A Father's Day Feast: Mouthwatering Recipes to Celebrate Dad

By Emily Kho, Contributing Blogger

This Father's Day, cook up a feast with mouthwatering recipes to honor Dad. Whether your father is a meat and potatoes man, a fan of exotic cuisines, or has a notorious sweet tooth, this is where you'll find the perfect recipe to celebrate him in style.

Father's Day is about appreciating the love, strength, and guidance our dads provide, and what better way to show your affection than by preparing a meal filled with his favorite dishes? This blog is filled with an array of scrumptious ideas designed to make your Father's Day feast not only delicious but also a testament to the love and appreciation you hold for your dad.

El Paseo Porterhouse Steak

The El Paseo Porterhouse Steak recipe comes from culinary master Tyler Florence via Food Network. The recipe makes 1 serving, taking 15 minutes to prep, 10 minutes of rest, and 20 minutes to cook, for a total cook time of 45 minutes.

Ingredients

• 52 ounce Porterhouse 28 day dry-aged Masami steak
• California solar salt/sea salt
• Clarified butter
• Fresh sage leaves
• Fresh thyme
• 2 bulbs of garlic
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Shallot butter for serving

Directions

1. Season the meat before broiling: liberally rub salt over both sides of the steak. 
2. Place the steak directly onto the broiler, no extra fat is needed, at 1200 degrees for 20 minutes. 
3. After 10 minutes, turn the steaks over and return to the broiler: they only need turning once. 
4. After 20 minutes, remove the steak from the broiler. 
5. Place the steak in the clarified butter, sage, thyme, and garlic mixture, and leave to rest for 10 minutes, basting the top with butter. 
6. Remove the steak from the clarified butter and place it on kitchen roll to remove any excess. 
7. To serve, separate the filet and strip sirloin from the bone and slice. Place the T-bone in the center of the plate and reassemble the steak, with the sliced sirloin to the left and sliced filet to the right. Sprinkle over freshly ground black pepper to taste. 
8. Place the shallot butter on top of each steak, and garnish with half a garlic bulb taken from the clarified butter, a sprig of thyme and a generous drizzle of garlic butter.

Spicy Watermelon Onigiri

​​

​​The recipe for Spicy Watermelon Onigiri recipe comes from Bon Appetit. It makes a total of 12 onigiri pieces.

Ingredients

• 2 cups white short-grain sushi rice, rinsed until water runs almost clear
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 whole star anise pod
• 2 whole allspice
• ¼ cup coconut sugar or vegan granulated sugar
• ¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
• 3 teaspoons sea salt, divided, plus more
• 2 cups ⅛" cubes watermelon (from about ¼ small watermelon)
• ¼ cup vegan mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha
• 1 teaspoon white miso
• ¼ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 3 toasted nori sheets, cut into 2"-thick strips
• Furikake (for serving)

Directions

1. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a kitchen towel or several layers of paper towels; set aside. 
2. Bring 2 cups white short-grain sushi rice, rinsed until water runs almost clear, 1 garlic clove, 1 whole star anise pod, 2 whole allspice, and 2 1⁄2 cups cold water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high. 
3. Reduce heat to low, cover pan, and cook until water is evaporated and rice is tender, 18–20 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit, covered, 10 minutes; discard garlic, star anise, and allspice.
4. Meanwhile, cook ¼ cup coconut sugar or vegan granulated sugar, ¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar, 1 Tbsp. grapeseed oil, and 1 tsp. sea salt in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Let cool slightly.
5. Place 2 cups ⅛" cubes of watermelon (from about ¼ small watermelon) in a colander set over a bowl and sprinkle with 2 tsp. sea salt; toss to coat. Let sit for 10–15 minutes, then drain off any liquid collected in bowl.
6. Transfer drained watermelon to prepared baking sheet and use towel to press out excess moisture. (Don’t worry about being gentle—you want to press out as much liquid as possible!) Transfer watermelon to a medium bowl.
7. Whisk ¼ cup vegan mayonnaise, 2 tsp. soy sauce, 1 tsp. Sriracha, 1 tsp. white miso, and ¼ tsp. toasted sesame oil in a small bowl until smooth. Add half of sauce to watermelon and mix to coat evenly; season with salt (you want the filling to be on the saltier side). Add more sauce if you’d like, but make sure the filling isn’t overly saucy otherwise it will seep out of the rice balls.
8. Set up a workstation with a small bowl of water, a small dish of sea salt, seasoned cooked rice, and watermelon filling.
9. To make 1 onigiri, scoop ½ cup rice onto work surface. Dip your hands in water to moisten, then rub them with a little sea salt. (This will prevent the rice from sticking to your hands and will also flavors the onigiri.) Cupping rice in your nondominant hand, use your finger to make a shallow well in the center of the rice mound; fill with 1 tsp. watermelon filling. Using your hands and moistening with more water as needed to prevent rice from sticking, gently but firmly shape rice into a ball, fully enclosing watermelon mixture.
10. Place rice ball back on surface and flatten lightly. Using the side of a wet chef’s knife, gently push into a triangle shape. Wrap a strip of toasted nori from 3 toasted nori sheets, cut into 2"-thick strips, and sprinkle with furikake.
11. Repeat with remaining rice, watermelon filling (you won’t use all of it), nori strips, and furikake to make 11 more onigiri.

Cowboy Cookies

The Cowboy Cookies recipe comes from the Pioneer Woman. It makes 2 to 3 dozen cookies and has a total cook time of 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1 cup salted butter (2 sticks)
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 ½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup coconut flakes
• 2 cup chocolate chips
• Flaky salt, for sprinkling

Directions

1. Brown 1 stick of butter by melting it in a medium saucepan over medium heat, then let it cook and bubble for an additional 3 to 5 minutes or until the foam and butter underneath is golden brown. Immediately transfer it to a large, heat proof mixing bowl and swirl a few times to help it stop browning. Let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, allow the remaining stick of butter to soften.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
3. Add the softened stick of butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar to the mixing bowl with the browned butter. Beat with a stand or hand mixer on medium-high speed until lightened in color and texture, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Add the eggs and vanilla, then beat until smooth, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl, as needed.
5. Whisk to combine the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon in another medium bowl. Add it to the butter mixture in three increments, mixing on low speed in between, until fully incorporated. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the oats, pecans, coconut flakes and chocolate chips and mix on low speed or stir with a spatula to combine.
6. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a 2-tablespoon sized cookie scoop, place cookie dough onto the baking sheet, leaving about 2-inches of space in between each. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until golden brown and dry looking on top. Let the cookies cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Sprinkle with flaky salt to finish, if you like.