Part anecdote, part memory, part food discovery, part revelation of eating-alone secrets, What We Eat
When We Eat Alone is all charm. In its pages are discoveries of the striking differences between men and women as shown in food choices. With Deborah Madison and Patrick McFarlin at the helm, this is also a book of whimsical illustrations and mouthwatering recipes.
Eating alone is eating in secret, but Madison and McFarlin have pried those secrets from their friends and acquaintances, many of them discriminating and well-informed about food. Here are confessions that will inspire whoops of laughter, often exclamations of disbelief. Does that elegant man versed in fine wines and fine dining really eat a concoction of fried spam, tomato and cottage cheese? Does yet another actually feast on bread soaked in margarita mix, yet another fry eggs "in a lake of bacon grease" when his wife's back is turned? The answer to these question is yes, and they merely hint at the unique concoctions valued by those who are otherwise in the know.
Not all solo foods are quirky, however, and the reader will recognize some familiar staples, though many are used in ingenious ways. Sardines and tuna, those faithful canned goods, are found in almost every larder; dried pasta is equally ubiquitous and there for us when we are alone. Pasta has the distinction of being easily dressed and seems to inspire the lone diner to creative bursts that make cooking for one a pleasant chore.
What We Eat When We Eat Alone goes beyond quirky foods and reflects on the differences between men and women. Men eat meat, grabbing a steak which a woman will never cook when alone. Men will eat over the kitchen sink, but never on the bed, while women are quite the reverse, disdaining the sink and finding comfort in the bedroom, though never under the covers, but on the edge of the bed.
Madison, one of our most inventive cooks, does not offer recipes using spam, but ones that will satisfy without fuss. Some of the recipes are given in large enough proportions to guarantee two days of delicious eating. For example, the popular pasta and that can of tuna are brought together to be enlivened with capers, lemon, and red pepper flakes. Satisfying but simple sauteed mushrooms are given three variations to suit what's available: over polenta, on toast, with egg noodles in paprika cream.
If you are eating alone, try one of the recipes and prop this book next to you to read as you eat. Enjoy the company of other solo diners.
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