Max Sussman and Eli Sussman Coming to Williams-Sonoma

(If you missed it on AnnArbor.com yesterday, here's a post you need to see! Fabulous food, great event ... join me there, if you're in town!)


There's more to life than football. Even in Ann Arbor, even when we're talking about the upcoming Ohio State game, there's more to life than football. Really, there is!

There's food. And I don't just mean tailgating food, although that's very important. I'm referring to food prepared by two of the most talked-about chefs in New York City, who are making their home state of Michigan very proud.

In my obsessive little world, chefs are the rock stars. And two of the hottest acts right now are Max Sussman and his brother Eli, who live and work in Brooklyn but who will be offering a cooking demonstration at Briarwood's Williams-Sonoma store at 3 p.m. on Saturday. They'll also be signing copies of This is a Cookbook: Recipes for Real Life, which has just been published. How can you not love a book written, as they phrase it themselves, "by 2 guys who like to eat"?

Eli cooks at the Mile-End Deli, and is also the marketing director for Taste of the Nation NYC, an event that benefits the exceptional charity Share Our Strength, which fights hunger and particularly promotes feeding children. Max is a chef at Roberta's, the very trendy pizzeria that has received 2 stars from The New York Times; and he was a semifinalist for this year's James Beard Foundation Awards, on the radar for Rising Star Chef of the Year. Both brothers made Zagat's 2012 "30 Under 30: NYC's Hottest Up-and-Comers" list of food professionals to watch.

The Sussman brothers are passionate about excellent, but not pretentious, food. Their cookbook offers recipes for everything from dishes to impress your girlfriend when you first cook dinner for her to midnight snacks after a long night with friends (or, in their cases, at work). And there is a recipe for a Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pie that only requires baking a graham cracker crust, while the filling is merely mixed, poured, and refrigerated. "If you're capable of reading this cookbook, you are capable of making this dessert look as insanely good as the picture."

Max and Eli's philosophy is simple, as they noted in an interview with The New York Times:

“For us, it’s not about a concept, it’s about making stuff that people are going to enjoy eating,” Max said. “We wanted the recipes to be immediately useful.”

Eli said: “It sounds a bit obvious, but we really wanted it to be a cookbook — like a cooking book. It’s not a coffee-table book. If this book just sits on people’s coffee tables, it’s basically a failure.”

The Bacon 'n' Blue Cheese Pizza featured below - found in a section that berates people for relying upon the sacrilege that is frozen pizza - would be an exceptional offering for today's tailgating feast. Go Blue, after all! Jeremy and I adore both blue cheese and bacon, so this was absolutely our first choice when selecting a recipe to try from the Sussmans' cookbook. My boyfriend Craig is not a fan of blue cheese, however he did promise to at least try it; almost anything is improved with bacon, after all, and pizza is probably his favorite food.

Well, I used a different crust recipe than the one in the book because I'd committed a cardinal sin of cooking: I'd failed to read Max and Eli's recipe ahead of time, and didn't have the necessary 1-2 hours available to let their dough rise. But I quickly buzzed their sauce around in the blender, and followed their recommendations for the toppings.

"Ooh"s and "Ahh"s, and much anticipation, preceded the first bites. And I'm here to tell you that this was one fabulously amazing creation! In fact, of the 12 slices of pizza I offered for dinner on the night I served this, I was granted only two; the rest was devoured by my two dining companions ... even by the one who didn't previously like blue cheese.

So, you should come with me to see Max and Eli at Williams-Sonoma this Saturday. They know how to cook, and they want to show you how easy it is and how much fun it can be.

You can watch endless replays of the game later on. But how many opportunities will you have for these two handsome, charming guys to feed you?

Max Sussman and Eli Sussman Book Signing and Cooking Demonstration
Saturday, November 24 at 3:00 p.m.
Williams-Sonoma
808 Briarwood Circle, Ann Arbor

Bacon 'n' Blue Cheese Pizza

Crust:

• 1 packet quick-rise yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 3 cups flour

In a large bowl, combine yeast, sugar and water; let proof for 5 minutes. Stir in salt and flour. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and then a dish towel; place in a warm place to let rise for 30 minutes.

Sauce:

• 1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained
• 2 large garlic cloves
• 1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Place all ingredients into a blender; puree until smooth.

Pizza:

• cornmeal
• 1 pound bacon, cut into 1" pieces
• 8 ounces Mozzarella, shredded
• 2/3 cup shredded Parmesan
• 6 ounces crumbled blue cheese

Preheat oven to 425F. Sprinkle a bit of cornmeal onto the bottom of a 15"x10" baking sheet.

Cook the bacon in a skillet until crisp; drain on paper towels.

