Nothing Fancy: Unfussy Food for Having People Over, by Alison Roman

It’s not entertaining. It’s having people over. The social media star, New York Times columnist, and author of Dining In helps you nail dinner with unfussy food, unstuffy vibes, and the permission to be imperfect.
 
NAMED ONE OF FALL’S BEST COOKBOOKS BY The New York Times • Food & Wine • Eater • Food52 • Bon Appétit • Epicurious • Chowhound • Forbes • Grub Street
 
“Nothing Fancy delivers what those of hoping to up our dinner party game are looking for: It’s utterly current and distinctly doable.”—Eater
 
An unexpected weeknight meal with a neighbor or a weekend dinner party with fifteen of your closest friends—either way and everywhere in between, having people over is supposed to be fun, not stressful. This abundant collection of all-new recipes—heavy on the easy-to-execute vegetables and versatile grains, paying lots of close attention to crunchy, salty snacks, and with love for all the meats—is for gatherings big and small, any day of the week.
 
Alison Roman will give you the food your people want (think DIY martini bar, platters of tomatoes, pots of coconut-braised chicken and chickpeas, pans of lemony turmeric tea cake) plus the tips, sass, and confidence to pull it all off. With Nothing Fancy, any night of the week is worth celebrating.

“The title of this book says it all. Alison Roman delivers relaxed-but-impressive, easily executed, people-pleasing food like single-pot dishes of aromatic coconut-braised chicken and chickpeas and sheets of lemon turmeric tea cake.”—Forbes
 
“This follow-up to Dining In answers the perennial question of what to serve when people are coming over as only Alison can: with legit fun ideas—Pizza Night! Baked Potato Bar!—and unfussy recipes. (I’ve already bookmarked ‘A Very Good Lasagna’ and ‘Casual Apple Tart.’)”—Julia Kramer, deputy editor, Bon Appétit
 
“Nothing Fancy’s recipes are on-trend but unpretentiously so. . . . Most relevant of all is Roman’s attitude toward hosting: that all of us can do it, that we should embrace the imperfections of our plans, and that it’s more fun to try than to stress. Nothing Fancy delivers what those of us hoping to up our dinner party game are looking for: It’s utterly current and distinctly doable.”—Eater
 
“In her signature wry voice, Roman lays out simple and elegant recipes, recipes including spritzes, coconut-braised chicken and chickpeas, celery and fennel with walnuts and blue cheese, and more. It’s worth noting that one of our editors already took a crack at the lemony turmeric tea cake, to delicious results. (Also worth mentioning: the DIY martini bar.)”—Food & Wine
 
“This has to be one of the most anticipated cookbooks of the year—Alison Roman’s Dining In is a modern day classic, and her new work is sure to join it on scores of ‘best’ lists soon enough. It focuses on having people over for dinners that are the opposite of fussy, but are still festive (just witness the DIY martini bar guide within its pages for proof).”—Chowhound

October 22, 2019