Derek Campanile
This dad is on a mission. Working in information technology by day and cooking at home every night, he’s transforming dinnertime from burdensome to just plain fun—one fullflavored, family-friendly recipe at a time. Read on for Derek’s fave ingredients, best advice and top recipes, then head to his blog, for his latest creations.
ADD CRUSHED RED PEPPER FLAKES FOR SOME ZIP!
What sparked your interest in cooking?
My earliest memory of cooking was when my mother taught me how to scramble eggs. Since then, I’ve always seemed to enjoy cooking and taken any opportunity available to grow.
What’s your family’s most-requested recipe?
My wife, Lacey, loves my pozole and my chicken and dumplings, so if I don’t have those in rotation at least once a season, I’ll hear about it. My son, Brayden, loves my enchiladas, and Kenzie, my daughter, really loves my string cheese—she doesn’t know those come from the store!
Which ingredients do you always have on hand?
I always need the basics: salt, pepper, onions, jalapenos and cilantro. I drive my wife nutty with how much garlic I buy.
TRY ONE OF DEREK’S FAVORITE RECIPES
Derek says his children genuinely enjoy helping him with tasks in the kitchen, such as pouring in ingredients and stirring the pot.
Any advice for people just starting out in the kitchen?
Start with easy recipes and tweak 10% of each to make it your own, then go from there. Also, have a grilled cheese on deck if that recipe is a disaster!
What’s your favorite thing about cooking?
I love the feeling I get when what I make is really good and others enjoy it. I normally have a sense of when a meal’s a success, but I feel I’m probably biased toward my own cooking. So whenever I cook for others, I’m always peeking to see if they’ve eaten it all or are going for more. That’s when I know I’ve done a good job.
Chimichurri Breakfast Tostadas
fresh parsley, fresh oregano, red wine vinegar, cloves, ground cumin, chili powder, kosher salt coarsely ground pepper
olive oil
¹₄ cup 2 halved
¹ ₂ tsp. ¹₄ tsp. and ¹ ₈ tsp. in a food processor. Add ¹ ₃ cup and, if desired, ¹ ₂ tsp.
Pulse until desired consistency. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to use. Place a 15-oz. can rinsed and drained in a saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until heated through. Heat 1 Tbsp. and 2 Tbsp. in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Break 4 large 1 at a time, into pan; reduce heat to low. Cook until whites are set and yolks begin to thicken, turning once if desired. Top 4 warmed with black beans, ¹ ₂ cup crumbled and fried eggs; top with chimichurri.
For chimichurri, place ¹ ₂ cup packed 2 Tbsp.
red pepper flakes. black beans
olive oil eggs,
¹ ₂ tsp.
tostada shells Cotija cheese butter garlic crushed dadwithapan.com.