Christina Lane
Books: Cookbooks | Baking | Desserts
Dessert For Two: Small Batch Cookies, Brownies, Pies, and Cakes (2015), Comfort and Joy: Cooking for Two (2015)
Dessert For Two: Small Batch Cookies, Brownies, Pies, and Cakes (2015)
Let me gush for just a moment: I love this book.
I love to bake, but I don't love having more sweets than Michael and I should (or even can!) eat. But in baking, unlike cooking, you can't just halve or quarter a recipe, because leavening doesn't work like that. Here's she's done all the work, so I can make a small batch of something sweet without having to worry about Michael eating too many cookies (or whatever).
It also serves as a jumping off point for making desserts I love in smaller batches. But for the most part, these days if I want something sweet I reach here first.
The cobbler recipes are what I've made most frequently, because when I have fresh fruit from the farmers' market, I want something Right Now but that I'm not going to be eating forever.
I'll note that for me, these desserts are almost all more than two servings–I tend to like small amounts of sweet at one time, so even between the two of us the skillet brownie was entirely took much, even if it was super delicious.
Plus, there's her blog, Dessert for Two, if you want to sample.
Published by Countryman Press
Rating: 9/10
Comfort and Joy: Cooking for Two (2015)
After falling in love with Dessert for Two by Christina Lane, I snatched up Comfort and Joy.
The section we use most frequently is Anytime Comfort Foods, and although they're not necessarily my comfort foods, what we've made is super delicious.
One-Skillet Beef and Cheddar Paste (turkey in our case) has becomes Michael's go-to meal to make. It's easy, and very filling.
I've combined her Easiest Chicken PotPie with the the recipe in The Complete Cooking for Two by America's Test Kitchen, because I love her filling, but I want pastry, no matter how yummy this might be over toast.
The recipe I make most frequently is Chicken Parmesan for Two. I'll be honest, I have a history of avoiding touching raw meat. It just bothers me, but I decided that since I can scrub my hands, I need to branch out in my cooking, and this recipe is the perfect encouragement for that. It seems like it's going to take a long time, but it's relatively simple, and incredibly delicious and satisfying. It's one of the few pasta dishes I don't want to have bread with, because then I'll be too full.
I really like this cookbook, and although I haven't loved everything I've made, I think that's a matter of personal taste, rather than a failure of the recipes.
Published by Countryman Press
Rating: 8.5/10