When I was on my own for a holiday once (pandemic times), I decided on Peking-ish duck breast for my festive meal. I made two kinds of wraps (really thin painted and slightly thicker rolled out), sauces, and sides. The duck breast was rubbed with 5 spice and seared to crisp. Highly recommend! Also a festive cocktail on the side.
Another low-effort but high outcome meal is a Porchetta-seasoned pork chop (or country ribs or butt steak or chunk of belly). Porchetta-ish large cubes turned out fantastic without the whole rolling situation.
You can also skew Asian on the pork using Momofuku-style Bo Ssam as inspiration – similar to the duck situation in terms of sauces & sides.
Aside from those, a small lamb roast or half rack would be great and also easy. If there’s a TJs near you, they have 4 chop rack portions at the moment, perfect for 1 with some leftovers.
