Solo: A Modern Cookbook for a Party of One

by Anita Lo

From the Michelin-starred chefand Iron Chef America and Top Chef Masters contestant--a hilarious, self-deprecating, gorgeous new cookbook--the ultimate guide to cooking for one.

Anita Lo puts the "Lo" in alone. The life of a Michelin-starred New York City chef is a solitary one--there's not much time for dating or dinners with friends--so she's perfected the art of cooking for one. In this delightful cookbook, Lo presents 101 accessible, contemporary, and sophisticated recipes for home cooks, most of which take less than 30 minutes to make. Drawn from her childhood, her years cooking around the world, and her extensive travels, these are globally-inspired, restaurant-quality dishes from Lo's own repertoire. Think Steamed Seabass with Shiitakes; Smoky Eggplant and Scallion Frittata; Duck Bolognese; Chicken Pho; Slow Cooker Shortrib with Caramelized Endive; Broccoli Stem Slaw; Chicken Tagine with Couscous; and Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie--even a New England clambake for one. (And should you find yourself with company, fear not! These recipes are easily multiplied by two.)

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 23, 2018

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading a review online I was really excited to get this book from the library. My brother in law lives on his own and is learning how to cook and I thought this might be a great gift. I’m glad I checked it out first and saved him some time- this is not a good cookbook for beginners. Hell, I’m well past my 10,000 hours in the kitchen and it’s not even a book for me. Who is the audience for this anyway?

Complaint 1- devoid of pictures. Doodles are cute and all but as useless as tits on a bullfrog when it comes to cooking. I want to know what a finished dish looks like, a doodle of a empty plate does not inspire me to do much of anything.

Complaint 2- my first cooking teacher Jeff Smith aka the Frugal Gourmet spends considerable time teaching readers how to meal plan and make dishes with similar ingredients so nothing goes to waste. Chef Lo, not so much. She calls for a rather large list of special ingredients but in the quantities called for you would have to cook several meals with that ingredient in order to use it before it goes bad. Blame the grocery store that you can’t buy feta cheese by the oz.

Complaint 3- I don’t know who she had test her recipes for her, if she had anyone at all, but many of the recipe directions are confusing even to someone who cooks often. The book has minimal timing instructions at all. It doesn’t note how long the recipe takes to cook.

Last complaint- it calls for ingredients like flanken steak and fregola. I have no idea what those are or where to buy them and I’ve spent lots of time in my local international markets. No note to explain it either.

I do love to try new things, but come on chef- a cook book is supposed to teach someone how to do something. This book fails completely at that. I picked it up thinking it would learn something and I’m really disappointed.

[Bee Ostrowsky · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for recipes that wouldn't be too much hassle. Heh.

Unless you've got access to a wide variety of ingredients (boneless duck breast, Calabrian chili, chaat masala, Chinese sausages, dashi, elderflower syrup, mirin, Shanghai bok choi, Shaoxing cooking wine, shishito peppers, shiso leaf, Thai bird chili...), you'll find it difficult to even get started with most of these recipes.

The recipes in the "Sides and Basics" chapter are well worth looking at, some of which use very few ingredients prepared simply.

[Robert Hudder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anita Lo is gay. It doesn't matter but it does show up in this book. I always appreciated her sense of humour when you could see it on those cooking shows. This turns it up one better as she kind of gives you some behind the scenes look at her life and loves.

What is apparent is that she has cooked these recipes herself and knows them well, except the ones that she designed specifically for this book. The headnotes are fun, hilarious and not quite PC. The recipes are written with a style that seems to focus on the important bits. So much so that they inspire confidence. I have read many different versions of gnocchi but this one is the one that will convince me to make them. Also, I have made pasta before but this recipe seems to be simple and doable. It isn't that pasta is hard but there are some questions about how do you know that it is thin enough and somehow she gets it across in a way that is a matter of fact and approachable.

Like her sexuality. There isn't any preaching. There is story of visiting Lesvos,f being dumped, friends and lovers. There is no thumping of gay pride but rather this is where I was in my life and here is a story attached to this recipe. Here is how I feel about this and here is a plate for a jilted lover. She even confesses that while it is tough as hell to be partnered while cooking, she is. But she remembers.

