Cooking for One or Two Links

Eat Your Vegetables: Bold Recipes for the Single Cook by Joe Yonan — Whether you’re a single vegetarian, an omnivore who’s looking to incorporate more vegetables in your life, or a lone vegetarian in a meat-eating household, you know the frustrations of trying to shop, plan, and cook for one. How to scale back recipes? What to do with the leftovers from jumbo-sized packs of ingredients? How to use up all the produce from your farmer’s market binge before it rots?

The perfect book for anyone looking to expand their vegetarian and produce-based repertoire, Yonan’s charming, personable voice and unfussy cooking style encourage home cooks — both new and experienced — to take control in the kitchen and craft delicious veggie-centric meals for one.

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.

The Newlyweds' Cookbook by Ryland Peters & Small — 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.

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!

Going Solo in the Kitchen by Jane Doerfer — Just because you are your household, don't assume eating solo limits you to having pizza, pancakes, or meat loaf in restaurants; buying them already prepared; or having to file extra portions in the freezer or the dustbin. As Jane Doerfer proves in Going Solo in the Kitchen, with no more effort than when cooking for two or more, one person can eat well and dine beautifully.

Doerfer's main strategies are to use fresh ingredients and to make friends with supermarket staff who can accommodate her needs in the land of large families. She gives detailed advice on storing foods — cooked chicken, for example, tastes better and has better texture when stored in liquid (like a sauce or broth), while potato salads and other prepared dishes keep better longer when left unsalted until just before serving. Solo cooks do have advantages: you can eat what you want, as often as you want it, and the cost of a steak or lobster dinner is only for one.