Father's Day Brunch!

Need ideas to show Dad love?!

How about a Grilled Brunch?

AND, nothing says "HAPPY FATHER'S DAY" like grillin' and chillin' on the patio with Daddy-o!

Light up the grill and make brunch in the comfort of your own backyard. The best part is that you don't have to wake up at the crack of dawn to pull this meal together. All you need are a handful of ingredients and a little prep work.  Then, gather the family together to get this party started.

Whisky Wake-Me-Up!

Whiskey Wake-Me-Up Cocktail

Prep Time:  20 minutes

Grill Time:  15 – 20 minutes 

Total Time:  35 – 40 minutes

Yield: 4 cocktails

Ingredients:

8 ounces Single Barrel Whisky from Winter Park Distilling Company

2 dried Guajillo chili peppers, cut open, stems and seeds removed

2 large Lipman Vintage Ripe tomatoes, halved

1 tablespoon canola oil

5 limes, juiced

2 teaspoons ground coriander seed

1 teaspoon celery seed

2 - 3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Garnish Ingredients:

Lime wedges

Directions:

Heat grill to medium-high. While grill is heating, toast chilies using tongs, turning frequently, until pliable and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Do not char or burn the chilies.

Cut the chilies into small pieces and combine with whisky in a pitcher.  Refrigerate and allow to steep 30 minutes. While chilies are steeping, halve tomatoes and brush with oil. Place tomatoes on grill cut sides down.

Grill, flipping once, until tomatoes are soft but not falling apart and skins are lightly charred, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board, remove and discard skins and roughly chop.

Muddle chilies in whiskey until liquid is a pale brick red. Add tomatoes, lime juice, coriander, and celery seed. Muddle until tomatoes are broken down. Strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve and divide among four ice-filled glasses.

Season with Worcestershire to taste and serve with lime wedges.

Grilled Brunch Pizza

Getting Ingredients Ready!

Prep Time:  20 minutes

Grill Time:  20 -- 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 -- 50 minutes

Yield: 4 personal sized pizzas

Pizza Ingredients:

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup all purpose flour, for work surface

1 pound Pizza dough (make your own or use prepared pizza dough), divide into quarters

2 – 3 large Lipman Vintage Ripe tomatoes, sliced thin

2 cups Fontina cheese, grated

2 grilled Andouille sausage(s), sliced thin

6 ounces assorted wild mushrooms (such as cremini, oyster, chanterelle, and stemmed shiitake, cut into bite-size pieces

1 small red onion, sliced thin

4 to 8 eggs, 1 to 2 eggs per pizza

Salt & pepper

Garnish Ingredients:

5 ounces mixed greens (about 6 cups)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 lemon, juiced

Directions:

Prepare the grill for high direct heat. If using a gas grill, preheat for 10 minutes until the temperature is between 550° F and 600° F. Prepare a small bowl with olive oil for greasing the grill grates and for brushing the pizza.

On a lightly floured surface, shape the dough by flattening with your hands into four 8-inch rounds. 

Rad Tip:  Shape the pizza dough by flattening it with your hands on a slightly floured surface. Either use your fingers to stretch the dough out, or hold up the edges of the dough with your fingers, letting the dough hang and stretch, while working around the edges of the dough. Once you've stretched the dough, let it sit for 5 minutes and then push out the edges with your fingers again, until you have a nice round shape.

Once the grill is hot, dip a tightly folded paper towel in olive oil and use tongs to wipe the grill grates. Then place a pizza dough round on a lightly floured pizza stone. Let the dough slide off the stone onto the hot grill grates. Close the lid of the grill and let cook for 2 minutes.

After 2 minutes, open the grill and check underneath the dough to see if it is getting browned. If it is on one side but not another, use a spatula or tongs to rotate the dough 90 degrees and cook for another minute. If it is not beginning to brown, cover the grill and continue to cook a minute at a time until the bottom has begun to brown. It should only take a couple minutes if you have a hot grill. The top of the pizza dough will start bubbling up with air pockets, which you should stab and pop gently.

Once the pizza dough has browned lightly on one side, use a spatula to flip the dough over so that the grilled side is now up.

Paint the grilled surface of the pizza with a little olive oil, then dividing toppings evenly, top the rounds with ingredients and season with ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper and, finally, crack the eggs on top. The key is to go light on the toppings or your pizza will be heavy and soggy.

Slide the topped pizza back onto the grill. If you are using a gas grill, reduce the heat to medium. If working with a charcoal grill, close the vents almost all the way.

Close the lid and continue cooking. After 3 minutes, open the lid to check the egg and the bottom of the crust. You want the whites to be just cooked through and the yolk soft. If the grill marks start to get too dark before the eggs are done, lower the heat and rotate the pizza 90 degrees. Check every 2 minutes until the eggs are done and the cheese is bubbly. Pull off the grate with a spatula onto a cutting board or other flat surface and let rest for a couple minutes before cutting into slices.

In a large bowl, toss the greens with the lemon juice, salt and pepper, the 2 tablespoons of oil, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Serve over pizzas.