In honor of all of the fathers who stay at the Family House on Father’s Day, we wanted to share a couple of father-friendly recipes with you!
Green Gazpacho with Fried Almonds
Recipe submitted by Men Who Cook chef Peter Juran. Makes 4 servings.
INGREDIENTS
- 4 scallions, coarsely chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
- 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped
- 1/2 to 1 jalapeño, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 1 cup water
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- Kosher salt
- 3 cups spinach leaves
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Sherry vinegar
- 1/3 cup whole raw almonds, coarsely chopped
DIRECTIONS
- Combine scallions, bell pepper, cucumber, jalapeño, garlic, water, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a blender. Pulse until almost smooth.
- Add spinach, cilantro, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and vinegar. Blend until mixture is very smooth, adding a drop or two of water if necessary to thin the soup. Taste and adjust seasonings. Refrigerate until very cold.
- Heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a small skillet over moderate heat. Add almonds and remaining 1/4 teaspoon cumin and fry, stirring frequently, until almonds are golden brown and nutty-smelling, 3-5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer nuts to a paper towel-lined plate to cool. Season with salt.
- Serve gazpacho garnished with some fried almonds.
Lemon Cheesecake Shooters
Recipe submitted by Men Who Cook chef Alan Kirby.
Makes 24 shot-glass servings
INGREDIENTS:
For the crust:
6 ounces animal crackers
2 ounces melted butter (½ stick)
For the cheesecake:
1 cup granulated sugar
Zest of two lemons
24 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 eggs
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
For the lemon curd:
½ cup lemon juice
3 egg yolks and 1 whole egg
½ cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2 ounces butter (½ stick)
2 tablespoons cream
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS:
- For the crust, mince animal crackers in food processor. Add melted butter and blend. Put a heaping teaspoon in the bottom of each shot glass.
- For the cheesecake, put sugar in food processor. Add zest and blend.
- Put cream cheese in mixer and beat until smooth. Add sugar and beat two minutes until fluffy. Add one egg at a time, beating, and scraping sides of bowl between each addition. Add lemon juice and beat. Add cream and beat. Add vanilla and salt and beat.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Pour mixture into 24 shot glasses (or other small 3.5-ounce heatproof ramekins or glasses) almost to the top. Put glasses in a large pan or pans and carefully add hot water until it reaches about half way up the sides of the glasses. Bake 25 to 30 minutes.
- Remove and let stand in pans for 30 minutes.
- Remove glasses from pans and let cool on rack for 1 hour.
- Refrigerate glasses. Meanwhile, make lemon curd. Heat lemon juice until warm.
- Mix eggs, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Add hot lemon juice and stir to temper eggs. Put mixture in heavy saucepan and cook on medium-high heat, stirring, until sauce thickens.
Remove from heat, stir in butter. Stir in cream and vanilla. Strain curd through sieve into a bowl and let cool. - Put a tablespoonful of lemon curd on top of each shot glass of cheesecake. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
Greek Burgers
Recipe submitted by State Employee’s Credit Union employee, Dana Pitts. Makes 4 servings.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1lb. ground turkey
- 1 cup spinach
- 1/2 lemon
- 1 cup cucumber
- 1 cup feta cheese
- 1-2 tbsp. minced garlic
- 1/2 cup Mayonnaise or Plain Greek Yogurt
- Seasonings to taste: Dill, garlic powder, onion salt, salt, pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Dill Sauce:
Combine mayo or plain Greek yogurt, juice of half a lemon, minced garlic (1-2 tbsp. depending on how much you’re making) and dill (be very heavy with the dill). Season to taste. Needs to sit for about 30 minutes before serving.
Burgers:
Saute spinach and feta cheese and season with pepper and a little onion salt. Set to the side. Make thin patties with the ground turkey and season them with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and dill (be heavy with your seasoning). Place palm size spinach and feta cheese mix in the middle of the half of the patties you’ve prepared and use the other seasoned patties to top & cover (press down sides so the stuffing isn’t sticking out). You can either pan sear these or grill them!
Bonus tip:
Put the dill sauce and peeled/sliced cucumbers on top of the burger and serve the burgers with homemade sweet potato fries.