Another sunny day, perfect for a BBQ, and celebrating Father’s Day.  I was trying to keep it simple and not get overly ambitious with too many dishes and yet somehow still spent 3 hours prepping and grilling.  Isn’t it worth it though for good food?  The menu was All American and it somehow worked out that all the dishes had a sweet flavor.

First got all the burgers on the grill.  I know, I know, Bobby Flay would freak out that the cheese is not completely melted.  (I’ve heard his burger method about 3 times in the past month).  Nevertheless, it was taken off the grill at just the right time.  Perfectly medium rare.

We made two types of burgers and thought it would be fun to do sliders.  That way we had room to eat both kinds.  First was the cheeseburger with sharp cheddar and caramelized onions.  We used a dinner roll, toasted, for the bun.

I love burgers with all the fixings but sometimes the fewest ingredients can make for a great burger.  I think we achieved that with both kinds.

Onto the pineapple burger.  For this we used Monterey Jack cheese, which may have been a bit too mild considering the other flavors combined with it, but still added a nice gooeyness to the overall texture.  On top of that is a little bit of BBQ sauce.

Grilled pineapple chunks on top.  Pineapple rings would have been the best but that somehow was overlooked when grocery shopping.  Actually fresh pineapple was forgotten completely and had to settle for canned.  I know, canned, is not ideal, but I figured if we skewered them and grilled them, it would add a homey flavor.  It worked out.

Platter of sliders

Gotta have veggies.  Grilled squash and zucchini, picked fresh from the farmer’s market.  Drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper for flavor.

I really am on a milkshake kick right now.  I thought a pineapple shake would go well with the pineapple burgers.  To make it a little healthier I used a combination of vanilla ice cream and passion orange pineapple yogurt.

For dessert, raspberry and blueberry shortcake with vanilla ice cream and whip cream.  This is based off of the Cheesecake Factory strawberry shortcake, my favorite dessert there.