Cooking for One or Two

Serve Yourself: Nightly Adventures in Cooking for One by Joe Yonan — From the award-winning food editor of The Washington Post comes a cookbook aimed at the food-loving single. Joe Yonan brings together more than 100 inventive, easy-to-make, and globally inspired recipes celebrating solo eating. Dishes like Mushroom and Green Garlic Frittata, Catfish Tacos with Chipotle Slaw, and Smoked Trout, Potato, and Fennel Pizza will add excitement to any repertoire and forever dispel the notion that single life means starving, settling for take-out, or facing a fridge full of monotonous leftovers. Yonan also includes shopping and storage tips for the single-chef household, along with creative ideas for making use of extra ingredients. Serve Yourself makes cooking for one a deeply satisfying, approachable pleasure. And with such delectable meals, your solo status could be threatened if you&'re forced to share with others!

One Bowl: Simple Healthy Recipes for One by Stephanie Bostic — Too often, cooking and eating alone translates to cheese on toast eaten over the sink, frozen burritos, or just the same bowl of cereal every Tuesday night. Break out of your habits by learning new skills and trying flavorful fresh recipes like:

Intuitive and straightforward, every section of this book is designed for the single cook with limited time and resources. Tips and general information guide the cook through basics like how to how to boil an egg and make rice, while more substantial nutrition information guides the reader to healthy choices. Stephanie has used her research background to both create great recipes and also present readily understood tips and guidelines for positively changing your diet by eating more fruits and vegetables. Enjoy them knowing that the recipes are full of healthy fats, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains!

Healthy Cooking for 2 (Or Just You): Low-Fat Recipes With Half the Fuss and Double the Taste by Frances Price — Celebrated columnist Frances Price serves up Southern wit and delicious recipes for singles and small families, sharing recipes for Glazed Pork Chops and Sweet Potatoes, Strawberry Shortcake, Creamy Chocolate Pudding, and other family favorites. With fresh ideas and practical tips, she lures even the most reluctant of cooks into the kitchen.

Solo Suppers: Simple Delicious Meals to Cook for Yourself by Joyce Esersky Goldstein — Most recipes serve four to six people, leaving the solo cook in a predicament. Enter acclaimed cookbook author Joyce Goldstein and her stellar repertoire of meals that are fun for one. From hearty recipes like Spicy Tortilla and Lime Soup and Tuscan Style Rib-Eye Steak with Rosemary and Garlic, to dressed-up salads and seasonal fruit gratins, each dish is designed to serve one in style. Essential tips and techniques offer valuable advice on smart shopping for one and stocking the pantry. Numerous recipe variations take advantage of seasonal ingredients, while an array of sauces can turn that salmon fillet or lamb steak into a gourmet feast. When the good company is your own, Solo Suppers is the way to go.

Going Solo in the Kitchen by Jane Doerfer — Designed expressly for solo cooks, this supremely practical cookbook includes more than 350 recipes for all occasions — plus tips on planning, shopping, and storing and recycling food.

The Pleasures of Cooking for One by Judith Jones — Here, in convincing fashion, Judith Jones demonstrates that cooking for yourself presents unparalleled possibilities for both pleasure and experimentation: you can utilize whatever ingredients appeal, using farmers' markets and specialty shops to enrich your palate and improve your health; you can feel free to fail, since a meal for one doesn't have to be perfect; and you can use leftovers to innovate — in the course of a week, the remains of beef bourguignon might be reimagined as a ragù, pork tenderloin may become a stir-fry, a cup or two of wild rice produces both a refreshing pilaf and a rich pancake, and red snapper can be reinvented as a summery salad. It's a fulfilling and immensely economical process, one perfectly suited for our times — although, as Jones points out, cooking for one also means we can occasionally indulge ourselves in a favorite treat.

Throughout, Jones is both our instructor and our mentor, suggesting basic recipes — such as tomato sauce, preserved lemons, pesto, and homemade stock—that all cooks should have on hand; teaching us how to improvise using an ingenious strategy of building meals through the week; and supplying us with a lifetime's worth of tips and shortcuts. From Child's advice for buying fresh meat to Beard's challenge to beginning crêpe-makers and Lidia Bastianich's tips for cooking perfectly sauced pasta, Jones's book presents a wealth of acquired knowledge from our finest cooks.

John Ash: Cooking One on One: Private Lessons in Simple, Contemporary Food from a Master Teacher — For John Ash, author of the award-winning From the Earth to the Table: John Ash's Wine Country Cuisine, the lines that separate chef from teacher from cookbook writer from consultant blur and fade into insignificance. In the end, it's about ingredients and flavor and the meal at hand. "After twenty-five years of teaching," Ash writes in the forward to John Ash: Cooking One on One, "I know that you don't have to perfect all the basic kitchen skills in order to make great food." What John Ash likes to see coming his way is a good eater, because there's a person who as likely as not will want to taste and eat at home what he or she has tried out on the town.

