Father's Day - A Moment For Dad, Profiling A Farm Family, And An Opportunity To Enjoy Fun Foods

CABOT, Vt., June 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- June is here, and Father's Day is on the way.  For Dad, it's time to get a little extra recognition and perhaps indulge in a few down home offerings from the family menu.  We have some great suggestions.

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There are 1200 farm families in Cabot Creamery Cooperative^®, and many of them have two or even three generations of Dads on the farm.  In many cases, farms have been passed on for over two centuries, and that means a lot of family history and traditions.  Dads pass along their love of the land, their wisdom and expertise as dairy farmers, and, yes, even a few tricks of the grilling trade along the way.  Favorite recipes get handed down, often with great ceremony, from one generation to the next, and many of these recipes feature Cabot cheese, the wonderful result of their very long workdays.

For Cabot farmers, it's a matter of personal pride to see the final results of their labors.  They usually rise before dawn and finish the evening milking well after sunset.  In between, there are crops to grow and harvest, equipment to maintain, barns to repair, and periodically cows to round up that have made an unexpected escape.  The long and often grueling days are all worth it when these Dads see their children take to the land with the same love and passion they have for it.  Father's Day for Cabot farm families is a time to reflect on all that.

Says Peter Gendebien, who along with his son Blake own side-by-side Twin Mill Farms in Ogdensburg, New York and are both member-owners of Cabot Creamery Cooperative: "Father's Day is a chance to spend time with my children and grandchildren, share family stories and history, and rule the roost from my perch behind the grill.  Our conversations are wide-ranging, but somewhere along the way we always find time for a few grilling tips.  One of my favorite recipes is Cabot Chicken Burgers.  Getting together for Father's Day is a special tradition in the Gendebien family, and having a holiday family meal is just one more thing that helps keep us close."

Cabot Chicken Burgers, with a side of Cabot Cheddar Corn Dip, are two easy to prepare dishes, and are always a hit at home.  They also have the added bonus of making Dad look good because everybody enjoys them so much. Here's how we make them:

CABOT CHICKEN BURGERS
Makes four servings

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 pound ground chicken (preferably 2/3 white meat plus 1/3 dark meat)
4 ounces Cabot Hot Buffalo Wing Cheddar, grated (about 1 cup)
2 red Fresno chiles, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon Cholula Hot Sauce, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Whole grain buns, fresh spinach leaves and sliced cucumbers

Directions:
1. In small skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of oil over medium heat; add onions and cook, stirring often, until well browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer to small plate to cool. 

2. In large bowl, combine chicken, cheese, chiles, cilantro, hot sauce, salt, pepper and cooled onions. Form mixture into four equal patties.

3. In large nonstick skillet, heat remaining tablespoon oil over medium heat; add chicken patties and cook for about 6 minutes per side or until done all the way to center. 

4. Serve burgers on whole grain buns topped with spinach and cucumbers.

CABOT CHEDDAR CORN DIP
Makes about five cups

Ingredients:
2 (11-ounce) cans Mexican-style corn, drained
1 cup Cabot Regular Sour Cream
1 cup mayonnaise
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chilies
3 large fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
3/4 teaspoon seasoned salt or Cajun seasoning, or more to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 ounces Cabot Chipotle Cheddar, grated (about 1 cup)

Directions:
1. In medium bowl, combine corn, sour cream, mayonnaise, green onions, chilies and peppers; mix together well. Stir in seasoned salt or Cajun seasoning and black pepper; taste mixture, adding more if desired. Stir in cheese. 

2. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Serve with tortilla chips.

Dairy farming is usually a family affair, and the children work with the calves and help in the barn as soon as they are stable on their feet.  Family members work side-by-side and share their toils and triumphs.  For them, Father's Day is more than a blip on the calendar.  It's a day to plan for.

While many families have their adult children working on their farm, in other cases, these adult children have farms of their own.  On this day, they gather all the kids and grandchildren and head out to farm they grew up on.  "The most amazing thing is when I'm out there on the tractor with one of my boys, and I remember riding on the very same tractor with my father," Blake says. "I'd be napping on my dad's lap, and now my son is napping on mine, on the same tractor, in the same field. Those are the moments that keep you going." 

In all, Father's Day for the Cabot farm families is a time to pause, a time for families to enjoy each other's company, and a time to appreciate the products they work so hard to bring to the market.  It's love of family and love of farming that keep these farms going, and Cabot cheese is proud to be a big part of it.

For more delicious Father's Day inspiration, visit: www.cabotcheese.coop/recipes.

ABOUT CABOT CREAMERY COOPERATIVE
Cabot Creamery Cooperative has been in continuous operation in Vermont since 1919, and makes a full line of cheeses, yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese and butter. Widely known as makers of "The World's Best Cheddar," Cabot is owned by the 1200 dairy farm families of Agri-Mark, the Northeast's premier dairy cooperative, with farms located throughout New England and upstate New York. For more information on Cabot, visit: http://www.cabotcheese.coop.

Cabot Creamery Cooperative is the world's first cheese maker and dairy cooperative to achieve B Corporation Certification, a validation of its attention to environmental and social impacts on stakeholders.

Contact: Bob Schiers, (888) 214.9444 or [email protected]

SOURCE Cabot Creamery Cooperative