Invite yourself to dinner for one

Dining alone needn't be grim or predictable if you keep some helpful tips in mind. And, remember, you deserve to be served a meal fit for a VIP, even if you eat it solo.

By JANET K. KEELER

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 3, 2001

Dinner alone doesn't have to be lonely. It also doesn't have to be a fast-food burger or frozen chicken surprise zapped on high for four minutes.

Doesn't gingery tuna steak for one grilled on the stove top or a single-serving eggplant Parmesan pizza sound more tempting than yet another quick-fix turkey sandwich? Of course it does, and you should think enough of yourself to whip it up for you, and you alone.

That's the message from Toni Lydecker in Serves One: Super Meals for Solo Cooks (Lake Isle Press, $14.95). Lydecker celebrates dining alone and offers a blueprint on how to cook for one efficiently and deliciously.

Thousands of people across the country, young and old, live alone and are faced with cooking and eating meals by themselves. Sound depressing? Yes, says Lydecker, if they have the same convenience meals night after night and give control over what they are eating to someone else.

"Stop thinking of cooking as a chore and then you'll enjoy cooking for yourself," Lydecker says in a phone interview from her Manhattan office. She is an editorial director at Lewis & Neal Inc., a public relations company that represents food accounts including Florida tomatoes and sweet corn. "Think of cooking for yourself as a chance to treat yourself well and have something you really feel like eating."

A posh meal served by you for you at least a couple of nights a week is a step in the right direction.

Even people who don't live alone are cooking for one, Lydecker says. Families with busy schedules can't always stop the world for dinner at 6 p.m.

"Weekday lunches and snacks are almost invariably solo events," Lydecker writes in the book's foreword. "As for dinner, if one teenage daughter is playing basketball, the other heads out for a babysitting job, and my husband has a dinner meeting, I am on my own for that meal, as well."

The recipes in Serves One are mostly single servings, but some make multiples that can be frozen for later. Why make food just for one? Why not make a pot of stew and freeze six individual portions? Wouldn't that save time?

"That is one approach to cooking for yourself," Lydecker says. "But I tend to be more on the spontaneous side. I don't want to eat the same thing that often. There are lots of times when it's faster and nicer to have something freshly made."

Lydecker, who has taught classes on solo and Italian cooking, says the first step toward better meal preparation for one is planning.

"Be prepared to cook," she says. "Don't come home at 8 p.m. and get started. Stock up on staples and then have a repertoire of dishes that are kind of fun."

For instance, the author developed a recipe for chickpea salad that is versatile and quick and can often be made from ingredients found in most cupboards.

"It's chickpeas, tuna, lemon juice, olive oil, something crunchy (celery, red or green peppers, jicama)," she explains. "It's very flexible for that kind of night when you have to depend on what's there."

Besides being prepared, Lydecker reminds us that balance is the cornerstone of healthful eating. "If you went out for a nice lunch, dinner doesn't have to be a square-meal type of thing," she says. A baked potato and a salad might be all you need.

Here are some other tips from Lydecker about cooking for one:

Find food vendors that will sell you what you need: a butcher who will package one lamb chop, a deli worker who will slice three pieces of Swiss cheese; a helpful person at the seafood counter who carefully wraps up six scallops. Even in supermarkets you can get workers to break up prepackaged meats and produce into smaller quantities.

If you want to buy lower-priced "family size" packages, divide into individual portions and freeze once you get home.

Stock your kitchen with preserved foods such as dried mushrooms, Dijon mustard, capers and flavored oils. These convenient flavor boosters have long shelf lives.

Prep vegetables when you get them home from the store. This will save time when you get ready to cook a meal.

Buy rice and grains in small quantities and store them in air-tight containers. To extend shelf life, store in your refrigerator or freezer.

Look for hard rolls and other sandwich breads sold by the piece. If you must buy a larger amount, wrap the portion not for immediate use and freeze; keep the rest, well wrapped, at room temperature.

It is not difficult to prepare food for one, Lydecker says, especially once the cooking habit is established.

"Why not make a special meal for yourself, the kind you would make for someone else?" she asks. "Buy really nice, expensive meats such as pork tenderloin or baby lamb chops and splurge."