I have seen versions of most of these recipes and have many of them. I am going to copy the gnocchi and pasta ones for sure. I kind of wish that I had this cookbook when I was in my mid twenties and trying to figure out how to cook for one. I would have loved this cookbook.

[Vishal Katariya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected this book to be more about the act of eating alone. Rather, it is a series of recipes, mostly nice, with a short paragraph or two preceding each one with some context, sometimes misplaced. Anita Lo sounds like a fun person, but she could've done so much more with the romance and tragedy and intimacy of eating alone.. And cooking alone. Some of the recipes are innovative; for example, I discovered that I don't have to boil bulgur on a stovetop to cook it, I could add boiling water to it and seal it air-tight so that it cooks by "steeping". Maybe I'll come back to it at some point.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking for simple, one-person meals for my dd who recently moved into her first apartment without roommates and this is not the book for her. It is a lovely cookbook by a professional chef, who is very funny and realistic about why someone could be dining alone, but not for a poor college student who just needs to grab something and go. So, if anyone wants to cook one of these gourmet meals for her, or even me, let's do this. Fun to read and dream about, just not the cookbook I was hoping for.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this cookbook so much, especially because I cook for myself often. Discovered it years ago and I still go back to it :) her commentary is charming and funny which makes it a delight to read.

Interested in making dumplings 🥟 today!

[Bookworm · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loved that this was a book for cooking just for myself, considering tons of cookbooks, recipes, etc. always have tons of servings that I can't get to due to my schedule (or worse, I don't like it and am stuck with leftovers!). The media and pre-release hype was also pretty good and I read an article or two that made me want to read this.

It's a cookbook with various types of recipes. Sides, main dishes, etc. to take you through a meal. Unfortunately there's a lot that didn't really work for me. There are no pictures (just nice drawings). The instructions do seem a little vague and some of the ingredients seem a little out there. I'm not sure if Lo was trying to go for a book where one can make meals that are "special" and just for you, but I was definitely looking in askance at some of the stuff that's listed.

I also wanted to read the book to maybe hear her insights about cooking just for herself. This is one of those books that really doesn't do that well: some cookbook/food memoirs lean too far in the memoir section (which is something I don't mind) and unfortunately this is a book that arguably does neither well. Lo gives us little snippets of her life, but they are not well-written, interesting, or both. Some of the best/more enjoyable food memoirs usually have the author explain why this dish is important or what memory they associate with the dish/food, etc. Lo does do that at some points but none were memorable and really just made me say: "Who cares?" It was arguably better if this had been left as just a cookbook without the anecdotes (maybe they were pasted in by a late publisher/editor request?).

This one's going back to the library. Based on the other reviews as well as my own experiences I'd really recommend this be a borrow for someone to decide whether it's really a book they'd like to purchase for their own personal collection.

[Adrienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This cookbook is unique in that it is an Asian cookbook, for one! You can cook without holding a calculator. There are short commentaries before each recipe which are lively and delightful to read as well as informative, answering your questions before you get to ask.
The recipes are simple with easy to find ingredients, if you have an Asian grocery nearby.
I've got several bookmarked and look forward to eating them.

[Virginia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The recipes are good but I hated the look of the book. No pictures just some uninformative and unappealing drawing. I also did not like the way the instructions were presented. I did get several ideas from the book but will not buy.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting book - I copied a couple of things, but overall, this was not as good as I thought it would be. I was hoping for more general recipes, but these are much more in line with what a gourmet cook would make - duck, fish stew with mussels, fennel, and chilies, lamb recipes, etc.

[Grace]

A cookbook for lesbians who live alone. It works for me! Ha!

[Melissa Gans · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's clear that Eater, who voted this book the best cookbook of 2018, did not bother to actually read it. The author's tone is rather condescending and she seems out of touch. She kept insisting that we not waste food, which I agree with, but buying expensive ingredients like fennel pollen or Kaffir lime leaves that you may never use again is not exactly frugal, either. I could see this was not for me, as her palate is very different from mine, and I rely on regular grocery stores like the rest of the plebes, who can't afford a house on Long Island, where schools of various fish lap at your feet. We're lucky if the salmon isn't dyed red or the snapper isn't mislabeled tilapia. Give us a break. The funniest part of this book is the constant suggestion of using a toaster oven. If you're spending $3,000 a month for an efficiency Manhattan studio without a kitchen, it makes sense. Otherwise?

