entertaining

june 2001

Last month we made a meal for mother, and this month it's dad's big day. Once again we will share a menu that the whole family can help prepare so that dad will be "King for a Day". Before we get to the menu, let's look at how to set the table and decorate for this prince of men. First, let's examine the hard part of any holiday and that is do you do gifts or not. We always did and this was not a new tie holiday. As an active family, this was our time to replace old sports equipment or purchase a brand new something that promised to improve a tennis or golf game. I'd like to say that either my father or husband is a gardener, but this was not the case. If your husband or dad is, this is the perfect time for a new tool, cleaning his old tools, or giving him a gift certificate to the local nursery for something only he knows he wants. Once you have decided on gifts, whether your child makes the wrap out of paper with hand and foot prints in different colored washable paint, or your teen saves money to add to your gift, you can use the gift as a theme for decorating the table. For example, tennis was the theme of more Father's Day meals than I can say. Each year we reprised some decorations and added others (tradition reigns). Tennis towels were tied and placed in a basket, tennis balls were placed in the middle of the tables with candles in between, and that really great tennis shirt to go with the new ball machine or racquet was disguised so that Dad never knew. This of course was easy for the racquet and hard for the ball machine, but large boxes work well. One year we actually did a ski Dad's Day because we had planned a ski trip for the following winter and had purchased things during ski season. The hit of that party was the massage package for after skiing. Don't get me wrong; we did not splurge every year. The themes may have been sporty, but there were years when had a simple meals and simple gifts. One year we actually had Father's Day in a hospital parking lot, as his patients needed to be seen in the same time frame. When it comes to the table setting, we do not go overboard. Most men do not want fancy silver, table clothes and china that matches. When we lived in Washington, DC, we once did a Redskins dinner complete with those glasses with the logo that men tend to like. Better than fancy, make the meal a "laid back" affair with time to enjoy and cater to his tastes, not yours. As for the menu, I always asked the children what they thought Dad would like. Sometimes, this was not such a great idea because they would list everything they liked, but with some urging, we always came up with a menu that we all liked. For some reason we equate beef with Father's Day and so we tended to grill the biggest steaks and hamburgers you can imagine. Of course that was at a time when no one knew about saturated fat and cholesterol, and it was certainly before I became diabetic. But, knowing that grilled beef is a favorite, we have decided to give you a one plate meal that is easy and healthy. The trick here is to purchase a New York Strip steak, remove any visible fat and serve only 4 ounce servings. The salad and vegetables will fill you up as will the corn and the excellent dessert cake. So here we go. The recipe that we give you calls for sweet onions, but if you don't particularly like them, use regular yellow onions and add a little sugar substitute to the skillet before you serve the sauce over the salad. This is one of those meals that you can get many of the ingredients ready ahead of time; make the onions and mushrooms early and refrigerate, prepare the dessert, and enjoy the time with the whole family. Father's Day Celebration   Onion and Mushroom Grilled Steak Salad with Fresh Corn Fresh Pineapple Upside-Down Polenta Cake (for the recipes, click on The Recipes or click on the individual recipe above) BSP