Judy Rodgers's Mizuna with Potatoes and Shallot Vinaigrette

Nostalgia for the Italian countryside is all well and good, but some things can happen only in New York.

Consider this: walking down 17th Street at dusk last night, I saw a group of people clustered in front of a rug store. As I got closer, I heard strains of choral music and before I knew it, I was standing in the gutter in front of The Renaissance Street Singers, listening to a 15th century hymnal as pretty young things in bright frocks passed us by and a toddler noodled around on the sidewalk. I'd come from Union Square, populated by  21st century skateboarders and leggy models and red-faced suits, and passed directly into another time. A few minutes later, the singers dispersed and I headed home in the setting sun.

It was kind of magical.

All week long, I've been waking early in the morning, still adjusting to Eastern Standard Time. And each morning, I've rolled over and reached for a slim little book sitting on my bedside table. Edited by Jenni Ferrari-Adler (who was kind enough to send me a copy), it's a collection of essays about eating and cooking for one. Sandwiched between Laurie Colwin's famous "Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant" and Rosa Jurjevics's "Food Nomad" (Jurjevics is Colwin's daughter), the essays range from the strictly utilitarian (Marcella Hazan) to the unabashedly literary (Haruki Murakami).

The collection's pretty charming: M.F.K. Fisher complains about her too-oft reliance on the "occasional egg" for dinner, Steve Almond waxes rhapsodic about an odd concoction called the Quesarito and Mary Cantwell fights for her right to dine out alone. Each essay is a pleasantly voyeuristic snapshot, like looking into someone's grocery basket. And it got me thinking about my own habits when I'm home alone, looking for dinner. Sometimes it means I get to buy the stingingly spicy hot & sour soup from the Sichuan restaurant up the street. Other times, it means I can make the sauteed cherry tomato-canned tuna pasta sauce that Ben just doesn't like. A simple green salad and a wedge of cheese, a broiled steak, or baked beans and broccoli - all of these, too, are my dinners for one.

Last night, inspired by your comments and armed with a recipe that Judy Rodgers published in the New York Times five years ago, I made a funny little salad of spiky mizuna leaves, creamy potatoes, sharp slivers of shallots, boiled eggs, and a tangy dressing to bind it all together. I'll be honest, this wasn't my favorite meal. The mizuna was full-grown and untameable, so even cut into bite-sized pieces, I found myself fighting the leaves all the way. I think I'm more of a frisee kind of girl. Also, raw shallots leave me interminably thirsty. Anyone else? It's so odd. I prefer to avoid them.

But, you know, despite the salad, it was a satisfying evening nonetheless. Sometimes it's just the little things. I had the apartment to myself, I was eating up the greens in my CSA box, clearing the pantry of old shallots and even older potatoes, I could giggle with my mouth full at The Office reruns, and daydream happily for the weekend. I had dinner on the table and a full sensation in my soul.

And you? Tell me what you make when you're home alone with an eggplant, or without. I'd love to know. Something tells me you've got some interesting meals to share.

Baby Mustard Greens with Potatoes and Shallot Vinaigrette
Serves 4

3/8 pound Yellow Finn, Bintje or German butterball potatoes, peeled and cut in irregular bite-size chunks
Sea salt
6 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons Champagne or white wine vinegar
1 large shallot, slivered
4 ounces baby red mustard greens or mizuna, rinsed and dried
2 hard-cooked eggs, peeled
1 teaspoon freshly crushed black peppercorns

1. Place potatoes in a saucepan with cold water to cover. Season water liberally with salt. Bring to a simmer, cook just until potatoes are tender, 6 to 8 minutes, then drain. When potatoes stop steaming, transfer them to a wide bowl.

2. Combine oil, vinegar and salt to taste, and drizzle about one-third of this dressing over potatoes. Add shallot. Fold together with a rubber spatula. Dressing will pick up creaminess from potatoes. Set aside.

3. Place mustard greens or mizuna in a second wide bowl suitable for serving. Toss with half of the remaining dressing. Add potato mixture, and fold in gently. Halve eggs lengthwise, then cut in crosswise slices  1/8-inch thick. Scatter over salad, add remaining dressing, and fold once or twice very gently. Dust with crushed pepper, and serve.

