Table for One: Perfectly Portioned Meals for the Single Cook

by Camille Funk

Maybe you're a college student, maybe you're single, or maybe your kids have all left the house whatever the situation, Table for One is the perfect solution. Bursting with tasty recipes and gorgeous photographs, this revolutionary cookbook will forever banish your TV-dinner blues. With tips and tricks that will teach you how to buy, store, and prepare just enough food for a single serving, Table for One is an essential guide to graduating from Ramen noodles to ramekins.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Reference

224 pages, Paperback

First published July 8, 2010

Reviews

[N.L. Riviezzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

While most of the recipes were very simplistic but I liked that they had been broken down into practical individual servings. My favorites were the desserts. I like that a recipe only made 2 cupcakes or 3 cookies. I love to make desserts but don't like having a ton of cookies/cupcakes/cookie bars sitting around afterward.

Many other cookbooks marketed towards singles actually make 2 servings per person. These recipes were clearly 1 person servings which makes me very happy that I purchased this book.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't like cooking...
This whole cookbook is recipes for one person. I have thoroughly enjoyed making food for myself from this book. The food is GOOD, which makes me like cooking a whole lot more.
A cookbook that makes ME enjoy cooking = pretty darn amazing.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book on First-Reads giveaway. That being said though, this is the first recipe book I've been excited about in along time. I am going to be making alot out of this book. A great book to use if you need to make small meals or you could double them for two people. Sometimes if my husband is working and can't make it home for dinner, I can still eat a healthy meal without feeling like I'm wasting alot of money by buying extra products I won't use or will end up being thrown away because I can't use them up before they go bad.

I love the photos in the book and they have ingredients that people use everyday. Love all the tips and tricks for storing and using up extra ingredients when you can't buy in small amounts. Loved seeing the parts of the beef and pork photos, it gives you a better understanding of what you're buying in the store. There's even a healthy substitute page. Love that you can cook a whole meal with these recipes, there's everything from soups, salads, poultry, meats, seafood, grains, side dishes, main dishes, and desserts. Simply delicious!

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book. The two people whom I live with are junk food addicts. I refuse to eat junk, so I turned to this book for inspiration. The recipes are perfectly proportioned so that there are no leftovers and no chance of overeating. The author gives helpful hints on storage of ingredients. In the back of the book she includes an ingredient index. This index lists the ingredients that are common to several recipes. Thus, one is not stuck with 3/4 of a cup of an ingredient which will go to waste. It can be used in another recipe! I don't know how I ever lived without this handy book.

[Tom Ricks · Rating 5 out of 5]

The idea of a cook book for singles is ingenious! The pictures in this book alone are beautiful and made my mouth water. The book itself and the recipes it contains are very economical. The best part is the ingredient index in the back that lists the ingredients in the recipes so you can make more than one thing and save your ingredients. It felt like forever until it was available and finally it's here!

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/31/10-Just added this to my first reads shelf. Thank you Goodreads for another free book. Can't wait to get it and see what looks good.

8/6/10-Got my book! Once again, thank you Goodreads for the book. The recipes look really yummy and I can't wait to try some stuff out. It will be interesting to see what to do once I've used 2 teaspoons of a whipped egg.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't really "read" this book. It's a cookbook so I flipped through it. It has some awesome recipes. Can't wait to try them.

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Title says it all. A cookbook with measurements to create a meal for one person and some beautiful food photographs. I checked it out because feeding two people (like my husband and myself) is pretty similar to feeding one. I enjoyed the introduction which contained some very basics like how to make a bouillon base and which types of cooking dishes are best when preparing for one. I do wish though that she would have included a table of ingredients and how long they typically last in the fridge (she did say to invest in Tupperware for your remaining half cans of corn, etc.) because after cooking for a week your fridge may not be full of leftovers but it will have left over ingredients everywhere.
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Orange Ginger Salad
Salad
2 Tbsp. stir fry beef
2 handfuls red leaf Romaine lettuce
2 Tbsp. dried cranberries
1/3-cup mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup orange peeled and sliced
2 Tbsp. green onion, sliced
1 tsp. sesame seeds
Dressing
1/3 tsp garlic, minced
1/2 tsp fresh ginger root, minced
2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp honey
Heat oil in small skillet over med-high heat. Add beef & cook for 2-4 minutes, stirring frequently until beef is cooked through. Remove beef from skillet and let cool.
Toss together contents of salad in a med bowl or on a plate.
Mix together dressing ingredients in a small cup. Stir well and toss with salad. Use extra orange slices for garnish.

Tortilla Soup
Base
1/2 tsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. Yellow onion, chopped
1/4 tsp garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. carrot, chopped
2 Tbsp celery, chopped
Dash of salt & pepper
1-cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp. limejuice
1-cup water
1/4-cup chicken breast cubed
Ad-ins
1/4-cup avocado, chopped
1/4-cup tomato, chopped
1 Tbsp. sour cream
1/4-cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 Tbsp, fresh cilantro
Tortilla chips, crushed or whole
In a medium saucepan, heat butter over medium heat and add onions and garlic. Sauté over med-low heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add carrots, celery, oregano and a dash of salt and pepper. Sauté over med-low heat for 5-7 minutes, until vegetables are soft.
Add chicken broth, limejuice, and water. Bring to a boil. Maintain at a boil for 15-20 minutes.
Place add-ins, except tortilla chips, in a bowl. Cover with soup. Place tortilla chips on top.

