When Dad Was in the Kitchen : When our mothers cooked it was an everyday occurrence. When our fathers cooked it was an adventure. Some sons and daughters remember the times when Dad put on an apron. : A Well-Done Steak

Having put himself through college by working on the railroad, my father sincerely loathed manual labor. This was one dad who never puttered around in a garage workshop or tinkered on the old family car. Cooking was manual labor too, and on camping trips he scrambled eggs with a fierce impatience that seemed to say: “Why am I having anything to do with this?”

However, Dad did seem to enjoy cooking steaks on our back-yard barbecue (which my brother built--the old man would have cast a withering eye on any project that required dealing with bricks and cement). It may have been because Dad could be sure of getting his steak exactly the way he wanted it: done to a crisp and as tough as jerky, a firm and steady base for the half-dozen condiments he would pour on it.

STEAK DOUG PERRY

1 steak

Sauces to taste such as A-1, Heinz 57, Worcestershire, Tabasco, catsup and horseradish

Place steak over hottest part of coals. Stand upwind, making lively conversation and ignoring steak. Turn steak over at least 6 times during cooking, poking numerous holes with fork, until stiff and mahogany brown. Trim off blackened sections with serrated knife and moisten steak thoroughly with sauces. Makes 1 serving.