HAT IS IT about the
word entertaining that
sends people into a state
of panic, hunting down
matching plates and
googling things like
“Easy Peking Duck at
Home”? Well, my plates
don’t match and there is
no such thing as “easy”
Peking duck (I’ve tried—we ordered pizza), but that doesn’t stop
me from sending a last-minute invite to friends asking them to
stop by, eat something delicious, and drink lots of wine. I never
use the E-word; instead, I call it “having people over,” and just
doing that immediately lowers my blood pressure.
When writing my first cookbook, Dining In, I wanted the rec-
ipes to reflect how I really, truly cook at home, not how I wanted
people to think I cook at home. Whether it’s fried lentils for one
or a leg of lamb for eight, the goal was for each recipe to inspire
an “Oh, I can do that!” feeling rather than fear, self-loathing,
and existential dread.
When I have people over, I want to sit back with my friends
and laugh casually like I’m in an Eileen Fisher catalog, not be in
the kitchen panicking because I ran out of sumac. (Just kidding,
I never run out of sumac.) With unfussy salads, make-ahead sides,
sheet-pan mains and, gasp, maybe no dessert, cooking for a
large group can be easy. So easy, in fact, that you can do it
tonight if you want (this whole menu can be prepped and cooked
in just a few hours). Read on for how to put your friends to work
and feed them too, because tonight you’re having people over
like it’s no big deal. And it’s not!
BA CONTRIBUTOR
ALISON ROMAN
(THE KIND OF
FEARLESS WOMAN
WHO WEARS
WHITE IN THE
KITCHEN) IS
THE AUTHOR OF
THE FABULOUS
NEW COOKBOOK
DINING IN,
OUT OCTOBER 24.Aperol-Kombucha Cocktail
8 SERVINGS Think of this cocktail
as a more boozy, more delicious,
and just as pretty Aperol spritz.2 cups gin, tequila, or mezcal
1½ cups Aperol
1 16-oz. bottle chilled kombucha,
preferably ginger or lemon
flavored
4 12-oz. cans chilled club soda
Peychaud’s or Angostura bitters
2 tangerines or oranges, halved
through stem ends, thinly slicedCombine gin, Aperol, and kombucha in
a large pitcher or glass jar and stir well.
To make each cocktail, fill a small glass
with ice and pour in gin mixture to come
up halfway. Top off with club soda
and finish with a few dashes of bitters
and a tangerine slice or 2.Marinated Anchovies
with Seedy Bread and Butter
8 SERVINGS For a simple, just-the-right-
amount-of-salty appetizer, doctor up
a tin of anchovies. The acid, heat, and
olive oil mellow the anchovies’ flavor,
and serving them with a seedy loaf
of bread and butter rounds it all out.1 4–5-oz. jar oil-packed anchovies,
drained
1 Tbsp. distilled white vinegar
2 peperoncini, thinly sliced, or
½ red Fresno chile, thinly sliced,
or ¾ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 lemon
2 Tbsp. olive oil
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter,
room temperature
Flaky sea salt (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper
(optional)
8 slices seedy whole wheat bread,
each cut into 4 trianglesPlace anchovies in a shallow dish or
small serving bowl and drizzle vinegar
over. Let sit 5 minutes, then add
peperoncini. Finely grate zest from half
of lemon over anchovies. Slice lemon
in half and squeeze in juice from both
halves; drizzle with oil.
Scoop butter into a small dish and
sprinkle generously with salt and pepper
if desired. Serve marinated anchovies
with bread and butter alongside.80