By Genevieve Ko The New York Times
With a new season of The Bear just around the corner, one of the most memorable scenes from the last season begins with chef Sydney Adam, played by Ayo Edebiri, cracking a few eggs into a bowl before she enters the meditative bliss of creating the perfect omelette. Watching her gently move the golden disk over and around the creamy cheese lines reminds me of the sandwich scene from the 2004 film The Spanish, in which Adam Sandler, playing a solo chef in his home kitchen after a long night at the restaurant, spreads bacon and tomatoes on a thick slice of toast and slides a fried egg on top.
What they all have in common is how well they capture the joy of cooking, of making a single serving in the quiet space of your kitchen, when all your senses are in tune with creating something small, simple and beautiful.
It can only be used when cooking for one person.
This doesn’t mean that it will always be this experience — if you’ve been cooking only for yourself for years, you’ve already experienced this reality — but if you’ve left a crowded college dorm or a house full of family and are not used to cooking alone, know that making a meal for one may feel more difficult than cooking for a group of friends.
Clancy Miller preached the joys of cooking for yourself in her 2016 book, Cooking for One: The Joy of Cooking for Yourself, but at some point during the pandemic she found herself burned out in the kitchen and switched to takeout.
“I ended up cooking for myself, but in a more basic way,” she says. Though she still believes in “doing the best for myself,” she now prioritizes finding ways to simplify cooking so that she can make it regularly.
Choosing the right recipe is key to successful cooking for one, so use these tips to find what’s right for you.
Find out what you like
It may seem obvious, but with so much social media talk about only eating meat or surviving on snacks, taking stock of what you actually want and stocking up on those ingredients may reduce the temptation to order food delivery.
“When you think about what you’re going to eat in a week, ask yourself, what do you enjoy?” Miller suggested, “and what’s the easiest thing to eat?”
The second question is an important one: Whatever you make needs to be worth the cost in terms of time, energy, and money. If you want fries or fancy fine dining, you’re better off eating out. The most sensible recipes are simplified, even for something as elaborate as steak or scallops.
Think about how many times a week you can eat the same food for a quick daily nutrition boost. Will you eat oatmeal for breakfast all week? Will you eat a quesadilla for dinner just once? Will you eat it one more time if it’s stuffed with mushrooms?
Stock up where you can, and if not, enjoy short shopping trips.
Make a shopping list based on the above and choose the right amount of each item. If you already cook your own three meals a day or don’t plan to, try to buy smaller amounts of groceries, especially fresh foods. If you still end up with leftover food that is about to spoil, cook it immediately to extend its shelf life and avoid waste. (You can even saute lettuce!)
Large packs of foods are generally cheaper per ounce, so it’s worth buying them when possible. Foods like pasta, rice, canned goods, spices, and vinegar last a long time and can be bought in bulk, as do frozen foods like shrimp and beans. And if you like yogurt every morning, opt for a large container instead of a small cup.
Making multiple trips a week to buy fresh produce doesn’t have to be a chore. Miller thinks of her grocery store trips as, “Yay! I get out of the house. This is an excuse to get out of the house.” She buys meat and produce, including herbs that energize grains and other pantry ingredients.
Rethinking Meal Prep
It’s hard to make sense of this term, but it sounds like a more stressful obligation than cooking a meal from start to finish or ordering delivery. To cook without the anxiety of planning, create dishes that can be spread across multiple meals.
One option I’ve already implemented is to prepare recipes for 4 or more people when I have the time, but if I know my family will get tired of the same dish by the third day, I’ll portion the food out into single portion portions and freeze them.
If cooking in large quantities isn’t your style, try making a batch of easy recipes that you can enjoy again in other dishes. Buying half a chicken instead of a whole one gives you white and red meat without having to eat it all week.
Cook a delicious meal for one
Although Miller finds she cooks most enthusiastically and creatively when hosting dinner parties, she’s also starting to cook for herself in the same way.
“I fundamentally believe that you should be just as generous with yourself as you are with other people,” she said. “You deserve to splurge. You deserve nice things, like a really fancy breakfast.”
A hot sandwich with a soft-boiled egg ranks highly in this category. When eaten immediately after the sandwich is inserted, the cheese is melty, the egg is runny, and the bread is toasty yet still soft. The egg-with-holes and grilled cheese combo extends its pleasure as a meal to be eaten slowly with a fork and knife over a cup of coffee. Paired with a cold beer, it’s just as satisfying as a dinner. It captures the spirit of what Henry David Thoreau describes early in the chapter on solitude in “Walden”: “This is a delicious evening when the whole body is one sense, and every pore absorbs pleasure.”
