ASU Dad Cooks Up a Following

Darryl Postelnick, better known through his social media handles as @CookingwithDarryl, has gained over three million combined followers through his YouTube, Tik Tok, and Instagram accounts.

The dad of three, whose twins attend ASU, started making videos in October of 2020 after his youngest daughter encouraged him to share his love for cooking on the Internet.
In just a few months, he saw his accounts growing rapidly, reaching 1 million followers and continuing to expand.

After managing the platforms with the help of his daughter, and then eventually on his own, Darryl now has two interns who assist him.

In his videos Darryl shares recipe tutorials and makes everything from salads, to seafood, mac and cheese, short ribs, lamb chops, pizza, burgers, and more!

He also demonstrates some of his favorite gadgets including a kitchen scale, griddles and grills, and gravity salt and pepper grinders.

Outside of cooking, Darryl is an experienced sales professional, having spent 15 years at Microsoft launching the first Xbox platform, working for Buena Vista Home Entertainment – a division of The Walt Disney Company –, and Yahoo! He currently serves as the Senior Vice President in Sales for Opia.

But it’s the love of cooking for family and friends that Darryl says he enjoys the most.
His advice for dads who might be hesitant to cook: “Relax, have fun! It’s not as hard as you think!”

Darryl and his wife, Karen, reside in Chicago, but have owned a home in Scottsdale for the past 20 years where they visit often, and said they plan to retire there in one to two years.
Check out some of Darryl’s favorite recipes:

Vodka Sauce

Ingredients

• Package of pancetta
• White onion
• Can of tomato paste
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 28oz. cans crushed tomatoes
• Half stick of butter
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• Scoop of pasta sauce
• Olive oil
• Handful of garlic
• Oregano
• Red pepper
• 1 cup vodka
• Salt and pepper
• Basil

Instructions

1. In large pot, heated over medium/high heat, add in olive and package of pancetta
2. Chop up onion and handful of garlic
3. Add onions and garlic to mix; Cook until translucent
4. Stir in can of tomato paste with a few sprinkles of both oregano and red pepper
5. Pour in heavy cream and stir until well incorporated
6. Add in 2 cans of crushed tomatoes and vodka; Mix well
7. Let sauce cook for about 30 minutes over medium heat to let vodka burn off
8. Add in salt and pepper with the half stick of butter
9. Stir in parmesan cheese with basil
10. Add scoop of pasta water and give it a final mix
11. Serve over any pasta you choose and enjoy!

Spicy Bacon Mac & Cheese

Ingredients

• 2 jalapenos
• 1 cup white cheddar cheese shredded
• 1 cup gruyere cheese shredded
• Box of cellentani noodles
• 6 tbsp butter
• 1/3 cup flour
• 11/2 cup half-and-half
• 11/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp mustard powder
• Salt and pepper
• 1 Cup parmesan cheese
• 1 Cup Panko breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• Small hunk Velveeta cheese
• 1lb bacon

Instructions

1. 1. 1. Preheat oven to 3750
      2. Chop up two jalapenos
      3. Place the bacon on a foiled lined cookie sheet
      4. Put the bacon in the oven at 3750 and cook for 20-30 minutes or until crispy
      5. Remove and let rest before chopping into pieces
      6. In a large dutch oven over medium/high heat, add 6 tbsp butter
      7. Whisk in flour
      8. Add the jalapenos and let saute until softened
      9. Slowly add in half-and-half and heavy cream while continuously whisking
      10. Shred a plateful of the gruyere and white cheddar cheeses
      11. Cook cellentani noodles according to the directions on the box to al dente
      12. Add in the garlic powder, mustard powder, and onion powder and whisk well
      13. Season with salt and pepper
      14. Add in the cheese; fold the cheese in
      15. Add the Velveeta cheese cut into 4 smaller chunks
      16. Add in parmesan cheese
      17. Continue to cook and mix until everything is nice and creamy
      18. Add in the al dente pasta and coat the noodles
      19. Mix in the chopped bacon
      20. Mix together the melted butter, salt, and panko then spread on top of the mac
      21. Lower the oven and bake at 3750 oven for 25 minutes
      22. Remove and let cool and enjoy!

Smash Burger Sliders

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. of ground chuck
• Salt and pepper
• Frozen stick of butter
• Morton’s Seasoned Salt
• White onion
• Package of favorite sliced cheese
• 5 pieces of bacon
• Pickle slices
• Buns of your choice

Instructions

1. Heat griddle over medium/high heat
2. In large bowl, add in ground chuck along with shredded stick of butter
3. Mix until well combined
4. Roll beef into golf ball sized balls
5. Chop up white onion
6. On griddle, cook bacon until crispy
7. Remove bacon once cooked and place onions in bacon grease
8. Cook onions until caramelized and then remove
9. Add burger balls to hot griddle and press down with burger press until flat
10. Season with salt, pepper, Morton’s Seasoned Salt
11. Flip burgers once crust is formed and add onions on top
12. Layer tops with cheese and cover until cheese is melted
13. In burger/bacon grease, toast the buns
14. Plate bottom bun with 2 pickles, piece of bacon and burger on top
15. Add any condiments and enjoy!