Punch down the pizza dough. Place onto the prepared baking sheet and carefully stretch the dough to the edges of the baking sheet. Spread some of the sauce over the dough, reserving the rest for another purpose. Sprinkle Mozzarella and Parmesan over the top.

Sprinkle bacon and blue cheese over the top of the pizza. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until cheese is bubbling and crust is crisp. Let rest for 5 minutes before cutting into slices.

Makes 12 generous slices.

My Dinner With Joan (and Company)

My adventures with Joan Nathan on Monday will take far more time to tell than should be permitted in one post, so I'm going to split things up a bit. Today I'll focus simply on the truly extraordinary and exceptional dinner at eve, the restaurant Joan had specifically told me during our interview that she wanted to eat at, which is owned and inspired by the one chef -- Eve Aronoff, of "Top Chef" fame -- she wanted to meet during her short visit to town.

Now, let me tell you a little secret: eve isn't usually open on Mondays. And yet, we ate there on Monday evening -- Tom, me, several (but unfortunately not all) of the chairs of the Jewish Book Festival, the Rabbi of the synagogue which was sponsoring Joan's appearance, the caterer for the Festival's dessert reception who had made cakes and petits fours and cookies from recipes in Joan's new cookbook, and the star of the day herself. The restaurant was opened just for this private party of 11, because a stellar representative of the culinary world had shown such an interest in it.

So, of course, right there I felt special to be included for such a rare event! Although I'd never eaten at eve before, I have heard nothing but raves for everything from the ambiance to the service to the food to the wine .... Truly, this is one of the most precious jewels in the proverbial crown of Ann Arbor dining, and we've got a pretty sparkly tiara ornamented with hundreds of restaurants representing cuisines from around the world, from fast food to the most pretentious dining establishments.

I had been asked by Mimi Weisberg, my beloved friend and Jewish Cultural Arts and Education Director at the Jewish Community Center, to be Joan's afternoon escort while Mimi checked on last-minute preparations "at the J," to make sure everything was ready for Opening Night. So I kept Joan company during her meet 'n' greet at Zingerman's Next Door, a small cafe next to the world-famous Zingerman's Deli, as she answered email, took phone calls, met with book buyers (including a woman who had driven an hour from Toledo just for this event!), and shopped for goodies to send to her grown children around the country. I was caught up in a happy whirlwind, before Tom and I walked her the block-and-a-half to the restaurant for dinner.

We walked in the door to find a small, intimate space of clean lines and minimal decor -- one where food was the focus, rather than decorations and frivolity. Our table, a long rectangular one, was situated in the front window; and we handled introductions and seating arrangements (Joan next to the Rabbi, Tom and me at the opposite end but next to another beloved friend, Festival co-chair Fran Martin, who had specifically requested our presence at her end of the table).

Now, I have to warn you that although the food was gorgeous and colorful and there were more photo ops than I can count, I have not one picture for you -- I behaved myself, rather than being the boor whose flash disrupted conversations throughout the evening. I paid attention to my friends and to my palate, rather than expecting people to wait for me as I posed my food enticingly.

And so, here's hoping that my words can paint an adequate, if not tantalizing, picture for you ....

Our primary server was Ari Sussman, who was named Ann Arbor's "Best Bartender" (and was a leading contender for "Hottest Bartender!") in the latest issue of Current Magazine. He's a good Jewish boy who's engaged to be married this spring, and he just happens to be the son of one of my co-workers as well.

After offering wine and other beverages, he brought out plates containing fresh and fragrant baguettes -- crisp and crackly crusts surrounding the perfect soft and fluffy interior -- accompanied by 3 discs of butter, each the size of a 50-cent piece; one was orange (flavored with harissa, a fiery North African chili sauce), another was a very pale and faintly colored coral tone (flavored with guava), and the last was flecked with an assortment of greens (with garlic and herbs mixed in). The first was tremendously rich and flavorful but not spicy hot, indicative of the talent of a chef who's noted for her spice blends; the second was sweet and almost perfumed; and the third was strong but not overpowering, with a variety of flavors coming through, each complementing the others. I asked Ari which of the three was his personal favorite, and he told us that he likes to use the garlic-herb butter for cooking eggs.

Next was a salad of beautifully deep, dark baby greens accompanied by lovely little red and yellow pear and cherry tomatoes. This was topped not only with a pesto vinaigrette, but also with a triangle of Halloumi cheese that had been grilled, making its exterior crisp and golden brown while its center remained soft and chewy (not melted). Even Jeremy, who is not a salad-eater, would have relished this.

The next course was a Moroccan-inspired red lentil soup served with a dollop of creme fraiche and a pair of beautiful fresh mint leaves. While I thought the soup was divine (possibly my favorite part of the meal, though there would truly be an hours-long debate over that notion) -- rich with the nuance of spices, rather than heat -- Fran, who is not a devotee of spicy food, felt that her lips were on fire. Thankfully, Tom loves lentil soup; this is one I will absolutely have to replicate. I make a variety of lentil soups, but will have to put the ol' Moroccan spin on one myself now.

