Dinner just for two

Review by Booklist Review

Dallas-based Lane (Sweet & Simple, 2017) understands how hard it can be to cook for just two people. In her cookbooks and her blog, Dessert for Two, she does the hard part for home cooks by winnowing down ingredients lists and concentrating on a few key items for flavor. Here she walks readers through simplifying the pantry, choosing only a few pieces of equipment and repurposing leftovers (an index lists recipes that might use a half-can of sun-dried tomatoes or a bit of vinegar). The 100-plus recipes smack of Texas cuisine: tortilla soup, nachos, a concoction called totchos (nachos made with tater tots), and other familiar dishes. Meals are well varied and require few utensils and one main cooking pan: cheesy broccoli quinoa, egg roll in a bowl, Greek bowls, oven risotto with crispy kale. Another innovation is basic dishes (e.g., spatchcock chicken and cheese sauce) with two to three other recipes using the foundational dish. No nutritional information or cooking times; just easy recipes to sate two palates.--Barbara Jacobs Copyright 2019 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

In the inviting introduction to this uneven cookbook, Dessert for Two blogger Lane pays homage to her grandmother, who owned a burger joint in Dallas, and claims cooking in small batches eliminates leftovers, which she equates with food waste. Lane does consider what to do with what leftovers one might have and devotes an entire chapter to making large batches of such items as mashed potatoes that can be turned into other dishes (for instance, cheesy potato soup and patties with Indian spices). Lane's voice is chipper, but organization can be baffling: a chapter on "skillet meals" includes lettuce cups filled with chicken and pickled carrots, "skillet" justified because the chicken is sautAced in a pan. Another chapter on meals in a bowl includes falafel and pita photographed on a plate. The fare is fine, if occasionally pedestrian: for example, frozen Tater Tots top a ground turkey casserole. More sophisticated choices include cauliflower soup with saffron and barley with mushrooms and brie. With the concept of the book shaky, what remains is a collection of familiar recipes more notable for serving size than content. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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Review by Library Journal Review

Blogger and best-selling cookbook author Lane (Dessert for Two) is known for her scaled-down dessert recipes, and here she turns her expertise to dinner recipes for two. Lane's recipes are designed to provide realistic solutions to the quandaries of cooking for two, including the challenge of avoiding food waste and minimizing repetitive leftovers. With a focus on fresh ingredients and produce, the author presents a host of practical small-scale recipes ranging from pasta and skillet suppers to main course salads and stews. The broad range of dishes provides options for both weeknight meals and special occasions or romantic dinners. Many of the dinner recipes are vegetarian (Lane is a former vegetarian) and inspired by Southwestern spices and flavors (Lane is a native Texan), featuring photos of almost every dish. In a nod to the small-batch desserts that launched her culinary career, Lane includes a well-curated chapter of sweet options. Home cooks who find that store-bought fresh bread goes stale before they can use it up will savor the chapter on small-batch homemade breads with recipes for focaccia and biscuits. VERDICT A first purchase for library cookery collections and an invaluable resource for anyone preparing meals for smaller households.-Kelsy -Peterson, Forest Hill Coll., Melbourne, Australia © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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