Cooking for Two

I've written before about Taco Friday. It's not a hard and fast rule, but most Fridays, we have tacos for dinner. Sometimes, though, tacos aren't exactly right, so we switch and have tostadas instead. Creamy chicken and roasted poblano peppers make the perfect topping for crisp corn tortillas. Add a little mild cheese and easy, fabulous red salsa -- we've got dinner. And the spirit of Taco Friday is preserved.

Image © Dave Scantland

If you cook for two, you're probably familiar with this scenario: you need a single rib (or even half) of celery for a recipe, but at the store your choices are buying a whole head and watching the rest slowly rot in the fridge, or buying a small package of cut and trimmed pieces, which are not only already dried out but also stupidly expensive. I invariably take the first route, so I'm always on the lookout for ways to use up the remainder. Fortunately we like celery, but most recipes -- like tuna, potato or shrimp salad -- only use up a tiny bit when you're cooking for two. Even a more celery-forward recipe like this shaved fennel and celery salad still uses just a rib or two.

The other day, with most of a celery head getting limp in the fridge, I came across an interesting recipe from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking for celery braised with pancetta and tomatoes. Although I'm sure it would have been great, I didn't make it. Instead I used it as a starting point for soup (because that's just the kind of cook I am). This "braised" celery soup with bacon was the result. All around, it was an excellent experiment, because not only did we end up with a delicious dinner, but it also used all the celery, so we got to feel virtuous for not wasting it.

Image © Dave Scantland

Of course there's a National Chocolate Ice Cream Day -- why wouldn't there be? If you're like me, you didn't know it was today, and you didn't plan ahead to make ice cream. But you can still have a fabulous frozen chocolate cream pie. It's even better than ice cream -- imagine a cross between chocolate ice cream, mousse and cheesecake. The best part? You don't need an ice cream freezer to make it.

Image © Dave Scantland

I can't believe I just wrote that. I love toast; it's one of my favorite foods. But over the years, I've come to realize that toast is not always right for every culinary occasion. In sandwiches, for instance, if the toast is even slightly overcooked it gets dry and brittle and breaks into pieces when you bite in. I wish I could say I came up with the solution myself, but I have to admit I discovered it last summer when I ordered a croque monsieur at a restaurant. Now, instead of toasting bread for sandwiches, I butter it and slip it on the griddle to brown on both sides. Try it in this updated club sandwich (pictured) and I think you'll agree. It's better than toast.

Students in our cooking classes often ask us how to elevate their cooking to a more professional or just more delicious level. There's no one answer, of course, but one element that distinguishes the pros is their use of sauces. Beginning cooks often think of a sauce as an optional dash of something out of a bottle, but very often sauces, like ancho chile sauce or ginger-scallion sauce, can be an integral ingredient in a dish. Even when it's a finishing touch like Hollandaise, red wine butter sauce or Mexican red table salsa, spending a bit of time on your own sauce will help make your cooking special.

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While I'm not a fan of all frozen vegetables (frozen broccoli, for instance), there are some that I cook with all the time. Frozen corn is one of them. Because the kernels are blanched and then frozen individually, it's easy to pour out exactly what we need for one meal and keep the rest in the freezer for later. Sometimes I just thaw the corn, as in this corn and avocado salsa. Usually, though, I cook it -- steamed, sauteed in butter or as in this delicious, crunchy Mexican corn salad, I'll sear it in a skillet until it starts to brown. That gives the corn a complex, sweet, toasty flavor -- you'd never guess it came from the freezer.

Image © Dave Scantland

I went through a curry stage in college. For a time, I put curry powder in almost everything I cooked: I added it to soups, scrambled eggs, chicken salad. The first time I had a "real" curry dish I was surprised to discover that it contained no curry powder at all. That dinner was my introduction to the world of curries, from complex Middle Eastern sauces to fiery Indian vindaloos. Through it all, I have to admit I retain a fondness for that yellow powder of my younger days, although I'm much more reserved with it now. This curry noodle dish with shrimp combines curry powder with Thai curry paste for an unusual flavor profile that I love. I hope you will too.

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When I was a kid, one of my favorite ice cream bars was Creamsicles. I liked other ice cream bars well enough, but that combination of creamy vanilla and tart orange was irresistible. So recently, when I was thinking about new frozen dessert ideas, I thought I'd try to come up with a grown-up version of that childhood treat. This creamy icebox orange pie is the result, and I have to say, I succeeded pretty well. A crisp crust of vanilla wafers complements the creamy filling perfectly. Give it a try -- you'll think you're a kid again.

Image © Dave Scantland

If you're cooking for one or two and you want slow-cooked pork, there aren't a lot of choices that don't result in a lot of leftovers. That's why I love "country-style ribs," which aren't ribs at all but thick slices of shoulder meat cut to resemble single ribs. Not only do they generally come in smaller packages, which is great for two, but they're already cut up, so they cook faster than a big chunk of shoulder meat. We use them for spicy Asian-style pulled pork and -- one of my personal favorites -- chili verde. In tacos (of course!) or just over rice, this pork stew simmered with tomatillos and green chiles is fabulous.

Image © Dave Scantland

I try not to snack much, so when I do give in, I want to make sure I eat something delicious. Making my own tortilla chips and guacamole, potato chips or onion rings is a great way to meet both those goals. First, I have to think about whether I want them enough to take the time to make them, so it cuts down on mindless eating. Second, they're definitely delicious!

Image © Dave Scantland