Comfort and Joy: Cooking for Two

by Christina Lane

More desserts for two—plus brunch, lunch and dinner—easily adjusted should unexpected guests drop by!

Just off the success of Dessert for Two, author Christina Lane is back with a gorgeous full-color cookbook filled with delicious meals for every hour of the day. Her signature friendly voice invites readers to try everything from her Southern Sweet Tea Fried Chicken to a Holiday Ham, perfectly portioned for whomever is sitting around the table. Fancy celebration meals appear along with down-home comfort food, all accompanied by mouth-watering photography. Recipes

Bruleed Toasty OatsPimento Grilled Cheese with Fried PicklesRoasted Salmon Sheet Pan SupperPerfect Filet Mignons with Twice-Baked PotatoesRummy Oatmeal CookiesComfort and Joy is an essential book for singles, couples, and small families.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Food, Reference, Adult, Foodie

225 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 10, 2015

Reviews

[Leigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I swear to God, I am going to STOP buying books that I haven't actually seen in person. This one has some recipes that look interesting but there were others I am not interested in and the entire book is only moderately useful. I got this one because I'm a hopeless collector of cookbooks and I needed something that helped with cooking in smaller batches. I suspect this one will go on the shelf and I'll flip through it occasionally but it won't get much use.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a GREAT cookbook!

What makes this stand out from other cookbooks is that the recipes are designed to be used for 2 people, which is also ideal for a single person, as it gives us the opportunity for an additional meal (instead of 6-7) with leftovers.

I found several recipes that I want to try, including one that encourages you to BAKE bacon instead of frying it.

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you dislike leftovers, but still want to make delicious food for a pair, this is a good cook book to own. Christina Lane was already a popular blogger for Desserts for Two, a great online guide for nice desserts meant to serve just two people. The fun part with Comfort and Joy is that Ms. Lane offers us a selection of familiar recipes covering every meal of the day for the cook and one other special person. The recipes that I tested were right on the nose in the serving sizes department. I'd even take the position that this is a fine cookbook for the single person who likes to take leftovers to lunch on at work. The recipes are written in a clear, easy-going prose, with lovely color photos of the results. The hidden benefit of this guide to cooking for two is that one's ability to master some downsized recipes for baked goods and pastries are sure to build confidence in the kitchen.

[Clinton Senior · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic cookbook this is perfect for anyone who needs smaller servings it is even a tasty book if you need to expand the recipes for a crowd. This is the only cookbook we have had so far that every single member bought. We highly enjoyed the overnight iced coffee, pimiento grilled cheese with fried pickles, potato chip crusted pork chops, spinach lasagna roll ups, rummy oatmeal cookies, and two samplings of the soft and chewy gingersnaps.

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

February let’s dish book - made green chile chili and jalapeño popper mashed potatoes. Both good, excellent on the portions.

Want to try: chicken pot pie, pumpkin French toast waffles, smoky black bean soup and tuna noodle casserole.

[Velda M. Stubbings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful photos

I love this cookbook. It has inspired me to try several of the recipes. Great pictures really add to the book.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did find about about a dozen recipes in this title, mainly desserts which is Nice to have a paired down yield for sweets and carbs. And the idea of a grilled pimento cheese sandwich sounds good.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wished each recipe had included calories per serving.

[Mary Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good recipes and a fun read

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of recipies that I'm looking forward to making in this cookbook!

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally a cookbook for real people. No exotic ingredients. No Uber expensive items. Great pics of finished product. And recipes are par3d down to feed two people! Yeah!

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately I am not a fan of this one. I thought her first cookbook, Dessert for Two, was fantastic! And her blog is great as well! But I was looking for dinner style meals in this one and there just weren't that many to choose from. There's plenty of breakfast baking and another section for desserts but it's sorely lacking for the lunch/dinner portion of the day. Additionally, it felt very sparse in general. Lots of lovely pictures taking space and some seriously unnecessary "recipes" such as hot chocolate, iced coffee and how to make bacon in the oven. I probably won't bother returning it to Amazon (which, by the way, has rave reviews) but I'm disappointed that I didn't check it out from the library first.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comfort and Joy is a delight to browse through and I love the concept of cooking for two- this is perfect for so many people but isn't an audience oft written for in recipe books. Good on you Christina Lane! Actually inspired by a friend to look up small batch cooking as I'd never really heard of it before.

Lane seems like a super down to earth lady with a wicked sense of humour that translates well in her intro and little recipe briefs. I love her love for food and Southern American cuisine. Simplistic though delicious looking pictures that look approachable and are greatly interwoven with her personal stories.

What a gorgeous gem of a book!
Must try the recipes now

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good recipes. Would be good to use when I do not want leftovers.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, Lawd. Not entirely diet friendly, but efforts have been made. Looks pretty darn delicious.

[Shanna Hurd]

Lots of tasty looking recipes in this one, but I still need to test them out. Will update when I do.

[Jacquelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the variety in this book - especially the breakfast items.

[Anie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a handsome book - heavy, sturdy pages and gorgeous photography. As others have mentioned, a few of the recipes are more technique - one really doesn't need a recipe for baked bacon imho - but there's a lot of stuff in here that I'm looking forward to making. Lane cooks more decadently than I usually do, and this is nice for having some fattier, fuller recipes. It certainly leans more heavily towards baked and breakfast items, but I'm fine with that. It's usually pretty easy to scale down lunch and dinner dishes, while anything with leavening is much trickier. For me, the baking focus gets me more bang for my buck (and keeps me from having to figure out what to do with several dozen cookies).

I'll report back later after I've gotten a chance to break in some of the recipes.