Max and Eli Sussman have been on a culinary tear, publishing three cookbooks since 2008 while making names for themselves in some of New York’s best, most approachable restaurants, including The Breslin, Roberta’s and Mile End Deli. Just in time for the holidays, they released Best Cookbook Ever, an approachable, fun, circumstance-driven cookbook that will prepare you for the apocalypse or vegetarians, whichever arrives first. The brothers promoted their book with a dinner at Santa Monica’s Huckleberry Bakery & Cafe.

The Sussmans spent the bulk of the day prepping down the street at sister restaurant Rustic Canyon before transitioning to Huckleberry to finish their family style feast, which captured the season and included roasted winter squash salad with chestnut celery vinaigrette, radicchio and kale; chard salad with artichoke hearts and Kalamata vinaigrette; and roasted rosemary lamb shanks served with crispy duck fat potatoes. The meal was relaxed and of-the-moment, but the brothers deferred to master pastry chef Zoe Nathan for the finale. She made sugar-dusted jelly donuts and my personal favorite, silky coffee pudding with a feather-light whipped cream cap, plated with liquor-licked Amaro almond truffles.