Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant: Confessions of Cooking for One and Dining Alone

Product Details

In this delightful and much buzzed-about collection of essays, 26 writers and foodies invite readers into their kitchens to reflect on the secret meals they relish when no one else is looking. Part solace, part celebration, part handbook, Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant offers a wealth of company, inspiration, and humor—and finally, recipes that require no division or subtraction.

Featuring essays by:

Steve Almond, Jonathan Ames, Jami Attenberg, Laura Calder, Mary Cantwell, Dan Chaon, Laurie Colwin, Laura Dave, Courtney Eldridge, Nora Ephron, Erin Ergenbright, M. F. K. Fisher, Colin Harrison, Marcella Hazan, Amanda Hesser, Holly Hughes, Jeremy Jackson, Rosa Jurjevics, Ben Karlin, Rattawut Lapcharoensap, Beverly Lowry, Haruki Murakami, Phoebe Nobles, Ann Patchett, Anneli Rufus and Paula Wolfert.

Customer Reviews ::

So tired of hearing about tiny New York kitchens - D. Alden - Inver Grove Heights, MN United States
I saw this in a bookstore while I was out of town and was tempted to buy it. After finding it at the library, I am so glad I did not. I read the whole book, but out of some pathetic sense of obligation. To be fair, M.F.K. Fisher's essay was good, but that's no surprise. What was surprising was the amount of bitterness and bile hidden (barely, I might add) underneath prose that was supposed to be self-deprecating but really just sounded, well, whiny and self-involved. There were several essays bemoaning a tiny New York kitchen: we get it, the apartments are like closets, etc. I can't imagine that anyone but New Yorkers found this interesting. The rest of us are tired of the cliche.

And the recipes! Yikes: avocado raita? I mean, I get we all eat weird things when we're alone, but that's not a reason to share the recipe. Maybe the recipes were supposed to be some sort of joke, but if so, it fell very flat.

I read this because I like to cook and to eat, but I'll bet there are far more entertaining and interesting books on eating alone. At least I hope there are.

Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome

Product Details

Oldest known cookbook in existence offers readers a clear picture of what foods Romans ate, how they prepared them. Actual recipes—from fig fed pork and salt fish balls in wine sauce to pumpkin Alexander style, nut custard turnovers and rose pie. 49 illustrations.

Customer Reviews ::

With all the background needed to understand it, why bother? - Brian Connors - Cape Cod, MA
I rather wish there was a more recent, open-content translation of Apicius. Vehling's was long known to be borderline-horrible, but sadly this is probably the only readily available translation for the casual cook in English. Beyond that I've not much to say about the translation; others far more conversant with Latin than I have commented at length on it.

This book doesn't lack for other flaws though. For one thing, Vehling's ranting, somewhat sniffy tone is weirdly remniscent of German-speaking cranks such as Petr Beckmann (Czech) and Erich von Däniken (Swiss) -- it makes for rather strange and uncomfortable reading, as if a chef with a stereotypical mad scientist accent is shouting at you. Another issue -- Vehling freely confuses and substitutes New World ingredients without saying much of anything about the Old World ingredients being replaced (he mentions pumpkins quite frequently, for example, and gives "broth" for the fish sauce liquamen when Worcestershire sauce would probably be more appropriate in the early 20th century; both are nearly inexcusable errors for a supposedly scholarly work). Finally, the typography is abysmal, with the recipes translated from the Latin presented in all caps, enhancing the "shouting" effect of Vehling's prose.

The book isn't irredeemable, necessarily. With some extra background (most readily available in FAQ documents and the like on the internet) it can be quite a serviceable introduction to upper-class Roman cuisine. The question is, however... there is a very good chance that this book might be someone's first introduction to Roman cookery. How are they going to know to go looking for more background while reading?

Help! My Apartment Has a Dining Room Cookbook: How to Have People Over Without Stressing Out

Product Details

"When I'm cooking for friends, I tend toward Very Easy recipes. It's just like when I read a collection of short stories -- I'll always read the shortest ones first." -- Kevin Mills

The point of entertaining is simply to feed people and be relaxed. In Help, My Apartment Has a Dining Room, Kevin and Nancy Mills, the son-and-mother team who wrote Help, My Apartment Has a Kitchen, apply their wit and wisdom to just that. Targeted to students and newly independent twentysomethings, this user-friendly cookbook offers tips and menus to help the novice host weather nerves and wobbly cooking. First, cook ahead as much as possible. And make several dishes--the variety helps please everyone, avoid disaster from inevitable kitchen failures, and cope with vegetarians and individual allergies. Beginners can follow recommended menus (for example, Creamy Mushroom Soup, Chicken Kiev, Gingery Carrots, and Chocolate Fondue) or compose their own from recipes rated Very Easy (Thousand Island Dressing: three ingredients, five minutes) to Not So Easy (Beef Bourguignon). The authors explain everything, even how to hold a knife to chop nuts. The Mom Tips and Mom Warnings that follow recipes add more reassurance, like what stew meat and wine to buy for the Bourguignon.

Helpful to the last detail, the Millses explain how to make coffee and tea, and how to set the table, suggesting you use one rather than assembling around the sofa. A perfect shower gift, this book can save parents a fortune on phone bills and help your friends (or you) survive entertaining without emotional meltdown. --Dana Jacobi

Customer Reviews ::

Fabulous cookbook! - G. A. Stamper - Lexington, KY
I love this cookbook! I got it when I started graduate school 10 years ago, and I'm still using many of the recipes. When I first bought the cookbook, I was so clueless about cooking, so the explicit cooking tips, mom hints, etc., were perfect for me. Now, I struggle to find a Ratatouille recipe that is half as good as this one, or anything so delicious as the Mushroom Turnover. I do wish there were more "boneless chicken" recipes, but that's my only complaint.

Kitchen and Cube Steak Chuck

Cube steaks are not really cubes, called it cube steak, because they are cut out with a tenderizer, and footprints left cubes. Some call these places steaks minute.

No matter what you call them are very popular because of its softness and ease of cooking them.

There are a variety of ways, Cube steak to cook. You can bake oven with cream of mushroom and fungi. If you like spicy food is stir fry, curry in a can. For theTraditionalists can make Salisbury steak. Cube steak is also a large pan and then cooked in milk or brown sauce until it is tender. The way they cook limited only by your imagination, cooks fast, so that no matter how you like it you can dine at the table in no time.

There are different cuts of chuck steak. Top blade is the most tender, but Chuck Eye Steak is very tender and can be grilled or fried, but it must first be marinated fornotice.

Seven-Bone Steak Chuck, Chuck, or in between, well suited to brazing, arm and shoulder steak and steak, as all these cuts of chuck steaks are less sensitive.

Brazing can work for all of Chuck steak was and is easy to do. First the oil in a deep pan and fry the steaks on both sides. Then season the steak and add cooking liquid of your choice. One suggestion is ketchup and cola, with a bit 'of water. This combination gives the meat asweet but spicy. You should cook the meat 31 / 2 to 4 hours, until they are soft.

Well, after reading this you should be prepared steak tonight, or at least cook always hungry.