Perfect Results Not Guaranteed
Jan 5th, 2009 by MPC Press
The phone rang at about 8:00 p.m. on a Friday night. It was 1991, and No More Mac and Cheese, A Bachelor’s Guide to Cooking with Ease had just been published, with enormous fanfare in the U.S…really in California…actually Northern California…maybe more specifically San Francisco…ok let’s be completely truthful–the few blocks surrounding my apartment. In all fairness, this was a grassroots effort and we (the author of the book and MPC Press, the publisher) were truly surprised that initial sales of this tome totaled well over 1,000 units after only a couple of months (and I don’t have 1,000 friends and family). Back to the story…while not that interesting, I did receive a call at about 8:00 p.m. on a Friday night, and it was my friend Matt Pear, asking some specifics about A Pretty Good Burger (page 19 of No More Mac and Cheese). Matt was in the middle of cooking a meal for his date, who was in his kitchen with him at the time of the call. My first questions to Matt were, “Why are you making a burger?” and “Do you like this girl?” His response was that he couldn’t cook, period, and that A Pretty Good Burger was a dish he felt he could tackle. Besides, he reminded me that his date had showed up late and that the first line of the recipe was indeed: “It’s not always cool to fix burgers for a date, Unless your guest shows up an hour late.” His question to me was fairly simple, and during the next several months, as the book gained popularity, I received hundreds of similar questions. (Reminder: Be careful where you print your phone number.) Matt asked, “Do I need to add red wine to the burger, as you suggest?” I obviously noted that it wasn’t essential but it simply added flavor. He was relieved because his cellar included exactly zero bottles of wine, and he instead was serving Pabst Blue Ribbon beer to his date. The calls from bachelors like Matt did come in regularly, and the questions were never complex. I conclude that the success of No More Mac and Cheese is due to the need by many for a very simple bachelor’s cookbook. However, as per the phone calls, a bachelor’s cookbook can never be too simple. And, for those wondering, Matt Pear called delighted the next morning, saying that he had made it to second base.
