Father's Day

Father's Day is the best day of the year. My beautiful 10 year old daughter who is an aspiring Taylor Swift woke me with a song she had written for me:

"You give me lots of love everyday. I just want to say I love you. But things are changing. I am older and taller and you can't catch up to say I love you too. But maybe I'll wait just a little while for you. I don't need any help to say I love you too much to forget you. So Daddy, Oh Daddy, on Father's Day, I just wanted to say I'm not too old."

She later caddied for me during my round of golf and did not complain when I took her shopping for summer clothes as a tip.

  A special day requires a special meal so I picked up a beautiful bone in rib-eye steak. This is what I like to call the Flintstone cut.  It was about 4" thick and beautifully marbled. For a perfect steak, rub some olive oil on both sides and season with kosher salt and cracked black pepper. Let it sit out for about 45 minutes until it reaches room temperature.

Pre-heat the oven to about 475 and put your cast iron skillet in the oven until the oven reaches the full temp.

Once your oven is hot, carefully remove the skillet and place it on the burner set at on high. Sear the steak on both sides for 1-2 minutes and place in the oven until you reach an internal temperature of 140 degrees. How long is really dependent on the piece of meat you choose so always consult your meat thermometer. Remove from the oven and set aside to rest.

Tonight I made Taylor's favorite french fries cooked in duck fat to go with the steak. I know it sounds fatty but it tastes sooo good! You can't live on just salads. So start with gold yukon potatoes and cut them into 1/2" "french fry" strips with the skin on. Soak them in ice cold water for about an hour and then rinse until the water runs clear. This will remove the starch from the potatoes.

Heat the duck fat to about 275 degrees and blanch the potatoes for about 6 minutes. Remove them to a plate with paper towels. (Cook in batches if necessary). Now heat your oil to 350 and put the fries back into the fat for 2-3 minutes until they are golden brown and crispy. Remove them again to a plate with fresh paper towels. Season liberally with Sea Salt and serve immediately.

You will need a sauce to go with your steak. I make a sauce in the cast iron skillet I used for the steak. You will need minced shallots, chicken stock, red wine and butter. On high heat, cook your minced shallots until soft. Add about 1/2 cup chicken stock and 1/2 cup of red wine, reduce down by about 1/3. Whisk in about 3 tblspns of butter and salt/pepper to taste. To serve this very thick steak, I like to carve 1" pieces along the bone line and then line them up on the plate. Dribble your sauce over the steak and if you are feeling fancy you can put some along the side as well. Arrange the fries on the plate and serve with a nice cold salad on the side.

Tonight I served this meal with an Italian Barolo. I like a big wine with my steaks and sometimes Cabernet is just not enough.