David Nayfeld gets it. The busy chef and co-founder of Back Home Hospitality, known for its group of Che Fico restaurants and markets, can juggle pots and pans in the kitchen along with the myriad business decisions of his growing restaurant empire.
But the East Bay resident’s toughest job may be one that resonates with most parents – answering the question, “Dad, what’s for dinner?” and then getting a tasty, healthy meal on the table amid the chaos of weeknight family life.
In his new cookbook named for that perennial question, and subtitled “Lifesaving Recipes to Avoid Meltdowns, Have Fun in the Kitchen, and Keep Your Kids Well Fed” (Alfred A. Knopf, 2025), Nayfeld shares wisdom and recipes gleaned from more than two decades in professional kitchens, and six years of parenting – and cooking for and with – his daughter, Helena.
Initially, Nayfeld says, he was inspired to write the book because he realized that lessons from his professional training – from meal planning to prep to cleanup – could help take some of the stress out of cooking for parents.
But his book plans changed along with his life as he and Helena’s mother split up when she was a baby, and he faced the challenges of becoming a single father.
“When I first started the book, I thought, ‘This [cooking] is easier than people think. Maybe I can help them,” he recalls. “And then the next stage was, ‘This is really hard. Maybe I can connect with people who think this is really hard – the emotional parts of parenting.’”
And when he gained partial custody of his daughter, things again took a turn: “I was cooking [for her] and I remember thinking, ‘I’ve got such little time here, and I don’t want to waste any of it, but I’m not the kind of person who orders Dominos,” Nayfeld says. “If I’m cooking, we’re both cooking. That’s where the book crystallized for me and what it’s really about. This is about connection.”
A Book is Served
The result is a book of more than 80 recipes – including pastas, sauces and pizzas for which the James Beard Foundation outstanding chef finalist is known – plus helpful tips from how to outfit your kitchen (get a really big stockpot), source ingredients (Nayfeld likes De Cecco pastas when he’s not making his own), plan ahead (try batch cooking stocks and sauces) and clean up (“Be relentless in cleaning as you go”).
It’s specifically designed for parents, with most recipes taking 45 minutes or less to prepare, but they’re divided into Meltdown Meals that take 30 minutes or less, Weeknight Meals at 30-60 minutes and Project Cooking recipes like Fresh Pasta Dough and Italian Sausage and Broccolini Lasagna for weekends or other times when the whole family can join in cooking.
Each recipe even has a mess rating from 1 (minimal) to 4 (substantial). Nayfeld also designates steps where kids can help and their risk levels, graduated from tasks like stirring non-heated ingredients and breaking eggs to using sharp knives and the stove. While there are lots of dinner options, breakfast and sweets are highlighted, too.
Nayfeld says getting homecooked dinner on the table is a pain point for so many families because most parents “have been poorly prepared for what cooking efficiently looks like.”
“Having an extra-large pot to make four days’ worth of soup for a family of four and having a place to put it is an investment, but it’s an investment that’s worth its weight in gold,” he says. On a rainy or otherwise slow day, Nayfeld recommends simmering a soup or sauce and then bagging it in Ziploc bags, lining them up in the freezer like you would in a filing cabinet.
Then, on soccer night when there’s little time to cook, “that’s the moment you pull that ragu Bolognese out of the freezer that you spent three hours lovingly making a month ago,” he says. Boil up some pasta, toss a simple green salad, and dinner is on the table in less than 30 minutes.
“We live in the easiest time in the world’s history to be successful at this,” Nayfeld says. “You can pull out your phone and with an app order groceries to be at your house.”
But “if you don’t have time to make tomato sauce, buy tomato sauce. I want people to meet me where they’re at,” says Nayfeld, who now lives with his fiancée and shares custody of her teen son and Helena. “You’ve got to want to make that choice. You’ve got to value that making dinner together means something to you.”
“Making food with my children and having them understand what goes into their bodies means everything to me,” he adds. An added bonus, he says, is that kids cooking means they’re more likely to try new things and have more diverse diet.
But don’t give up on a picky eater, he advises.
“My daughter saying, ‘I don’t like carrots’ today doesn’t mean she won’t like carrots tomorrow,” he says. “All of that changes like the weather.”
The rule in their house, Nayfeld says, is that you have to try something, but you don’t have to eat if you don’t like it. But “that doesn’t mean I’m not going to make it again.”
What’s most important is, he says, are the connections that are made, in the kitchen and around the table.
“Let’s get your kids in the kitchen and make this less of a responsibility on Dad, or on Mom or Grandma or whoever,” he says. “Let’s all get involved. That’s where the secret sauce is, pun intended.”
Recipes from the Nayfeld Family
Protein Packed Yogurt Parfait With Dukkah
Serves 1 | 5 minutes | Mess: 1
Dukkah – which comes from the Arabic word “to pound” – is an easy-to-make spice mix traditionally made with nuts, often hazelnuts, and a variety of herbs. Some families use mint, others sesame, za’atar, marjoram and cumin. I keep it simple with coriander and fennel, though feel free to experiment yourself.
Dukkah keeps up to a month in an airtight container, so I usually make 2 cups and top yogurt with fruit with a scoop or sprinkle some on toast with peanut butter and apple. I find the condiment is a nice way to adultify kids’ snacks (and ever so gently expand their palates).
Ingredients
¾ cup (200g) plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
½ scoop (15g) protein powder
1 to 2 tablespoons milk (optional)
1/3 cup (40g) granola (needs fraction font)
½ cup (3 ounces/90g) fresh berries
½ banana, sliced
1½ teaspoons honey, preferably local
1 teaspoon dukkah (recipe follows)
Instructions
In a bowl, stir together the yogurt and protein powder until well blended. If it looks too thick, add some milk. Add the granola, fruit, honey and dukkah on top. Serve immediately.
