Belated Father's Day

Last night, Davis and I finally had his dad, mom, and sister over to celebrate Father's Day. We had a huge dinner!

Here is my table. Not great, but these were the only flowers Piggly Wiggly had, and I didn't have time to go elsewhere!

Thought I would share the recipes. Nothing too fancy since it was pretty last minute, but I have to say everything was really good!

Grilled whole snapper stuffed with lemons and oregano. We sprinkled salt, pepper, and olive oil on both sides.

Green Bean Roll-Ups (courtesy of Recipezaar)
- 3 cans whole green beans
- 1 lb. bacon
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic

Melt butter, brown sugar, soy sauce, and garlic in a saucepan. Cut bacon into thirds. Wrap 5 or 6 green beans in bacon. Lay seam side down in a 9x13 pan. Pour mixture over roll ups and cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

Cheddar Cheese Grits Casserole (courtesy of Southern Living)
- 4 cups milk
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 cup uncooked quick cooking grits
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Bring milk just to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat; gradually whisk in butter and grits. Reduce heat and simmer, whisking constantly, 5 to 7 minutes or until grits are done. Remove from heat. Stir in egg and next 3 ingredients. Pour into a lightly greased 11x7 baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with Parmesan cheese. Bake covered at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until mixture is set.

We also had cream corn (not homemade, but a real time saver!), hush puppies, and a little fried snapper, too.

For dessert, I made these tasty brownies (courtesy of bakinandeggs.com)

Chewy, Fudgy, Triple Chocolate Brownies 
- 5 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used chips)
- 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
- 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into quarters
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Fold two 12-inch pieces of foil lengthwise so that they measure 7 inches wide. Fit one sheet in bottom of greased pan, pushing it into corners and up sides of pan. Fit the second sheet in pan in same manner, perpendicular to first sheet. Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray. The foil overhangs will help you lift the brownies out of the pan.

Place a medium heatproof bowl over a pan of almost-simmering water. Melt chocolates and butter, stirring occasionally until mixture is smooth. Whisk in cocoa until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly. Alternatively, you can melt chocolates and butter in a microwave safe bowl. Cook on 50 percent power, stopping to stir ever 30 seconds, until mixture is smooth.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt until combined, about 15 seconds. Whisk warm chocolate mixture into egg mixture; then stir in flour with wooden spoon until just combined. Pour mixture into prepared pan, spread into corners and level surface with rubber spatula. Bake until slightly puffed and toothpick inserted in center comes out with a small amount of sticky crumbs clinging to it, 35 to 40 minutes.

Completely cool brownies on a wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours. (This is a very crucial step – I know it’s hard but you have to let them completely cool!) Remove brownies from pan using foil handles. Cut into 1-inch squares and serve. (Do not cut brownies until ready to serve; brownies can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated up to 5 days.)