Detroit Free Press: Brothers create a user-friendly cookbook for kitchen beginners September 21, 2008
Posted by Max in : Press , trackbackBrothers create a user-friendly cookbook for kitchen beginners
BY SUSAN SELASKY
FREE PRESS TEST KITCHEN DIRECTOREli and Max Sussman write in their first cookbook: “We are brothers from Michigan and we are avid cooks.”
Much of their culinary know-how comes from their parents, Marc Sussman and Lynne Avadenka of Huntington Woods. Nearly all of the family meals were made from scratch.
That passion for food and cooking led the brothers to write their first cookbook, “Freshman in the Kitchen: From Clueless Cook to Creative Chef” (Huron River Press, $17.95).
“That environment shaped us to use fresh ingredients and make things that we know people will love to eat because we’ve been eating them our entire lives,” says Eli Sussman, 23.
The two describe growing up in a household with no microwave (believing “that was the greatest travesty in human history”), no store-bought bottled salad dressing and little junk food.
The book, the brothers say, is aimed at their peers. But experienced cooks will like the recipes and useful advice, too.
The book is organized into chapters that highlight grilling, vegetarian dishes, cooking to impress and other topics.
“It starts out simple, with almost no cooking in the first chapter, with the focus being on a mix of different ingredients,” says Max, 25. “In the second chapter we introduced the heat and cooking in the oven and on the stove and continue expanding on techniques you will be using in each chapter.”
Eli, who graduated from Michigan State and lives in Los Angeles, is a media-buying consultant and part-time caterer. Max graduated from the University of Michigan and is a chef at Zingerman’s Deli in Ann Arbor.
They will do a book signing Sept. 27 in Commerce Township. We spoke with them by phone.
QUESTION: Where did you get the idea for the book?
ELI: When I would cook simple meals at my house, for example, something very simple like chicken defrosted in the microwave, then cooked in a skillet with barbecue sauce, then served with steamed white rice, my roommates would always ask me what I made and how I made it. I could see a desire for people my age to learn how to cook; they just really had no idea how to go about learning how to do so. I started to realize that if college students were given a cookbook that would have unintimidating recipes with stories and tips to keep their attention, they might cook at their own place every once in a while.
Q: How is the book organized?
ELI: It’s a progression from simple to the more complex with chapters building on what came before it.
Q: What message do you want to convey in this book?
ELI: All it takes is a little bit of effort and some desire for anyone to be able to cook. It’s just about demystifying cooking and that it’s fun and not hard and you can do it.
Q: Other than at home with your parents, where else did you learn to cook?
MAX: We both cooked at summer camp. I spent one part at camp and was going back up as a camp counselor but they asked if I would come back to help in the kitchen. I was the head chef and Eli was one of the cooks. I also had a stint at a fly-fishing lodge in Patagonia, Chile, and worked at Eve the Restaurant in Ann Arbor.
Q: Describe your cooking styles.
ELI: Mine is more about delivering a fast and tasty meal. I’ll cut corners and more apt to save time.
MAX: Mine is more eclectic and wide-ranging. I like to challenge myself with new techniques and ingredients.
Q: Do either of you use a microwave now?
ELI: I do not, but had one all through college. That forces you to try new things in the kitchen; it doesn’t give you that fallback of just popping things in the microwave and I think it keeps my diet healthier.
MAX: I do have a microwave now and use it mainly to heat up my coffee mug but also some food as well.
Q. Do you still make your own salad dressings?
ELI: If you’re going to make a salad, the true components are the ingredients. Make your vegetables stand out and use a simple vinaigrette.
MAX: Sometimes I make just enough for whatever salad I am making. But if I am feeling ambitious sometimes I will make vinaigrette and put it in a bottle and store it in the fridge for future use.
Q: Is there one thing that stands out that you learned from your parents?
ELI: My mom’s London broil is out of this world. She taught us that … you can make small changes as you go and you don’t have to follow the recipes exactly.
MAX: The one thing that stands out that my mom did is starting a dish by sautéing garlic and onions in olive oil. That’s how I start a lot of my meals. … It’s a warm flavor.
Contact SUSAN SELASKY at 313-222-6432 or sselasky@freepress.com.
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