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've turned into one of those people who read cookbooks from front to back, mostly for the extra bits about the recipes. You know, where the author was when they first tried the dish, what happened the first few times they tried making it. So, I got that extra "flavor" from this book, sure.

As an actual cookbook, it falls a bit flat. There were no pictures of the food, just illustrations. And...well...none of this was food I'd cook for myself. I didn't even recognize some of the ingredients mentioned.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a person who loves to cook and lives close to an international market...this is the cookbook for me. Many of the recipes can be adjusted easily for 2 people (which is fantastic in our house of 2).

It's not for people who are just starting out cooking, or for those who don't prefer diverse flavors or have access to them. But for us it's awesome. We've already flagged a bunch of recipes. And the individual mac & cheese is going to be my new go-to when I'm on my own.

[Mysteryfan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the stories before each recipe, either about her life or about the dish. The recipes are primarily Southeast Asian in flavor, so most of the flavorings aren't in my cabinet. The illustrations were charmingly drawn, but I did wish for photographs of the finished dishes. The recipes are for one, but I wouldn't call them easy. The ones that looked most do-able for me were the desserts and the duck.

[Sandy Avery · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not familiar with Anita Lo before I got the book. I liked the idea of a professional chef who focuses on home-cooking delicious, simple meals. I usually cook for two, but the recipes were easy to upscale. I love that there is a focus on reducing waste and keeping the clean-up simple. I was pleasantly surprised at the breadth of the recipes. Chef Lo is clearly well-traveled. I'm following Chef Lo from now on.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a cookbook for a chef not a single person that is looking for some recipes designed to keep them from batch cooking by accident resulting in leftovers all week. The book contains illustrations and no pictures. The biggest stumbling block is the long list of ingredients, that rarely repeat from one recipe to the next.

[(a)lyss(a) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like my cook books to have photos and this one doesn't. Especially given how elaborate some of these recipes are, pictures would be useful.

It's also a sort of difficult book to use because even though these recipes are for one, most require special ingredients and more work than I'd like to put in during the week.

[Debby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book for those who live alone. It's also easy to double the recipe depends on how many people you want to serve. It's interesting to see a cookbook specifically made for solo cooking. Although there are not many photographs of the actual dishes, the illustrations are interesting and very cute.

[Mattea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really really wanted to like this cookbook more, but part of the problem of cooking for one is knowing what to do with excess ingredients and this book did not take that into account. This book also uses a lot of specific ingredients that are hard to find, and she did not give alternatives or help in finding them.

[Pixie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I might be more inclined to make the tiny desserts than the single-serving mains that take just as long to prepare (complicated sauces etc.) as a bigger recipe would. But the food is interesting, since the recipes were developed by a chef. Lots of Asian-inspired recipes.

[Susie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the premise of this book — that you can make really special meals for one and celebrate yourself. It’s kind of exotic, but I found a few recipes I plan to try. Also loved the author’s anecdotes about her own experiences being a party of one.

[Krystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit more complex in terms of recipes than I was looking for but I enjoyed the stories that accompanied the recipes and found the drawings to be charming and a welcome change from the often over-produced photographs in cookbooks these days.

[0000000 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have no clue what people are complaining about. It's obviously not a book for beginners or those uninterested in acquiring some ingredients unavailable at mainstream Euro-centric supermarkets. But if you are one of those, why in the world are you reading an Anita Lo cookbook?

[Carissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good introduction to cooking for one, but most meals didn't appeal to me nor were ones I find difficulty portioning down. That said, the dessert section is where it's at. I wish there had been more recipes there.

[Candis Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great cookbook with different, interesting, and not too expensive (or involved) recipes. I just may have to buy one to keep on my cookbook shelf at home.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great concept for a cookbook. The illustrations are fun and lots of the recipes were inspiring.

[Brianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the cookbook that I wished I had while Caz was in the Navy. Simple and delicious recipes for one. I

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much poultry, fish, & seafood; none of which I like. Only 8 recipes of interest out of 101. Rather disappointing.
Looking forwards to Spaghetti with Burst Baby Tomatoes and Chili though.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many good ideas! I made 2 of the recipes and I like them both. Heard her on The Taste podcast and really fell in love with this book. Excellent.