Happy Father's Day to the fathers, single moms and people just being a dad even if you don't have to.
Before I tell you about lunch, I'll just tell you that I spent several hours hitting re-dial on my cell phone in an effort to contact my own father. I kept getting busy signals but figured every other kid who knows his card won't make it until Monday was frantically calling at the same time.
At some point, I decided to call my parent's cell phone and I got the answering machine. As soon as I realized I could get through to the same area code I started to get worried so I called one of my brothers. I got his answering machine. Then I called one of my sisters. She told me that she was driving from Destin down to Tampa and also was unable to get through to my parents, but thought it was just from being on the road and in a bad cell. Next, I called another sister near Minneapolis, and she had just assumed that other brothers and sisters were all calling in - there are seven kids in our family - thus the constant busy signals.
There is that sudden feeling that a child gets when his parents can't be reached in much the same way that a parent starts to worry about their kids. Funny how it works that way. I have heard of helicopter parents, but in this day and age of the Internet and cell phones and instantaneous information, have we all become helicopter kids too?
In just a few minutes, the cell phone rang and it was my older brother's number on the caller ID. It was my dad calling to say that they were at a Father's Day cookout, along with my other brother (hence his answering machine), and yes, their phone was out of service for some reason, and they never leave the cell phone turned on.
It makes me giggle to think about how in my parents youth, people went on trips or moved away and there was no communication save for that collect call from "Ivamadeit Togranmmashous" which was promptly declined, with relief. And our parents survived.
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My wife put on the huge surprise this year with the help of my son. I have hinted before about this awesome bed we saw while buying a mattress for our planned guest room. It is one of these fancy Tempur-Pedic deals with the ability to raise and lower the head and the feet and, just in case your back hurts, turn on the massage thing like it was in a seedy motel with all the quarters you can spend.
Over a period of days, my wife had made the purchase, arranged for delivery and as I walked out the door for work on Friday, she and my son moved into action to haul his bed down stairs into the garage, move our bed into my son's room and get the place ready for the delivery folks to bring me my Temur-Pedic, dammit!
When I got out to the parking lot after work, I checked my messages and my wife needed me to pick up laundry and grab some chicken for dinner. I had no idea I was being played to delay my return home.
When I got home, we ate, watched the news and such and finally, close to 6PM, I was ready to go upstairs and change. Usually my son and wife don't follow me upstairs. The next clue was that as I looked down the hall into my son's room, it was obvious furniture had been moved. Suddenly, my wife pipes up, "It was supposed to be a surprise..."
And as soon as I looked into my room and saw the middle of the floor completely empty, I realized what was going on.
As it turns out, the delivery was to have taken place around 9 in the morning, but didn't make it until around 6:30 that evening. Surprise!
I was attempting to sleep in this morning when my wife put the phone to my ear and it was my daughter calling to wish me a happy father's day. I put a few more quarters in the bed and went back to sleep!
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Have you ever gotten an idea for something to eat from a cookbook but thought you'd alter the recipe? Me too. So this afternoon, I whipped up some steak sandwiches for dinner using some New York Strips, grilled and sliced, combined with strips of bacon, honey mustard, onions, and two cheeses. Call the paramedics now, because I can see this being a routine event.
Yesterday, I took these steaks and commenced to soak them overnight in buttermilk. I know, it sounds kinda gross but the folks over at Jeff Kay's WVSR have been talking about this particular method of tenderizing the meat for a week or two, and everyone agrees it rocks. Add me to that list.
After letting the New York Strips bathe in buttermilk for close to 24 full hours, I rinsed them off with cool water - then seasoned them with some sea salt and pepper.
I got some super thick sliced bacon and cooked that up, grated some cheese and even sautéed some onions in olive oil and Italian seasoning.
Up next I buttered up these rolls we found at HEB so I could grill them to get 'em toasty. 
Once off the grill, my wife whipped out our electric knife and commenced to cut the steak into slivers. We weren't sure if this was a good idea or not, but as it turns out, it was a great choice.
With honey mustard on the slightly grilled buns, I stuck strips of bacon, loads of steak and cheddar and swiss cheese on top.
From there, the sandwiches hit the oven at 435 for about five minutes and we were ready to eat them. The side of fried potatoes made it perfect.
How was your father's day? Tell me about it.
Unfortunately, we did not have the time this trip to really spend anytime walking around in Ybor, but it is on our list of things to do next visit. From the few pictures I took, you can tell that it is a place you could spend some considerable time browsing around. Speaking of browsing, see them all over at Flickr.
I had gotten in the mood for deviled crab by ordering one from La Septima in Brandon the previous night, but because I was so eager to get it, I simply unwrapped it and inhaled it without even thinking of taking a "before" picture.
When we went into Carmines, I opted for half a Cuban and the devil crab. Once again, I am only slightly embarrassed to report that I consumed the entire devil crab without photo even though my camera was sitting in front of me.
This is a picture of my sister's devil crab, obviously a work in progress. I know, this is below my normal standards for visual presentation of food I like, but I love me a deviled crab, and this will just have to do. I promise to do better.
My wife ordered up a plate of calamari as an appetizer and it was quickly passed around the table for people to pick off of. I'm a firm believer that you have to eat calamari as soon as it comes to the table, piping hot. Once around and I shan't be picking off of it. But it was good and my wife and brother-in-law really enjoyed it.
My brother and sister-in-law both had salads and the size was good and the looked great. Look at the shrimp!
The rest of us went with half Cubans, the sandwiches, not the cigars. Excellent! I know it is a simple little sandwich, but just wonderful, especially when you only get to experience it - the real thing - every so often.