Dukkah
Makes 1½ cups | 20 minutes | Mess: 1
Tip: Making a spice mix, like dukkah, is an excellent opportunity to familiarize your kid with the wonders of your spice cabinet. Go ahead, sniff around.
Ingredients
¼ cup (30g) pistachios
¼ cup (35g) blanched almonds
¼ cup (35g) hazelnuts
¼ cup (25g) walnuts
¼ cup (35g) sunflower seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 tablespoon (15g) coarse sea salt
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 325 F.
2. In a bowl, stir together the nuts and the seeds. Spread evenly on a sheet pan and toast in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove and let cool completely.
3. Once cooled, place in a food processor and pulse. Add the salt and pulse again quickly.
Turkey Chili
Serves 5 or 6 | 50 minutes | Mess: 2
Growing up in a Soviet émigré household, classic American dishes like chili or meatloaf were not on the menu. It wasn’t until culinary school, and when I began eating at the Greek diners in upstate New York near the Culinary Institute, that I was first exposed to chili or shepherd’s pie or apple pie. And it wasn’t really until staff meals at restaurants that I fell in love with them.
This version of turkey chili is heavy on the vegetables and on the protein. My biggest challenge with Helena and Niko is how to deliver them enough protein. (I also need a high-protein diet.) I’m conscious not to always defer to pork and beef. What I love about this chili is that it’s full of protein but, because turkey is so lean, it isn’t heavy or greasy. To be honest, though, the recipe works just as well with beef or pork. Or, if you want, a combination of all three. The result is a versatile and long-lasting dinner that goes well with rice, on its own, with roasted potatoes, with some veggies or, if you’re feeling decadent, over French fries with melted cheese.
Tip: Yeah, 22 ingredients is a lot, but consolidate away. If you want to just use green bell peppers, fine. If you want to use a premade chili spice mix (instead of all the spices), have at it. The idea of this chili is that it’s delicious, not that it’s hard.
Ingredients
For the chili spice mix:
1½ tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons (30g) kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the chili:
1/3 cup (80ml) extra-virgin olive oil (needs fraction font)
3 pounds (1.4kg) ground turkey
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 celery stalks, sliced lengthwise and finely diced
2 medium red onions, medium-diced
1 head garlic, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, cut into large squares
1 large green bell pepper, cut into large squares
1 jalapeño pepper (20g), seeded and medium-diced
2 large Roma tomatoes, medium-diced
2 (15-ounce/425g) cans kidney beans, undrained
3 cups (700ml) chicken or beef stock, store-bought or homemade, or water
Juice of 2 limes (¼ cup/60ml)
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1 bunch cilantro, leaves and stems, finely chopped
For serving:
Sour cream
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sliced green onion
Instructions
1. Make the chili spice mix: In a small bowl, mix the chili pepper, smoked paprika, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper until well combined.
2. Make the chili: In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil over high heat until it shimmers, about 1 minute. Add the turkey and cook for 5 minutes, breaking it up with a wooden spoon into smaller chunks. Add the spice mix to the meat and stir. Add the tomato paste and stir, then add the celery, onions, garlic, bell peppers, jalapeño and tomatoes, and cook for 4 minutes. Add the beans and their liquid, stirring until combined.
3. Stir in the stock, bring to a simmer, and allow to cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally to ensure that the chili isn’t sticking to the bottom of the pot.
4. Add the lime juice, sliced green onions and cilantro. Cook for 10 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat. Taste and adjust salt as desired.
5. Let the chili sit for 10 minutes, then serve with accoutrements.
Peanut Butter Brownies
Makes 1 8-by-8-inch pan | 35 minutes
I vividly remember when I began to bake with Helena. The end result – cookies, cakes,
brownies – were sweet but not nearly as sweet as the experience of working side by side. These comforting brownies come from that time, when I was looking for ways to engage with her. I just wanted to be near her so badly. She loved mixing the batter, glopping on the peanut butter and then the chocolate chips and, of course, licking the spatula. More than anything, though, she loved eating them.
Ingredients
Softened unsalted butter, for the pan
Scant 2 cups (12 ounces/340g) dark chocolate chips
6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter
¼ cup (20g) cocoa powder
¼ cup (50g) extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup (200g) brown sugar or coconut sugar
3 large eggs (180g)
1 tablespoon (12g) vanilla extract
¾ cup (100g) whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon (3g) kosher salt
7 tablespoons (4 ounces/115g) peanut butter
¼ teaspoon flaky sea salt, to finish
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with butter.
2. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine ¾ cup (170g) of the chocolate chips and the butter. Microwave for 1 minute. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until incorporated and shiny.
3. Add the olive oil to the melted chocolate and whisk until smooth. Add the brown sugar, eggs and vanilla, and whisk until combined. Add the flour and kosher salt and whisk constantly for 30 seconds.
4. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the brownie batter into the baking pan. Spread until level. Tap the pan on the counter.
5. Add the peanut butter and remaining chocolate chips to the top of the batter. Use a fork to spread evenly over the surface. (See note.)
6. Bake until set on the edges and slightly pulling away from the sides, about 30 minutes.
7. Sprinkle the top with flaky salt. Let cool for 30 minutes before serving.
NOTE: If your peanut butter is resistant to spreading, soften it in a microwave-safe bowl for 15 to 20 seconds.
From “DAD, WHAT’S FOR DINNER?” © 2025 by David Nayfeld. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights
reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in
writing from the publisher.