Alone in the kitchen: The seductive nature of solo cooking
Some people find solitary pleasure in listening to podcasts, going for long walks, soaking in the bathtub. For Eric Kim, it’s cooking solo.
“It’s really time to myself, and it’s really therapeutic,” says the writer, who grew up in Alpharetta. As the author of Food52′s popular Table for One column (2018-2020), Kim spent many quiet hours conjuring single servings of risotto, beef bourguignon, chicken soup (from a Cornish game hen), and chocolate lava cakes, then sharing the recipes in confessional essays about life as a gay academic-turned-food writer in Manhattan.
Thanks to the warm response of readers, he ended up feeling less alone. And he found that his musings on diminutive meatloafs and five-minute peach cobblers resonated not only with solo dwellers, but also married couples with and without children, people with roommates, people in long-distance relationships, and so on.
“I don’t like exercising, so I cook for myself,” says Kim, 29, who since August has been in quarantine with his family in Atlanta, where he is putting the final touches on his first cookbook, “Korean American.” He calls the culinary memoir, due out next year from Clarkson Potter, a valentine to his Korean mother, Jean.
Soon, however, Kim will have a full-circle moment. Next month, he returns to New York to work as a cooking writer and recipe developer for The New York Times.
Once again, he’ll be alone in the kitchen, mostly. “I’m looking forward to getting back to that,” said Kim, who taught himself to cook as a Columbia University grad student immersed in Hemingway, Faulkner, Henry James, and Nigella Lawson.
Kim is not unique in this passion.
While the census doesn’t query Americans about their cooking habits, it does track household numbers. In 2019, an estimated 28% of Americans lived alone — a trend that has grown steadily since 1960.
And now that we are in the middle of a somber pandemic winter, having visitors inside the home is off the table for many. Just as some singletons may feel increasingly isolated, couples and families in quarantine might find their personal space shrinking. As COVID-19 transformed social norms last year, families rejoiced in the novelty of coming together for home-cooked meals. Almost a year later, it’s possible that the pendulum has swung. If two’s company and three’s a crowd, maybe now one is the magic number in the kitchen.
Forget counting steps: How much me-time have you clocked this week?
“Discover the joy of cooking for yourself — no matter your household size,” said the press release tucked into America’s Test Kitchen’s “Cooking for One: Scaled Recipes, No-Waste Solutions & Time-Saving Tips” ($29.99), published in September. A welcome volume with recipes for the likes of Crispy-Skinned Chicken, Gingery Carrot Soup, Simplest Ground Beef Tacos, Mexican Street Corn Salad, No-Bake Apple Crisp, and — ahoy! — Two Chocolate Chip Cookies, the cookbook is in tune with the zeitgeist. On the practical side, it packs a good many tricks, tips and techniques for cooks at all levels, too. It’s a companionable book to give to both the college-bound and the older person suddenly setting the table for one.
I’ve lived alone for the past 20 years, and though I enjoy entertaining, the more I cook for just me, the more I love it. In the past year, the pandemic has forced me to be more resourceful and more creative. Instead of dashing out with a shopping list, I improvise with ingredients on hand. Instead of batch cooking, which can lead to both wasting food and overindulging, I’ve lately taken a shine to the single-serving approach. Kim’s columns have been a particular inspiration.
So the next time you are feeling all alone and hungry, instead of reaching for the peanut butter or the cereal, treat yourself to a little luxury. A half-dozen oysters, a perfect filet mignon, a chocolate lava cake with a hint of clementine: It’s hard to get bored when you fill your solitary hours with such deliciousness.
RECIPES FOR THE SOLO COOK
With these dishes, you can perfect your steak-cooking technique, make a TV dinner of scallops steamed in tin foil, and bake just two chocolate chip cookies instead of two dozen.
Eric Kim’s Foil-Packet Scallops with Caper-Raisin Butter
Atlanta native Eric Kim’s foil-wrapped scallops, dotted with caper-raisin butter and steamed on a mound of rainbow-chard ribbons, are easy and luxurious. If you make the butter ahead of time, you can have dinner in about 30 minutes. You will have enough extra butter for another batch of scallops. Kim suggests using leftovers with pasta, roasted cauliflower, and raw bitter vegetables. I might spread it on a cracker or bread.
- For the caper-raisin butter:
- 2 tablespoons non-pareil capers
- 2 tablespoons golden raisins
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon malt vinegar (may use other vinegar such as sherry, apple-cider, rice or white)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- For the scallops:
- 3-4 large leaves of rainbow chard, rolled like a cigar and cut into 1/2-inch strips (about 3 cups)
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 ounces scallops (about 3 to 4 large scallops)
- 1 tablespoon caper-raisin butter (see recipe)
- White rice, for serving (optional)
- To make the caper-raisin butter: Boil the capers, raisins and water together for about 10 minutes, until the raisins have plumped up and water has reduced significantly.
