Cookbook Club, Vol. 1: An Alison Roman Dinner
The Cookbook Club — How It Works
This was the first of what we're calling Cookbook Club. We choose a book. Everyone takes a dish. Then we gather.
We'll be documenting each dinner here in the Journal—the menu, the highlights, and the recipes we'll make again.
There is something special about sharing a meal built from the same book. Each dish carries the cook's own interpretation, and the table is richer for it.
The books: Alison Roman's Nothing Fancy and Dining In.
The Menu
Spicy Pork Meatballs in
Broth with Tomatoes and
Toasted Fennel
This was the opener — and it set the tone for everything that followed. The meatballs are juicy and a little punchy, swimming in a light, fragrant broth brightened with tomato. The toasted fennel is the detail that makes it: warm, slightly sweet, utterly savory.
Little Greens with Garlicky Lemon and Pistachio
Every great dinner party needs the salad that cuts through everything else. This was it. Bright, garlicky, deeply lemony — the kind of green that reminds you that vegetables are supposed to taste like something. The slivered almonds on top added the right crunch.
Coconut Milk Braised Chicken with Chickpeas and Lime
If there was a centerpiece, this was it. Creamy braising liquid, chickpeas that had soaked up every bit of coconut and spice, chicken falling off the bone. The lime does something important — it lifts all that richness at the last moment, so it never feels heavy. Serving it with extra cilantro and lime on the side, truly elevated this dish.
Roasted Squash with Yogurt, Spiced Butter, and Pistachios + Bread
This is the kind of vegetable dish that makes meat feel optional. Roasted squash over cool yogurt, finished with spiced butter and pistachios for crunch.
There was bread on the table for good reason. No one wanted to leave any of it behind.
It tasted like autumn made edible—warm, generous, and quietly memorable.
Deep Dish Honey Apple Galette
Rustic in the best possible way. A buttery pastry folded around caramelized apples, with honey lending a subtle floral note beneath all that warmth. When the galette finally arrived, the table went quiet. Not out of politeness, but because it was that good.
On Cooking from Alison Roman
What makes these books work for a dinner like this is that Roman trusts the cook. Her recipes leave room for instinct. Each dish arrived slightly different from the one on the page, and the table was better for it.
She writes the way a good friend gives directions—confidently, with the expectation that you'll find your way. The food is bold, generous, and unfussy. It felt right for a first gathering.
If you're looking to start a cookbook club, Nothing Fancy is a wonderful place to begin. The title says it all.
✦ Recipes from Alison Roman's Nothing Fancy and Dining In, both published by Clarkson Potter.
Next up is still being decided. If you have a suggestion, we'd love to hear it.
--- M.