Comments

[Mary]

Lovely looking salad. My husband doesn't like eggs, so I often have them when I'm by myself. Ditto for fish, especially salmon. Whatever I eat when I'm alone, I always prepare a real meal and sit down at the table with a napkin in my lap and a fork and knife. When my dad's home alone (my mom likes to travel, he doesn't), I always call him around 5 o'clock and give him dinner suggestions, otherwise he'd eat saltines. About the shallots, that might be weird.

[Molly]

I have to say, it's been a while since I had a night on my own, but this weekend, hoo boy, Brandon is gone and I'm going to reacquaint myself with dinners for one! (And also with the West Wing, starting all the way at the beginning.) I'm soooo excited, I have to say. I plan to spend my daydreaming time today scheming what to eat.

And I just got a copy of Jenni's book too! Perfect timing.

Happy weekend, friend.

[Christine]

My most frequent meal alone is pasta also with tuna! Although my boyfriend will eat the one with the cooked sauce of onions, garlic and some chopped tomato, he dislikes my other one. Basically add to just cooked pasta a can of good quality white tuna (flaked), chopped green olives, about a tablespoon of capers, a bit of lemon zest, a squeeze of lemon juice and a good glug of olive oil. Oh and also a bit of peperoncino.

It's delicious. Ahh, the dinner alone.

[Jennywenny]

Looks lovely! I had mizuna yesterday and I almost chiffonaded it for the salad I made as we dont like chomping through leaves like horses. It went down a treat, even with my salad hating husband!

When I'm home alone I cook a kind of indian pancake with garam masala, gram flour, a bit of egg with sauteed greens and chutney.

[radish]

I make my basmati rice with yogurt and lime pickle - a dish my Indian former roommate taught me. There is always boiled fingerling potatoes and herring and onions. Oh and thick toasted slices of sour dough bread with topped with blueberry jam. Not very complicated, is it?

[deb]

What synchrony! I just ordered a copy of that book on a whim; it sounded too lovely to pass up. I'm even happier to hear it's not just me. Alone, I always fall back on a poached egg on top of a salad with a piece of crusty bread I'd squirreled away in the freezer during my bread-baking frenzy this winter. If there is any wine, salami or soft cheese in the fridge, I'm in bliss and swear I'll never eat out again.

Great to see you, and all the other lovely ladies, on Wednesday!

[nbm]

Hey, thanks for listening! I've been reading your blog for a couple of months -- the last thing I expected was to see a mention of my chorus. So glad you enjoyed it. I'll have to look out for that solo eating book.

[B]

My favorite thing to do is chop up whatever greens, fruits, and proteins I have on hand, throw in some nuts, drizzle olive oil, red wine vinegar and sea salt over the top, and eat it right out of the gigantic Pyrex mising bowl, which is so large I can (and have) use it as a hat.

[Lia]

Daniel's into well-rounded meals, so on the rare occasion that I'm eating dinner at home alone, I go the peanut butter and jelly sandwich (on spelt bread!) route. Eaten in front of the TV along with a big cup of milk, it's always so very soothing.

[almost vegetarian]

I adore salads like this. Simple, so simple, but packed with taste. They make for such a satisfying meal, don't you think?

Cheers!

[KM]

Love Laurie Colwin so thanks for the tip on the new collection. My favorite alone meals usually involve putting a new face on leftovers. Quesadilla con leftovers (open faced version) or summer rolls. I roll rice noodles along with leftover chinese takeout in a rice paper roll. With a spicy sambal dipping sauce it's the perfect summer dinner (sometimes they don't even leave the kitchen and I devour them standing at the counter).

[Christina]

My man is a meat-eater, tried and true, so when I'm alone, I eat as much green food as possible. Lately I've been eating salads full of farmers' market goodies: arugula, blanched green beans, little nicoise olives, and a soft-boiled egg with a sherry vinaigrette.

I love the idea of this post. We need to honor all meals, not just the ones we make for others.

