Solo: A Modern Cookbook for a Party of One - Hardcover

Lo, Anita

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0451493605 ISBN 13: 9780451493606

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, 2018

Synopsis

EATER'S COOKBOOK OF THE YEAR

From the Michelin-starred chef and Iron Chef America and Top Chef Masters contestant--a hilarious, self-deprecating, gorgeous new cookbook--the ultimate guide to cooking for one. With four-color illustrations by Julia Rothman throughout.

The life of a chef can be a lonely one, with odd hours and late-night meals. But as a result, Anita Lo believes that cooking and dining for one can, and should, be blissful and empowering. In Solo, she gives us a guide to self-love through the best means possible--delicious food--in 101 accessible, contemporary, and sophisticated recipes that serve one.

Drawn from her childhood, her years spent cooking around the world, and her extensive travels, these are globally inspired dishes from Lo's own repertoire that cater to the home table. 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. (Pssst! Want to share? Don't worry, these recipes are easily multiplied!)

About this title

About the Author

ANITA LO is an acclaimed chef who worked at Bouley and Chanterelle before opening the Michelin-starred restaurant annisa in the heart of Manhattan's Greenwich Village in 2000, which she ran until it closed in 2017. Food & Wine named her one of ten Best New Chefs in America, and The Village Voice proclaimed her Best New Restaurant Chef. She has appeared on Top Chef Masters, Iron Chef America, and Chopped; in 2015, she became the first female guest chef to cook at the White House. She lives in New York City and on Long Island.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

I put the “Lo” in alone. I’ve been dumped almost as many times as I’ve been in relationships—and I can count those on less than two hands. Spread over my 50 year life-span, that’s a lot of solo meals! So if you take that—coupled with my many years working as a professional chef—it seems that I’m particularly well-suited to write this book. Those chefs who say they can’t cook for less than 40 people? Not me—I can do math. It is my Asian birthright.

I’m also fanatical about waste. Waste is what makes cooking for one, at least efficiently, so difficult. My parents were Chinese and my father survived the Cultural Revolution. Food, at least at some point during their lives, was scarce; as a result, I was taught never to waste one bit. In cooking school at the Ritz Escoffier in Paris we were taught to utilize every scrap, and at Bouley—my first cooking job—the sous chef used to look through our garbage cans to make sure we weren’t wasteful. It is an economic issue, but also an ecological and social one. When I cook for myself, much of my food involves using the sometimes overlooked but just-as delicious parts of meat and vegetables. For example, I grew up eating broccoli stems as well as the florettes. Instead of discarding cabbage hearts, my mother gave them to me to snack on raw while we were cooking. We didn’t use radish leaves, but they’re virtually identical to turnip greens, so I generally cook those along with the root itself, which helps you include more dark green vegetables in your diet. And all those parts in the bag that comes inside of a chicken? If used properly, those parts are pure flavor – and another meal. Plus, cooking this way is important if you’re working with fresh ingredients or off a budget.

The hospitalitarian in me also dictates that meals should be balanced. (Yeah, chefs are neurotic.) There always MUST be a vegetable or two. And food should vary from day to day. It should be diverse in ingredients as well as in cultural provenance. Some days you’ll want to eat light and healthy; on other days, butter is a perfectly good substitute for love. True hospitality extends to others and to oneself. Too often we forget about the latter. This book will help you to remember how to take care of yourself.

When I’m cooking at home, I generally make ingredient-focused dishes that are fast and easy—I leave the more complicated recipes for my professional life. I’ll buy a whole chicken from a local, humane farmer, which might cost a little more, but I make sure that I use every bit. The first night I’ll break it down and place the legs and wings in a vacuum sealer bag in usable portions to freeze. If I’m alone I’ll do the same with one side of the breast, and cook the other for dinner. The bones and neck and gizzard will go into a stock right away or into the freezer for a later date; and I’ll either freeze the liver until I have enough to make a mousse or chopped liver, or I’ll make a salad with it the next day, along with the heart, for a quick bistro lunch. Yes, dining alone doesn’t mean you’re misanthropic. Nor does it have to be depressing. Cooking and dining alone can be one of the most blissful and empowering experiences you can have.

This book is for urban dwellers who would like to cook a fabulous, sophisticated meal for themselves, regardless of their circumstance. Although I have a soft spot for the depressed, jilted single, SOLO is also for those who are happiest on their own; or those who may be part of a fractured family in all its forms—quite often these days, even if we’re not single, we are left alone due to our partner’s work/family’s social obligation. This book is also for those who may have different taste than their family or partner—why shouldn’t they eat what they crave?

I hope you’ll find this book to be the ultimate guide to self-love through the best means possible—delicious food—and to celebrate the moments that you’re alone. And if my reader happens to get a date or decides she or he wants to share, these recipes are easily multiplied by two.

After all, they say the way to a person’s heart is through the stomach. So far, it has worked for me.

Edition details

• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0451493605
• ISBN 13: 9780451493606
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256