Grilled Cranberry Chicken
1 chicken breast, boneless, skinless
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 Tbsp. cranberry sauce (with whole cranberries)
1 tsp orange juice
1 tsp honey
1 tsp red wine vinegar
Heat grill to med-high. Season chicken with sale & pepper. Grill chicken breast for 5 min on each side, until golden brown on both sides and no longer pink in the center.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, whisk together cranberry sauce, orange juice, honey, and red wine vinegar. Bring mixture to a boil and keep at a boil, stirring constantly for 1-3 minutes until syrupy. Apply glaze to cooked meat.

Honey Mustard Chicken
1 piece chicken (4-6 oz)
Dash salt & ground pepper
1 tsp olive oil
1 Tbsp stone-ground mustard
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp white wine vinegar
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add olive oil and chicken to med nonstick skillet. Sauté over med heat for 5-7 minutes on each side, until chicken is golden on the outside and opaque throughout.
Meanwhile in a small saucepan, whisk together mustard, brown sugar, honey, and white wine vinegar. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, stirring constantly for 1-3 minutes or until syrupy. Apply glaze to finished meat.

Poppy Seed Chicken
1-cup chicken breast, cubed
2 Tbsp. sour cream
2 Tbsp. cream of chicken soup
1 tsp. melted butter
4-6 Ritz crackers or 2 Tbsp bread crumbs
1/4 tsp poppy seeds
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl combine chicken, sour cream, and cream of chicken soup. Place mixture in a 3-inch ramekin (aka Pyrex)
In another small bowl, mix melted butter, crackers and poppy seeds. Sprinkle on top of chicken mixture
Place ramekin on a baking sheet and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes.

Raspberry glazed chicken
1 piece chicken (4-6 oz)
Dash of salt & pepper
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
2 Tbsp raspberry preserves
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp white wine vinegar.
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add olive oil and chicken to med nonstick skillet. Sauté over med heat for 5-7 minutes on each side, until chicken is golden on the outside and opaque throughout.
Meanwhile in a small saucepan, whisk together raspberry preserves, brown sugar, and white wine vinegar. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, stirring constantly for 1-3 minutes or until syrupy. Apply glaze to finished meat.

Mushroom Fettuccini
4-6 oz. fettuccini
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 Tbsp flour
1/2-cup milk
1 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
Pinch of salt & pepper
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp. garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
1-cup mushrooms, sliced
3-4 asparagus stems
Fill a medium saucepan with water. Bring to a boil. Add fettuccini and cook as instructed on the package. Drain and return to pa.
Melt 1 Tbsp better in a small saucepan. Add flour, milk, cream, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Stir for about 3 minutes, until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and stir in mustard.
Heat 1 Tbsp butter in a medium skilled. Ad garlic, thyme, mushrooms, and asparagus. Sauté for 10-15 minutes over med heat until vegetables are tender. Toss together with pasta and sauce.

Apple-Butternut Squash
2-4 oz. butternut squash cubed
1/2 granny smith apple
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp. butter
Remove skin from squash. Cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Cut apple into 1/2inch cubes. Add sugar, cinnamon, apple, and squash to a small Ziploc bag. Toss until fully coated
In a small skillet over low heat, add butter squash, apple and extra seasoning from Ziploc. Sauté for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. After 15 minutes, add 1-2 Tbsp water to keep moist if needed. Remove from heat.

Zucchini and carrots
1 zucchini, sliced into rounds
1/2-cup carrot, grated
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic minced
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
Dash of coarse salt & pepper
1 tsp. basil
Slice zucchini on a cutting board. Use a grater or food processor to grate carrots.
In a medium skillet, add zucchini, carrots, olive oil, garlic, and vinegar. Sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until zucchini is tender.
Remove from heat and toss with salt, pepper, and basil.

[Lynne Bader · Rating 5 out of 5]

lots of meals, good portion sizes

[Ali O'Hara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really disappointed with this book. The summary said 'revolutionary', but I'm not sure how.
The recipes are ordinary - split pea soup, enchiladas, etc - pared down to one serving, not simplified. Really, if I'm going through all this effort,
I want leftovers. The recipes are more involved than I was looking for - not because I cant cook, but love quick simple dinners for just me - and ranged from ordinary (french dip, mac and cheese) all the way to just strange (cooked cantaloupe on fish!?). I didn't find anything I wanted to make, and didn't find this book helpful at all in simplifying cooking for one. This might be more useful for someone who doesn't know how to cook, although I still think the recipes are far too involved. There is an ingredient index, which is a great idea so you can do several recipes using an ingredient you have too much of, but it didn't include things like cream of chicken soup (one recipe calls for 2 T - even using the Pacific brand's small container, you'd have quite a bit left).
If I did want to make anything in this book I'd probably double the recipe to justify the effort. Most online recipe sites have a tool to convert into more or less servings. I was really hoping this would have quick, simple recipes, but not really. There's actually a recipe in here to make 6 dumplings, involving 12 ingredientsand a food processor. Dumplings freeze great - why would I make 6? With 2 T of ground turkey!

[Laura]

Leftover Chicken tonight was awful. Note to self: must learn art of cooking in smaller quantities...

[Camille Funk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm bias because I wrote it... but the recipes are amazing! :)