SMALL SPACE,B IG PA R T Y
FUN IS NOT MEASURED IN
SQUARE FOOTAGEIf you’re on Instagram, chances are you’ve
seen #TheStew, a vibrant chickpea stew with
coconut and turmeric, and #TheCookies, a
crunchy, buttery shortbread/cookie fusion.
The kitchen virtuoso behind those viral
recipes is Alison Roman, a columnist at Bon
Appétit and The New York Times. This month,
Roman released her second cookbook, Nothing
Fancy, about how to have a relaxed, unfussy
gathering in the home. We asked her for tips
and tricks for throwing a great dinner party,
even if you have little to no kitchen and aren’t
exactly a party person. —A. W.
Tiny kitchen? Party on: Regardless of the
size of your kitchen, if you have a stove, a
refrigerator, and a place to put your cutting
board, you’ll be fine. Don’t try to make a
thousand different dishes.
Embrace the no-cook party: If you have
space and time, then you should absolutely
be cooking, but if you don’t have either, then
there’s nothing wrong with saying, “I’ll put out
some crackers and dip and call it a day.”
No seats, no problem: If there’s an
overwhelming shortage of seating, it becomes
less of a sit-down dinner party and more of
a stand-up dinner party, or a sit-on-the-floor
dinner party. Then the food becomes more
snacky and cocktail focused. I adapt once I
know how many people are coming over.
Use what you’ve got: Basically, whatever
I’m trying to serve, I pick the biggest vessel
that I have for it. I serve martinis out of a
Chemex. I serve dips out of mixing bowls.
Making do with what you have is part of the
charm of entertaining in the home.
Don’t sweat it: There’s a lot of pressure
for people to feel like they have to enjoy
entertaining. It’s okay if you don’t. If you’re
afraid that things aren’t going to go well, just
know that they probably won’t, and that’s
fine. Things don’t go well for me every time,
and I do this professionally. Enjoy it as an
opportunity to be with friends and put down
your fucking phone.PORK
SHOULDER- 5 lb boneless pork
shoulder - kosher salt
- 5 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 (750 ml) bottle white
wine, such as
chardonnay - 4 cups whole milk
- 2¼ cups heavy cream
- about 4 cups chicken
stock - 1 large onion, halved
- 1 sprig sage
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 head garlic, halved
horizontally
JASMINE RICE
SOUBISE - 2 cups uncooked
jasmine rice - 3 medium Spanish
onions, sliced - generous cup heavy
cream - kosher salt
Make the pork shoulder:
- Season the meat on all
sides with salt and marinate
in the refrigerator for at
least 12 hours, ideally
overnight. - Preheat the oven to
350°F. In a large Dutch oven
or heavy-bottomed pot, heat
the olive oil over high heat.
Season the pork lightly with
salt once more and cook it,
turning, until deep golden
brown on all sides, about 15
minutes total. Move the pork
to a plate to rest. - Drain the excess fat from
the pot, but keep any crispy
bits on the bottom, and re-
turn the pot to medium heat.
Add the white wine and
bring to a simmer, scraping
up any browned bits. Re-
duce the wine until ¼ cup
remains, about 15 minutes.- Return the pork to the pot
and add the milk, cream, and
enough stock to just cover.
Tie the onion, sage, thyme,
bay leaves, and garlic in a
square of cheesecloth and
add the sachet to the pot as
well. Cover with a cartouche
(parchment paper will do),
then cover with a lid. - Transfer to the oven and
bake until the pork is tender
and falls apart when pulled
with a fork or picked with
hands, about 2½ hours.
Make the soubise: - Place the rice in a large pot.
Cover it with the onions and 2
cups of water; do not stir.
Bring to a boil, then cover
with a cartouche, reduce the
heat to low, and cook until the
rice is tender with a slight
bite, about 30 minutes. - Working in small batches,
spoon equal parts rice and
onion into a food processor
and pulse quickly with ¼
cup of the cream at a time,
until the rice is coarse but
creamy, like polenta. Season
lightly with salt. Transfer to
a bowl and repeat with the
remaining rice and onion. - Serve family-style or cut
the pork into individual por-
tions. Spread the rice
soubise along the bottom of
a platter or bowls, top with
the pork shoulder, and
spoon the braising liquid
over everything.
Give It the
( P ORK )
SHOULDER
SOULFUL, FORTIFYING DECADENCE,
ONE DUTCH OVEN AT A TIME- • • Heartfelt. Personal. Those are often overused ad-
jectives when describing a great chef ’s cooking. But
sometimes you have a dish and, well, those really are
the best words to describe what you just experienced.
Angie Mar’s milk-braised pork shoulder is one of them.
While Beatrice Inn, her restaurant in New York City,
may be known more for its decadent cuts of innovative
beef, this dish, from Mar’s Butcher + Beast: Mastering
the Art of Meat: A Cookbook, is the one that will make
your home feel like, well, home. —Kevin Sintumuang