Dear Dad,
I want to say thank you for everything you’ve done for me. What a great dad you have been and continue to be. It was watching you light up our old Weber Grill
I remember sitting in the kitchen, watching you prep the meat for delicious Burgers. You’d always make it an adventure – taking the ground meat, mixing in the ingredients, then forming it into fun items. The best was the volcano where you would crack an egg in the middle, then cause the volcano to explode.
I also remember watching you cut up Whole Chickens for grilling. You would tell crazy stories about Mr. Chicken before separating out the Drummies from the Thighs and Breasts. It was so cool watching the whole process from a raw whole chicken to the finished grilled product.
My most vivid memory is probably Pork Steaks. My goodness do you love your Pork Steaks. Sure, maybe they were sometimes a bit overcooked, maybe burnt, possibly over sauced and turned too often. But you know what? You loved them, loved making them, and that passion found its way to me. Just watching you enjoy something so much made me enjoy them too and want to make them.
And when I got married and bought my own grill, thank you for suffering through my learning curve on…everything. I particularly remember some extremely dry pork chops, and certainly some chalky chicken breasts. There were certainly some well-done steaks mixed in there as well. And pork tenderloin. Dear Lord, the pork tenderloin. I destroyed those in ways illegal in 38 of the contiguous states. But you (and mom) were my guinea pigs, and I needed that practice to get me where I am.
So, this Father’s Day, consider my grill your new canvas, on which I’ll create whatever you wish. Heck, I’ll even throw some Maull’s on there, instead of my homemade sauce if that makes you happy. Whatever your BBQ heart desires.
Thanks Dad. Thanks for your support, your trust, your patience and your introduction of barbeque. Love ya.
Happy Father’s Day,
Kevin
You’re welcome. I think you went overboard on my “flawed BBQ pork steaks” which were always delicious. As we used to say in high school Latin class — “de gustibus non est disputandem” (concerning taste it is not to be disputed). If you were in “awe” watching charcoal turn from black to gray then I should have saved some money by not taking you to the movie theatre and instead should have just lit a charcoal fire. But seriously… anything you accomplished you did on your own. You deserve any accolades or credit that come your way by means of your cooking skills. My only support was eating your early BBQ “rejects” which I was only to glad to do. And so happy Fathers Day to you too!! Paint whatever you want on your “canvas” — it’s all good. You’ve done a remarkable job with everything you touch.
Dad