Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant or Southern Living Ultimate Quick and Easy Cookbook

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

Author: Jenni Ferrari Adler

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.

Wall Street Journal

A balanced literary buffet...seasoned with whimsy.

Toast

I've read the introduction and the first two essays, and have decided I want to make it last, and savor it . . . I've got it by the bed, and am allowing myself one chapter per night.

Glorious Food and Wine

The stories are funny, sometimes moving, guilty pleasures . . . If you have any inclination to look into the secret solitary kitchen life of some great writers, then read this book. It is entertaining, it is beautifully written, and you'll also find the occasional recipe. Do not expect pictures. Do not expect gourmet sophistication. But do expect reality.

Walker New York Eats

I admit I devoured it once I got my hands on it; it's almost voyeuristic to read about these private dining moments.

The Wednesday Chef

Charming . . . Each essay is a pleasantly voyeuristic snapshot, like looking into someone's grocery basket.

Cooking With Amy

If you are looking for a book to take on vacation, to the beach, or on a plane, you couldn't ask for a better one than Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant.

Publishers Weekly

A mishmash of foodie writers dispute, humorously or more self-seriously, the pros and cons of cooking and dining alone. While eating by oneself can be the busy worker's greatest pleasure, as Colin Harrison notes of his solitary Manhattan lunches during a work day ("Out to Lunch"), and mother Holly Hughes ("Luxury") agrees is a secret but too rare pleasure, other writers see it as depressing or shameful. In "The Lonely Palate," Laura Calder quotes Epicurus as saying, "we should look for someone to eat and drink withbefore looking for something to eat and drink"—then offers a recipe for Kippers Mash. Eating is an act of love, thus prompting Jonathan Ames ("Poisonous Eggs") to dine out and flirt with the waitress. "Table for One" by Erin Ergenbright records how the single diner is perceived uneasily by the wait staff. And M.F.K. Fisher relishes solitary dining ("A Is for Dining Alone") as a way to escape "the curious disbelieving impertinence of the people in restaurants." The collection is named after an essay by Laurie Colwin, who found a dozen different ways to cook eggplant on her two-burner hot plate while living alone in a tiny Greenwich Village flat. (July)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Rosemarie Lewis - Library Journal

Editor Ferrari-Adler's motley assortment of 26 essays is a quick and often insightful read. Some, including Colbert Reportcocreator Ben Karlin's "The Legend of Salsa Rosa" and Holly Hughes's "Luxury," are laugh-out-loud funny. Reading "Thanks, but No Thanks," Courtney Eldridge's account of her ex-husband's elitist eating habits, is like sitting down to commiserate with a particularly articulate friend. Others are strange and haunting, notably Haruki Murakami's "The Year of Spaghetti" and Rattawut Lapcharoensap's "Instant Noodles." More than half include recipes-goodies such as Amanda Hesser's (food editor, New York Times Magazine) Single Girl Salmon and Steve Almond's enticing Grill-Curried Shrimp Quesarito with Avocado Raita-while others incorporate favorite ways of preparing comfort foods, e.g., Laura Dave's "How To Cook in a New York Apartment" and Nora Ephron's "Potatoes and Love: Some Reflections." There is no obvious order to the arrangement of stories; thumbnail biographies of all of the contributors are available at the end. Many recognizable names make this a great book for literary foodies, but it is not an essential purchase for most public and academic libraries.

Library Journal

Ferrari-Adler takes time off from writing the short stories she's been publishing to compile reflections on what's fun about eating alone. With authors as varied as M.F.K. Fisher, Laurie Colwin, and Haruki Murakami. Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

New interesting textbook: Izakaya or Pops

Southern Living Ultimate Quick and Easy Cookbook

Author: Southern Living Magazine Staff

Keep the home fires burning and the family happy with fast, tasty meals from the Southern Living Ultimate Quick & Easy Cookbook. The ultimate solution for families on the go-traditional homestyle cooking, served up fast and fresh. This new edition features over 400 easy-to-prepare dishes from Southern Living's professional test kitchens. One fabulous menu might start off with Berry Mint Iced Tea; Fast Rosemary-Dried Tomato Flatbread for an appetizer; a Southern Favorite like Chicken and Dumplings or Oven-Fried Catfish as the main dish; with some Jalapeno Cornbread and the side. For dessert, try the Pears with Raspberry Sherbet. All recipes include cook and prep times, and those that take 10, 20, and 30 minutes are flagged for quick reference. See how delectable they look with over 100 new tempting color photos. Thanks to the cooking experts at Southern Living, you can put together great tasting, satisfying meals in practically no time at all.

Table of Contents:

	Streamlined Southern	8
	Hot Off the Grill	48
	Healthy Homestyle	66
	One-Dish Family Favorites	88
	Slowcooker Favorites	112
	Quick Bites	138
	Drinks In a Blink	162
	No Fuss Breads	180
	Main Dishes In Minutes	202
	Pronto Pizza & Pasta	242
	Super Sandwiches	266
	Satisfying Soups & Salads	290
	Shortcut Sides	326
	Desserts In a Dash	348
	The Quick & Easy Kitchen	386
	Index	392