The Single Guy Cookbook

It would be hard to find a better example of a living contradiction than Shemtov, a husband and father of two who runs a glatt kosher Middle Eastern food truck in Boston but fills this cookbook with a smorgasbord of bachelor-friendly dishes that are rarely Middle-Eastern and nearly always treif. The book itself is also a collection of mixed messages. Simplicity does not seem to be a defining factor of what constitutes a single guy’s meal. Instead, there are numerous recipes that contain cheese and/or pork products, such as the bacon and Parmesan roasted veggie medley; over-the-top twists on comfort food, such as chocolate chip and bacon pancakes; and a smattering of nonsensical entrees including the lazy lasagna for one, which takes one of the world’s quintessential leftover foods and reduces it to three noodles broken into a dozen pieces and mixed into a skillet full of cheese, beef and spinach. “Cooking to Impress” is the subtitle of a chapter with a decidedly more forward main title; it turns out to be a flavorful and mature collection of 13 recipes suitable for that special someone. Selections include fish tacos, lamb pilaf, and fresh tuna salad with goat cheese and ginger walnuts. As a final switch-up, a chapter of healthy alternatives says goodbye to beef and hello to turkey in a Healthy Joe sandwich, the almost meat loaf, and turkey meatballs served over spaghetti squash. (July)