650 Recipes for Everything You’ll Ever Want to Make
Because smaller families shouldn’t have to rely on recipes built for four or six, America’s Test Kitchen has reengineered 650 of our best recipes to serve just two. Over the years we’ve discovered that scaling down a recipe isn’t as simple as cutting the ingredients in half—cooking times, temperatures, and equipment need to be adapted as well. This comprehensive cookbook takes the guesswork out of cooking for two so you can be sure that anything you want to make—from Classic Beef Stew to Lasagna to a mini batch of Fudgy Brownies or a Fluffy Yellow Layer Cake—will come out right (and perfectly proportioned) every time. We’ll also give you options when you’re short on time. 150 recipes, including Chicken Saltimbocca and Pan-Seared Rib-Eye Steaks with Sweet-Tart Red Wine Sauce, can be on the table in 30 minutes or less. For those times when you want healthier fare, we’ve provided more than 100 recipes labeled “Light” such as Provencal Vegetable Soup and Poached Shrimp Salad with Avocado and Grapefruit, each with nutritional information listed in an easy-to-read chart in the back of the book. And we include chapters on for-two slow cooking, grilling, and baking pies, quick breads, cakes, and cookies. A 25-page manual teaches the basics of cooking for two, including clever shopping strategies to reduce waste, smart storage tricks help extend freshness of key ingredients, and our picks for the most useful kitchen equipment for any two-person household.
The reason given in the forward for this cookbook is really quite sweet. A neighbor, a man and his daughter, complained that about having too many leftovers after he cooked. After receiving hundreds of requests along the same line, the editors decided answer the requests. Then they discovered that cooking for two people required much more than just dividing the recipe in half!
This cookbook is the result of their work. I’m an empty nester so it was perfect for my husband and myself. I was so impressed I bought copies for both of my daughters! It was so great to see a cake recipe that wouldn’t leave me with enough cake to eat every day for a week!
Even better, IMHO, is the section in the beginning where they give some tips on buying for a smaller household. Tips for using up the leftover ingredients, smaller sized pans. These are all things I personally struggled with after my last daughter moved out!
Joe Gee 5.0 out of 5 stars Great explanations as to why the recipe works! Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2020 Verified Purchase Great pictures, easy instructions, and really great recipes.
P. Warner 5.0 out of 5 stars Big Beautiful Book! Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2020 Verified Purchase Lots of yummy recipes structured for one and two servings. Beautifully illustrated. Great for a gift so buy two...you will want to keep one.
Scott Barnard 5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome cookbook, every kitchen should have one. Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2020 Verified Purchase A cook book that weighs 4 pounds, 450 pages, 650 recipes and information on everything from preparing food, the deferance between canned tomatos, how to cut meat and everything and anything that deals with cooking in between. If I could give it a 10 score I would. Funny thing is I have not made one recipes yet. By the recipes I've look at in this book, I will be making a lot of these recipes. And before I read a review of a reviewer that is complaining they have to send this book back because " it's to big, "there's no pictures", "to bulkie". I have this to say, stop your whining and do some COOKING!!!! This cook book uses common ingredients and common sense to make theses recipes. Yes it has common information that a beginning cook can use. And deeper information that over time a beginner can use. But the best part of this cook book is this. COOKING FOR TWO PEOPLE !!!!
Katie likes books 5.0 out of 5 stars Well thought out and informative Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 26, 2020Verified Purchase Plenty of recipes and additional information regarding all aspects of food and cooking. Its complete in itself for 2 people wanting to stop waste.
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Book Reviews by the Reluctant Retiree 