Meals for only two

[Ted Fairhead]

I'll start by saying that our tastes tend to lean to the French, Italian,or Asian recipes and not on "good 'ole plain Southern" cooking, although I hasten to add we are not food snobs.

I can enjoy roast beef and Yorkshire pudding with the best of them, even a good hamburger, but I do not enjoy casseroles, greasy chicken, overcooked vegetables, and just about any form of B-B-Q.

What I am searching for are recipes for two people that do not involve lots of left-overs. My wife and I are both retired and on fixed incomes so cost is also a factor.

Living where I do, in Eastern N. Carolina, it is also impossible to obtain unusual or exotic ingredients, but I can stock up on pantry items when we make our semi-monthly trips to Richmond, VA such as condiments, spices and dry goods that are not sold here in New Bern.

I am a fairly decent cook and enjoy prepping and putting a good meal on the table, but most of my cookbooks offer recipes that are for four or six persons, and do not lend themselves easily to reducing in size. Oh, I make do but it would be nice to have some recipes that would be intriguing, creative, and tasty.

I guess I should add that pork, in its modern low-fat style, is not my favorite meat but is readily available here at the source! Maybe there are some ways of cooking it that might make it more acceptable?

Does anybody have this same problem?

[Shel_B]

I am a fairly decent cook and enjoy prepping and putting a good meal on the table, but most of my cookbooks offer recipes that are for four or six persons, and do not lend themselves easily to reducing in size [...] Does anybody have this same problem?

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Hi,

Since I mostly cook for one or two, I've looked around for healthy and interesting recipes that fit that need. Here's a site that might be helpful:

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/collecti...wo_recipes.html

Kind Regards,

Shel

[jgm]

Start searching for recipes for compound butters. There are many, many concoctions, all the way from parsley and chives, to combinations of nuts, peppers, onion, multiple herbs, etc.

They can be frozen for two to three months. After that, the herbs will start losing their potency. But using fresh herbs in compound butters is an excellent way to maximize the use of what you buy, so that you're not in the trap of using a tablespoon or two and discarding what's left.

You can do a quick saute of any kind of meat or fish you like, top it with a pat of compatible compound butter, and get a big bang for your buck, flavor-wise. Or a compound butter can be used with freshly-steamed vegetables.

Likewise, you might look for some good pan sauce recipes. After you've sauteed your meat or fish, you can add herbs, shallots, cream or butter, and have an excellent sauce. The Joy of Cooking has several, if I remember correctly.

[deltadoc]

If you're retired, I'm thinking you might not be wanting to eat a bunch of butter, cream, etc.

Middle Eastern dishes come to mind as they can be prepared for two. My wife and I do it all the time.

Buy a lb. of #2 bulgar for your pantry. It isn't really that hard to find anymore.

Soak a little in salted water over night, rinse and drain. Add some finely chopped fresh Italian parsley, deseed and dice a fresh tomato. Add some purple diced onion or scallion (green onions), add some fresh lemon juice and some olive oil, and some S&P. Now you got a delicious healthy Middle Eastern salad known as Tabouli.

Buy a couple cans of garbanzo beans, and buy a stack of whole wheat pita breads. You can keep the pitas in the freezer and split one between you as you need it. Pour out half the juice in one can of garbanzos, put two peeled cloves of garlic in your food processor and process them. Add the remaining can of garbanzos and juice left in the can. Buy a jar of Tahini. You're likely to find it anywhere Pita and/or bulgar is sold. Put in about 1/4 C of the tahini, a little bit of olive oil, juice of one lemon, and process it.

Add some water if it is too thick. Taste it and add some S&P to taste. You can dip the pita bread into the Hummous bi Tahini that you just made, and it is very healthy and tasty. It stores well in the refrigerator if you happen not to eat it all up!

You could take some lean ground meat (lamb, hamburger) mix in some freshly crushed garlic and chopped parsley, some chopped onion and S&P. Roll into little patties, and fry or grill them up. You've just made some nice Kofta Kabobs to eat.

