Father's Day Favourites

Ted resurrected his 35 year old board..........

....and taught the sport to a willing student.

Father’s Day weekend it is all about the Big Guy, so we’ve been pulling together all his favourites, starting with bacon & eggs & fruit salad for breakfast on the front porch.  Saturday’s smoked duck at dinner led to Sunday’s new variation of Smoked Duck Pizza where we grilled one and smoked the other for flavour comparison.   And Father’s Day dinner featured Grilled Rack of Lamb, green beans, new potatoes, corn salad and a Flourless Chocolate Cake with raspberries.  

Smoked Pizza had a nice smokey complexity.

Smoked Duck Pizza II

For the Dough:

1 package active dry yeast

1 cup warm water (110°F)

2 cups bread or pizza (soft) flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons white sugar

1 tablespoon honey

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water.  Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, olive oil, salt, honey, sugar and the yeast mixture and mix with the dough attachment until well combined in a ball, adding more flour as necessary until it is not too sticky.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.  Divide the dough in 2 and roll it out on a lightly floured surface.

For the pizzas:

1 cup sun-dried tomato caponata, or basil pesto

2 smoked duck legs, shredded

1 red onion, sliced and  caramelized in olive oil

1 cup thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms, sautéed lightly

2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

2 handfuls of arugula

For the Grilled Pizza:

Preheat barbecue on MEDIUM_HIGH, to about 500° F.  Lightly brush the upper side of the rolled out pizza dough with olive oil.  Gently place the dough, oiled side down directly on the grids.   Adjust the temperature settings to MEDIUM-LOW.  Cook until slightly browned on the bottom, flip the dough and cook again until very lightly browned and beginning to crisp.  Remove from grill onto a wooden cutting board and prepare with the toppings, starting with the caponata or pesto.  Scatter with the remaining ingredients except for the arugula.  Place back on the grill until the cheese has just melted, about 5 minutes.  Scatter with the arugula.

For the Smoked Pizza:

Light the smoker and place a pizza stone on the cast iron grid.  Heat to about 450°.  Sprinkle a pizza peel or cutting board with corn meal, and place the rolled out dough on top.  Assemble with toppings as above, then slide the prepared pizza onto the heated pizza stone.  Cook about 10 minutes or until crust is crisp and cheese is bubbling.

 

Grilled Rack of Lamb from Hugh Carpenter’s book:  Hot Barbecue

3 racks of lamb

Coarsely ground peppercorns

½ cup honey mustard

For the Marinade:

¾ cup balsamic vinegar

¾ cup dry red wine

½ cup Dijon mustard

8 cloves garlic, finely minced

In a small bowl, combine the marinade ingredients.  Place the racks of lamb in a large ziplock bag, and pour the marinade over it.  Let rest in the refrigerator at least 2 hours, and up to 8 hours.  One hour before grilling, remove the lamb from the refrigerator.  Rub the lamb with the peppercorns, and them with the honey mustard. 

Meanwhile, preheat the barbecue on MEDIUM-HIGH for 10 minutes, then reduce the setting to MEDIUM.   Brush the grids well with vegetable oil to prevent sticking.  Place the lamb on the barbecue, and grill until a thermometer registers 140°F  for medium-rare, about 17-20 minutes.  Remove from the grill, tent with foil and let stand 10 minutes. 

 

Flourless Chocolate Cake

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for pan

8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 teaspoon vanilla

6 large eggs, separated

1/2 cup granulated sugar

For the Glaze:

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate

¼ cup corn syrup or honey

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees with the rack in the center. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch spring form pan. Set aside.

Place butter and chocolate in a large heatproof bowl and microwave in 30-second increments, stirring each time, until completely melted. Let cool slightly. Whisk in egg yolks and vanilla.

In a large bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add granulated sugar, and continue beating until glossy stiff peaks form. Whisk 1/4 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture; then gently fold in remaining egg whites.

Pour batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan and is set in the center, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack; remove sides of pan.

Melt the chocolate and syrup or honey in a small bowl.  Mix well, then pour over top of the cooled cake.  Serve at room temperature with fresh berries.