I’m an enthusiastic home cook who writes about pressure cooking, rotisserie grilling, sous vide, and any other food topics that grab my attention. Subscribe to get recipes, technique deep-dives, and a look at what’s cooking in my kitchen.
Summer Vacation 2026 - DadCooksDinner
Summer Vacation 2026No new recipe this week, I’m on my annual vacation to our family cottage on the shores of Lake Erie. My brothers and I all love cooking, so we trade off nights where we’re responsible for dinner. We’ve all got our specialties, but my nieces and nephews would riot if I didn’t do Ramen Night. A 4x scaled-up version of my spicy miso ramen recipe was enough to feed 16 people. My Instant Pots stay home when I’m cooking at the cottage - even the largest pressure cooker doesn’t have enough volume to cook for that many people. I have to go old school and simmer the broth for hours on the stovetop (like a caveman). My other go-to recipe is paella on the grill. I have a 20-inch paella pan to fit enough rice for everyone, and I double my grilled paella recipe. I had to serve the seafood on the side this time, due to a shellfish allergy; I did an all-chicken-and-chorizo version. Thanks for reading, and I’ll be back with a new recipe next week. Mike Vrobel Madison-on-The-Lake, Ohio July 26, 2026 |
Dad Cooks Dinner
I’m an enthusiastic home cook who writes about pressure cooking, rotisserie grilling, sous vide, and any other food topics that grab my attention. Subscribe to get recipes, technique deep-dives, and a look at what’s cooking in my kitchen.
Fall is finally here! Fall is my favorite season - I love a touch of cold in the air, the colors in the leaves, and that it’s soup season! Speaking of soup, let’s talk about it’s key ingredient, broth… An Ode to Pressure Cooker Chicken Broth “Stock. Stock is the backbone of good cooking. You (home chefs) need it and you don’t have it. I have the luxury of 30-quart stockpots, a willing prep crew, readily available bones and plenty of refrigeration space. Does this mean you should subject your...
Things I Love: A Kitchen Scale I can’t live without a kitchen scale. It’s an essential measuring tool in my kitchen - not used as much as my measuring spoons or measuring cups, but up there with my instant read thermometer for usefulness. Now, when I say that I can’t live without a kitchen scale, I should say we cannot live without a kitchen scale. I use it a lot for measuring ingredients, especially when I’m developing recipes. But my wife depends on it. She uses the scale every day to weigh...
My love/hate relationship with black iron cookware Black iron is my nemesis. I love cast iron and carbon steel pans…for a while. When they are properly seasoned, they are almost as slick as nonstick cookware, much more durable, and they hold on to heat like nothing else. But … I have terrible luck maintaining them. Rusty iron cookware is my secret shame. Every couple of years I get enthusiastic about iron pans, usually when my nonstick pans are getting scratched up. “This is my chance to get...