You could even add some of that drained soaked bulgar to the kofta and make a little pie out of it. In the center you can put some of the meat mixture, and bake it. It's delicious.

You can make some Tahini sauce to splash over some of the kabobs by mixing Tahini, lemon juice, water, S&P and some olive oil, and crushed garlic. Very tasty.

You can even take a pita and open the pocket, add some of the Tabouli, some of the hummous, and some of the kabobs and some Tahini sauce and have yourself a nice delicious pita sandwich.

Hope this helps!

doc

[Mottmott]

It's a shame to eliminate pork as you can greatly expand your repetoire and get lots of meals-for-two type recipes. I don't want to convert you to a food you don't like, but if dryness is your only issue, there's a solution. Brining. (It will also improve your chicken, too.) It's really easy.

There are very many brine variations, some of which add more flavors, but they are all basically soaking the pork in half kosher salt, half sugar in water (sometimes more sugar). Good for chops, roasts, etc. And be sure not to overcook: 145-155f on the thermometer depending on how nervous the idea of pork makes you, and allow 7-20 minutes resting time depending on how large the piece of meat is. (Brining will also greatly improve most fowl as well.)

But as a solo diner, one of my favorite pork recipes, even without brining as it cooks so quickly and is protected:

--Get a boneless loin chop (or bone it out yourself if it's cheaper). I try to keep my meat at 3-4 oz per meal, so I get a single chop about 3/4- 1" thick, have it halved horizontally.

--Then I pound it as thin as possible without breaking it up. Flour it, dip it in beaten egg, then into Japanese bread crumbs (panko) which are very light. If they are unavailable to you, freshly make crumbs in the processor. Under no circumstances will I use commercial dried crumbs.

--I usually serve this with some sort of homemade salsa or relish. When I'm lazy, I use a peach salsa trader joe carries.

A whole pork tenderloin or a small piece of loin is a perfect size for two, so try brining to see if it doesn't change your experience with pork.

Pork is perfect for stuffing and works well with lots of flavors. There are endless variations: fruit, herbs, olives, capers, whatever ethnic style you fancy. One of my favoite meals since childhood is a chop with a pocket filled with a simple bread, sauteed onion and celergy, egg bound stuffing. For a special dinner, try one of the many recipes for dried fruit stuffed pork.

[Pierogi]

I'm most interested in this as well, since I'm a singleton, and face many of the same issues.

Plus, I HATE LEFTOVERS ! Chalk it up to a short attention span, I guess, but once I've had something, even something I've craved, I don't want to face it again for a loooooooong time. Not for lunch, not for dinner in the same week (not even the same month.....)

Not a problem with casserole-y/stew-ie/soup-ie type stuff, I usually can find someone at work to for me to pawn off...errmmm, donate the extras. Or some things (i.e. meatloaf) can be frozen for future reference.

But, currently I have about 1/2 a pound of grilled flank steak and 2 really nice pan-fried loin pork chops (the thick ones) waiting in the 'fridge for inspiration. And this is where I come up way lacking.

Not leftovers, lets say "repurposing" yeah, that's it, "repurposing" excess proteins. Any suggestions welcome.

[bergerka]

But, currently I have about 1/2 a pound of grilled flank steak and 2 really nice pan-fried loin pork chops (the thick ones) waiting in the 'fridge for inspiration.  And this is where I come up way lacking.

Not leftovers, lets say "repurposing" yeah, that's it, "repurposing" excess proteins.  Any suggestions welcome.

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ok, not all that inspired, but in hot weather? Flank steak? Slice it, get some good lettuce and tomatoes and whatever else you like in a salad and make a steak salad with, like, a dijon vinaigrette or something! Serve with crusty bread! Yum!

[rooftop1000]

Repurposed meats are great in salads and pasta dishes. I agree for the Steak a nice tangy salad would be perfect and for the Pork maybe a creamy pasta dish, sundried tomatoes or lightly cooked peppers and onion, or something Asian/noodley.

