Welcome to Dishing it Out, ParentDish's weekly food column. Rob Barrett is a dad who knows his way around the kitchen; his web site, Cooking For Dads, provides simple video recipes for dads (and moms!). Rob's posts will appear on Friday mornings. You can read all the Dishing it Out posts here.

I remember it like it was yesterday. I had seen my mom bake chocolate chip cookies (my fave) thousands of times. Well, maybe not thousands -- I was only seven years old -- but many times. So one day when I had a hankering for some cookies, I asked her if she would make some. Instead, my mom handed me the Betty Crocker Cookbook, reminded me where the ingredients were and told me she'd be in the next room if I needed help. Two hours, covered in flour and lots of questions later, I made my first batch of cookies. They were awesome, although I mainly ate the dough. There was an immediate sense of accomplishment. I had made something -- something my family could eat.

So began my travels down the cooking road: taking Home Ec instead of wood shop in sixth grade (which wasn't popular on the recess playground); discovering an early love of the grill; trying to copy restaurant dishes; and enjoying experimenting with different ingredients and cooking methods. I'm not a trained chef, but I try and share easy to make meals with very little measuring and no cooking mumbo-jumbo.My wife and I try to embed the same love of cooking in our kids, Katie, 14, and Ellie,11. From an early age we had them in the kitchen stirring, frosting and even cutting and slicing. Pretty soon they caught the bug and have discovered their own recipes they like to make. Ellie invented her own salad and makes a mean pesto pasta. Katie is a great baker but her true specialty is mac and cheese made from scratch.

When I started my online cooking show, Cooking for Dads, a year ago I had two built-in sous chefs. But sometimes, well, the girls are up for a little Top Chef-style competition with me. Click on the video below and find out who really rules the kitchen. I make the "blue box" mac and cheese and Katie makes it from scratch (Ellie plays Padma Lakshmi). No spoiler here, you'll have to find out the winner yourself.



To see more of Rob's recipes visit Cooking for Dads.

Katie's Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

Cook 1 box pasta till just tender.
Add 3 inches of butter, a splash of milk,
3 handfuls of Shredded Cheddar Jack Cheese and stir.
Add 3 handfuls cherry tomatoes,
1 handful chopped onion,
7 strips of chopped bacon
and a little garlic salt.
Stir until the cheese is melted.
Crush up some pretzels and sprinkle of over the top.
Yum, yum.