Dear Cooks,

You don't need a tricked-out kitchen to make a good meal. Even if you have just one cast-iron skillet, Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo can help you whip up no-nonsense good food—simple, delicious and made with a lot of love. Before they started hosting a show on Food Network and running one of L.A.'s hottest catering companies and restaurants, these two dudes just wanted a satisfying meal after a day of snowboarding. Translation: throw some oxtails in a Dutch oven and let them slow cook to juicy perfection.

That kind of down-to-earth cooking philosophy is what motivates them still. They're all for saving money and time, but have found tricky ways to do so without sacrificing big flavor. They may skip making a labor-intensive stock, but by using ingredients like beer, pancetta, wine, and even ketchup, they'll build a rich broth in a fraction of the time. They love their vegetables, but also dig dipping a piece of steak into the garlicky sauce of some braised escarole, or tossing pasta or white beans into a pan of greens. In Two Dudes, One Pan, they'll get you whipping up their feel-good, homestyle favorites—using a few simple pieces of equipment, but never more than one at a time.

Whatever Upside-Down Cake

Serves 8 to 10

Vinny: We made the classic pineapple version of upside-down cake when we catered the VIP tent for Tony Hawk's Boom Boom Huck Jam, a tour that features top skateboarders, BMXers, and freestyle Moto-X bikers. In the summer, this is gorgeous with fuchsia-colored plums. In the fall we make it with fresh figs.

Jon: We always try to use fruit that is in season. It makes sense for us from a business perspective because out-of-season produce usually costs an arm and a leg. I love it when Vin makes this cake: the sweet burnt-sugar smell of the caramel cooking is insane.

• 1 cup (2 sticks) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 3/4 pounds fruit, thinly sliced (about 5 1/2 cups peeled apples, fresh figs, mangoes, peeled pears, or plums)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 6 large eggs, separated
• 1 1/2 cups plus 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with the 1 tablespoon of softened butter and set aside.

Melt 6 tablespoons of the butter in a heatproof bowl in the microwave. Add the brown sugar and cook in 30-second increments until dissolved, stirring often, 3 to 4 minutes. Pour the hot mixture into the prepared baking dish. Add the sliced fruit, arranging it in vertical rows, and set aside.

Whisk the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl or on a sheet of wax paper and set aside. Combine the milk and vanilla in a liquid measuring cup and set aside.

Using an electric mixer or beaters or a whisk, whip the egg whites on high speed in a large bowl until foamy. Slowly sprinkle in the 1 1/2 tablespoons of granulated sugar, whipping until the egg whites hold medium peaks. When you dip into the egg whites with a spoon and pull it out, a peak with a curved tip should form. (If you are using a stand mixer and don't have a second bowl, gently transfer the whites to another bowl and wipe out the mixer bowl.)

With the mixer, cream the remaining 10 tablespoons of butter with the remaining 1 1/2 cups of sugar on medium speed until pale yellow and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg yolks one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the bowl as necessary. With the mixer running on low speed, alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk mixture, beginning with one third of the flour, following with half of the milk, adding half of the remaining flour, the rest of the milk, and ending with the remaining flour, scraping down the mixer bowl as necessary. Gently fold in half of the egg whites using a rubber spatula until nearly incorporated. Add the remaining whipped egg whites, folding in until just incorporated.

Gently transfer the batter to the baking dish, spreading it evenly over the fruit. Bake until the cake is golden and springs back from light pressure, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then run a paring knife around the edges of the cake. Place a serving platter on top of the cake and flip the baking dish over, gently shaking the pan to release the cake onto the platter. Slice the cake into 9 equal squares.

happy cooking!

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