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| My Father’s Day table and fun napkin fold. |
What better way to celebrate Father’s Day than with dad’s favorite food? I couldn’t be with my dad this weekend, but if I had been, I would have churned homemade ice cream. My dad teasingly says he’s getting to where he kind of likes the stuff (ice cream). I’m pretty sure he eats it almost every day and sometimes more than once a day. A favorite memory of my dad is seeing him turning the crank on the wooden ice cream churn. He knew just how stiff it should be, and how to pack it so it would cure properly. I’ve inherited his love for ice cream – I just don’t let myself indulge like he can!
However, here at the parsonage, I made a couple of my husband’s favorite things for Sunday dinner. We had grilled pork chops but they were marinated in coffee and molasses (two favorites of his!). I fixed a baked bean dish he loves, and then finished the meal with his favorite cake – Carrot cake. He was a happy guy!
On Saturday he got an early gift of breakfast made by Alli. I was ecstatic pleased to get to join them for this great meal! She is a pancake lover, who pins all kinds of great pancake recipes onto her Pinterest, where she found this recipe for Mini German Pancakes. Take a peek at my plate…
Doesn’t that look delicious? It was! Here’s the recipe:
Mini German Pancakes
1 cup milk
6 eggs
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. orange zest (optional)
1/4 cup butter, melted
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Blend first six ingredients (milk through orange zest) in a blender. Be careful to see that any flour clumps get well-blended.
- Blend in butter a little at a time in order to temper the eggs.
- Grease muffin tins well and distribute batter evenly between 24 tins (I did more like 18. Gimme Some Oven’s tins were slightly less than half-full. I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup and filled it almost full.) Bake for 15 minutes, or until puffy and golden on top.
- Served with your favorite topping.
The blueberry sauce was simple – 1/3 C sugar and 1 Tbl cornstarch in a sauce pan. Add 1 cup water and mix with whisk. Add 1 Cup blueberries and cook until thickened.
Coffee-Molasses Marinated Pork Chops
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 6 fresh thyme sprigs
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 4 bone-in pork loin chops (1 inch thick)
Directions
- In a large bowl, combine the first nine ingredients. Pour 1/2 cup marinade into a large resealable plastic bag; add the pork chops. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Cover and refrigerate remaining coffee mixture until ready to cook.
- For glaze, place remaining coffee mixture in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil; cook until liquid is reduced to about 1/2 cup.
- Drain and discard marinade. Moisten a paper towel with cooking oil; using long-handled tongs, lightly coat the grill rack. Grill chops, covered, over medium heat or broil 4-5 in. from the heat for 4-5 minutes on each side or until a thermometer reads 145°. Let meat stand for 5 minutes before serving. Spoon glaze over chops. Yield: 4 servings.
Carrot Cake:
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (about 3 1/3 ounces)
- 1/4 cup quick-cooking oats
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 (2 1/2-ounce) jar carrot baby food
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 1/4 cups finely grated carrot (about 4 ounces)
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- Cooking spray
- Frosting:
- 1/3 cup (3 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
- 1 tablespoon butter, softened
- 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup flaked sweetened coconut, toasted
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 325°.
- To prepare cake, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a food processor; pulse 6 times or until well blended. Place flour mixture in a large bowl. Combine granulated sugar, canola oil, baby food, and eggs; stir with a whisk. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moist. Stir in grated carrot and raisins. Spoon batter into an 8-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray.
- Bake at 325° for 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack.
- To prepare frosting, combine cheese and butter in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at high speed until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla, beating at low speed until smooth (do not overbeat). Spread over cake; sprinkle with coconut. Cover and chill.
RefreshHer 
I made a couple new things for company (hehe) last week…the beans you mention in this post (which you should probably blog about b/c they are so good), and a fruit salad with honey-lime dressing. Both were successes!
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