My favorite I'm-dining-alone-at-home-tonight meal is a classic dish that's quick, thrifty and elegant. The basic setup is simple: A cheese omelet with some buttered toast and a glass of dry Alsatian chablis. If I'm feeling like I need some vegetables, I might add a few spears of roasted broccoli or asparagus (if it's in season) or a sliced tomato sprinkled with chives and a few drops of balsamic. Served on a pretty plate and perhaps taken out to the garden if the weather permits, this meal nourishes, refreshes and delights on many levels.
Of course, having an omelet for dinner is far from original. The great Elizabeth David inspired an interest in omelets with her collected essays An Omelet and a Glass of Wine and of course Julia Child famously introduced us to French-style omelets as well. Judith Jones, whose omelet recipe is a favorite, is pictured above from a kitchen tour we featured here a few years ago from Sara Kate. So when having a solo omelet dinner, I feel like I'm walking in the footsteps of some mighty classy ladies.
Making a good omelet takes practice. You just can't get around putting in your time at the stove. This is one of the reasons why it makes a good dining solo dinner, for while your 'mistakes' will still be good and well worth consuming, they may will not be quite up to company standards. The omelet is one of those dishes that transcends the sum of its parts, and technique is one of the keys to getting there. Practice, practice, practice and enjoy the fruits of your labors no matter what falls onto your plate in the end.
The other key is the quality of your ingredients and when the list is as short as it is for a cheese omelet, each one needs your careful attention. The eggs should be as fresh as possible, preferably from pastured hens, maybe even from your own back yard! The butter should be fresh as well, salted or unsalted, it's up to you, and the pepper cracked straight from the mill. The cheese is your choice. I like Gruyere or a sharp cheddar but a nice soft goat's cheese is good too.
I great way to learn a technique is to watch one of the many omelet-making videos available on the interwebs. My favorite technique is similar to Jamie Oliver's in the video below, only I do a three-fold finish. Find the one that works for you and practice, practice, practice!
Favorite recipe: Judith Jones' Omelete for One Favorite Technique: Jaime Oliver (video) Classic Technique: Julia Child (Omelet lessons start at 15 minutes) Favorite Cheese: Gruyere Favorite Eggs: from pasture-raised chickens Inspiration: Elizabeth David's An Omelette and a Glass of Wine
What's your favorite solo dinner?
(Image: Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan)
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Ahh, this post sounds like one of your weekend meditations, Dana. To read it mid-week was a lovely mental break. You're right--sometimes there really is something special about a simple omelet and glass of wine. :)
When I want to give myself a special treat, I go for my favorite grilled cheese sandwich: etorki, red bell pepper and chorizo. And red wine (the one that's already open).
Heaven.
I loved the kitchen tour with Judith Jones. When I have a night to myself(so very rarely) I love having an egg and a glass of wine. It seems like the perfect indulgence!
I have noticed in many posts that writers and readers of Kitchn have significant others that they usually dine with. However, there are those of us whose "I'm-dining-alone-at-home-tonight meal" is part of our daily life. The implication can be that this is sad, but it really isn't. It is a fun challenge!
My favorite solo dinner: fresh cooked rice with mashed hard-boiled eggs (seasoned with some fish sauce). It's warm, comforting, and filling. I put the uncracked (& washed) eggs into the rice cooker when I cook the rice, so everything is done at the same time.
This is one of my favorite dinners too. Best filling: mushrooms, yellow squash, and smoked Gouda. I know the squash sounds like an odd choice but it's delicious.
Hum. Especially filled with creamed spinach or mushrooms and gruyere.
Hmm, I rarely eat dinner alone except when my wife is out with friends and then I usually try to go hang out with my family or something. Usually I eat leftovers or something that requires minimal washing of dishes afterward.
Isn't drinking alone usually considered a bad thing? I'm a teetotaler so I'm not really up with what's cool and what isn't in the drinking stuff.
My favorite solo meal is a couple soft boiled eggs with some sliced baguette to dunk in the yolks, a green salad, a glass of wine, a piece of cheese and some fruit.
Aside from that, they don't make Chablis in Alsace. They make lots of other lovely white wines, but Chablis is in Burgundy, so I'm not sure what white wine you're drinking.
I'm so thrilled that the person in the photo doesn't appear to be between the ages of 24 and 34, or a child! I often feel ancient compared to the people profiled and pictured on this site, and I'm 'only' in my mid-40s. Also, I love a good omelet at any time of the day.
@Battra92, drinking alone is only a bad thing if you do it to excess (which is true for a lot of things). Personally, I love having an evening to myself, with a good book, a nice simple meal, and a glass of wine. It feels special.
My favorite on-my-own meal is making gougeres with cheese, red onion, and herbs with a glass of red wine.
Dining alone with a book is my normal routine and I love it. A nice fritata with one egg, chock full of veg and cheese and maybe some sausage is one of my favourites. Another is a BLT, or BELTCH (bacon, egg, lettuce, tomato and cheese). Crunchy, salty, goopy and good! I prefer a good cup of tea to wine. Sometimes I make up a batch of goulash with polenta and a nice salad.
VAGROWN: What recipe for gougeres do you use?
mine is a variation of the above - i am lately into the spanish tortilla. Love the simplicity and the deliciousness. some crusty bread, a side of olives, and a nice chilled wine and it's truly a meal.
I ate alone the other night and I fixed a beautiful Salade Nicoise with all local vegetables (and completely not local olives and tuna). The best part was I had some left for the next day, too.
On those rare occasions when I eat alone, I make things that are 1) easy but 2) self-indulgent. Things that I like better than anyone else in my family.
i'm happy to see someone who is closer to my age, too. I'm 50, and sometimes I feel very isolated seeing pictures of babies and younger people. So this was a nice surprise.
I also like it when you show non-white and/or non-skinny people of various ages. I like seeing a variety of people in photos.
This week I finished the last serving of a lovely meal I'd made a while back: chicken pieces sauteed in tomato sauce with roasted peppers and pearl onions, served with a glass of Layer Cake Malbec. The first few times I served it over pasta, but the other night I just wanted to sop up all that sauce! I eat alone all the time, except on the very rare occasion that my sweetie is in town. My budget is miniscule so I make most of everything from scratch.
Cooking for One would be a wonderful feature. Many of us are probably single, widowed or divorced. While I'm good at cooking for myself and keeping myself company, it would be nice to hear the experiences of others, especially how they save money or entertain themselves while eating.
Some of us cook for one every night. You can cook a huge number of things in about 10 minutes. As one other person noted you make it seem like dining alone is either sad or the chance to get something indulgent and different. I might say - what do you do when you cook for two every night and don't always want the same thing. The "alone" is different is not true for a large number of people, some by choice and for others not. Meals for one, going to restaurants alone, etc. should be posts about the average and everyday as for many people it is and the posts that make it seem like everyone eats in pairs ignores a lot of the readership.
I find it really difficult to make elaborate meals just for myself, so I usually go for things like a grilled cheese sandwich, made with mayonaise, muenster cheese, and rosemary, or little cucumber and hummus sandwiches with pepper.
This is so fun. Not really a recipe as much as an idea! Only thing is...what is dry Alsatian Chablis? No such animal. Try a dry Alsatian Pinot Blanc.
It's FINE!! Now if I only HAD some wine...;)