"Time past has a lovely habit of remaining time
present."

Words of playwright Tennessee Williams will surface in fine fashion today while we celebrate Father's Day with or without that special man at our side.

It's been 11 years since I last saw the glitter in Daddy's eyes to tell me how much he loved me. Though a grandmother at the time, I was still his little girl, the one he carried in his arms while skating on cold winter evenings at the Tenney Park lagoons, the one tucked tightly behind him when our toboggan whizzed over Oscar Mayer ice blocks at Olbrich Park and over Starkweather Creek before he pulled me back up the hill so I didn't have to walk like the rest of the family.

When spring arrived, we'd visit Berg Person Sporting Goods Store on Atwood Avenue, where his friend Wes Lefebvre helped him select hooks, lines and sinkers for a new summer season. His patience in teaching me how to fish for bass and northern pike up North became priceless moments tucked away forever in my tackle box.

His interest in gardening with seeds, annuals and perennials purchased from Klein's on East Washington Avenue and Flagstad's on Waubesa Street meant a nice collection of worms and bugs he'd set aside for me to study while turning the soil to plant.

I remember his passion for King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table and Sunday mornings when I'd sit on his lap as he read Prince Valiant out loud from the funny papers.

When autumn arrived, leaves were raked and piled high at the curb to jump in with neighborhood playmates, and Thanksgiving meant celebrating with a prayer of thanks for what America gave him as a little immigrant boy who arrived here with his parents from Sicily in 1911. As winter crept in and the snow fell once again, we'd build forts in the back yard with snow packed in Hill's Brothers coffee cans.

Christmas meant a wonder of things. How well I remember the time he helped decorate the tree by tossing each strip of tinsel with the grace of an athlete and how strange the tree looked when we were done.

With Daddy, family was most important. Everything he did as a father was approached with love and respect. When I didn't feel well, he'd leave work during the noon hour to bring me a malted milk from Rennebohm's to soothe my tummy (it always worked).

Spoiled? No. Loved? From the depths of his heart. By no means the disciplinarian in the family because that was Mother's job, he was my father, my Daddy, never angry, always happy, with an attitude that kept him proud and contented until he was 92 when it was time to say goodbye.

Although he loved coconut cream and banana pies, cannoli and Sicilian fig cookies, this is what I'd make today if we were celebrating Father's Day together. I found the recipe in the "Cafe Nervosa: Frasier's Connoisseur's Cookbook," and after making it a few weeks ago, knew immediately that he would have added it to his list of favorites.

Grilled Vegetable Salad with a Splash of

Balsamic Vinegar

For the marinade:

1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 shallots, finely chopped

1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons molasses

For the salad:

1/2 pound carrots, peeled

1 large sweet red pepper, seeded

1 large sweet yellow or orange pepper, seeded

2 small zucchini, unpeeled

1 small yellow summer squash, unpeeled

1 large onion

Combine marinade ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.

To prepare the salad, cut or slice vegetables into large pieces. Add vegetables to marinade, tossing to coat. Let stand 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain vegetables, reserving marinade. Arrange vegetables in a grill basket. Cook, covered with grill lid, over medium-hot coals (350 degrees to 400 degrees) 15 to 20 minutes, turning occasionally. Return vegetables to reserved marinade, tossing gently. Serve right away, hot or warm, or cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours. Makes 6 cups.

A few months ago, Pat Osterfund, Prairie du Sac, asked for the roesti (Swiss potatoes) recipe from a local restaurant. Although that recipe wasn't available, Cheryl Wenger of Waterloo responded with a recipe her mother-in-law, Ruth Wenger, acquired from Monroe Cheese Days back in the early 1960s.

Roesti Potatoes

Potatoes

Butter

1/2 large onion

Salt and pepper

Shredded Swiss cheese

Partially cook potatoes. Cool, peel and shred. Put a lot of butter in pan and melt. Add 1/2 of a large onion, chopped, and saute until lightly cooked. Spread potatoes over onion, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with shredded Swiss cheese. Saut until browned on bottom. If they seem to be on the dry side, cover the pan to keep potatoes moist.

More detailed is this roesti recipe, shared by Gaylord's Catering employee Pat Fuller, McFarland, who claims that although it's "involved" the finished product is excellent. The recipe appeared in the March/April issues of Cook's Illustrated, one of my favorite publications.

Potato Roesti

1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (3 to 4 medium), peeled and shredded

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cornstarch

Ground black pepper

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Place potatoes in large bowl and fill with cold water. Using hands, swirl to remove excess starch, then drain in strainer. Wipe bowl dry. Place half of potatoes in center of kitchen towel. Gather ends together and twist as tightly as possible to expel maximum moisture. Transfer potatoes to bowl and repeat process with remaining potatoes. Sprinkle salt, cornstarch, and pepper to taste over potatoes. Using hands or fork, toss ingredients together until well blended.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in 10-inch non-stick skillet or well-seasoned cast iron skillet over medium heat. When foaming subsides, add potato mixture and spread into even layer. Cover and cook 6 minutes. Remove cover and, using spatula, gently press potatoes down to form round cake. Cook, occasiona

lly pressing on potatoes to shape into uniform round cake, until bottom is deep golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes longer.

Shake skillet to loosen roesti and slide onto large plate. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to skillet and swirl to coat pan. Invert roesti onto second plate and slide it, browned side up, back into skillet. Cook, occasionally pressing down on cake, until bottom is well browned, 7 to 9 minutes. Remove pan from heat and allow cake to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Transfer roesti to cutting board, cut into 4 pieces, and serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

From Italy to Switzerland to China, this is in response to a request that arrived last summer from Nancy Beck, Madison, whose favorite meal, lemon fish, was served at Saigon Restaurant, once located in Madison. With no responses, I kept searching and found this recipe in a Chinese seafood cookbook written and published by Huang Su-Huel in 1984 in conjunction with Wei-Chuan's Department of Home Economics, and hope Beck can tweak it to what she remembers.

Lemon Fish

2/3 pound fish fillets

1 tablespoon cooking wine

1/3 plus 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

2 eggs

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch, divided

Oil

5 tablespoons lemon juice (or 4 tablespoons vinegar)

5 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Hold knife at a 20 degree angle and cut fish into large, thin slices. Marinate them in cooking wine and 1/3 teaspoon salt. Mix batter of eggs, flour and 1/2 cup cornstarch and 1/2 cup water. Heat wok and add oil. Dip the fish in the batter and deep-fry until golden brown and crispy; remove.

Bring lemon juice, sugar, 5 tablespoons water, 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon salt and sesame oil to a boil and stir until it is thickened. Sprinkle over the fish and serve.

Note: Lemon slices may be served with the fish and added as a garnish.

Contact the Cooks ' Exchange in care of the Wisconsin State Journal, P.O. Box 8058, Madison, WI 53708, or by e-mail to greenbush4@aol.com. When requesting a recipe from an out-of-town restaurant, please include the restaurant address and phone number.