Customer Reviews

Going Solo in the Kitchen

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

How refreshing to enjoy a realistic approach to cooking for one! Ingredients used throughout the cookbook are those that the average person has on hand, unlike most cookbooks on the market. In the rare event that a special ingredient is called for, an explanation is provided on how to shop for the ingredient and how to store it for maximum shelf life. Realistic freezer space is also considered, which gives this book an edge over others.

I greatly appreciate the modifications at the end of many recipes indicating what other ingredients may be substituted effectively (eg: to use chicken instead of shrimp, do this...). To me, learning a cooking technique has become more valuable after reading this book than simply memorizing a recipe. Offered suggestions for modifications illustrates the intention of each recipe (the specific process used, if you will). People say that cooking is not a mystery; it is simply a skill acquired through learning a few cooking methods and adjusting them creatively. This book helped me learn the basics so I can Finally begin to do my own exploring.

I have searched for years for a practical cookbook such as this. Since I began experimenting with recipes found in this text, my friends absolutely rave about my cooking! And for me, I have found myself declining invitations for fast food or pizza in favor of trying a new recipe in my own kitchen using a few leftovers from the previous day. I'm eating healthier, losing weight, and saving money. What could be better? Thank you for this book! Bravo!

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.

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)

I bought this book about a month ago so I could have a general reference cookbook for single-sized portions. I have found it exactly that; I just made the roasted cornish game hen tonight, and was very impressed. The other recipes in the book sound excellent, and solve a lot of the portion issues I get with other books.

That being said, a few caveats. I bought the book a reasonably experienced cook; this is an excellent reference, but not the best one to learn how to cook from. Also, the recipes are on the simple side; I use another cookbook, Solo Suppers, for more 'fancy' type dishes that better utilize the ingredients available in my neighborhood.

But if you wanted that pot roast or roast chicken or spaghetti and found dividng the recipe by four didn't quite work, this is the perfect book.

This is a good recipe book...if you're prepared to have a lot of random ingredients in your kitchen. If you like to cook, then get this. If you're a college student pressed for time and money, look somewhere else. A few of the recipes are college student friendly, but most are not.

Just received my copy. I started flipping through recipes when I got home from work. I thought I'd run out to the store once I decided on a recipe. Lo and behold, I came across Fettucine with Onion Sauce. The description began: "On days when your refrigerator is empty, if you have onions, dried pasta, and olive oil you can put together this dish." I'll be danged! My refrigerator was empty! I had onions, pasta and olive oil! And I made the dish - a little over a half hour later I was eating, and it was delicious.

This is a great resource, with great ideas for quick, good quality meals that are faster and better than take out. I'm sold already, and the book paid for itself this evening by keeping me from going out for dinner.

I am tired of eating yogurt and frozen meals every day. However, as a single woman, the idea of cooking all my meals is a little overwhelming too. Luckily I was referred by Amazon to this cookbook and I ordered it the same day.

I also purchased Serves One by Toni Lydecker and Healthy Cooking for Two (or Just You) by Frances Price. This one (Going Solo in the Kitchen) is my favorite of the three.

The first chapter is called 'Getting Started' and she talks about how to best stock your kitchen with the correct utensils and pans, etc. She has some wonderful ideas about shopping that I had never thought of. It's a great primer on getting back into the swing of cooking.

The recipes are for food that I would eat. They look very executable and I'm looking forward my weekend where I will go to Bed Bath and Beyond for kitchen supplies and then onto the store for groceries.

The only drawbacks I see - there are no calorie counts on the food and there are no pictures of the completed products.

I've always disliked cooking, but I finally got fed up with warming up frozen dinners and eating take-out. It was too expensive, unhealthy, and didn't even taste that great. I wanted home-made food. So I bit the bullet and started cooking. I was pleased to find that, at last, the publishing industry has seen the need to cater (heh) to single folks--suddenly, I didn't have to worry about preparing an entree that would feed five people.

Overall I've been very pleased with this cookbook. It suits my needs almost perfectly, although I can see how it would miss some audiences: some of the recipes do require you to keep expensive, perishable ingredients on hand, and some do take a little longer to prepare than the book suggests. But I pick and choose, and I'm pretty good about figuring out which recipes I can handle (like I said, I'm a novice) and which ones are still beyond me. The ones that work, work really well. Suddenly I don't feel like a moron in front of a stove, and I've actually started to look forward to grocery shopping and cooking so I can try new things.

I wish the book had better nutritional information about the recipes, and some more precise instructions on food preparation ("Heat the oil in the skillet and add the meat"? What heat level should I use before everything turns into smoke and char? I'm new at this!). But overall, I'm very pleased. I highly recommend this book to single cooks who aren't exactly geniuses in the kitchen, and who don't want to spend hours fixing dinner, but who want home-made food that's not all out of a can. Trust me: if I can cook from this book, anybody can.

This book reads easily, almost like a novel! I found myself actually reading the non-recipe content as opposed to what I usually do, which is just looking for good recipes.

I'm a picky eater (and a bit of a culinary snob), but I found many recipes that look great --and easy! I'm a busy guy and this has improved my palate and my life. I look forward to cooking for myself because of the great recipes, the anecdotes, and the useful information on how to shop for one in the grocery store!

The other great thing is that you'll never make a recipe twice with all the variations offered at the end of a recipe.

I would recommend this to any solo cook!

I've had this cookbook for seven years now and I go back to it time and time again. I don't live alone anymore, as I am now married, but I find most of the recipes adequately serve two. I've also doubled recipes to serve guests. The tips for shopping, storing and recycling food are excellent and dramatically cut the amount of waste I had coming out of my kitchen -- and grocery budget. When I first got this book, I wasn't a kitchen wiz, but even though I am much more experienced, I still find these recipes pleasing and quite tasty. While most recipes call for fresh ingredients, I've substituted canned and still had excellent results. As my stained and sticky copy will attest, this cookbook is a must have!!