For all the fathers who have ever been stumped by the question, "Dad, what's for dinner?" -- you have come to the right place!
Chef David Nayfeld -- author of the new cookbook "Dad, What's for Dinner?" -- joins "GMA3" to share two cozy family favorites: Tuscan sausage, bean and kale soup and garlic bread.
With more than 80 delicious, time-saving recipes, "Dad, What's for Dinner?" offers practical ways for parents and caregivers to bring everyone together at the table and make weeknight meals easier without sacrificing flavor.
Check out the recipes below.
"A traditional zuppa Toscana is already hearty, meant to fortify the peasants who first made it," Nayfeld writes. "This is a supercharged version with a ton of sausage in it. I make this around twelve times a year. I love it. My kid loves it. It hits every note you want it to hit."
"The pork fat renders, imbuing the soup with flavor, while the beans add a creamy texture and the kale adds loads of nutritional content," he continues. But he encourages cooks to put their own spin on it.
"Don’t have kale? Use escarole or spinach or Swiss chard or whatever you can," he writes. "Want less lemon? OK! It took me three or four times making this soup to get the balance I like. Bring it to a friend. Take it to a grandparent. It’s an instant friendship soup."
Note from Nayfeld: Kale is full of a whole alphabet of vitamins (A, B6, C, K), as well as folate, fiber, and carotenoids.
Yield: Makes 3 quarts (2.8L)
Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 8 to 10
Mess: 2/4
Ingredients
1/2 cup (120ml) extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound (450g) Italian sausages, casings removed
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 medium carrots, diced
4 celery stalks, diced
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 bunch lacinato (Tuscan) kale (10 ounces/285g), thick stems removed, leaves roughly chopped
2 (12.7-ounce/360g) jars Italian corona beans, undrained
1 (28-ounce/794g) can whole peeled tomatoes
2 quarts (1.9L) chicken stock, store-bought or homemade
1 tightly packed cup (75g) chopped Italian parsley
1 sprig fresh rosemary, leaves picked
1/2 teaspoon chile flakes
Grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
2 heaping tablespoons (25g) kosher salt
Note from Nayfeld: Try to get carrots with their greens attached. The tops make great handles for little hands to hold while peeling.
For serving:
Extra-virgin olive oil
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions
In a soup pot, heat the olive oil over high heat until it shimmers. Add the Italian sausage and cook until almost browned.
Stir in the garlic, carrots, celery, and onion and cook until they are fragrant and start to slightly soften, 4 to 5 minutes.
Stir in the kale and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the corona beans and their liquid and stir. Add the canned tomatoes, crushing them by hand as you add them to the pot.
Stir in the chicken stock and cook at a lively simmer for 20 minutes.
Stir in the parsley, rosemary, chile flakes and lemon zest. Add the salt and lemon juice.
To serve, finish with olive oil, parmesan, and black pepper.
STORAGE: Allow to cool, then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
"Cheesy garlic bread is about as nostalgic as you can get for me, but it’s also filled with a ton of herbs, delivering something aromatic and green," Nayfeld writes. "This is a great way of subverting your children’s will and getting them to eat something green and herbaceous that is not threatening. There are a lot of herbs to pick here. Great work for small hands."
Yield: 6 as a snack
Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
1 stick (4 ounces/115g) unsalted butter
18 garlic cloves, peeled but whole
1 sprig fresh rosemary, leaves picked and chopped
1/3 cup (10g) packed fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 teaspoon (3g) kosher salt
1/4 cup (5g) packed fresh basil leaves
2 pinches of chile flakes (optional)
1 loaf Italian country bread or French bread, halved horizontally
8 ounces (225g) low-moisture mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
6 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
In a small saucepan, combine the butter and garlic and heat over medium heat. After 10 minutes, add the rosemary and cook until the garlic is lightly browned but the butter is not, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Pour the butter/garlic mixture into a food processor and add the parsley, salt, basil, and chile flakes (if using), and puree.
Using a rubber spatula, evenly spread the mixture across the bread, from edge to edge but not too thickly (or the bread will be soggy).
Lay the sliced mozzarella over the bread.
Evenly sprinkle parmesan atop the mozzarella. Set the bread on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Transfer to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and golden brown, about 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and eat piping hot, cut into 2-to 3-inch (5 to 7.5cm) pieces.
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.
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