Ready for the tips and tricks that will turn the dad in your life into a hero in the kitchen?

Highly-acclaimed chef and restaurateur Cory Vitiello can cook in a professional kitchen with his eyes closed (please don’t try this yourself), but when he became a dad, he quickly had to adjust his culinary repertoire to cater to a much more demanding clientele: his young family.

In his first book, Cory has teamed up with fellow dad and celebrated food writer Chris Johns on a crowd-pleasing collection of recipes that will instill confidence in all home cooks and develop the next generation of adventurous eaters in your family. With Cory and Chris as your guides, you’ll find ideas for any time of day, and any day of the week, such as:

• Quick breakfasts to get everyone out the door on time, like Yogurt & Oatmeal Pancakes or a Zucchini Omelet with Gouda;
• Light, yet satisfying lunches like Cory’s famous Flock Soba Noodle Bowl or Hot-Smoked Trout with Summer Vegetables Salad;
• Go-to healthy weeknight dinners, like One-Pot Braised Turkey Meatballs or Little Pasta with Swiss Chard and Lentils
• Larger weekend projects, like Shaved Brussels Sprouts & Leek Pizza or Cinnamon Buttermilk Ice Cream;
• And, a whole chapter dedicated to every dad’s favourite appliance, the barbecue, so he can finally earn that “pitmaster” apron.

With recipes to catapult the cook firmly into superstardom, Dad in the Kitchen is a must-have cookbook written by dads for dads, but it’s also for anyone who might become a dad, or anyone with a dad. And, in the selfless eating-the-crusts tradition of dads everywhere, know that moms, daughters, sons, uncles, aunts, and everyone in between is encouraged to cook from its pages, too.

Dads, grab your tongs—let’s do this.

---

Cast-Iron Baked Eggplant Parmesan

Martina and I came up with this during the bad old days of full-on lockdown. We had some time on our hands, so we started playing around with eggplant parm and stumbled across this really fun way of preparing it. The key is to stack the eggplant into the pan very tightly. That way, when you turn it out, you get a spiralled dish where each slice comes off like petals. Another great thing about building the dish like this is that every ounce of sauce gets absorbed and the result is quite a firm parm that comes across almost like a savoury cake.

SERVES 6

Olive oil

6 Japanese eggplants Kosher salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

4 eggs, beaten

2 cups seasoned breadcrumbs

1 tsp fennel seeds

Handful torn basil leaves

4 cups tomato sauce (homemade or store-bought), divided, + extra for serving

12 oz low-moisture mozzarella (about 3 cups grated), divided

½ cup grated Parmigiano- Reggiano, divided, + extra for serving

Preheat the oven to 375°F and coat the bottom of a large baking sheet with olive oil.

Slice the eggplants lengthwise into ¼-inch slices. Generously salt both sides and place on paper towel to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. This process helps to extract the excess liquid, impurities, and bitterness from the eggplants. Once the eggplants have released their liquid, rinse the slices under cold water and pat dry with a paper towel.

In three large dishes, arrange the flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs— this is your breading station. Coat each slice of eggplant first with flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Once each slice is breaded, lay on the oiled baking sheet.

When all the pieces of eggplant are breaded, drizzle them with more olive oil and bake until golden brown and crispy, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven.

Meanwhile, in a 10-inch cast-iron pan over medium heat, lightly toast the fennel seeds. Add half of the torn basil. Cover the fennel and basil with 2 cups sauce, followed by one-third each of the mozzarella and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Arrange the eggplant in a coil above the sauce and cheese, keeping it as tightly packed as possible. Cover with the remaining 2 cups tomato sauce, followed by the remaining mozzarella, basil, and parm. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown and bubbly.

Remove the eggplant parm from the oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate or cutting board. Slice and serve with more tomato sauce and grated Parmigiano- Reggiano.

Excerpted from Dad in the Kitchen: Over 100 Delicious Family Recipes You’ll Love to Make and They’ll Love to Eat by Cory Vitiello and Chris Johns. Copyright © 2023 Cory Vitiello and Chris Johns. Photographs by Paula Wilson. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.