I love reading essays about food, especially when they are authored by talented writers like Laurie Colwin, M.F.K. Fisher, Ann Patchett and Nora Ephron. So when I opened this book and discovered that the first chapter was a story by Laurie Colwin my curiosity was immediately piqued. “For eight years I lived in a one bedroom apartment a little larger than the Columbia Encyclopedia,” Colwin begins, “… I had enough space for a twin-sized bed, a very small night table, and a desk… Instead of a kitchen, this minute apartment featured a metal counter… on top of which was what I called the stove but which was only two electric burners - in short, a hot plate.” With the scene set Colwin then proceeds to share with her readers some of the meals she cooked for herself, and others, in her tiny abode. One of her favorite things to cook when dining alone was eggplant, and hence it is from this portion of the story that Colwin’s essay, and this book, get their title: “Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant.”

Indeed, eating alone, whether at a restaurant or at home, is the theme of this book, in which the author attempts to answer the question: how do we feed ourselves when we’re alone, when there are no one else’s needs to take into consideration? Each writer interprets this question in their own way, with some lauding the versatility of beans and others reminiscing about spaghetti. Amanda Hesser shares her thoughts on “single cuisine,” by which she means the simple, yet satisfying, meals she and her friends enjoy during their solitary nights at home: truffled egg toast, single girl salmon, and an enticing pasta dish made with garlic, olive oil, fried eggs, pepper and freshly grated cheese. This latter dish belongs to Hesser’s sister who, once all her ingredients are assembled, tosses them with pasta water, causing the egg yolks to crack open in the process. The yolks then dress the strands of pasta turning an ordinary dish into “a rustic, simple carbonara, minus the bacon.” Delicious descriptions like this made my mouth water and in an act of profound thoughtfulness many essays are accompanied by recipes. In the end I couldn’t help but devour this book.