My Favorite Alison Roman Meals

For the sake of efficiency and the allure of the challenge, I chose to tackle multiple recipes in a single meal throughout this project. I called these, “All-Out-Alison Meals.” Here are my favorites.

Some of the dish pairings were suggestions from Alison herself in her cookbooks. Some pairings were based on the seasonality of key ingredients. Other pairings were based solely on what sounded good to me in the moment. All of them took at least 4+ hours of cooking (active and inactive time included) to complete, so be sure to carve out enough time in your day leading up to these meals. 

“Lamb and All the Fixings” 

  1. Salad: Apple and Endive with Parsley and Salted Almonds

  2. Side: Sour Cream Flatbread

  3. Entree & Veggie: Turmeric-Roasted Lamb Shoulder with Carrots and All the Fixings

  4. Accoutrement: Another Salsa Verde 

Notes: She’s a perfect fall or winter evening meal. I began my preparation in the morning - see post for timing details. Make more, not less, of the salsa verde. You’ll want it on everything, with leftovers too. Dessert - keep it simple, or better yet, ask your guests to handle it. Our friends brought over a lovely apple crisp. 

“The Colors of Summer” 

  1. Appetizer: Spicy Marinated Anchovies with Potato Chips

  2. Side Dish: Tomatoes Dressed in Toasted Fennel and Anchovy

  3. Side Dish: Baked Summer Squash with Cream and Parmesan Bread Crumbs

  4. Main Dish: Scallops with Corn, Hazelnuts, and Brown Butter Chermoula

  5. Dessert: Upside-Down Apricot Tart

Notes: This meal elicited plenty of ooo’s and ahh’s from the orange and yellow pickled chiles adorning the anchovies and potato chips, to the platter of bright red tomatoes, from the smell of charred, bright yellow corn, to the caramel-like surface of the poppy-orange apricot tart. I loved using all kinds of in-season produce in this summertime meal. Just be sure to choose sea scallops instead of bay scallops. I made this mistake once, but I won’t do it again. 

“Trivoli Tavern” 

  1. Salad: Little Gems and Cabbage with Pickled Turnips and Lemony Tahini

  2. Side Dish: Baked Potato Bar

  3. Entree: Low and Slow Rib Roast with Rosemary and Anchovy

  4. Dessert: Sheet Cake with Mascarpone and Coffee

Notes: On a snowy December evening in Chicago, my sister, mom, and I stumbled (literally) upon an outwardly quaint, inwardly grand restaurant called Trivoli Tavern. We wandered inside to find oak-panelled walls, plush crimson booths, waiters wearing red suits and garlands draped from the ceiling. The menu held everything a steakhouse would offer, but somehow a bit more home-y, suggesting notes of comfort food - though still just as expensive. We didn’t eat there - just stood at the bar and sipped on hot toddies and negronis. This meal reminds me of something I could order at Trivoli Tavern. Rich, savory, relying heavily on salt and pepper, with an Italian-esque dessert to close out the evening. 

Notes: This meal stands out to me as one of the most visually appealing spreads I’ve ever made. We ate this dinner on my in-laws deck one early August evening with an air of leisure, taking our time. Alison’s Grilled Branzino with Lemons All of the Ways would also work well. I substituted branzino for trout here, since that’s what I could find at the store. Branzino tastes less fishy, which worked well in my opinion. The crushed baby potatoes are essentially a superior way to think of potato salad - more fresh, more tang, less (aka no) mayonnaise in sight. The peaches a summertime dream.

“All in the Details”

  1. Aperitif: A Very Fine Spritz

  2. Salad: Summer Squash with Basil, Parmesan, and Toasted Buckwheat

  3. Entree: Crispy-Skinned Salmon with Spicy Radishes and Green Romesco

  4. Dessert: Double-Crusted Peach Pie with Honey, Ginger, and Lime

Notes: A hint of amaro underscoring sparkling white wine. Toasted buckwheat groats nuancing a platter of straightforward squash. Acidic and herby romesco pooling the base of a crisped fish filet. A zing of ginger meeting you in the middle of a bite full of sugar-encrusted peach. The delight is in the details, my friends. Also - I originally made this meal with Alison’s Farro with Toasted Fennel, Lemon, and Basil. That salad didn’t do much for me. Her summer squash, on the other hand, is fantastic. 

“Relax, it’s Saturday!” 

  1. Salad: Crushed Peas with Burrata and Green Olives

  2. Entree: Pizza Night 

  3. Dessert: Coconut Banana Cream Pudding 

Notes: Having friends over to watch a game or a movie? Feel like making crowd-favorites with a twist? Then this meal is for you! Alison’s pizza is no ordinary homemade pizza. Between the focaccia-like crust, the toasted red onion slices and lemony ricotta topping, her pies just hit different. Peas don’t have to be boring! Pair them with arugula, burrata and plenty of lemon juice, and you’ve got yourself a hit. And homemade coconut banana pudding… What could go wrong? 