[lobstersquad]

I love being left alone from time to time. If I don´t have fruit and crackers, then my usual is scrambled eggs with onion jam and toast. the best.

[andrea]

Living solo in a studio for the past year or so, I have become well-acquainted with cooking for one! The book sounds like a wonderful read, i'll have to look for it next time i'm at the bookstore!

My current favorites with this LA heat are salads. Right now i'm loving cold soba noodles dressed lightly with some sesame oil, soy sauce and rice vinegar, and tossed with a few key ingredients. The other day i made one with broiled shrimp, julienned snow peas, carrots, and cucumbers--a slight variation of a Beacon restaurant recipe printed in the LA Times a while back. It tasted even better the next day for lunch!

[Leah]

Ah Luisa, I so enjoyed this post. (And not only because it reminded me of one I wrote a while back - dinner for one while watching The Office!). It flowed from a happy, solo walk through the abundant joys of New York right into a happy, solo walk through the abundant joys of food. Food for one, post for one. Except that, unlike a meal, you can share your post with all of us. Thank heavens!

[Mark Vane]

Hi, Added a new value add to my blog this weekend - a news widget from http://www.widgetmate.com/news I always wanted to show latest news for my keywords in my sidebar. It was very easy with this widget. Just a small copy paste and it was done. Great indeed.

[Luisa]

Mary - I love that you call your dad to nudge him into making dinner. That's awfully sweet.

Molly - that IS fun! Can't wait to hear what you ate. Solitary weekends can be such a joy.

Christine - now that sounds like something I have to try. What is it with some men and canned tuna?

Jenny - that Indian pancake sounds delicious, I'll bet my father would kill for the recipe, hint hint ;)

Radish - herring! Yes. A solitary snack of mine is sometimes pickled herrings with crispbread. I definitely cannot eat that stuff around Ben for fear of being teased mercilessly. But it's so good! I'm so glad you agree ;)

Deb - great to see you too! And damn, I wish I still had some of that frozen bread from the winter. I just can't fathom baking bread once the thermometer goes past 75...

NBM - seriously? You're in that choir and you're a reader? That is just too great. Good job, by the way!

B - I believe that's called kitchen sink salad!

Lia - oh, I couldn't agree with you more. PB&J's are the best.

Almost vegetarian - indeed! I'm glad you agree.

Kirsten - summer rolls with Chinese takeout is totally genius. I cannot wait to try that myself! Especially because I have some seriously fiery Chinese chili sauce hanging out in my fridge, begging to be used up.

Christine - what a delectable little salad you've described. Aren't greens the best?

Ximena - yum, yum. And I agree, quiet nights alone are such a treat.

Andrea - soba with broiled shrimp! Tell me more, I'd love to try this. Do you have the recipe somewhere?

Leah - you're such a doll. Thanks for always being so enthusiastic!

[Bea at La Tartine Gourmande]

oh, what a tempting salad. I want these eggs, and the dressing, which I sadly cannot have for the time being...

[Nelle Gretzinger]

People and things in New York have a way of doubling back on each other. Through a friend of a friend, I've been invited to the New York reading and book party for Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant. (For anyone who's interested, three of the contributors to the collection will read at Manhattan's Chelsea B&N at 21st St. and 6th Ave. on July 17th at 7PM.) I followed a link in my email invite and it led me to your blog. And wow! I love it. I had read about the blog somewhere, but hadn't yet checked it out. So how serendipitous that I should find it in this circular manner.

Recently, when alone, I have taken to eating an haute tuna salad made with this insanely good canned smoked tuna that I bought in Seattle recently. I mix it with fresh French mayonnaise that I find at a store near me in Brooklyn. I drop a glob on a plate, cover it with sliced avocado, squeeze lemon juice over the lot and devour it. It's decadent, an extravagance of calories and I don't care.

I also love to bake when alone. The pleasure I derive from baking is akin to what others experience after a deftly administered shiatsu massage: it's both relaxing and invigorating. I can become one with a cheesecake, commune with pots de creme. While my hands are busy, I sort through the details of my life in my head, endlessly rearranging and assembling them, and pondering them.