The trouble, of course, is time. Or you are single and aren't cooking for more than yourself. It's all so daunting: eating light, eating well, eating responsibly. And ordering take-out is so easy. Cooking One on One, in chapters constructed like lessons, dispels all that. Part One is devoted to flavor-makers — salsas, vinaigrettes, pestos, world marinades, and simple, savory sauces. Learn to make the cucumber and mint salsa, Ash instructs, then use it to maximum advantage with grilled lamb chops. No muss, no fuss.

That which begins at a simple level grows more complex as you master technique and ingredient and apply layers of flavor. Ash leads the way with flair and confidence. Part Two covers basic cooking techniques — learning about soups, learning about oven-drying ingredients like tomatoes or cauliflower for maximum effect, learning about braising, grilling, creating soufflés (they can be assembled and frozen ahead of time!), learning about pasta in the West and the East. Part Three covers lessons in main ingredients: chicken, dried beans, mushrooms, salmon, shrimp, soy foods, desserts. The straightforward recipes reflect the nature of the lessons, the ingredients, the flavor profiles. This is a California chef with deep respect for culinary roots, whether they reach back to the Colorado barnyard or the French farm.

John Ash teaches cooking here, not recipe recreation. He creates good cooks out of good eaters.

Table for Two: Meat and Dairy-Free Recipes for Two by Joanne Stepaniak — For many years, vegetarians have been enjoying the delicious, cheesy flavor and exceptional nutritional benefits of Red Star "RM" brand nutritional yeast flakes (they are a great source of B vitamins, especially B12 — essential for vegans). Now you can share tips from vegetarian recipe innovator Joanne Stepaniak on how to make the most of this tasty product in your everyday cooking. The possibilities are endless ... and delicious.

The Newlyweds' Cookbook by Ryland Peters & Small — The Newlyweds' Cookbook is the perfect wedding gift for any couple. Whether they are seasoned cooks or new to cooking, this is the only cookbook they will ever need for their new life together. First, Kitchen Basics will ensure you have all that's needed to get you cooking — from essential utensils and pots and pans to flatware. Any items you are missing can be added to your bridal registry. The recipes include ideas for Brunch, Snacks and Appetizers, and Classics such as Coq au Vin. If you are a busy working couple, the evening meal is an opportunity to spend precious time together. Quick Weekday Meals will inspire you to whip up something delicious in a flash. However, for Special Occasions you will want to create a fabulous meal for two: try Oysters Rockefeller and Peaches and Raspberries in Sparkling Wine. Wow your new in-laws at Family Gatherings with the perfect Roast Chicken and all the trimmings, while Easy Entertaining gives you lots of ideas for smart meals that won't leave you slaving in the kitchen. Finish off with something from Desserts or Baking, and choose Drinks (from juices to smart cocktails) to suit the occasion. -Comprehensive and inspiring, this book will make the perfect wedding gift. If you are new to cooking, this book offers lots of simple recipes to get you started, while seasoned cooks will find plenty of ideas for every occasion. Includes Recipe Basics — all the essentials that you will need to refer to again and again, such as Broth, Pizza Dough, Sauces, and Dressings.

Cooking for One: A Seasonal Guide to the Pleasure of Preparing Delicious Meals for Yourself by Mark Erickson and Lisa Erickson — Chefs Mark and Lisa Erickson utilize their Culinary Institute of America training and life experiences to create delicious and healthy single serving recipes. A variety of flavors, easy to follow preparation instructions, and ingredient substitutions make Cooking for One a valuable resource you'll turn to again and again. Living apart during the weekdays, Mark and Lisa share their menu planning and shopping tips along with more than 125 delicious recipes from main meals to side dishes and even desserts. You'll also find his and hers versions of several recipes.

Quick and Easy Diabetic Meals for One by Kathleen Stanley with Connie Crawley — It's tough for people with diabetes to find healthy, great-tasting recipes for just one person. Quick & Easy Diabetic Recipes for One solves this problem with more than 100 tempting, easy-to-prepare recipes. Quick & Easy also features tips on meal planning, shopping, food preparation, and storage. Dozens of recipes for quick breakfasts, soups & stews, side dishes, desserts, and more are at your fingertips.

Two at the Table Cookbook: Cooking for Couples Now That the Kids are Gone by Cheryl Fall — Containing over 125 recipes, Two at the Table features a diverse stable of dishes, from starters and salads to savory items and desserts. With the focus on recipes that serve just two, the author addresses quantities of ingredients and how to reorganize a pantry for newly minted empty nesters. Recipes include Seattle Style Broiled Scallops with Vodka Sauce, Confetti Squash and Vegetable Kabobs, Rum and Raisin Cakes, and more.

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It is a very good cookbook and I have yet to find a recipe that didn't turn out as it was supposed to.—Norm Peterson, Arizona
My hubby keeps looking in the cookbook, and asks "when will you cook this recipe?"—Lori Hamby, Florida