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

by Bruce Weinstein (Author), Mark Scarbrough (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Weinstein and Scarbrough, both writers for Gourmet and Fine Cooking, have amassed a nice assortment of recipes aimed at twosomes. Although the cookbook lacks pictures, the recipes are understandable and relatively easy to prepare. The authors modify ingredients so that instead of having to store, and a week later throw out, the leftovers, one can buy just the amount necessary of a particular item. For example, they show that one can actually bake a batch of two large Linzer Cookies as a dessert, or prepare just two servings of a Lardons Salad with Poached Egg and Warm Bacon Dressing. The authors point out, however, that dairy ingredients are more difficult to find in smaller quantities, and even when substitutions can be found, they don't always work quite right. Each dish is rated according to its ease of preparation and follows Weinstein and Scarbrough's mantra of "you'll buy what you use, use what you buy."
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Product Description

Tea for two. That's what it's all about, right? So how come every recipe you pick up says "serves 4 to 6"? Or more! What do you do when you want macaroni and cheese, but don't want to be reheating it for three nights? Or a couple of cookies, but don't want to be tempted by two dozen sitting on the counter all week?

Creative cookbook authors and cooks Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough have all the answers in Cooking for Two.

Brimming with 120 smaller-serving, big-taste recipes,Cooking for Two offers cooks familiar favorites such as PastaBolognese, Chicken Pot Pie, and Mushroom Barley Soup, as well as new dishes for today's tastes like Pork Satay Salad and Snapper Fillets Sautéed with Orange and Pecans.

Simply cutting down larger recipes leads to wasted ingredients. But Bruce and Mark have developed each recipe so you buy only what you need, and use all of what you buy. Instead of opening a can of vegetable stock only to use three tablespoons, use the liquid the dried mushrooms have soaked in. If an onion is too large for a recipe, chop a shallot instead.

The dessert chapters are filled with cookies, puddings, and cakes, all designed for two servings. Small-batch baking requires strict attention to detail. A regular egg can be too big for a small batch of six cookies, so they suggest quail eggs or the easy-to-find pasteurized egg substitutes, which you can measure out in tablespoons.

Truly a cookbook for everyday use, each recipe is labeled as quick (ready in minutes with minimal cooking), moderate (requires a bit more preparation or cooking), or leisurely (perfect for quiet celebrations or weekend meals) to help you decide which dish best fits into your day.

With ingredient and equipment guides, as well as tips on how to stock your pantry to avoid those there's-nothing-in-the-house-so-let's-go-out moments, Cooking for Two will surely become the cookbook you reach for every night of the week.

It's just two perfect.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Cookbooks (February 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060522593
• ISBN-13: 978-0060522599
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #70,628 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A really great cookbook for two people (or one and a lunch)!!, February 20, 2006

By	B. Smawley (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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 a couple 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.

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Portion, July 13, 2004

By	Evelyn L. Dixon "leenabeena" (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best cookbooks I have !!, March 29, 2005

By	Susan Nichols (Mobile AL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.