Make your father a three-course dinner for the holiday
With Father’s Day coming up, there is a wide variety of great summer recipes to try out in honor of your dad. Whether it’s an appetizer, a grilled specialty or a dessert made just for your old man, these recipes should give you some inspiration for whatever you wish to make come this Sunday!
Appetizer: Apricot Chicken Wings
(Recipe courtesy of tasteofhome.com)
Prep. Time: 15 minutes and marinating
Bake Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
2 pounds of chicken wings
1 cup apricot preserves
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 garlic clove, minced
Directions:
Cut chicken wings into three sections; discard the tips. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Pour half of a cup into a large resealable plastic bag. Add chicken, seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for four hours or overnight. Cover and refrigerate remaining marinade.
Drain and discard marinade. Place wings in a greased foil-lined 15-inch by 10-inch by one inch baking pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until juices run clear, turning and basting occasionally with remaining marinade.
Main Course: All-American Loaded Burgers (Recipe courtesy of tasteofhome.com)
Prep. / Total Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 Italian salad dressing
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 pounds ground beef
6 Kaiser rolls, split
Leaf lettuce
Colby cheese slices
Tomato slices
Ketchup
Prepared mustard
Fried onion rings or French-fried onions (optional)
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the bread crumbs, onion, salad dressing, and eggs. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into six patties.
Grill burgers, covered, over medium heat or broil four inches from heat for five to seven minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees and juices run clear. Serve on rolls with lettuce, cheese, tomato, ketchup, mustard, and fried onion rings if desired.
Dessert: White Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting (recipe courtesy of marthastewart.com)
Ingredients for Cupcake:
3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups and 2 tablespoons (or 3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup milk
8 large egg whites
24 small fresh strawberries, for garnish
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two standard 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners; set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour; beat until just combined. Transfer mixture to a large bowl; set aside.
In the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites on low speed until foamy. With mixer running, gradually add remaining ¼ cup sugar; beat on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 4 minutes. Do not over beat. Gently fold 1/3 of the egg-white mixture into the butter-flour mixture until combined. Gently fold in remaining egg white mixture.
Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until the cupcakes are a golden brown a cake tester inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Frost cupcakes, using the strawberries to garnish the tops.
Ingredients for Buttercream Frosting:
4 large egg whites
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into tablespoons
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 ½ cups (12 ounces) strawberry jam, pureed in a food processor
Directions:
In the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a saucepan of simmering water, combine egg whites and sugar. Cook, whisking constantly, until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch (about 160 degrees).
Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg-white mixture on high speed until it holds stiff (but not dry) peaks. Continue beating until the mixture is fluffy and cooled, about 6 minutes.
Switch to the paddle attachment. With mixer on medium-low speed, add butter several tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. (If frosting appears to separate after all the butter has been added, beat on medium-high speed until smooth again, 3 to 5 minutes more.) Beat in vanilla. Beat on lowest speed to eliminate any air bubbles, about 2 minutes. Stir in strawberry jam with a rubber spatula until frosting is smooth.