Nothing Fancy: Unfussy Food for Having People Over Hardcover – October 22, 2019

I don't usually like cookbooks, preferring to make things up as I go, but I pre-ordered this on a whim after reading about it in NYT Cooking. Completely forgot about it until it arrived, and I've been falling in love with it since. It's the first cookbook I've ever actually spent any real time with (I have a few collecting dust atop a kitchen cabinet, like ornaments more than anything). I had gotten a little bored with cooking lately, and ordering out more often than usual, but this book rekindled my joy for cooking and having people over. It also inspired me to purchase her previous cookbook, which is more my style as a single person in my 30s living in a 1-bedroom apt not all that suitable for having lots of people over.The recipes are easy and straightforward, with instructions that are as qualitative as they are quantitative. I like reading about how the food should look/feel/smell at a certain stage of the process, rather than just seeing "add X amount for X time." The writing style is fun and breezy, if a little whimsical. I especially like the tips about what can be prepared ahead of time, and which recipes are okay to serve cold or room temp if you're trying to do a lot at once.The recipes I've made so far (I'd guess about 10 or so) have been very, very cookable. "Nothing fancy" is right when it comes to the prep work, which is simple and straightforward. However, I will say that most recipes require a level of presentation finesse that I have yet to master. Nothing looks even close to as well presented as you'd hope based on the photographs, but when is that ever the case, I guess. Still, for a cookbook called "Nothing Fancy" that features dishes to prepare for friends, I'm left a little disappointed with my own ability to present the food to look as appealing as it tastes. Something to work on, I guess, which I intend to do given how great the recipes do taste. Most of these dishes can also be tinkered with if you just want to make them for 1 or 2, which I've been doing a lot of.There is just the right amount of standard ingredients required alongside a few well-deserved oddballs (to my sensibility, anyways). She's got a love affair with tinned fish and I've never seen dates, walnuts, and sumac in so many different dishes, but that's not a bad thing. I think my little pantry is slowly turning into an homage to this cookbook, and I'm perfectly happy with that.This cookbook is also doubling as a coffee table book for me, because the clean simple design and excellent photography have brought some serious Marie Kondo-style "joy" to my everyday. Seeing it and using it have become something to look forward to after work every day.

I was more than ready for Alison Roman to come tripping over my kitchen transom. The fool-proof, go-to recipes I had relied on Ina for so long had honestly become a bit boring. I have to place the blame for that on Melissa Clark, who resuscitated my food game in spectacular fashion and that in turn, set me off on a course that left me searching for more and more of those explosive flavor combos that Clark is famous for. That's where Alison Roman came in.I'd already made some of her recipes from online sources, so I figured it was worth getting her books. A good move because I've mostly loved what I've made from Dining In, enough so that I pre-ordered this one. As with Dining In, you find that you just have to take a flyer and go with the recipes because even though you might think "I'm not entirely sure about this," they mostly work out magnificently well. (If you're familiar with Cristina Tosi and her recipes, you know exactly how this works).Cases in point - I recently made the:++ Casual Apple Tart with Caramelized Buttermilk for dinner guests. Unpeeled apples? Buttermilk? Black pepper? Roll out the dough any which way? Ok, why not? The end result was a beautiful tart that everyone - even the guy who claimed he was "not a fan of dessert" fell hard for this tart with a taste that belied the ease behind its making. I took the photo only after realizing we'd already eaten half of it :-oThree other yummy recipes:++ Grilled Carrots with Limey Hot Sauce and Cotija, in which the swoony flavors of Mexican street corn came knocking on carrot's door, were let right in and were never more welcome.++ Celery and Fennel with Walnuts and Blue Cheese, a recipe in which celery has never been more interesting.Crunchy here, creamy there, with hints of umami everywhere. I love this salad.++ Mustardy Green Beans with Anchovyed Walnuts. If any recipe ever had my name on it, it's this one. I don't know if I will ever make green beans any other way, which is fine because having them this way will never get old.I am well on my way to trying everything in this book.I have yet to read one recipe in it that makes me think "meh" or "ew." They all make me want to invite friends/family over so we can all enjoy these flavors.I am loving this book.

Alison delivers every time. We cook from this book constantly and her recipes hit every time. I guess I really like her palate!