Customer Reviews

Cooking for Two: 120 Recipes for Every Day and Those Special Nights

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I saw this cookbook in a bookstore and knew I had to have it. I love to cook and have done so for years but had gotten into a rut by cooking the same 10 things all the time. After all, most recipes will feed an army and it takes days to eat the end result (or it would end up forgotten in the freezer or worse still, in the trash). It got truly discouraging as even halfing most recipes still makes too much for a single or double household. Using this cookbook has encouraged me to make something different all the time and to use ingredients I did not use in those 10 repetitious dishes. While almost all the ingredients can be found in today's supermarkets, when they can't, then an occasional trip to a speciality store can be fun and, once an ingredient such as curry paste is purchased, then it's there for the next time. Another nice thing about the recipes is that the dishes, by being just enough for two, gives me a dinner and a lunch for work and NO leftovers!!! And once cooked, the dishes look, taste and smell so special (think about that good old standby, tuna and noodle casserole but with artichoke hearts!).

Goodness, who knew they even published cookbooks for singles or doubles. Anyway, once I got back to a computer after leaving the bookstore, I checked to see if Amazon.com had other "cooking for one or two" cookbooks. They do so I ordered this book and a couple others that day but this is my favorite! I've tried about half of the recipes so far and all are keepers. A minor note for those using whole grains/pasta: when a recipe (whether from this book or any other) calls for uncooked white rice, I cook brown rice 1/2 the time with 1/2 the water needed to fully cook, then add it to the recipe. It will finish cooking in the amount of time allotted for white rice.

I sure hope Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough writes another "Cooking for Two" cookbook soon.

I appreciated how the book offered recipes with the perfect portion sizes. The authors understand that when cooking for company, there is no need for leftovers. Who wants to eat the leftovers for the remainder of the week? Its also good for singles. There's just enough for dinner and a portion to take to lunch. The authors also offer a variety of dishes and gives an expected cooking time (quick meal, all day meal)for each recipe, as well as several replacement items for the basic staples. Now, if I could only find a book 'Cooking For One', I'd be in heaven.

I received this cookbook about 9 months ago as a gift and have tried at least half the recipes in it and have not found one that my husband and I do not like--seafood, beef, pork, vegetarian, salads, and desserts. All of the flavors blend so well and the portion sizes are just perfect for two. We are empty nesters so the 2 part of the book is of great benefit when we try to rein in our portion sizes.

Some of the recipes call for ingredients that may be a little difficult to find in your Mom and Pop grocery store but most higher end super stores have a large selection. Very rarely have I had to substitute an ingredient and I live in the deep south where ethnic food is not usually the highlight of the stores.

Most of the recipes can be cooked in 30 minutes to an hour. If you would like to expand your cooking expertise and enjoy simple but wonderfully blended dishes this is the book for you.

I've been cooking for my famliy for over 20 years, and this past June, my daughter got married, leaving me my husband and me to eat by ourselves. We enjoy the privacy, but not the food. We hate leftovers so I started buying individual frozen macaroni and cheese and lasagna dinners for us. And I've resorted to break and bake cookies unless the kids are coming over. I just don't want 6 dozen cookies in the house or I'll eat them all. But we miss the taste of cookies from scratch. I saw this book and bought it on the spot. I love that I can bake 6 cookies, or two brownies. I've made the mac and cheese casserole and we love it. I doubled it to serve my daughter and her new husband, which in the end makes this book truly flexible and usable. I recommend this book to any retired couple, newlywed, or engaged couple.

Cooking for Two is a collection of 120 recipes varying from simple to elegant scaled down for two people. It even includes recipes for dishes that traditionally are made with more people in mind such as casseroles. No more leftovers! Whenever I've seen scaled down recipes, there were always obscure quantities of ingredients that would leave me with odds and ends of various ingredients. This book addresses this issue very well by making substitutions for items. For example a quail egg is smaller than a chicken egg and is, therefore, an excellent substitute for eggs when you don't need to use a whole one. The book also has a nice section entitled "a quick reference guide to some ingredients." It provides useful information on purchasing and preserving many ingredients like ancho chiles and clam juice. Recipes also have certain symbols next to their names if they are simple and quick or more timeconsuming, for maybe that special dinner for two.

The escarole, white bean, and roasted garlic soup was delicious. The recipe was easy to follow and came with serving suggestions. I placed a toasted round of bread in my bowl before adding the soup - the best part was on the bottom!

I purchased this book last year and didn't start using it until recently. I was initially put-off by the number of ingredients for the meals and thought that the recipes were going to be too involved for me to cook for myself after a 10-12 hr day. Once I finally tried one recipe and saw how easy it was, I am now trying a new one every week. There may be many ingredients, but the recipees are very simple and the instructions detailed. I also am not left with a ton of left-overs that will ultimately end up going down the garbage disposal! I have loved everything I have tried so far.

I saw these two guys making a pasta with cream sauce for two on Your Morning on CN8, and I had to get this book. It's full of family favorites, mac and cheese and the like, as well as super new soups and salads. I love the desserts. Two little cheesecakes, two brownies, six cookies, a small apple tart. I'm so glad I saw these guys on TV that morning, and so glad I got this book.

FINALLY, a cookbook of comfort and special food written for two + leftovers. Especially gratifying are the recipes for 2 desserts rather than a whole cheesecake staring at you! I love this cookbook so much I've given copies to all 3 of my kids.

i've bought a few books that make recipes for two, and this one is the only one i'm still using. most of the recipes are easy and familiar with a few very interesting dishes mixed in. i couldn't recommed it more highly.

Finally, a book with actual cookie and cake recipes scaled down for two servings!

The prose and instructions are extremely clear and easy to follow. Recipes run the gamut from 10-minute wonders to gourmet afternoons in the kitchen and you aren't stuck eating leftovers for the next three days. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy cooking rather than mere assembly.