Composed salads are fun too with steamed veg and grilled meats potatoes or pasta right in there. Especially with roasted chicken you can make chicken salads or salads with chicken.

tracey

[hongda]

Dinners for two:

Italian:

Veggies and an antipasto plate with a Bagna Cauda dipping sauce.

For the sauce, olive oil heated up with thinly sliced garlic and anchovies. Just a low heat till the anchovies melt.

Tuna Pasta: Heat a little olive oil till ripply. Add salt, garlic, pepper flakes, stir until fragrant. Add a can of high quality tuna packed in olive oil. Heat through. Toss with cooked pasta and a little of the pasta water. I like to top this with salad greens.

Meditteranean:

How about home made tzatziki sauce. Minced cucumber drained and slightly salted. Let sit in a colander for about 10 mins. Meanwhile place yogurt in colander lined with cheese cloth. Rinse the cucumber, place in yogurt with salt, pepper, crushed garlic, squeeze of lime juice, and cumin. Serve with grilled meat, sliced cucumbers, tomatoes and minced onions.

Not sure where to put this one. Lightly flour chicken breast. Pan fry in a little oil. Remove chicken and drain most of the oil out. Toss in some capers. Fry for a second. Add white wine, chicken broth or oil, a pat of butter and the chicken back into the pan. Serve over rice or pasta with a side salad.

Asian:

Fish sauce: Vietnamese fish sauce, water, sugar, garlic, vinegar (or lemon juice). Nuoc Nam. Serve with either rice noodles or rice with plenty of bean sprouts, herbs (such as basil and mint) and grilled meats. works great on grilled pork chops.

[Megan Blocker]

Roast chicken - the leftovers aren't really leftovers, since you can do so many things with them, including making stock from the carcass. Save some of the skin to cover the carved meat before wrapping in tinfoil, and it will stay moister in the fridge. This is actually the only way I will eat breast meat - cold from the fridge, when it's had a chance to hang out with the juicy dark meat.

Also, pasta - obviously very easy to expand or shrink to meet demand. As a shameless plug, here are a couple of recipes from my blog that use pasta in not-too-unhealthy ways...

- Chicken and Orzo Salad

- Wild Asparagus with Spaghetti and Chives (also good with skinny domesticated asparagus, or with snow peas)

[Pontormo]

Spend some time on the Dinner thread in the Cooking forum to search for new ideas since there are many eG members who cook simply for 1 or 2.

I just don't see the problem with recipes that cater to 4 or 6. Published recipes w precisely measured ingredients are relatively modern developments, designed originally to instruct readers who were not taught how to cook by offering precise, virtually scientific instructions to follow. There are still lots of cooks around the world who simply reach for a little of this or that as they prepare dishes they mastered while growing up--or invent meals based on their shopping and what's at hand. Gauging the size of reasonable portions should be your main concern.

Either cut the ingredients in recipes in half or thirds (half should be fine, really) to accommodate just the two of you, or limit yourself to ones that supply desirable leftovers. Over time you'll find new ways to be creative in transforming leftovers into something new--or discover how much better certain leftovers are several days later. E.g., many braises, stews, soups, anything marinated or featuring eggplant tend to be better a couple of days later; I personally welcome leftovers especially if they freeze well.

Start calling casseroles gratins and you may find that your preferences expand as well. There is a difference between a poorly made glop of rubbery chicken breast, flabby overcooked egg noodles and frozen broccoli tops slathered with canned soup concentrate and topped with orange processed cheese AND a classic French side of a fresh, newly picked vegetable, sauced with your own bechamel, topped with lightly browned, crisp, fresh bread crumbs and wisps of melted Gruyere even if it is baked in a shallow ceramic dish that is decorated with a single blue cornflower.

If you don't have access to farm stands, a farmer's market or supply of local food at your supermarket, you might consider gardening--that is if you have the land or a community garden nearby. Finding reasonably priced, high quality fresh ingredients seems like the greater challenge.

