My Husband's Father's Day Menu

Bill's Father's Day Menu

Aloha Java Grilled Rib Eye with Green Beans and Roasted New Potatoes seasoned with Magic Mediterranean blend

My husband of 31 years, Bill, is an unabashed meat and potatoes kind of guy. Yes, he will acquiesce to a dinner of balsamic pan roasted cod and cauliflower with a side of lightly dressed butter lettuce, but at heart, he wants red meat. He grew up in New York City, where his mother was a less than creative cook and served shoe leather-fried breaded fish at dinner on Friday nights. Fresh veggies were hard to procure in 1960's NYC and the canned variety were staples in the MacKenzie's Bronx kitchen. The California delicacies avocados and artichokes are not in Bill's culinary vocabulary, which means all the more for me when I serve them! But I still manage to serve plenty of heart and health friendly meals. You have no excuse, living in California. That's not to say that rib eyes are bad, but everything in moderation...

With Father's Day coming up on Sunday, I felt it important to ask Bill what he wanted for dinner. Because I'll be catering a graduation party that day, I prepared his menu earlier this week as we watched the Warriors win their 3rd NBA Championship. I think Steph, Kevin, Draymond, Andre, Klay, and the entire team, will agree that this is a championship menu!

Aloha Java Grilled Rib Eye Steak

Ingredients

2-4 rib eye steaks, well marbled, and preferably grass fed  

1/2 cup Aloha Java Blend

1/4 cup honey

2 teaspoons salt, more to taste

Instructions 

Combine the Aloha Java Blend, honey and salt in a small bowl. You may increase the amount depending on how many steaks you're going to prepare, just taste and add as you do so.

Rub the AJ-honey mixture on to the meat and marinate it for 1/2 hour at room temperature. You can also do this a day in advance (recommended), keeping the steak in the fridge. Bring the steak to room temperature before proceeding. 

To prepare, you've got 2 choices:

You can get the grill going and cook the steaks over white hot coals, or on a medium high gas grill

or

Pan grill on the stove top in a skillet or grill pan (I love my Le Creuset stove top grill pan, BTW)

No matter which cooking method you select, be sure to monitor the heat and adjust as necessary to avoid scorching or burning; you're cooking with some sugar, after all.

I like my steak cooked to between 125-130 degrees for medium rare. Be sure to use a instant read thermometer to assess the temperature by inserting it into the thickest part of the steak. The meat will continue to cook after you remove it from the heat, so don't wait until it reaches 190 degrees; unless, of course, you like it like shoe leather, in which case, you've joined Bill's mother's club.

Allow the steak to rest for about 10 minutes and then slice on the diagonal and serve with roasted new potatoes and sauteed greens beans.

Now, you've got a winner of a Father's Day dinner!