When I was single, I usually cooked enough food for at least two meals -- dinner one night and leftovers the next.
It was easier that way, and more economical. Also, I'm lazy, and getting more than one meal out of one day's cooking appealed to my slothful side. A dinner of corned beef turns into corned beef sandwiches the next day and corned beef hash for breakfast.
But sometimes you just. Don't. Want. Leftovers.
Sometimes, you truly want to cook just one meal for just one person: you. And cereal doesn't count.
So I decided to explore four takes on cooking for one: ground beef, pork, salmon (for when you're feeling a little fancy) and vegetarian.
I was in a celebratory mood, so I started with the salmon.
It was easy getting a single filet -- I just asked the fish guy at my grocery store for one. And making the sauce for it was almost as easy.
The sauce is a simple matter of whisking together mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, lemon zest, lemon juice and a bit of garlic. And when I tell you that it is a phenomenal sauce that I can't wait to try again, I'm not being all food writery and saying that everything I make is incredible. I'm telling you: It's a phenomenal sauce that I can't wait to try again.
I'm sure it would go well with other fish and even shrimp. For that matter, it would probably be excellent with chicken, too. But I can't see how it could be better with anything than it is with salmon; it is a perfect pairing.
I sauteed the salmon in a skillet, giving it a delicious, crispy sear. But the sauce is so great you could also bake the salmon, or even poach it. Any way you do it, you'll be happy.
I next tried a pork chop -- and to be honest, I could only find them in packages of two. But that's fine; I just had one left over to cook the next day.
The traditional accompaniment to pork chops is apple, so I was thinking along those lines when I came upon a recipe that stopped me in my tracks. It is a pork chop with apples, yes, but the apples are sweetened with brown sugar and flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg and pecans.
Essentially, it is a pork chop with the filling to an apple pie. It isn't nearly as sweet as that, but it's basically the same idea.
And how is it? It's excellent. It's pork with a warm apple glaze. It's a little hard to track down where the recipe originally came from -- it's swirling somewhere in the mists of the Internet -- but somebody out there is a genius.
As with the pork, it was hard to find ground beef in a portion of much less than a pound. So, as with the pork, I had some beef left over to cook the next day. (But if your grocery store has a full butcher department, it shouldn't be a problem.)
I used the beef to make what I'm afraid is a standard meal when I am cooking just for myself. It reminds me of what I imagine well-fed cowboys used to eat on the range, so I called it Chuckwagon Skillet.
It's ground beef cooked with onion, potatoes, beans, diced tomatoes and roasted corn, spiced (or not, if you don't like heat) with minced jalapeno. If you start cooking the potatoes first, everything comes together at the same time, and you can make it all in one skillet. That's important for solo diners.
If you want, you can make it with ground turkey, although I'm guessing not a lot of cowboys did it that way.
For my final solo meal, I made a vegetarian version of my favorite Philly cheese steak sandwich, Tony Luke's, which is right underneath Interstate 95. If you ask, Tony Luke's will put broccoli rabe on its sandwiches.
So I was thrilled to find a vegetarian version, with just the right amount of broccoli rabe and thinly sliced portobello mushrooms substituting for the beef. The mildly bitter rabe plays beautifully off the succulent, earthy mushrooms, and there is just enough grease to make it great.
Best of all are the couple of slices of American cheese that are melted in, which makes it absolutely gooey and divine. You could also use provolone or do it the Philly way, with Cheez Whiz.
But use the American cheese. Treat yourself.
Salmon Filet With a Lemon, Tarragon and Garlic Sauce
1 (4-ounce) salmon filet
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided use
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
Season the salmon with salt and pepper.
Whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, 1/2 tablespoon of the oil, the garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, tarragon and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Set aside.
Heat the remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil until shimmering in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add salmon, flesh-side down, and cook 5 to 7 minutes, depending on how done you want it. Flip and cook the skin side for 1 to 2 minutes. Serve with the sauce.
Makes 1 serving.
Nutrition information: Each serving contains 514 calories, 22 g protein, 46 g fat, 1 g carbohydrate, 72 mg cholesterol, 475 mg sodium and no fiber.
Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com
Cinnamon-Apple Pork Chop
2 teaspoons butter, divided use
1 pork loin chop
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 pinches salt
1 medium-size tart apple, such as Granny Smith, thinly sliced
1/2 tablespoon chopped pecans, optional
In a small skillet, heat 1 teaspoon butter over medium heat until hot. Add pork chop, cook 2 to 3 minutes on one side, then 1 to 2 minutes on the other side or until pork reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
Remove chop from skillet; keep warm. Add apple slices, optional pecans, brown sugar mixture and remaining 1 teaspoon butter to pan; cook and stir until tender. Serve with pork chop.
Makes 1 serving.
Nutrition information: Each serving contains approximately 400 calories, 24 g protein, 23 g fat, 27 g carbohydrate (21 g sugar), 97 mg cholesterol, 364 mg sodium and 4 g fiber.
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home
Chuckwagon Skillet
1/4 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 teaspoon butter
1 cup diced Russet potato
Salt
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced jalapeno, or to taste, optional
4 ounces ground beef or ground turkey
1/4 cup canned kidney beans, rinsed
1/4 cup canned diced tomatoes
Place a skillet over medium-high heat, coat well with nonstick spray and saute corn until spotted with brown. Remove to a bowl and set aside.
Melt butter in same skillet and add diced potatoes and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook 5 minutes, tossing or stirring frequently. Add onion, cover, and cook until soft and the potatoes are browned and tender, about 3 to 5 minutes. If using jalapeno, add it and cook for 1 minute. Stir in ground beef and cook, chopping the meat with a spoon or spatula, until cooked through. Stir in beans, tomatoes and reserved corn; cook until heated through. Taste for seasoning.
Makes 1 serving.
Nutrition information: Each serving contains approximately 453 calories, 29 g protein, 17 g fat, 47 g carbohydrate (5 g sugar), 97 mg cholesterol, 323 mg sodium and 9 g fiber.
Philly-Style Broccoli Rabe, Portobello and Cheese Sandwich
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, divided use
1/2 clove garlic, sliced thin
Pinch of crushed red pepper
3 ounces broccoli rabe or broccoletti, trimmed
1/2 tablespoon water
Salt and ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 medium portobello mushroom caps, gills removed, sliced thin
2 slices American cheese
1 (8-inch) Italian sub roll, split lengthwise and toasted
Heat 1/2 tablespoon oil in a small skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Add garlic and crushed red pepper and cook for 1 minute. Stir in broccoli rabe, water and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook until broccoli rabe is bright green and crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Off heat, stir in vinegar, then transfer to bowl.
Heat remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil in now-empty pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add mushrooms, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms release their liquid, 6 to 8 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook until moisture has evaporated and mushrooms begin to brown.
Stir broccoli rabe back into skillet and season with salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to low and top the vegetables with the cheese. Cover and cook until cheese is melted, about 2 minutes. Fold melted cheese thoroughly into mushroom mixture, and place on roll.
Nutrition information: Each serving contains approximately 600 calories, 24 g protein, 30 g fat, 62 g carbohydrate (15 g sugar), 34 mg cholesterol, 1225 mg sodium and 7 g fiber.
Recipe adapted from The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook by America's Test Kitchen
Food on 04/18/2018