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# ‘Two Dudes’ really love some bacon
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/two-dudes-really-love-some-bacon/
- Published: 2008-09-13T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-25T01:00:41.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*By Amanda Cushman Simple Real Food*

AS A COOKBOOK AUTHOR MYSELF I AM CURIOUS TO check out new books that have come on the market and see what is out there, especially when authored by relative unknowns, as is the case with “Two Dudes One Pan.”

I recently had the pleasure of reading through this first cookbook by two guys out of Hollywood who began a catering business a few years ago with little space and not much equipment.

They have since been on the Food Network where they were in competition with Cat Cora on “Iron Chef.” That helped them get a book deal and this is their first creation.

I enjoyed reading the book, although most of the recipes are a bit too simple.

There really doesn’t need to be a recipe for zucchini cooked in a skillet with olive oil and then finished with fresh lemon, does there? Or mozzarella with tomatoes and basil. Now who doesn’t know how to throw that together without a recipe?

But that said, there are a number of well done classics like meatloaf wrapped in bacon (they love their bacon) or osso buco braised in white wine.

What makes this book appealing is the casual “dude-ness” of their approach.

Here you have two young tattooed guys with a good sense of humor and a natural flair for cooking yummy comfort food.

They set up each recipe with a comment from both about why they wanted to make the particular dish or what is special about their version. I enjoyed reading the offhand remarks about one or the other’s childhood memories of say biscuits or fried chicken.

Most of the ingredients are basic and easy to find at a supermarket, but there are quite a few items such as star anise, ancho chile powder, harissa and sambal that you might scratch your head and wonder — huh? I know what they are and where to find them but I am supposed to! For them to market the book geared toward the basic cook who can find ingredients at your “local grocery store” might be a bit misleading.

The other issue is the amount of cream, butter and cheese in almost every recipe (not to mention bacon). I know these ingredients are delicious and make food taste great, but the key is to not use these items and still have wonderful food. When teaching my cooking classes I remind my students that you can put butter or cream on the worst piece of protein or any carb and it will be irresistible.

That is a no brainer. I for one appreciate food without these saturated fats and strive to leave them out.

I cooked three dishes from the book to see how they turned out: The eggplant with shallot vinaigrette; goat cheese and grapefruit on mixed greens; and crispy snapper with dill.

I admit, I truly enjoyed trying new recipes that another chef created as I haven’t done this in a while. I invited two friends for dinner and made a wonderful meal.

The recipes were well written and easy to follow and had a flow similar to my own, so I felt happy making them. The fish was crispy as described with mustard cream sauce (here we go with the cream, so of course it was delicious).

The eggplant dish had a combination of shallot, capers and herbs that was poured over pan fried eggplant. Goat cheese in any form is my idea of heaven.

To serving it breaded and sautéed was — what can I say? Heavenly. All in all the food came out as described and we all loved the results.

I recommend the book “Two Dudes One Pan” for the novice as well as experienced cook with one warning — they love their butter and cream.

AMANDA CUSHMAN is a culinary educator who has cooked professionally for 25 years. She teaches privately for groups of two to 20 students. She has developed hundreds of recipes for cookbooks as well as food magazines and Web sites. She

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 13, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/091308.pdf?ref=smdp.com)