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A review by m0rganh
Nothing Fancy: Unfussy Food for Having People Over by Alison Roman
4.0
Listen: I'm equally beguiled by both of Alison Roman's cookbooks (2017's Dining In and 2019's Nothing Fancy) and will shout my love for her Salted Butter and Chocolate Chunk Shortbread from the tallest of rooftops (https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/salted-butter-and-chocolate-chunk-shortbread JUST DO IT).
That being said, these recipes - and Roman's signature style/unapologetic voice - aren't for everyone (word to the wise: anchovies, citrus, and vinegar are the lifeblood coursing through these cookbooks' veins). Even so, I felt inspired by the deft flavor pairings, elevated simplicity, and general idea that somewhere out there in another timeline there's a cooler version of me serving up a Salted Citrus Salad with Fennel, Radish, and Olive to my vintage-clad foodie friends in my quirky/small Brooklyn apartment with endless martinis on the side and Hibiscus-Roasted Peaches with Brown Sugar Bread Crumbs for dessert.
Roman says in the intro to Nothing Fancy that "this is not about living an aspirational life; it’s about living an attainable one" - but somehow the effortlessly-cool-vibe of her and her recipes leave me feeling a liiitttttle bit like someone you'd see on a Middle Class Fancy meme. Case in point: there are no sandwiches, I REPEAT: NO SANDWICHES!, to be found in these books - by Roman's admission - which both wounds me to the core AND motivates me to break out of my comfort zone (which is maybe what truly great cookbooks are all about, anyway).
That being said, these recipes - and Roman's signature style/unapologetic voice - aren't for everyone (word to the wise: anchovies, citrus, and vinegar are the lifeblood coursing through these cookbooks' veins). Even so, I felt inspired by the deft flavor pairings, elevated simplicity, and general idea that somewhere out there in another timeline there's a cooler version of me serving up a Salted Citrus Salad with Fennel, Radish, and Olive to my vintage-clad foodie friends in my quirky/small Brooklyn apartment with endless martinis on the side and Hibiscus-Roasted Peaches with Brown Sugar Bread Crumbs for dessert.
Roman says in the intro to Nothing Fancy that "this is not about living an aspirational life; it’s about living an attainable one" - but somehow the effortlessly-cool-vibe of her and her recipes leave me feeling a liiitttttle bit like someone you'd see on a Middle Class Fancy meme. Case in point: there are no sandwiches, I REPEAT: NO SANDWICHES!, to be found in these books - by Roman's admission - which both wounds me to the core AND motivates me to break out of my comfort zone (which is maybe what truly great cookbooks are all about, anyway).