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Alone In The Kitchen With An Eggplant (Hardcover)

by Adler Ferrari (Author)

5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)

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Product Details

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Riverhead (TRD); 1 edition (Jul 24 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1594489475
ISBN-13: 978-1594489471
Product Dimensions: 21.3 x 14.5 x 3 cm
Shipping Weight: 409 g

Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #132,125 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in these categories:
#18 in Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Quick & Easy > Cooking for One
#99 in Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Gastronomy > Essays

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Product Description

From 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 with before 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 © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

In this celebration of the meal for one, Ferrari-Adler connects short essays from a diverse set of writers recounting solitary suppers and reflecting on the singular rewards and blissful consolation of indulging no one else's hungers but one's own. Marcella Hazan affirms this truth, noting that the single diner tends to disdain nutrition for comfort and familiarity, but without sinking into childhood formulations. Many of these writers address the specific challenges of cooking in the severely limited conditions presented by tiny Manhattan apartments. Laura Dave contends that in such cramped circumstances the conscientious cook learns never to prepare anything that may leave a lingering odor. Ann Patchett seems ultimately to reject the notion of dining alone, contending that feeding others is one of the most basic means of making human connections. In the few recipes recorded here, cheese figures prominently, from fine Gruyere through pedestrian cottage cheese. Knoblauch, Mark

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Inside This Book (Learn More)

Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover

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5.0 out of 5 stars The year of spaghetti...or beans...or rice..., May 30 2008

By	Linda Bulger (Avon, Maine) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

What do you cook for yourself when you are cooking and eating alone? This anthology is full of musings, great ideas, and confessions from a variety of writers who spill the beans on their solitary dining habits. It's definitely not a cookbook though there are some recipes included in the essays. Truffled Egg Toast and Single Girl Salmon; Salsa Rosa for One and White-on-White Lunch for When No One Is Looking (egg noodles and cottage cheese); Kippers Mash. See what I mean? Not a cookbook. But if you are interested in the diversity of U.S. attitudes toward cooking and eating, you will find the twenty-six essays in this book entertaining.

Phoebe Nobles, for example, eats fresh asparagus every day of its short season in Michigan, inspired by a bronze Spargelfrau statue in "some famous little asparagus town in Germany." Steamed, roasted, grilled, it's the perfect finger food. Late in the season when you are "flagging," break it into pieces and hide it inside things. In a particularly personal section of this essay, Ms. Nobles advises us that she enjoys the fresh vegetable aroma of the urine of asparagus eaters. Having never seen this fact mentioned in my five decades as a reader, I was surprised to find it referenced in two books within a month (this one, and NINETEEN MINUTES by Jodi Picoult).

The ever-entertaining Steve Almond cheated a bit on the brief. Pleading Jewishness, he claims to be bound by Mosaic law to feed anyone who comes to call, whether they want to eat or not. He claims that cooking for others is a "tremendous rush" and that writers, forced to work alone, are denied that pleasure of ulteriority in their work. He feels guilty about cooking well for himself and does anything in his power to lure others to eat with him. As a last resort he eats alone but denies himself the extra touches. His recipe contribution may be the most appealing in the book: Grill-Curried Shrimp Quesarito with Avocado Raita.

Several of the writers claim that when cooking for themselves they eat the same thing day after day; beans, or potatoes, or rice. One woman eats in the bathtub, one man changes to a jacket and tie and uses a freshly ironed cloth napkin. The possibilities are endless. Finances, time, and the size and equipage of the kitchen are considerations, but the main consideration is how you feel about treating yourself as an honored guest at your table.

Alone In The Kitchen With An Eggplant is a pleasant read for anyone who enjoys memoirs and food. Recommended.

Linda Bulger, 2008

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