Father's Day: What we do, but mostly what we eat.

It's Father's Day, and I am lucky enough to have an incredible dad that is easy to please.

My family LOVES holidays. Each one comes with different traditions, and while certain days like today highlight ONE person, there's something about making one person feel special that makes everyone's day a little bit brighter.

When it comes to Father's Day, we usually keep it simple: breakfast in bed, lazy days watching movies, my brothers and dad hitting the golf course, some sort of fancy (takeout OR homemade) dinner, and my personal favorite...dessert.

My dad is the classic "steak and potatoes" kind of guy. My mom and I both love experimenting in the kitchen, and my dad will eat basically anything...besides peas.

However, when it comes to Father's Day, he requests the most basic of foods.

Breakfast is eggs, bacon, hash browns, and toast. Coffee and OJ served on the side, as well as a bit of ketchup for his hash browns. Dinner? Like I said: steak and potatoes kinda guy. My mom slow cooks some tri-tip over the barbecue, and we throw in some baked beans, some sort of salad, some sort of bread, and either beer or wine.

While my dad is potentially my biggest fan when it comes to everything I "concoct" for dessert, he always requests ice cream for Father's Day. And while I know he would be just as content with a good ol' pint of Ben & Jerry's, he allows me to make it myself.

The day prior, I took it upon myself to make a basic custard; cream and half & half are heated til bubbly, then egg yolks are tempered and mixed to oblivion until the custard is rich and thick. To please my entire family, I then divided this base into two flavors. I added pureed banana to one (for my dad), and melted chocolate to another (for literally everyone else). This morning, I churned the banana ice cream until thick, then folded in chopped chocolate and walnuts: homemade Chunky Monkey was born. In the late afternoon, I churned the chocolate and swirled in some mini chocolate chips for a "chocolate chocolate swirl."

Father's Day is simple, but always reminds me how grateful I am for a dad like him, as well as for the family I have. We've been quarantined for a while now, and the fact I'm not sick of them (and that they still put up with me), goes to show they're pretty dang cool.

Happy Father's Day to ALL the dad's out there!