The Pleasures of Eating Alone: Pork Milanese with Arugula Salad
One of my happiest food memories didn’t happen in a restaurant or in France or while getting drunk on champagne and pheromones while falling in love. But somehow, knowing you, I suspect you are not at all surprised by this.
It was while working at a restaurant in St. Paul, Minnesota, leaning over the small table where we counted our tips and Boss ate his lunch, that I first read Nigella Lawson’s column in the New York Times. She so voluptuously and intelligently wrote about her recipe, that I suddenly couldn’t imagine anything more glamorous or decadent than what she was eating. Her dinner had to be mine. And that is how a college student with no money ended up buying a jar of caviar.
I went home and made potato pancakes. I bought sour cream. And I spooned shiny black caviar over the top of each silver dollar sized pillow. I sat at the small round metal table in the yellow kitchen of my second apartment next to a stack of fashion magazines, and ate dinner alone. Life, I imagined, could not really get much better.
Ah, but it could! Enter aforementioned love and champage and pheromones!
But I still look back on that dinner alone as a blossoming in me of something important. I have always loved to be alone. But that dinner was about something else. There is food and there is love, and enjoyed together, they make an intoxicating combination. But there is also love for one’s self, the self-care involved in the preparation of a fine meal just for you, and the opening up of a world of unfathomable pleasure with the first taste of salty caviar.
I ate dinner alone last night. I pounded a pork chop into oblivion, dusted it with flour, and ate it alongside the lively zing of an arugula salad. It was a wonderful night.
Pork Milanese with Arugula Salad
adapted from Everyday Food
Serves 1
Heat 1 teaspoon vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Pound one 3-4 ounce boneless pork chop until it is 1/4 inch thick. Season with salt and pepper and dredge in flour. Cook pork until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. Toss arugula salad mix with 1 tiny clove of garlic, minced, lemon juice, and olive oil. Top pork with salad and serve with additional lemon wedges.
Amy C: This reminds me of an Ina Garten recipe where she does nearly the same thing with chicken and arugula. I make it nearly once a week – I love the idea of using pork to change it up. Hooray!1 year ago
Ooh, I love the idea of trying chicken. And I can definitely see this becoming a once-a-week staple. Unfortunately, I’m beginning to feel like I’ve found so many of my once-a-week staples that there’s less and less need for experimentation! What to do now?1 year ago
katrina: Yes, yes, and also, yes. I was dog-tired after work Wednesday, but didn’t fancy anything I had in the fridge, so I treated myself to a Jamie Oliver recipe involving chicken wrapped in Parma Ham with parmesan, lemon and thyme. Half way through cooking, I thought, “Why am I going to all this trouble, just for me?” But then I realised, I SHOULD treat myself the way I would treat a guest. Why not? We spend so much of our lives catering to others, and not enough time on ourselves. I might grab a chocolate bar as a ‘treat’, but taking the time to prepare something lovely for myself, a ‘proper’ meal, felt so much better than that.
And two days later, you write this post! How do you always manage to mirror my thoughts so well?!1 year ago
Meghan: I love this idea! The pork sounds delicious, and truthfully, a date-night-style dinner FOR MYSELF, is way overdue. Thanks!1 year ago
Lisa (dinner party): Lovely post, Sarah. Solo dining is so luxurious sometimes.1 year ago
Seton McGowan: I’m flabbergasted when people say to me “You cook a meal like that for just you?” Just because I’m a single woman do I not deserve a delectable meal at the end of a long day! The serenity that comes from enjoying a delicious meal created by you for you is one of life’s simple pleasures! I’m adding Pork Milanese to this week’s menu!1 year ago
geek+nerd: Mmm, I agree! My husband works crazy hours, and there have been many times when I eat alone. One of my favorite things to indulge in is a decadent breakfast. My hub is not really a breakfast person (or morning person for that matter) by nature, so I feel extra special when I make myself a Dutch baby pancake, with real syrup and quality coffee. NOM!1 year ago
Sara Rose: The feeling of self indulgence is multiplied by about 1000 when you become mommy and wifey first, because the few times you actually DO get to JUST serve yourself a proper, delectable meal made just for you are soooo few that it becomes a real treat. Do you know what I’ve noticed? A lot of people’s solo dinner “treats” involve eggs. Isn’t that strange? Even me, I am very happy with a Nigella approved meal of soft boiled eggs, sour dough toast buttered into oblivion, and a simple salad, but no one else in the house enjoys that as much as me. Why do our special “self” meals often involve eggs?1 year ago
GraceLaced mentioned in the comments of last week’s frittata post that she thinks a lot of people find eggs deeply comforting. Maybe that has something do with it. And you know how I feel about poached egg on top of just about anything…1 year ago
BB: Love this. I was in grad school when I realized that I didn’t have to cook bad food just because I was cooking for one. I set aside my books, perused the produce section, and tried out something new in the kitchen. I was a culinary wimp at the time so it was just a roasted portobello with wilted greens, but it made me quite happy. My husband and I love to cook together now, but I still have a fondness for fixing a special little meal for myself sometimes when he isn’t around.1 year ago
Sara Rose: Mmmmm must have poached or soft boiled eggs and sourdough TOMORROW. I did make this tonight, but I made it with green bean salad and buttered radishes. Nolan’s not an arugula guy (I don’t get it either) but he does love himself some green beans and radishes.1 year ago
Karina: I really love this. Some of the best and most amazing meals have been enjoyed completely alone, and that, somehow makes them even more delicious.1 year ago