston Legal.
·      Breakfast at the local diner with Dad—7:00 AM sharp
I feel lucky that my father shared his passions with me while I was growing up because they are now the core passions of my life:
·      Fishing
·      Cars
·      Scotch
·      Love of Sales 
·      And of course, GRILLING!

My father jump-started my grilling career by giving me his old Weber Kettle as I went off to college. I quickly turned it into my “date night machine.”  London Broil was his signature dish and it soon became mine.   We dusted off dad’s old recipe for London Broil which he marinated overnight in Kraft Catalina dressing.  I loved seeing that in the fridge, growing up, because I knew great grilling and eating was ahead This 50 year-old recipe is perfect for Father’s Day every year!