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    About

    Welcome to Dad Cooks Dinner

    Hi! I'm Mike Vrobel. I'm a dad, enthusiastic home cook, indie cookbook author, and food blogger with a day job, a patient spouse, and three kids who would rather have hamburgers for dinner.

    About Me Pic-5592

    I believe that simple home cooking needs all the supporters it can get. I hope my stories help other home cooks become more confident and try their own kitchen experiments.

    About Mike Vrobel

    My love of cooking started when I bought my house and got a grill for the backyard. (Hey, I'm a guy, I think it's a law.) After years of enthusiastic home cooking, I started writing DadCooksDinner in 2008 after a vacation in France, where I took cooking classes in Provence and Paris. I came back wanting to share, and because I had been reading food blogs for years, I finally took the plunge and made my own. That was over 15 years ago, and I've been creating recipes and writing about my home cooking ever since. (And I have millions of page views to show for it—thank you for reading!)

    I am addicted to cooking gadgets, especially Pressure Cookers. (The rise of the Instant Pot took me by surprise, but I'm delighted everyone learned how great pressure cooking is.)
    I love my grill, and am pretty good in the kitchen, if I do say so myself. And, being a nerd, I have learned enough about the science of cooking to be dangerous. I come home from my computer programming day job and make dinner for three picky kids every night of the week.

    How did I learn all this stuff?

    Food is my hobby and my obsession. I am a self-taught home cook, and I learned most of what I know through reading cookbooks and magazines, watching food TV and videos, and surfing the Internet, followed by a lot of trial and error in my kitchen. While I don't have any formal culinary training, I have traveled the world to learn about cooking. Here are some of the places where I've attended cooking classes:

    • Hudson, Ohio, USA (at the Western Reserve School of Cooking, RIP)
    • Provence, France (at Famous Provence - Patrick Payet)
    • Paris, France (at On Rue Tatin with Susan Loomis)
    • Cleveland, Ohio, USA (with Michael Symon at Lola Bistro)
    • Oaxaca, Mexico (at Season of my Heart with Susana Trilling)
    • Wadsworth, Ohio, USA (at the Certified Angus Beef Culinary Center)
    • Verona, Italy (at Enoteca Della Valpolicella and Riseria Ferron with Dianne Jacobs and Demet Guzey)
    • Ciudad Juarez, Mexico (with Locos x La Parrilla at the International Food Bloggers Conference, Visit El Paso and Visit Chihuahua)
    • Chicago, Illinois, USA (at The Chopping Block with Tastemakers Food Conference)
    • Kyoto, Japan (at Cooking Sun)
    • Tokyo, Japan (at Sushi Yachiyo)

    Locally, I've held cooking demos at the Cuyahoga Valley Farmers Market and won the West Point Market/Taste of Akron Finest Cut Steak Cook-Off.

    My Cookbooks

    I have three cookbooks available: Rotisserie Grilling, Rotisserie Chicken Grilling, and Rotisserie Turkey. Check out my Amazon Author page here: Mike Vrobel.

    Media and Brand Partners

    I've been featured on and worked with:

    • Akron Beacon Journal
    • Certified Angus Beef® Brand
    • Life of Dad Podcast
    • Lorna Sass
    • New York Times
    • Three Many Cooks
    • Weber Grills
    • Wirecutter

    Most Popular Recipes

    Looking for a place to start on DadCooksDinner? Check out my most popular recipes:

    • Three bowls of cooked Pinto Beans on a wood table
      Instant Pot Pinto Beans (No Soaking)
    • Pressure Cooker Chili Verde
      Pressure Cooker Chili Verde (Green Pork Chili)
    • Grilled Tomahawk Steak (Long Bone Ribeye, Reverse Seared)
      Grilled Tomahawk Steak (Long Bone Ribeye, Reverse Seared)
    • A bowl of cooked black eyed peas on a wooden tabletop
      Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas (No Soaking)
    • Cooked chicken leg on a plate with cherry tomatoes
      Instant Pot Chicken Legs (with Herb Rub)
    • A baked potato loaded with cheese, sour cream, and a jalapeno slice
      Quick Baked Potatoes (Start in Microwave, Finish in Oven)
    • Pressure Cooker Beef Shank (Osso Bucco)
    • Pressure Cooker 7 Hour Leg of Lamb (in 90 minutes)
      Pressure Cooker 7 Hour Leg of Lamb (in 90 minutes)
    • A two-bone slab of beef ribs on a red plate
      Instant Pot Beef Ribs (Texas BBQ Style)
    • A green bowl full of chicken noodle soup
      Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup
    • Grilled Thin Pork Chops, Quick Brinerated
      Grilled Thin Pork Chops, Quick Brinerated
    • Rotisserie Prime Rib Roast | DadCooksDinner.com
      Rotisserie Beef Prime Rib Roast

    Keep in Touch

    Follow me on Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and/or Twitter (aka X).

    Also, sign up for my emails so you won't miss a single recipe.

    Mike Vrobel - DadCooksDinner - grilling in the snow - picture by Kev Anderson

    Contact Me

    If you have any questions, comments, or recipe suggestions, please email me at DadCooksDinner@gmail.com.

    Thanks for reading!

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    Welcome to Dad Cooks Dinner!

    I'm Mike Vrobel, a dad who cooks dinner every night. I'm an enthusiastic home cook, and I write about pressure cooking, rotisserie grilling, and other food topics that grab my attention.

    More About Me →

    Popular

    • Three bowls of cooked Pinto Beans on a wood table
      Instant Pot Pinto Beans (No Soaking)
    • Pressure Cooker Beef Shank (Osso Bucco)
    • Pressure Cooker 7 Hour Leg of Lamb (in 90 minutes)
      Pressure Cooker 7 Hour Leg of Lamb (in 90 minutes)
    • Pressure Cooker Brown Jasmine Rice
    • Grilled Tomahawk Steak (Long Bone Ribeye, Reverse Seared)
      Grilled Tomahawk Steak (Long Bone Ribeye, Reverse Seared)
    • A green bowl full of chicken noodle soup
      Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup

    Seasonal

    • A bowl of asparagus risotto
      Instant Pot Asparagus Risotto (Pressure Cooker Recipe)
    • Grilled Butterflied Chicken with Garlic Butter
    • Sous Vide Rack of Lamb with Dijon Bread Crumb Crust
    • A bowl of beef stew with asparagus, carrots, and radishes.
      Instant Pot Spring Vegetable Beef Stew
    • A Rotisserie Chicken (Pollo Asado)on a platter of shredded cabbage
      Rotisserie Chicken Pollo Asado
    • Rotisserie Pork Shoulder Roast with Carolina Mustard BBQ Sauce
      Rotisserie Pork Shoulder with South Carolina Mustard Barbecue Sauce

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