Associated Press

If Dad can't get a tee time on Father's Day, perhaps
he'll appreciate this cake instead. The sand trap is
brown sugar; the golf ball is white frosting.

Fix up something special
for Father's Day

Star-Bulletin wire services

or those Tiger Dads in your life, try some sweet golf and grrreat grilling ideas for Father's Day.

An amusing and delicious Chocolate Golf Course Cake is devil's food iced with two shades of green frosting.

A pastry brush or the edge of a knife can be used to get a "grassy" look. Brown sugar is used to make the sand trap, and white frosting is used for the golf balls.

To customize the cake, write in his best golf score or name of his favorite course. The finishing touch -- numbered flags made out of paper triangles and glued onto toothpicks.

Then, there's Michael McLaughlin, a cookbook author familiar with the way to dad's heart.

His new "All on the Grill: 150 Recipes for the Complete Meal, from Savory Starters to Delectable Desserts" (HarperCollins, $22.50) features straightforward, well-tested dishes that hit a nice balance between adventuresome fare and do-able cooking.

McLaughlin, the unheralded third author of the trio that wrote the "Silver Palate Cookbook," offers orange-grilled salmon steaks to make dad feel grrreat.

Chocolate Golf Course Cake

(From Hershey Foods)

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1-2/3 cups milk
1/2 cup shortening
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Green Buttercream Frosting
Green food color
Decorations for golf course

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a baking pan, 13 by 9 by 2 inches.

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add milk, shortening, eggs and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed of electric mixer 30 seconds to blend. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes for rectangular pan or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Place cake on tray.

Prepare frosting; remove about 1/2 to a small bowl. Add enough food color to resemble dark green grass; frost entire cake with this mixture. If desired, press pastry brush or knife over surface for texture.

Make remaining frosting a lighter green; outline three areas for

greens on top of cake. Fill in outlines with lighter green frosting.

Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs or light brown sugar on small area to resemble a sand trap. Mark triangular paper flags with numbers to identify specific holes; glue flags onto toothpicks. Place flags at greens.

A ball of white frosting or a small piece of marshmallow can be used as a golf ball. Serves 24.

Green Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
1 pound (about 4 cups) powdered sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat butter until creamy in large bowl. Gradually add about 1/2 of powdered sugar, beating well. Slowly beat in milk and vanilla. Gradually add remaining powdered sugar, beating until smooth. Add additional milk, if necessary, until frosting is spreading consistency.

Approximate nutritional analysis per serving: 270 calories, 9 grams total fat, 4 grams saturated fat, 40 milligrams cholesterol, 200 milligrams sodium. *

Orange-Barbecued Salmon Steaks

(From "All on the Grill" by Michael McLaughlin, HarperCollins)

4 salmon steaks, cut 1-1/2 inches thick (about 2-1/4 pounds total)

Marinade:
2/3 cup bottled hickory barbecue sauce
1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons dry sherry
4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil

Machine process marinade ingredients until fairly smooth. Place fish in shallow glass dish just large enough to hold pieces in a single layer. Pour marinade over fish and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes. Remove from refrigerator, turn fish and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Light a fire in charcoal grill or preheat a gas grill to medium.

When fire is hot, lift salmon steaks out of marinade and lay them on the rack. (Heat marinade on high for 3 minutes in microwave.)

Cover and grill fish, carefully turning steaks 2 or 3 times and basting them with the marinade, until it is used up and they are lightly browned, well-glazed and done to your liking, about 10 minutes total for medium-rare. Makes 4 servings.

Approximate nutritional analysis per serving: 416 calories, 17 grams fat, 125 milligrams cholesterol, 889 milligrams sodium.*

BBQ Beef-Wich

(From the National Cattlemen's Beef Association)

6 leaves romaine lettuce
1 medium tomato, sliced
1 ripe avocado, peeled, seeded and sliced
3/4 pound thinly sliced cooked beef
6 whole-grain hamburger buns or rolls, split

BBQ Onion Relish:
1-1/2 cups thinly sliced yellow onion
3 tablespoons prepared barbecue sauce

To prepare Relish: Place onions in covered dish, microwave on high for 10 minutes or until soft. Stir in sauce.

To assemble BBQ Beef-Wiches: Layer equal amounts of lettuce, tomato, avocado and beef on bottom half of each bun. Top with onion relish; close sandwiches. Makes 6 servings.

Approximate nutritional analysis per serving: 271 calories, 9 grams fat, 49 milligrams cholesterol, 331 milligrams sodium.*