The Dude Cooks - Recipes and Cooking Tips

10/18/2026

Maple Glazed Grilled Salmon

Sweet maple glaze meets smoky grill marks in this easy Maple Glazed Grilled Salmon. Perfect summer dinner ready in under 20 minutes.

10/16/2026

Nothing Bundt Cakes just did something it never does: it left out the cream cheese frosting.

Its new Galactic Brownie Cake is a fudgy chocolate bundtlet topped with brownie batter glaze and rainbow sprinkles instead, basically a bakery-sized Cosmic Brownie. It's part of their fall lineup along with a new Apple Pie Cake and the return of the Biscoff Cookie Butter Cake.

Here's the catch: the Galactic Brownie Cake is only around from August 24 to September 6. Individual bundtlet only, while supplies last. Miss that window and it's gone until it maybe comes back next year.

I wrote up all three flavors, including the Biscoff one and how long each is actually available, over on the site. I also threw in a homemade brownie version for anyone who doesn't want to plan a bakery run around a two-week release.

Would you actually drive out for a limited-edition bakery cake, or is that the kind of thing you'd rather just make at home? Curious where people land on this one.

🚨 Link in comments 👇👇👇

10/14/2026

Delicious dinners don't need to be complicated!

Last night's dinner was pan seared pork chops with pan sauce, some mushroom quinoa cooked in the instant pot and some green beans that had gotten doctored up a little.

Ready in under half an hour, healthy and delicious.

Stop using time as your excuse to eat boring, unhealthy food.

Comment if you want me the recipe!

10/12/2026

Be careful what you leave on all day for your cats to watch when you are gone.

10/12/2026

Is that cheaper bottle of avocado oil really avocado oil?


Maybe not. UC Davis tested bottles from store shelves and found at least 82% were rancid or mixed with other oils. Some labeled “pure” were close to 100% soybean oil.


A 2023 follow-up looked at store-brand bottles only. Just 31% were actually pure.


There are no enforceable federal labeling rules for avocado oil. A bottle can say “100% avocado oil” and face no consequences if it isn’t.


Only two brands came back clean in the original study. I break down which ones, plus how to spot a bad bottle, in the full article.


What oil do you use for high-heat cooking? Drop it below.

10/11/2026

Damn - What happened to that poor cookie in its short, short life?

10/11/2026

Soup season is here, and the grocery store had smoked ham hocks on clearance. That was all the permission I needed.
This is slow cooker split pea soup with a real ham hock. Green peas, carrots, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and about six hours on low. No cans and no seasoning packets.
One rule: leave the salt out until the end. The ham hock is already salty, and you can always add more but you can’t take it back out.
It beats any canned soup, hands down.
Do you make yours with a ham hock, a ham bone, or leftover ham?

10/10/2026

As long as they walk in the house and say it smells good, that is all that counts, right? Once they say it smells good, they can't say it tastes horrible later.

Though if you are cooking with these, it is hard to make things taste bad (unless you burn the garlic)

10/05/2026

Cheesy ground beef tortilla roll ups with two dipping sauces. 5 minutes of prep, one bowl, no skillet.

Seasoned beef and veggies get spread thin in big flour tortillas, rolled tight, sliced into rounds, and baked cut side up under melted Monterey Jack and cheddar. Then you dunk them in smoky chipotle ranch or classic ketchup-mayo.

What's in it:

Flour tortillas
Ground beef
Onion
Bell pepper
Fresh parsley
Monterey Jack
Sharp cheddar
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Paprika
Salt
Olive oil

For the chipotle ranch: sour cream, mayo, chipotle in adobo, lime juice, garlic powder

For the classic sauce: ketchup, mayo, garlic powder

Full recipe link in the comments 👇

10/04/2026

One has to go forever, which one is it?

- Burgers
- Wings
- Pizza
- Tacos

My answer in the comments.