Review
“Alison Roman joyously leads you to the promised land of extraordinary home cooking. Into every one of her stunningly beautiful recipes she's tucked the clues that will invariably lead you to deliciousness: keep it simple, have fun with your food, pack in the flavor, and, most importantly, share it with the people you love.”—Samin Nosrat, bestselling author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat
“Alison Roman combines expertise with ease. Dining In should make Brooklynesque restaurants around the country nervous. Why would you dine out when you can roast chicken in anchovy butter and toast up croutons in the schmaltzy, umami-tastic butter, or make crispy chickpeas and lamb with greens and garlicky yogurt?”—Bon Appétit
“Never too fancy, Alison solves the greatest mystery every home cook faces—how to transform thoughtful food into a greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts one-pan-wonder or next-level crowd-pleasing masterpiece.”—Christina Tosi, author of Momofuku Milk Bar
“Roman's voice is funny and energetic and such a change of pace from the usual short-and-robotic recipe format.”—Bon Appétit online
“Not your grandmother’s all-purpose cookbook.”—Food52
“A classic waiting to happen.”—Epicurious
“Former pastry chef and food editor Alison Roman’s first book is a collection of recipes that speak to this moment in modern dining: One-pot dinners, sharable plates, casual desserts. Roman makes clever use of pantry staples and condiments to season and draw flavor out of winter vegetables and slowly simmered stews.”—Eater
“[Roman's] recipes feature plenty of ‘it’ ingredients, like kimchi, pistachios,and za’atar, but they all make delicious, craveworthy sense. Flipping through Dining In, I wanted to read every word and make every dish; there’s not too many cookbooks I can say that about.”—Fine Cooking
“Designed to make your weeknight dinner more delicious and less fussy.”—The Kitchn
“You might walk right past this cookbook, with its modest title and quiet design, but take my advice and stop for a closer look. . . . Nearly every recipe I tried was a desert-island dish: blistered green beans with creamy tahini, cumin lamb chops with charred scallions and peanuts, salted butter and chocolate chunk shortbread. Definitely for dining in, as the title suggests, since you'll want your privacy as you're licking every last crumb off your plate.”—T. Susan Chang, NPR
“Alison Roman, who has cooked in restaurants and editorial kitchens, reads a little like a contemporary Colwin–in that her voice dances with energy and wit and self-awareness and intelligence. She seems to have little interest in precious cooking, fancy kitchen gadgets or anything that distracts from honest ingredients and foolproof techniques. To read Alison Roman is to feel a kind of instantaneous kinship.”—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Like your best friend who’s a great cook, [Alison Roman] spends a lot of ink up front persuading you that, yes, you can do this, you can cook. And as your best friend, she speaks to you in a conspiratorial tone and keeps things easy. Her recipes rely less on tricky technique than on clever flavor and textural combinations. Everything seems thrown together in a breezy manner, but the genius is evident. . . . Every recipe seems ‘highly cookable,’ her catchphrase, and craveable. And any chef who admits she likes black olives from a can ‘that you can wear on your fingers’ is someone we’ll follow into that kitchen.”—Chicago Tribune
“Roman’s book is filled with plenty [of] inventive ideas that would work just as well for a weeknight meal as for a high-stakes dinner party.”—Vogue
“This isn’t one of those pretty cookbooks that sits on a shelf. It’s a pretty cookbook filled with winning recipes begging to be made.”—The Boston Globe
“Fun and approachable, and most likely better than most dishes you’d order eating out.”—The San Francisco Chronicle
“Some of Roman’s greatest hits.”—The Cut
“One of the year’s best cookbooks.”—Joanna Goddard, A Cup of Jo
“Very much a reflection of how we eat now.”—Mind Body Green
“I am always wondering what Alison Roman is cooking because, without fail, it's just what I want to make (Sour Cream Flatbread! Vinegar-Braised Chicken!). From her relaxed approach to her inventive combinations, Alison’s indispensable recipes are easy to prepare and fun to eat and make home the best place to dine.”—Julia Turshen, author of Small Victories
“Unpretentious, inspired, invigorating, Alison Roman’s voice is exactly what I’ve been waiting for in cookbooks. Within hours of opening Dining In, the irresistible Anchovy-Butter Chicken was in the oven. Dining In is destined to be a beloved, food-stained, dog-eared Bible for a new generation of cooks.”—Stephanie Danler, bestselling author of Sweetbitter
“Dining In is more than just a long list of super interesting recipes — it's a book that will probably fundamentally change the way I cook. Recipes with unfussy new techniques like her Anchovy-Butter Chicken with Chicken Fat Croutons (with some radishes on the side!) produce ridiculously pleasing results that have inspired me to always take that extra little step. The book is filled with sneaky gems meant to steal the show at dinner parties. Make her Salted Butter & Chocolate Chunk Shortbread for dessert and you'll never be mad again.”—Myles Tanzer, The Fader
About the Author
Alison Roman is a New York–based cook, writer, and author of the New York Times bestselling cookbooks Nothing Fancy and Dining In. She is the host and producer of CNN’s (More Than) A Cooking Show with Alison Roman, the creator of a bi-weekly YouTube series called Home Movies, and the author of a bi-weekly newsletter titled A Newsletter.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
CARAMELIZED WINTER SQUASH WITH TOASTED COCONUT GREMOLATA
Serves Four
I ate a lot of squash with brown sugar and butter while growing up. This recipe is my more practical “I can’t have ice cream for every meal” compromise, using honey instead of brown sugar and coconut oil instead of butter. I would probably eat this as dinner on its own, but I happen to know it’s also great as a side with things like roasted chicken or pork chops.
While tender, caramelized, salty-sweet squash is magnificent all on its own, it should be mentioned that the real reason for making this dish is for the toasted coconut gremolata: chips of nutty, unsweetened coconut tossed with herbs, lots of lemon zest, and a bit of Aleppo pepper. It’s wildly addictive, and there is no reason it couldn’t appear over roasted carrots, sprinkled onto a curry or stew, or even over salads as a stand-in for croutons.
DO AHEAD: Everything but the coconut can be made 1 day ahead; when ready to serve, toast the coconut and add it to the chive mixture (toasted coconut will start to soften once mixed with the herbs and refrigerated).
SQUASH
2 medium winter squash, such as delicata or acorn (1½ to 2 pounds)
3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted, or olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
TOASTED COCONUT GREMOLATA
¾ cup unsweetened coconut chips
¼ cup finely chopped fresh chives
½ cup fresh cilantro, tender leaves and stems, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper or 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
ROAST THE SQUASH:
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Leaving the skin on, slice the squash into ½-inch-thick rings. (I roast my squash with the seeds still inside, because they get all crispy and I love the texture they bring to the table, but you can remove them if you like. Best way to do that is cut the squash in half crosswise and scoop out the seeds with a spoon, then slice into rings.)
Toss the squash with the coconut oil and honey on a rimmed baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Roast, flipping the squash once, until it is completely tender, browned, and caramelized, 25 to 30 minutes.
MAKE THE GREMOLATA:
While the squash is roasting, heat a small skillet over medium heat and add the coconut. Shake the skillet occasionally until the coconut is starting to brown at the edges and smells all toasty and amazing, 3 to 4 minutes.
Place it in a medium bowl to cool completely.
Once the coconut has cooled, add the chives, cilantro, lemon zest, and Aleppo pepper, and season with salt. Using your fingers, mix this together until the oils in the lemon zest have released and everything is evenly distributed (especially the lemon zest, which can stubbornly clump up).
Sprinkle the coconut gremolata over the roasted squash and serve.
