Which is why I want to let my fellow fathers in on a secret their wives have been keeping from them: If you’re the cook, you choose the menu.
Think about it.
Never been wild about tuna-noodle-crunched-up-potato-chips-on-the-top casserole? You never have to have it on one of “your” nights.
Have a hankering for some manly chili or gooey dessert? Either can be yours this evening. Either? Ha! Both!
With that in mind, here are a dozen cooking tips for dads:
Have A Sure-Fire Hit on Each Menu
9. It takes practice getting all those items done at the same time. When one is done before another, and that’s going to happen, tell the wife and kids the family is having several courses that night. Serve each one as it’s ready.
10. Have a sure-fire hit on each menu. This can be as simple as a fresh loaf of French bread from the grocery store. Kids, being kids, are usually very content wolfing down fresh bread. So are most grown-ups.
Then put out a jar of jam and you’re better off still.
This is especially important if your main item is dicey. If you aren’t sure the kids are going to like it or it’s the first time you’ve tried preparing it.
11. Cook once, eat twice. Since you’re going to all this trouble, make a double batch of whatever it is. Serve it again two days later. Skip that middle day so it won’t seem like “leftovers.” After 48 hours the kids won’t have any idea what they ate that long ago. Don’t believe me? All right. What did you have for dinner two nights ago?
12. Specialize. If you learn to make a few items really well, you’ll be a hero. You’ll become a legend. No kidding.
For my own father – God rest his soul – it was pizza, homemade bread and cinnamon rolls. Dad was no dummy. Notice the common theme? Bread dough. And most often he used the frozen/thaw-it/bake-it kind. Worked like a charm.
Then, too, now that I think about it, Dad really liked pizza.
And homemade bread.
And cinnamon rolls.
Start Simple
With that in mind, here are a dozen cooking tips for dads:
1. Start simple. Find a basic recipe that sounds good and follow the directions.
2. Follow the directions.
3. Follow the directions.
4. Yes, those are three separate tips because you want to skip at least two of them. Don’t. Why? Remember when you were learning to ride a bike? Now imagine, first time out, you tried going no hands. Yikes.
Winging it when it comes to a recipe is the same thing. Only instead of ending up in a heap on the pavement you find yourself serving food that is inedible. At best.
Sure, eventually you learned how to sail along without touching the handlebar. But it took experience. (And sure you’re never going to admit that behavior to your children.)
Ditto with cooking.
Add Your Personal Touches
5. Add your “personal touches” slowly, over time. For example, as someone who has inadvertently created scorching beef stew, I now know a little cayenne pepper goes a long, long way. And a little more goes way too far.
6. Cook something your kids are likely to like. Fortunately, this isn’t too difficult to figure out because your tastes are remarkably close to theirs. (Which is a polite way of saying you’re still childish when it comes to food, but what guy isn’t?)
It’s unlikely they’re going to get psyched about a new recipe for vegetables.
It’s unlikely they’re going to get psyched about a new vegetable.
It’s unlikely they’re going to get psyched about any vegetable.
7. You have to serve vegetables. Oh, man… I know. But you do. If you are the cook you can’t just cook what you consider good stuff. You have to include stuff that others consider good for a human being.
You have to do a little research on the food pyramid. And you may be amazed to discover its base is not fat/salt/ketchup and its pinnacle is not nachos.
8. More bad news. Sorry. You have to clean up as you go. Your lovely wife is going to be less than pleased if you blacken and encrust every pot and pan in the kitchen and leave it all for… “Not me. I cooked.”
Do not say that! Why? Because you will be setting a precedent you may not really want to set.
So, scrub the pot or pan as soon as you’re done with it. (No “letting it soak.” That fools no one.) Often you can do it while other items on the menu continue to cook or bake.
