Judith Jones is known as the editor of Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. But did you know that she has written a few cookbooks of her own? Her most recent, The Pleasures of Cooking for One, was written after she lost her husband and realized that she could still have a pleasure they shared — cooking — she’d just have to develop a way to cook for one person. It’s a great book for anyone who enjoys a good meal alone from time to time. And, it’s a great book for people who cook in small spaces because it offers great tips to use on kitchen essentials, conserving precious counter space, and buying just the ingredients you need.
Table of Contents
Chapter One: “Cooking Through the Week” – focuses on poultry, meat, and fish dishes. Offers many suggestions on how to stretch a chicken into multiple meals rather than make one meal and eat it as leftovers for the next four meals.
Chapter Two: “Soups for All Seasons” – encourages you to make soup out of what’s in your refrigerator or what’s in season.
Chapter Three: “Magic of Eggs and the Seduction of Cheese” – tells you how to use eggs to make any meal and how to use cheese to enhance the flavors.
Chapter Four: “Improvising with Vegetables, Salads, and Sauces” – offers many ways to bake, boil, roast, and stuff vegetables, as well as how to make a hearty salad that becomes a meal.
Chapter Five: “Rice, Pasta, Grains, and Legumes” – focuses on how to create great side dishes or how to utilize other ingredients – like poultry – to make a whole meal.
Chapter Six: “Treats, Sweets, and Special Indulgences” – shows how to make preserves and desserts you can enjoy alone.
Boeuf Bourguignon
And, of course, there’s a recipe for Boeuf Bourguignon. Would cookbook from Julia Child’s editor be complete with out it? You’ll see as you take a look at the recipe below how it can be stretched to three meals as suggestions are given to alter it each time to make it a little different.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces bacon, cut into small pieces, preferably a chunk cut into little dice
- About 1 1/4 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon light olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1/3 carrot, thick end, peeled and diced
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- Salt
- 1 cup red wine
- 1 cup beef broth
- Herb packet of 1/2 bay leaf; a fat garlic clove, smashed; a small handful of parsley stems; 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme; 4 or 5 peppercorns
For Vegetable Garnish
- 3 or 4 baby onions, or four 1-inch pieces of leek
- 3 or 4 baby carrots, or the thin ends of larger ones, peeled
- 2 or 3 small new potatoes
Directions
Brown the bacon in a heavy pot, fairly deep but not too large. When it has released its fat and is lightly browned, remove it to a dish, leaving the fat in the pan. Pat the pieces of beef dry with a paper towel. Pour the oil into the pot, and when it is hot, brown half the pieces of beef on all sides. Remove to the plate with the bacon, and brown the remaining pieces. Now sauté the onion and the carrot until they are lightly browned. Return the meats to the pot, sprinkle on the flour and some salt, and pour the wine and beef stock in. Tuck the herb packet into the pot, and bring to a boil; then reduce the heat, cover, and cook at a lively simmer for about 1 hour or more, depending on the cut of the meat. Bite into a piece to determine if it is almost done (it will get another 20 minutes or so of cooking with the vegetables).
When the time is right, add all the vegetables, cover, and cook at a lively simmer again for 20–25 minutes–pierce the veggies to see if they are tender. Serve yourself four or five chunks of meat, with all the vegetables, and a good French bread to mop up the sauce.
Second Round
Use three or four pieces and some of the remaining sauce to make a quick Beef and Kidney Pie (page 34 of The Pleasures of Cooking for One) later in the week. The recipe follows Veal Kidneys in Mustard Sauce because you want to use the leftover kidneys to put this dish together.
Third Round
Use what remains to make a meaty pasta sauce for one, breaking up the meat and adding three or four squeezed San Marzano plum tomatoes. Simmer the sauce as the pasta cooks.
(© Judith Jones)
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Knopf (September 29, 2009)
Language: English
Price: $27.95
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The Itty Bitty Kitchen handbook