Next was the entree. Eve had selected duck breasts, though Ari had told us at the beginning of the meal that a fish option -- sable -- was available. Tom was the only one who chose it, so I had thought it would be perfect that we could each share with the other.

The plates were absolutely delightful visually, with gorgeous slightly roasted red and yellow peppers accompanying red onions being served alongside the duck or fish. And in addition to all of this, there were latkes (one of my favorite foods on Earth!) the width of a grapefruit, which were offered with a luscious chunky spiked applesauce that contained tender pieces of green apple. The duck was a bit rare for my personal tastes, but rich and delicious nonetheless; the sable was cooked to tender, flaky perfection the likes of which I will never be able to duplicate -- it was absolutely outstanding. The vegetables were the perfect crisp-tender, and I could have devoured plates full of latkes and gallons of the spicy-sweet applesauce. Truly, I was in Nirvana!

Because there was going to be a dessert reception at the Book Festival, I hadn't expected any sweets to finish the meal; but Ari brought out long white serving trays filled with colorful presentations. One contained very thin slices of green apple and pineapple, accompanied by fabulously fragrant fried wonton crisps that had been coated in cinnamon sugar. The other had equally thin slices of mango, served alongside slightly still-frozen filled macaroons (a newly discovered perfect way to eat them -- the center turns into a semi-freddo!); there were three flavors of confection -- jasmine, lemon and coconut -- each a pastel vision in barely green, faint yellow and creamy white. Nothing could have completed this lovely, flavorful, exquisite meal more perfectly.

At one point, Eve herself came out for a quick "Hello," beaming with a radiant smile under her Zabar's baseball cap. She was clearly thrilled to have been "the chosen one," and also to have -- as she does every day -- the opportunity to provide joy and sustenance and beauty to others, rather than just merely food.

I'm sorry to say that I didn't get to hear much of what Joan had to say during dinner, though I had a fabulous and lovely time with my sweetie, my dear friend, and new friends as well. At one point, though, she did ask me whether we were eating at eve because of her interest in it. Truly, Joan Nathan is the most gracious woman, not exhibiting any egotistical notions of being entitled to such a treat as the restaurant opening just for her! She made a point of going back to the kitchen to offer her gratitude and appreciation, which was so remarkably warm and generous of her. This is a woman who spent part of her weekend at a book party thrown for her by the French ambassador! And yet, she was humbled by a chef opening her doors on a usual day off. I cannot rave enough about how impressed I am!

I hope you have enjoyed your vicarious trip to eve. It was a meal to tell the kids and hoped-for grandchildren about ....

One Fine Day

I have the most amazing day planned, with an adundance of gratitude to my gorgeous friend Mimi for inviting me along on the adventure!

The first order of business -- literally -- will be going to work. I like to eat, so I've gotta earn some money.

But then I get to leave early to play hooky and also play hostess: the fabulous cookbook author Joan Nathan is coming to town today for a book signing and presentation ... and Mimi (Cultural Arts and Education Director at the Jewish Community Center here in Ann Arbor) asked me to help her escort Joan this afternoon!!! I'll catch up with Joan at 4 o'clock at Zingerman's Deli, where everyone is welcome to come and visit during a "meet 'n' greet" session, and then we'll head to a lovely, lovely dinner.

And where will dinner be held for a woman who's traveled all over the world and could have eaten at any of Ann Arbor's hundreds of fabulous restaurants??? At eve, the one restaurant Joan said she absolutely wanted to go to, featuring the one chef she wanted to meet during her brief visit here -- Eve Aronoff, who had appeared on Bravo's "Top Chef "and whose restaurant was recently named one of the very best ones in the Detroit area.

Then there will be the much-anticipated appearance at the Jewish Book Festival tonight with moderator (and Zingerman's co-founder) Ari Weinzweig at 7:30, where I will get my new cookbook -- Quiches, Kugels and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Food in France -- autographed ... sigh ... :)

So stay tuned to hear all about the luscious dinner, the conversation, the entire escape from daily routine! And in the meantime, read all about the Chocolate Almond Cake I baked recently with a 400-year-old recipe featured in Joan's new cookbook. Tom said I should rename it "Chocolate Orgasm Cake;" and it's hard to argue that point -- there is more than half-a-pound of chocolate in this magnificent specimen!

Here's the link to my post on AnnArbor.com: C'est Magnifique! Exquisite French Chocolate Cake Recipe Doesn't Disappoint. Read it, go shopping, and bake the cake. I promise you won't be disappointed either ....