A Father's Day fit for a King, err, a (great) Daddy

Father's Day...  and a meal fit for a king, our king Daddy.  I love celebrating Father's Day.  Bill is an amazing father, he deserves more than just a day.  For example, Bill flexes his schedule around our son.  It isn't always easy, but he willingly does it.  Recently our son graduated from speech classes (a great example of early intervention making a huge difference - I was and am a believer!)  All those hours Bill waited for our son (no drop offs at speech), all the at home practicing for all of us.  I think Bill also graduated that day.  When we talked about how great our son is doing and how proud we are, he said, it was nice to see all the effort make a difference.  Yes, Bill is a great dad.  But I digress...

We thankfully started the day with everyone sleeping in (10:45); we had been up late the night before at the drive-in movie watching Toy Story 3 (yes really, so fun!)  So thankfully, we had a quite morning.  When our son did get up, he brought in cards for Daddy; cards he wrote himself this year!  Then a present...  and off to brunch.

Father and son at brunch at Cobb's Mill Inn.
A traditional inn; built in 1749.







After brunch, Daddy had free time, and my son and I went grocery shopping for a special dinner and the week.  We made some of Dad's favorites for dinner, then prepared dinners for the rest of the week - more favorites.

Father's Day Menu:
Chicken parmesan (with sun-dried tomato and basil panko bread crumbs)
Whole grain pasta with sauce
Broccoli with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Chocolate pie (our son made this)
Watermelon smoothie

Review:
Our son said, "Can we have leftovers tomorrow?  Don't take this to work tomorrow for lunch."  I think that must mean it was yummy!

Pictures, process and comments

Chicken cutlets in my favorite cast iron pan.  We bought this pan at a garage sale - $1.00.  A great investment!

I think this step is all about 1) all the chicken pieces being the same thickness, 2) getting the pan to the right temp, so nothing burns, and 3) using light bread crumbs with tasty seasoning.  I love these panko bread crumbs, found them at Stew Leonards, the world's largest dairy.  If I don't have them, I use 4C Italian flavored bread crumbs or in a pinch Pepperidge Farm stuffing (just grind in a food processor).  All of these give great flavor and texture.

"Layering and parming" the chicken cutlets.  Once all in, 350 degrees for 30 minutes...  comes out tender and wonderful.

"Come and get it."  Our son reminded me, "it's a special dinner, we should have candles Mommy".  Of course he is right, so candles it is!

Notice the water-mellon smoothie.  I took watermelon that was about to go bad, lemon seltzer, and ice.  Blended.  It was so refreshing on a hot day!

And of course, chocolate pie for dessert, yummmm - worth the calories.









I think Bill had a happy Father's Day.