Chickpea and Tuna Salad

1 3-ounce can tuna, drained

1 cup chickpeas (half of one 19-ounce can), drained and rinsed

1 scallion, including most of the green part, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped red bell pepper (raw or roasted)

2 to 4 imported black olives, such as Kalamata or nicoise, pitted and sliced

11/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Salt to taste

Red pepper flakes or freshly ground black pepper

Torn romaine and radicchio leaves, or other mixed salad greens

Combine the tuna, chickpeas, scallion, bell pepper, olives, olive oil and lemon juice in a bowl. Taste, and add salt if needed (remember that the tuna and olives contain sodium). Add red pepper flakes to taste.

Line a dinner plate with greens, and spoon the chickpea-tuna mixture on top.

Note: Refrigerated, without the salad greens, this salad will keep a couple of days.

Makes 1 generous serving.

Source: "Serves One: Super Meals for Solo Cooks" by Toni Lydecker (Lake Isle Press, 1998).

Grilled Tuna Steak

2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)

1/2 teaspoon grated ginger root

1/4 teaspoon finely chopped garlic

1 medium tuna steak (about 8 ounces)

1 sprig fresh cilantro (optional)

Combine the soy sauce, mirin, ginger root and garlic in a 1-quart recloseable plastic bag. Add the tuna steak, seal the bag and turn it over several times to coat with the mixture. Marinate 15 minutes to 2 hours.

On a hot grill, cook the tuna, turning once. For medium-rare, grill about 6 minutes; for medium, about 7 minutes. Sprinkle fresh cilantro leaves, if using, on top of the steak.

Makes 1 serving.

Source: "Serves One: Super Meals for Solo Cooks" by Toni Lydecker (Lake Isle Press, 1998).

Eggplant Parmesan Pizza

1 teaspoon plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 small Italian or Japanese eggplant

1 crushed garlic clove

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1/2 pound pizza dough, purchased or homemade, or 1 fully cooked crust (6 to 8 inches)

1/4 cup ricotta

1/2 cup loosely packed fresh parsley leaves

1/4 cup basic tomato sauce or ready-made sauce

1/2 cup grated mozzarella

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan

Brush a sheet pan with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Trim the ends of the eggplant and slice into 1/4-inch rounds; you should have about 11/2 cups, loosely packed. Rub the tops with the crushed garlic. Arrange the slices on the sheet pan, in a single layer; sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Brush the tops of the eggplant rounds with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Broil until the slices are light brown. Turn them and brush on the remaining tablespoon of olive oil; brown the eggplant under the broiler.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Meanwhile, roll or pat the dough into a disk 6 to 8 inches in diameter, or use a fully cooked crust.

Spread ricotta on the crust. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and press the parsley leaves into the cheese. Drizzle the sauce onto the crust and, using a spatula, gently stroke it over the ricotta. Arrange the eggplant slices on top. Cover the top with grated mozzarella and Parmesan.

Cook the pizza until the crust and and topping are browned, about 20 minutes.

Makes 1 serving.

Source: "Serves One: Super Meals for Solo Cooks" by Toni Lydecker (Lake Isle Press, 1998).

Grits With Gruyere

Butter, for the gratin dish

1/3 cup regular grits (not instant)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup Gruyere cheese, grated

1/8 teaspoon finely ground white pepper

1 egg

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1/3 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Coat a small casserole or two 1-cup oval gratin dishes with butter. In a medium-size saucepan, bring 12/3 cups water to a boil. Stir in the grits and the salt. When the water returns to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cover. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Alternatively, the grits can be microwaved, following package instructions.) Let the cooked grits stand until barely warm. Stir in the Gruyere and white pepper.

In a small bowl, combine and whisk the egg, melted butter and milk. Stir the liquid mixture into the cooled grits and transfer to the gratin dish.

Bake 30 minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed and the top is firm. Broil just long enough to brown the top.

Note: To reheat leftover grits casserole, microwave at full power until hot, about 1 minute.

Makes 1 serving.

Source: "Serves One: Super Meals for Solo Cooks" by Toni Lydecker (Lake Isle Press, 1998).

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