[.ca] Going Solo in the Kitchen (ISBN 0375703934)

From Amazon.com:
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. Doerfer offers variations for recycling in case of leftovers. Her description of how to cut up a whole chicken is graphically clear (see "Chicken Management") and will save you money. The recipes and techniques Doerfer offers will brighten the lives of solitary diners who love variety, good food, and home cooking. She provides recipes for everything you might want, from Chicken Noodle Soup to elegant Halibut with Asparagus, Cream Scones, perfectly cooked rice, and fresh, hot berry pie, made in just the right way for one. --Dana Jacobi

A solid book for going solo in the kitchen:
This book is a basic guide for making semi-gourmet meals as a single person. Although it's a great book for the experienced cook, I only found about two recipes that sounded tasty and affordable as a single guy. I was expecting more traditional recipes that were easy to make and affordable. Meals that didn't require many items. This book is geared more towards a female audience with plenty of ingredients at home. Halibut and mussels for dinner is probably not the most affordable meal out there to prepare.

good basic info, some good recipes:
lots of great basic advice - kitchen utensils, food storage, shopping tips. one of the best things about this book is that following nearly every recipe is a section on possible variations, and then suggestions for leftovers. perfect for someone like me who likes to plan out meals in advance. plus that sort of thing keeps me creative in the kitchen. the recipes are very user friendly, and her tone is conversationally fun. the actual recipe's themselves are good but not outstanding. I haven't disliked anything I've made from this book. I think the recipes are better in Toni Lydecker's SERVE'S ONE, but this book is definately a solid buy, especially if you are semi - new to cooking for just yourself. (another plus is that most of the recipes I've tried up-size easily if need be)

bravesara:
In contrast to the nice artwork on the cover, there are no pictures in the book. I hope I pick a winner when flipping through the pages!

New and experienced solo cooks rejoice!:
Even without a single recipe--and there are more than 350 of them if you didn't notice--this book is a wonderfully enjoyable tutorial for solo shopping in family-sized stores, managing food until it's prepared and served, varying the ingredients to match your tastes (or pantry) and finally, suggestions for leftovers right there at the end of the recipe, where they belong--sort of a thesaurus cooking concept. I love that. Jane is nutritionally aware and savvy, with a good background in both gardening and using the stuff that comes out of one and into the kitchen to taste advantage. But wait! There's another important dimension to this book: Jane Doerfer was not *always* a solo cook, nor was she wearing the latest in apron and kitchen gadget-fashions when she typed the manuscript (shameless plug for Le Crueuset, aside). Instead, I suspect she found herself "suddenly solo" and needing to make the best of it--which she clearly does. This book is a good mix of earthy "touchable" and "do-able" meals and ingredients and what I might call evening bistro fare. I also found it uplifting, inspiring, and an excellent reminder of the many silver linings to be found beneath the cloud of finding yourself unexpectedly dining alone--a cloud which drives so many souls to accepting food passed through a rolled-down car-window even though they may know better. The recipes and ideas are great and they work. The book was so well focused to my interest that I read the entire thing in a couple of sittings, taking pantry-stock notes, and folding page corners as I went along. The hardcover is already out-of-print I see. If you are a solo cook, buy this book now, while it's still available, in stock, and in print and you will join me in thanking Jane for troubling herself to write these things down.

Good book but...:
While I like that she uses alot of fresh ingredients, I would have greatly appreciated it if the receipes included the dried/canned equivalent. I don't necessarily have the time to go out and buy fresh sage. I also would've liked pictures to go with the receipes, so I had more of an idea of what I was getting into. Still, it's nice to have a cook book that gives such a variety of receipes for the single cook.