What Dad Cooked is a collection of our dad’s recipes, thoughts, tips and cooking hacks that simply need to be shared with all you foodies!

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Seasonal Favourites

Some delicious seasonal summer family recipes to choose from the What Dad Cooked repertoire.

San Joaquin Battered Asparagus

In San Joaquin County, at Stockton California they stage an Asparagus Festival in April. Stockton is the centre of asparagus growing in California so it makes sense to celebrate the crop…

Clam Chowder — An American Classic

Clam chowder is an American classic. You will find it on the menu at any American restaurant. And if it’s not written on the menu, you can safely assume that it will appear by default at the soup and salad bar.

Smoked Chicken, Smoked Salmon and Parma Ham Salad

This is inspired by a recipe in the book, ‘Salad’ by Amy Nathan (1985).

Quick and Easy 30 Minute Chopped Salad

“Super simple, and very easy 30 Minute American Style Chopped Salad for two with under 10 ingredients.”

Latest recipes

Check out Dad's latest homecooked dishes and recipes below. Or click recipes in the menu to browse through 6+ years of Dad's homecooking recipes for families.

Cassoulet de Toulouse à la Pappa

A perfect winter warmer – Cassoulet!

The Laughing Cow Lightest Loaded Quesadilla

Try Dad’s loaded low-fat salsa quesadillas with The Laughing Cow Lightest x8 cheese.

Melanzane Parmigiana with Dolmio 7 Vegetables Sun Ripened Tomato & Basil Pasta Sauce

An excellent way to turn a popular Italian slow food standard into an easy and quicker family classic.

Pumpkin Pie

My best pumpkin pie yet!

Asaparagus

A seasonal favourite ingredient of Dad's, so much so he made a 30 recipe series about the green spears! Try these recipes whilst asparagus can still be found locally.

Asparagus, Plaice and Maltaise Mousse Canapes

This is a spin on Escoffier’s white asparagus with sauce maltaise. The two are often served as an accompaniment for a white fish such as turbot. Here the fish is plaice rolled around asparagus and a maltaise mousse and served as a canapé.

Asparagus and Cheese Pastry Parcels

Three asparagus and pastry recipes. Choose from goats cheese and spinach, Taleggio and mushroom, or Gruyère. All are quite simple and ideal for a light lunch or supper – or make in advance for a party or a picnic.

Asparagus and Potato Samosas

This is an asparagus spin on a pea and potato samosa. I’ve held back on some of the spices to allow the asparagus to shine through.

Asparagus and peas braised in butter with herbs, hazelnuts, kasha and lemon

It’s the British asparagus season – make the most of it with this very simple combination: fresh asparagus from local fields and fresh peas from a pod, boiled and then quickly braised in butter, with lemon herbs and hazlenuts and kasha for a bit of crunch.

Dad's Food Journal

Dad loves to write about food. Whether it's discovering a new road local to London or Surrey, where the treasures of foodie stores and independent shops delight—or Dad's macro observations in the world of food. Dad's articles (and foodie stories to his recipes) are a funny and knowledgable journey through the lense of how pops views the world.

Shanks, Hocks, Knuckles, Shins and Legs

We all know about lamb shanks – they’ve been mandatory dishes on gastropub menus for years. But what about the same joint in pork and beef?

Making Chocolates

Making chocolates is a labour of love. They need time and patience – and practice. But just like any kitchen skill, the more you do it the easier it becomes. So persevere. They are great fun and very rewarding to give as presents.

Part Two: A Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner

It’s Thanksgiving on the 24th November. Here’s the low-down on WDC’s traditional American Thanksgiving dinner.

British Pie Banquet at The Thomas Cubitt

In case you didn’t know, this week is ‘British Pie Week’ – a fact that might have inspired The Tomas Cubitt gastro-pub to celebrate by hosting a British ‘Pie Banquet’ earlier in the week.



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