Solo Suppers

by Joyce Goldstein

A noted culinary expert presents an entertaining guide to cooking for one person, presenting an array of recipes for delicious and hearty meals, along with valuable advice on smart shopping, stocking the pantry, recipe variations, and essential cooking te
Solo Suppers
Goldstein, Joyce Esersky
Chronicle Books Llc
Publication 2003/07/01
Number of 144
Binding PAPERBACK
Library of 2002151400

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Reference, Nonfiction, Food

156 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2003

Reviews

[Grace MacLaine]

Between this and Anita Lo's Solo: A Modern Cookbook for a Party of One (which I also gave up on) I'm starting to think that chefs and food writers have no understanding of how people who live alone actually live.

I live alone in a studio apartment. If I stand in the middle of my kitchen and turn around, I can touch pretty much everything in the room, and I think that a lot of people who live alone live in similar situations. My counter space is one tiny table that is usually covered by my cutting board, between the burners on my stove, and sometimes the top of the refrigerator. So I'm not about to cook elaborate multi-stage and multi-pot meals for myself, I do that at family member's houses. Also, I'm not about to purchase ingredients that only come in large quantities to use for one fancy meal. That will end up being a waste of either food or storage space.

This book is just a bunch of recipes for fancy meals in small portions. It does not engage with the actual challenges of cooking for one, which are numerous. It's just a regular, kind of bad and pretentious cookbook with small portions. If you do live alone and are actually looking for recipes that suit your lifestyle, all this book does is save you the trouble of doing some math and cutting regular recipes down.

[JZ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally! A cookbook with recipes for the single diner that can't be found elsewhere, with some ingredients that 'single serving' cookbooks never mention. Hurrah!

Not for everyday. Even she says so. I don't know what all the kvetching is all about.

These are recipes for those of us who don't want to cook the same old, same old, over and over again.
Yes, there are a lot of ingredients in some of the dishes, but the woman who wrote this really likes to eat good food, and in small quantities. The fact that she went through all the trouble of inventing and writing down these recipes gives me hope that I'm not going to devolve to eating cereal every night.

Huge pots of beans and stews that are possible in my pressure cooker are nice, but I hate leftovers. All of those cookbooks give me ways of having leftovers until the Armageddon.
Now, I'm on the search for farro. And I'm going to keep some pancetta in my freezer. I love her description of how to make carbonara. She really knows her stuff. I live in a place that has no cheap restaurants, fast food joints, or even really good places that are attractively priced. So, I have to be able to cook, or else live on frozen dinners and pizza. ugh

So, I appreciate having this book. Thanks, Joyce!

[Stephanie Bostic · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like the section on using sauces and dressings. She has some wonderful suggestions, but leans a little more toward the gourmet side. I found many of the recipes to be a little more on the complex side. Persian Meatball Soup, for example, has a very long list of ingredients and the Rigatonie with Meatball, Eggplant, and Tomato Sauce involves rather a lot of pots and pans. It's not really a cookbook for a casual cook or a beginner.

I would recommend the bread pudding (I adopted the idea and have made many variations) and find the photography to be inspiring and beautiful. One of these days I'll make the parmesan pudding...

The recipes run the gamut, but there are many recipes with wheat, eggs, meat, and dairy, so if you have dietary restrictions, it may be a better book for ideas than recipes. Even her lentil soup has meat, gluten, and cheese in it!

[Emily]

A great recipe book if you happen to like the same kinds of ingredients the author likes. I don't keep pancetta in my kitchen, and I don't have many of the other ingredients either. I wasn't really intrigued by any of the recipes, and honestly the lengthy discussion of the microwave was unnecessary; it's really not a new invention now, so discussing the brilliant uses for heating up leftovers was silly. So back to the bookstore it goes!

[Nicole Lane · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book taught me nothing in the way of cooking. The recipes were overall simple and provided no true advice on the art of cooking solo. In fact, she constantly suggested using the microwave which most single people have already mastered but are trying to overcome. Waste of my time!

[Jae R · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure what I expected

I came in reading this book not knowing what I wanted or what I would learn. I didn’t really learn anything new. These receipts aren’t that easy. But they are also pretty known recipes.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this little cookbook on a Borders binge and thought it would be perfect for the single girl living in Paris. Instead, it made me feel pathetic... AND the recipes weren't that great.

[Leigh Shaver · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thought this might have quick, simple meals for me and my 4 yr old (granted, she does not have a very developed palate), but it is a bit too chic. Maybe for single parents with nannies?

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely dishes but too much work for me to do for me. WAY too much work, too many ingredients, and too complex.

[Lesley Looper · Rating 3 out of 5]

This cookbook has some lovely-sounding recipes! I aspire to this level of cooking, but I’m a long way. Still, I enjoyed reading through the recipes.

[T · Rating 2 out of 5]

Should be titled “Overly Complicated Recipes for One”. Many of these recipes call for too many ingredients, have too many steps, and let’s be honest - why subject ourselves to this after a long day of work? Yes, single people are absolutely worth it but c’mon. We’re also TIRED.

Another aggravation of this cookbook is not every recipe has a picture included and, at least in the ebook format, the ones that do have tiny pictures.

I will say I gave this 2 stars, rather than 1 star, due to the sauce recipes included. I’m a sucker for good homemade sauces and many of these looked good and relatively easy to make. Any other recipe is a hard pass for me.

[Marleene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joyce Goldstein has done it again. This is a wonderful book - for singles who love cooking and are experienced in the kitchen. And this is exactly what she described her purpose was in writing this book.
I am not a single, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Great ideas, and great photography.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice pictures, but there's only 2 per chapter.

[Ghost of a Rose]

Own, available at house 2023

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although the photos are tantalizing, I haven't made too many things from this book yet. Most recipes seem a bit too elaborate for solo suppers, and require special ingredients. I would recommend the moroccan chicpea salad which is easy and great and usually a bit hit at summer vegetarian potlucks (double the recipe).

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good cookbook for those who already have some cooking experience. The recipes are tilted more towards the gourmet experience than the "30 minutes or less" crowd.

[Shirley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I might make one of these a month too many ingredients and more complex than my palate.