When I was growing up my Dad was known for making late night snacks. Cooking pan fried steaks in gobs of butter, toasted fried egg sandwiches, fried bologna hats, liver and onions. You name it , he cooked it late at night and filled our entire house with wafts of smoke. My brothers and sisters and I always knew he was up to something when the scent finally reached second floor. His penchant for cooking anything and everything at extremely high heat always gave him away. Our old house had a back staircase leading directly to the kitchen; we’d sneak down the stairs and spy on him cooking (when we should have been fast asleep). And just as his “masterpiece” was ready, we’d be there begging for a bite.  My Dad knew that with nine kids wanting a piece of his snack nothing would be left for him so he’d methodically give the younger kids, (mostly my brother and I) a quick taste and shoo us away promising not to tell Mum, so he could quickly eat in peace before the older much slower vultures came out of the woodwork. There was something about those clandestine meals that tasted so much better than any food you could make during regular hours. I even remember being six years old and thinking late night liver and onions was better than candy I’d ever had.  Amazing the allure of forbidden fruit.

My Dad didn’t spend a lot of time in the kitchen but when he was in there, it always revolved around his passion for  kitchen gadgets. He loved things that saved time, made life (with lots of kids) easier and less expensive.

My Mom never knew which small appliance would be under his arm when he’d arrive home.  In the late seventies and early eighties there were many but the highlights included ; the grill with the  coals that took three days to warm up,  the milkshake maker, which was essentially  a scaled down version of the professional one he studied at  the ice cream stand he’d take us to for cones and shakes on Sunday afternoons… And my personal  favourite: the patty stacker . Not only did it make the “perfect” burger but it conveniently stacked multiple patties on top of each other for optimal storage in the deep freezer (he convinced my Mum we had to have it). He loved searching for the latest electric knives, cheese graters and blenders. Some men collect fishing lures, he collected can openers. What my Dad lacked in culinary prowess, he made up for in small appliance enthusiasm.

A canary yellow refrigerator with a built-in water dispenser and ice maker was delivered as a surprise to our house one day.  He proudly offered glasses of ice water to all of us but no one had the heart to tell him that the crescent shaped ice cubes floating in our cups tasted like cooking onions.

My Dad passed away two years ago. But every time I walk into Canadian Tire, I can’t help but think of him. Somehow, almost ethereally I get transported to the small kitchen appliance aisle and find myself scouring over the latest culinary gadgets that are sure to make my kitchen more fun and efficient. I guess it’s in my DNA.

Speaking of which...I gotta fly, I'm going to pick up a George Forman Grill so I can recreate those late night 11pm steaks, my Dad would be proud!.
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!

Jack

Let us know about your Dad-related anecdotes… Any Father’s Day memories to tell us about?

Keywords : appliance collection, Dad cooking, Father’s Day

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