As for local traditions in the Carolinas, there is good Southern cooking and bad Southern cooking. Investigate the cooking thread devoted to Edna Lewis and her talented fan, Scott Peacock. Click.

[Chufi]

I just don't see the problem with recipes that cater to 4 or 6.  Published recipes w precisely measured ingredients are relatively modern developments, designed originally to instruct readers who were not taught how to cook by offering precise, virtually scientific instructions to follow.  There are still lots of cooks around the world who simply reach for a little of this or that as they prepare dishes they mastered while growing up--or invent meals based on their shopping and what's at hand.  Gauging the size of reasonable portions should be your main concern.

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Agreed! This thread got me thinking.. I´ve been cooking for 2 on a daily basis (and often for 3 on the weekends when my stepdaughter is here, and for 4 or more when we have dinner guests) for 13 years now. I almost NEVER have leftovers, except when I intend to (for instance when I cook a big pot of Bolognese or beansoup or stew). All other meals have the portions we eat and nothing more. I don't like leftovers, in my experience they often become things that live for a while and then die in my fridge.

I have no difficulties scaling down recipes. Savoury dishes are usually very forgiving that way, but I also scale down sweets and baked goods - I don't want to bake 50 cookies for just the 2 of us!

Scaling down, for me, starts at the market and grocery store. I shop often and buy small quantities of everything, especially of stuff that is likely to spoil quickly.

[C. sapidus]

Ted - if you like Asian food, many Chinese stir-fry recipes work best for two people. Larger amounts of food tend to cool the wok (skillet, etc.) so that the food does not sear properly. If you like spicy food, I can strongly recommend Fuchsia Dunlop’s Sichuan and Hunan cookbooks. Most of her recipes are sized to feed two.

Many Chinese, Vietnamese, and Thai recipes call for fattier cuts of pork, sliced thinly against the grain. This results in juicy meat that is not tough.

Thai and Vietnamese meat salads are wonderful, and can be sized appropriately. Fried rice is also excellent for using up leftover meat (or anything else that may be hanging around your fridge).

[Lisa1349]

Stuffed peppers! I prefer red ones. They can be stuffed with a meat/rice mixture, a pasta mix like baked ziti right in the pepper. I also like something witty, like some pasta and tomato sauce in the bottom, with browned sausage on top. After baking (cover with foil for fastest pepper cooking) you have a new rendition of sausage with peppers.

Peppers are also great for using up leftovers. When I have leftover chicken parm I slice it and put it in a pepper and bake.

[Ted Fairhead]

Thank you everyone for some good ideas. In my own defence I would say, Pontormo, that I DO scale down recipes, and yes, I do frequently go off on my own using the recipe merely as a starting idea.

I find most fish dishes are very amenable to modification or even major adjustments, as well as many asian dishes.

Lisa, thank you for the response but I have never developed a taste for peppers of any color. Its one of those flavors that I can detect in the smallest amount like cilantro,ugh!

[Jamie Lee]

Piggy-backing off of Bruce's entry, fried rice is the perfect singleton or duet menu.... all leftovers are game... a protein, an oil, every veggie you can scavage (those seemingly useless ends of zucchini, onion, scallion, green beans, frozen bits) and if you need it, a raw egg.

When you cook rice, always make double.

Stir fry it up ... and voila - protein, carbs, and most of all - veggies! Best of all, use your creative side for "add-ins" - soy, fish sauce, thai curry paste from a jar, chix stock, hot sauces to taste... YUM.

Jamie <-- cooks for herself all the time!

[mrsteak]

Chufi -

I wish we could get it down to no leftovers. The kids have left the nest for school for over two years now and even though we try hard to cook for two it just doesn't usually work out that way. We also shop often and have the butcher wrap things in portions we think would only be for two, but we still end up with leftovers. Usually small amounts, but when you spend a lot of time and money on a dish it is a shame to waste even small amounts. But before they "die in my fridge" (I liked that one) they get fed to our dogs as snacks. Sounds wasteful but not as wasteful as tossing them. The dogs certainly have no complaints.

