Dad What Cooks is all about firing up good food. Pizza, bread, BBQ or Ninja Foodie one pot dishes that’ll make the family ask for more. So roll up your sleeves, sharpen those knives (safely) so we can start cooking.
Back in the kitchen (& what I learned while taking a break)
|
Happy New Year (are we still doing that?!) First things first: I hope you had a wonderful festive season, however you spent it. I'll be honest with you. I took a proper break over Christmas and New Year. No recipe testing, no photography sessions, no staring at analytics. Just time with family and friends, far too much food (made by me and also other people), and some lovely walks with the dogs to justify second helpings. It was exactly what I needed, and I'm back feeling genuinely excited about what's ahead for the blog this 2026. What's New on the Blog I've just published a guide to slicing and freezing bread, which covers everything from shop-bought loaves to homemade sourdough. If you've ever wondered whether you can freeze that loaf before it goes stale (you absolutely can), this one's for you. It's part of something I want to do more of in 2026: practical tips and guides alongside recipes. Sometimes you don't need a full recipe. You just need to know the best way to store something, or how to rescue a dish that's gone slightly wrong. Expect more of that this year. What I've Been Reading For Christmas I got the book Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat. If you're looking to understand why certain cooking techniques work rather than just following instructions, I genuinely cannot recommend it highly enough. It's changed how I think about balancing flavours and I suspect it'll influence quite a few recipes on the blog going forward. I never realised how important timing of seasoning with salt was. I made a game changing chicken curry - game changing because I seasoned the chicken 24 hours before with ONLY salt. Wow is not the word - it was immense. Festive Baking Highlights Christmas wouldn't be complete without some baking, and two recipes from the blog made regular appearances in our kitchen: → Double Layer Cinnamon Swirls – These disappeared within hours. Twice. → Cranberry Sourdough Bread – Festive, slightly sweet, and perfect with cheese. Speaking of cheese, take a look at The Courtyard Dairy in North Yorkshire. We got some Christmas cheeses from them and being cheesemonger of the year they certainly lived up to expectation. If you made anything worthy of sharing over the holidays, I'd love to hear how they turned out. My other project (creators and bloggers take note) While I was away from the blog, I wasn't entirely idle. I've been working on a WordPress plugin called Tidy Posts that helps food bloggers (and any content creators, really) keep their posts fresh and up to date. If you run a blog and find yourself losing track of which posts need updating, it might be worth a look. I built it because I needed it myself, and thought others might find it useful too. If that sounds helpful, you can find it at TidyPosts.com or the free version on WordPress.org Looking Ahead I'm genuinely looking forward to 2026 on the blog. More recipes, more practical guides, and hopefully some new series that I've been planning. Thank you for sticking around, and I'll be back in your inbox soon with something tasty. Until next time, Martin (Dad What Cooks) |
Dad What Cooks
Dad What Cooks is all about firing up good food. Pizza, bread, BBQ or Ninja Foodie one pot dishes that’ll make the family ask for more. So roll up your sleeves, sharpen those knives (safely) so we can start cooking.
Hello, A bit of my starter (called Prue) has gone to live with a friend. I handed over a spoonful of starter a few weeks back as my friends were looking to get into baking. I scooped out a bit of Prue (10g) mixed with 50g flour and 40g water and gave it to them in a spare ramakin. They have taken to it faster than I did. Bread, then bagels, then olive bread and they have already bought a proper jar to keep it in. Am I now a proud grandparent? However - They have not named it and they need...
Happy March. Hope you had a nice start to the month. I spotted some summer weather on the way. I have two things to tell you about this month and I’m genuinely excited about both of them. Which is unusual for me, because I’m usually excited about neither of the things I have to tell you about. But here we are. A new tool on the site Dinner From Nowt is a recipe finder tool You know that moment when you open the fridge, stare into it for a while, close it, open it again as if something new...
🥘 Slow Cooker Season Is Back! You know it’s slow cooker season when you step outside, see your breath in the morning, and immediately think “stew for tea.”Autumn’s here, the jumpers are out, and the trusty slow cooker is about to earn its keep again. The Magic of a Slow Cooker If you’ve never used one, you’re missing out on the easiest way to make dinner taste like you’ve spent hours in the kitchen. he reality is that, you’ve just thrown everything in a pot before work. Once you get home you...