Two Dudes, One Pan: Maximum Flavor from a Minimalist Kitchen

Through their Food Network reality show and this, their first print effort, the Two Dudes hope to prove the buddy system to be a winning formula. Owners of Caramelized Productions, a Hollywood catering company, the authors present 100 offerings inspired by their early days of minimal money, ingredients and cookware. The guys manage to concoct a fun, fresh collection. The chapters are based upon the recipes’ cooking vessels rather than their ingredients. There’s “The Big Bowl,” “Nonstick Skillet,” “Frying Pan,” “Dutch Oven,” “Roasting Pan” and “Baking Dish.” Seafood is their specialty, with dishes such as Sea Bass, Clams, Bacon and Leeks in White Wine, and a Crispy Dill Snapper, which breaks the book’s single-pan rule by utilizing an empty skillet to weigh down the fillets while they cook to keep them from curling. Four types of burgers hit the skillet including one made with lamb and feta cheese and another with pork and a Fennel-Apple Slaw. The Dutch oven is the source of comfort food like Clam Chowder and Buttermilk-Sage Fried Chicken, while the baking dish runs away with the spoon in desserts such as Chocolate-Hazelnut Bread Pudding and Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp. (Aug.)