I tried some software - MasterCook - because you can use their recipes or plug in your own and then scale them down to serve two, but that didn't work well, not even as a guideline. I've plugged "cooking for two" into a search engine and a lot came up but I'd rather just not fool with all that.

Edited July 12, 2007 by mrsteak (log)

[Hahabogus]

But, currently I have about 1/2 a pound of grilled flank steak and 2 really nice pan-fried loin pork chops (the thick ones) waiting in the 'fridge for inspiration.  And this is where I come up way lacking.

Not leftovers, lets say "repurposing" yeah, that's it, "repurposing" excess proteins.  Any suggestions welcome.

←

ok, not all that inspired, but in hot weather? Flank steak? Slice it, get some good lettuce and tomatoes and whatever else you like in a salad and make a steak salad with, like, a dijon vinaigrette or something! Serve with crusty bread! Yum!

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Stir fries aren't just for the chinese...and don't have to have an Asian feel to them. THis is a good way to cook fast in hot weather.

[Pierogi]

I wish we could get it down to no leftovers....even though we try hard to cook for two it just doesn't usually work out that way.

Took the words right out of my brain. I too buy only the smallest pieces of protein (pork tenderloins instead of a big roast, ham steaks, etc.) and portion out smaller cuts (chops, chicken parts), and as the OP does, have become a whiz at scaling recipes.

Yet STILL they lurk in the 'fridge, and more importantly, STILL I feel as though I waste way too much food (so distateful to me on so many levels).

I can work with some replays for lunch (pastas, casseroles), but its the waiting-to-be-repurposed roasted/grilled/sauteed proteins that do me in. One can only eat so much fried rice. I did have sort of an epiphany (well, it was to me, maybe others have had this thought before) this afternoon. If a recipe starts out with cooking the protein separately from the rest of the ingredients, I'm going to use the candidate from the 'fridge instead. I was reading a recipe for a red curry pork, and step one was thinly slice and saute some loin pork chops......HMMMMM....don't I have some of them in leftover land? I'll just slice them up, and add them in at the appropriate place, after the veggies and sauce have been prepped. I BET it will work just fine. Why wouldn't it?

And yes, my dogs are also extremely well- (and exotically) fed !

[Ted Fairhead]

I wish we could get it down to no leftovers....even though we try hard to cook for two it just doesn't usually work out that way.

Took the words right out of my brain. I too buy only the smallest pieces of protein (pork tenderloins instead of a big roast, ham steaks, etc.) and portion out smaller cuts (chops, chicken parts), and as the OP does, have become a whiz at scaling recipes.

Yet STILL they lurk in the 'fridge, and more importantly, STILL I feel as though I waste way too much food (so distateful to me on so many levels).

I can work with some replays for lunch (pastas, casseroles), but its the waiting-to-be-repurposed roasted/grilled/sauteed proteins that do me in. One can only eat so much fried rice. And yes, my dogs are also extremely well- (and exotically) fed !

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Both you and MrSteak(Above) have succintly described my concerns, particularly the waste of food.

Yes, my two dogs, a Yorkie and a Sheltie are also fed very well except the Sheltie does not cope well with exotic foods. The Yorkie however is our mobile garbage disposer!

I do plan on doing more fried rice...it hadn't occurred to me before what an easy and tasty way of re-purposing those leftovers.

We had Coquilles St.Jacques this evening as a main course, but we had two large scallops left over, with both of us unable to eat another bite. At $1.50 each scallop I should have saved them (but didn't,) to serve with fried rice. Next time.....

[Chufi]

I can work with some replays for lunch (pastas, casseroles), but its the waiting-to-be-repurposed roasted/grilled/sauteed proteins that do me in.  One can only eat so much fried rice.