- Puree in a food processor with the butter, vinegar, salt and pepper. Store in a jar or container with a tightly fitted lid, refrigerated, for up to a week.
- To make the scallops: Heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Place rainbow chard in the center of a large rectangular sheet of aluminum foil. Drizzle olive oil over the greens, and season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Top the chard with scallops. Smear the caper-raisin butter over each scallop, then season with more salt and pepper.
- Fold over each side of the aluminum foil until you have an enclosed square packet. Place on a sheet pan and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the scallops are just cooked through. Serve with optional white rice. Serves 1.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving: 223 calories (percent of calories from fat, 55), 16 grams protein, 10 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 14 grams total fat (6 grams saturated), 50 milligrams cholesterol, 811 milligrams sodium.— Adapted from Food52
Buffalo Filet and Potatoes for One
The flavor profile of hot sauce and blue cheese started with the chicken wing, and has since infused the culture. Here we apply it to steak and potatoes for one. We’ve adapted Alton Brown’s stove-top-to-oven technique of steak cookery for a filet mignon, topped it with a hunk of blue cheese, and paired it with home fries doused with hot sauce. This is a generous portion; if you add a green salad or vegetable and a dessert, you will likely have enough to share.
- 2 small to medium russet potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for steak
- 1 filet mignon, about 2 inches thick (6-8 ounces)
- 4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 tablespoons blue cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- Handful of sliced scallions
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce
- Place potatoes in a boiler, add 1/2 teaspoon salt, cover with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover and boil until potatoes can be pierced all the way through with a thin knife blade, about 7-8 minutes. Drain and set aside until ready to cook steak.
- About an hour before you’re ready to cook the meal, place filet mignon on a plate. Drizzle 2 teaspoons olive oil on the steak (1 teaspoon per side); season generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, rubbing seasonings into the meat. Allow plate to sit on the counter for 1 hour so it can come to room temperature.
- Set oven to 500 degrees, and place a 10- to 12-inch cast-iron pan in the oven. When the oven reaches temperature, remove the skillet, and place over a flame over high heat for 5 minutes. Place the steak in the pan, and cook for 1 minute. Using tongs, flip and cook the other side for 1 minute. Place skillet in oven and cook for 2 minutes; flip and cook the other side for 2 minutes. The filet should be charred on the exterior and medium rare at the center. Remove from oven. Place blue cheese on top. Cover with foil, and let rest for 5 minutes.
- While the steak is resting, finish the potatoes. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Toss in onion, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and scallions and cook for another minute. Stir in butter to melt. Add potatoes, and cook until they start to turn brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Stir in hot sauce and cook another minute. Taste and adjust seasonings.
- Place the steak and potatoes on plate, pour any remaining pan juices around the filet, and serve. (As an alternate serving method, slice into strips before plating.) Serves 1.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving: 1,003 calories (percent of calories from fat, 46), 49 grams protein, 88 grams carbohydrates, 7 grams fiber, 53 grams total fat (18 grams saturated), 157 milligrams cholesterol, 2,134 milligrams sodium.
Two Chocolate Chip Cookies
Making a big batch of cookies can be a big problem for a solo cook. Who can stop with just one or two? In “Cooking for One,” America’s Test Kitchen poses a solution with two perfect chocolate chip cookies. You may use any kind of chocolate (chips or chopped bar), M&Ms, Reese’s Pieces, white chocolate or butterscotch chips — and have warm cookies in 30 minutes. Then, all you need is a glass of milk.
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Pinch baking soda
- Pinch table salt
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons chocolate chips
- Line small rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. (Or grease the pan.)
- Whisk flour, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, using rubber spatula, mash butter and sugar together until well combined and lightened in color. Add egg yolk and vanilla; mix until combined. Stir in flour mixture until just combined; then stir in chocolate chips.
- Adjust toaster oven or oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees.
- Divide dough into two portions, using spatula, then roll into balls. (Butter your palms to keep dough from sticking.) Place on prepared sheet, spaced about 2 inches apart. Bake until the edges of cookies are set and beginning to brown but centers are still soft and puffy, 8-12 minutes. Let cookies cool on sheet for 10 minutes. Makes 2 cookies.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per cookie: 206 calories (percent of calories from fat, 48), 3 grams protein, 25 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 11 grams total fat (6 grams saturated), 107 milligrams cholesterol, 108 milligrams sodium.— Adapted from “Cooking for One: Scaled Recipes, No-Waste Solutions & Time-Saving Tips” by America’s Test Kitchen ($29.99)
Read more stories like this by liking Atlanta Restaurant Scene on Facebook, following @ATLDiningNews on Twitter and @ajcdining on Instagram.