Cooking for one person may seem like a chore, but making your favorite meal can also be deeply satisfying.
Tzatziki Tuna Salad
While tuna salads are often made with mayonnaise, this version uses Greek yogurt for a similar creaminess and adds freshness to the mix. Here, yogurt is used with tzatziki sauce, a classic combination of garlic and dill that works surprisingly well with sharp yellow mustard. Tzatziki sauce is traditionally made with cucumber, but in this tuna salad, celery also makes a fun, crunchy variation. (You can also add celery to your salad if you start with store-bought tzatziki sauce.) If you only have canned tuna on hand, drain it well and stir olive oil into the salad to add richness. Serve the tuna on bread, toss it into a salad, or use it as a dip for chips or crackers.
1 serving
material
For the tzatziki (or use 1/4 cup store-bought):
1 garlic clove (very small)
salt
3 tablespoons plain full-fat Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons finely chopped cucumber or celery
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
For the tuna salad:
1 can (5 ounces) tuna in olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons yellow mustard
Salt and black pepper
Bread, lettuce, cucumber slices or chips for garnish
direction
1: Make the tzatziki: Crush, peel, salt, and finely chop the garlic. (The salt will break down the garlic and make it less spicy.) Transfer to a medium bowl and add the yogurt, cucumber, dill, and lemon juice. Stir, taste, and add more salt.
2: Make the salad: Add the tuna to the tzatziki sauce with the oil and mustard and mix well. Taste and add salt and pepper. The salad can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. It can be enjoyed as is, in sandwiches, salads or as a dip.
Curry roast half chicken and peppers
Half chickens, cut between the breast and back meat, are sold at most supermarkets and are a great way to cook for one person. They come in both white and lean meat, are on the bone and are juicy. They take less time to cook than a whole chicken, making them enough for two meals or a hearty dinner. Here, the curried chicken is roasted with peppers and onions, giving the pan juices a natural sweetness. They’re delicious served over rice or bread, or leftover chicken can be simmered in coconut milk for a curry stew, or shredded and tossed with mayonnaise for a chicken salad sandwich.
Serves 1-2
material
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons Madras or yellow curry powder
3 bell peppers (red, orange, yellow) diced
1 large onion (diced)
Salt and black pepper
1 whole chicken (about 1.5 pounds), patted dry with paper towels
Lemon or lime slices for garnish (optional)
direction
1: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil for easier cleanup.
2: Combine oil, garlic, and curry powder in a small bowl. Mix peppers and onions with 2 tablespoons of curry oil. Distribute evenly and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3: Place the chicken on top of the vegetables and rub the remaining curry oil all over the chicken and under the skin of the breasts. Sprinkle the chicken all over with salt and pepper.
Four: Roast for about 35 minutes, until chicken bone runs clear juices when pierced with a paring knife. If desired, squeeze lemon or lime juice over the whole thing before serving.
Egg nest sandwich
Eggs cooked in egg-sized holes in buttered toasted bread feel like a treat, but not quite a meal on its own. Here, the classic egg nest is paired with a grilled cheese and breakfast sandwich to create a meal made to be savored slowly, and equally delicious whether you eat it at the start of the day with a cup of coffee, in the middle of a lunch, for dinner or midnight, or at the end of the day. The bread slices (one with an egg and the other with cheese) cook simultaneously over relatively low heat, allowing the bread to achieve the perfect golden brown while the egg sets and the cheese melts. For a little extra heat, add hot sauce, chili powder, or chili flakes.
1 serving
material
2 slices of brioche, challah, or sandwich bread
butter
1-2 slices of cheddar or other cheese
1 egg
Salt and black pepper
1-2 slices of ham or bacon (optional)
direction
1: Using a biscuit cutter or glass, cut a 2- to 3-inch hole in the center of one slice of bread.
2: Melt a little butter in a large nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron skillet over medium-low heat. Add the bread slices, rubbing to absorb the butter. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until golden brown, then flip. Lightly butter the skillet and place under the bread slices, then add a little butter to the hole in the other slice of bread.
3: Spread cheese over the slices and crack an egg into the hole. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the egg and place a lid on the pan, leaving a small gap. Cook for 2 to 4 minutes, until the egg white is set and the yolk is still soft. If the bottom starts to brown too much, reduce the heat.
Four: If using ham or bacon, place it on top of the cheese. Place the fried egg, sunny side up, on top of the cheese and serve immediately.
Recipe by Genevieve Ko.