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but why grill more protein than you can eat in one meal in the first place? When you have to buy 4 pork chops, because they come packaged that way, why not cook only one or two as needed for 1 dinner, and freeze the rest?

I´m just really curious why I don't have the leftover problem.. and it´s not that we eat that much and just keep eating till there are no leftovers

[mrsteak]

As far as pork chops, and other meats and poultry, we buy it from a butcher shop and do only package two in a package. But, using pork as an example, we buy thick, bone-in pork chops and neither of us can always finish a whole one. And we're not thin people, but not overweight either. Just can't always finish it all. And even though they're not talking, I know in my heart the dogs are glad about that.

Speaking of dogs, they are the best food critics of what you make because they will always eat it. Well, there have been one or two times that they've turned up their noses - what a way to hurt your feelings!

I'm making some individual beef wellies for dinner tonight and the dogs can forget that one - if there's any left I'll eat them cold and leftover tomorrow! Grosses my wife out.

Edited July 13, 2007 by mrsteak (log)

[Pierogi]

but why grill more protein than you can eat in one meal in the first place? When you have to buy 4 pork chops, because they come packaged that way, why not cook only one or two as needed for 1 dinner, and freeze the rest?

Well, again, I'll use the pork tenderloin example. Never mind that the supermarkets here package them TWO to a cryo-vac package.........even one packaged by itself, and a small one, is too much for one person to eat in one sitting, if you want sides (starch, veg, etc.)

I guess if I were smart, I'd cut it in half before I cooked it. Same with the flank/round/tri-tip steak issue. But usually, its late, its after work, I'm tired, I want FOOD, and the brain just doesn't go there. The brain says "smallest I can find...cook it all".

Hence, leftovers.

And sometimes, damnit, I WANT roast chicken (not a roast game hen), or roast beef. THEN the dogs are very happy, VERY happy indeed.

[JAZ]

but why grill more protein than you can eat in one meal in the first place? When you have to buy 4 pork chops, because they come packaged that way, why not cook only one or two as needed for 1 dinner, and freeze the rest?

Well, again, I'll use the pork tenderloin example. Never mind that the supermarkets here package them TWO to a cryo-vac package.........even one packaged by itself, and a small one, is too much for one person to eat in one sitting, if you want sides (starch, veg, etc.)

I guess if I were smart, I'd cut it in half before I cooked it. Same with the flank/round/tri-tip steak issue. But usually, its late, its after work, I'm tired, I want FOOD, and the brain just doesn't go there. The brain says "smallest I can find...cook it all".

Hence, leftovers.

And sometimes, damnit, I WANT roast chicken (not a roast game hen), or roast beef. THEN the dogs are very happy, VERY happy indeed.

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I'm probably not the one to be giving advice, because I actually plan for leftover protein. Except for fish, I almost always cook more than I use in one meal. But I don't think of it as leftover, I think of it as not having to start from scratch every night. And when it's late after work and I'm tired, knowing that I'm already halfway to a meal is wonderful.

So, for example, one night I'll roast a small chicken, and have roast chicken that night. A couple of nights later, I have chicken enchiladas, or tacos, or chicken and dumplings (half of which I freeze). I'll make some kind of chicken salad for a lunch or two. Or I'll cook a thick, bone-in pork chop, but I'll slice it off the bone, eat part that night, and use the rest in a curry or a stirfry. I slice leftover flank steak over a Thai-style salad, or make a steak sandwich or fajitas.

That still might not appeal to you, but if you haven't considered it, you may want to give it a try.

[Pierogi]

I'm probably not the one to be giving advice, because I actually plan for leftover protein. Except for fish, I almost always cook more than I use in one meal. But I don't think of it as leftover....

*THIS* is where I need to train my tired old brain to go. Amazingly, I do it automatically with some things, like the roast chicken. Yep, gonna have enchiladas/flautas later in the week for sure. Just have to wrap the neurons around thinking that way for other things as well.

It's a work in process, but then, isn't all of life?

And to remember to still save enough to make the pooches happy.