Runner-ups

“A Different Night at Trivoli Tavern” 

  1. Side Dish: Seeded Breadsticks with Parmesan

  2. Side Dish: The Greatest Creamed Greens

  3. Main Dish: Spiced and Braised Short Ribs with Creamy Potatoes 

  4. Dessert: Casual Apple Tart with Caramelized Buttermilk

Notes: If I wanted to go back to Trivoli Tavern but try something else off the menu, I’d order this meal. See “#3 Trivoli Tavern” above for context. 

  1. “Summer Soiree”

    1. Appetizer: Fancy Citrusy Olives

    2. Salad: Spring Peas with Anchovy, Lemon and All the Radishes

    3. Entree: Clam Pasta with Chorizo and Walnuts

    4. Dessert: Torn Plum Browned-Butter Cake

Notes: I really loved the clam pasta and the plum cake. The olives were too citrusy and the salad was too bland for my taste. However, the dinner items complimented one another nicely, creating a cohesive meal when served with sourdough bread for dipping. The cake doesn’t totally fit here, but it’s in my top 5 Alison desserts, so it really can go anywhere in my opinion. 

“Welcome to my Luau” 

  1. Appetizer: Crispy Haloumi with Honey and Pistachio

  2. Side Dish: Perfect Asparagus with Garlic and Salted Olive Oil 

  3. Entree: Sticky Chili Chicken with Hot and Sour Pineapple

  4. Dessert: Blueberry Cake with Almond and Cinnamon 

Notes: Pineapples, Blueberries, Chili’s, Asparagus, Pistachios, Spicy, Sour, Sweet, Salty, Crispy, Crunchy - this meal is full of fun produce, flavors, and textures that keep guests on their toes. It elicits a tiki torches and plastic-flamingoes-in-the-yard kind of vibe. So I suggest leaning into it - call it a luau from the start! 

Butter Beans, Tangy Mushrooms, Baked Pasta with Artichokes and Cheese, and Margaret

This is a Margaret Winchell Appreciation Post. 

Margaret is one of the dearest friends I have ever known. She’s one of the few people I can talk on the phone with for hours and forget how long it’s been. Her phone calls are like menthol when you have a bad cold. They clear your head, open up your chest, and lead you to hope that you’ll feel better very soon. 

Margaret is brilliant. Not in a tongue and cheek way. She’s actually brilliant, especially when it comes to music, teaching, cooking, baking, musical theater, leadership, and multi-tasking. Her brilliance can sometimes intimidate others when they first meet her. But after spending time with Margaret, you realize she uses her brilliance to draw others in. 

Margaret, as I just mentioned, is a phenomenal, intuition-driven cook, with instincts so sharp, they could pierce a stale loaf of bread like a tip of a Global knife. It’s her passion for food and hospitality that turned me on to cooking as well. We became real friends after college, right at the time that I was learning to cook myself. She showed me the way. She took me under her wing and had me cook alongside her in preparation for our weekly dinners with Amy, and then usually at some point over the weekends, too. We did a lot of cooking together those days. Margaret also introduced me to New York Times Cooking, which revolutionized what I cook. 

Margaret visited me last weekend, along with her grad school pal, Evan. A most delightful duo. I went into my suburban office on Friday for work, and took the 4:57pm train home. I walked through the door to find my dearest friend Margaret already through two of Alison’s recipes, and half way through a third. This spoke volumes to me. I could almost cry. When this project felt close to impossible, far out of reach from my energy coffers, Margaret stood in the gap, and darn well filled it. 

I can claim essentially no credit for cooking these three recipes, and that’s okay. I’ll let my friend serve me in this way. I did, however, eat all three dishes, and talked to Margaret at length about their preparation. So in lieu of describing a cooking process, I’ll offer here just a few thoughts and takeaways about each one: 

Vinegar-Marinated Butter Beans: 

  • Something was UP with these beans. I had on hand a can of Eden Organic Butter Beans that had not expired, and were, you know, supposedly organic. But the best word to describe the final dish is “bitter.” We mused over this conundrum. Vinegar is acidic, but it shouldn’t taste bitter. Garlic can be bitter if you leave the green tips that sometimes sprout out the tops, but Margaret didn’t do this. What we’re left with are the beans. Something must be wrong with the beans. This dish has potential if you don’t have weird beans. It even keeps leftovers for up to two weeks, which I would normally do. But alas, we tossed our bitter beans. 

Tangy-Roasted Mushrooms: 

  • Mushrooms, a good variety of them, are expensive, but worth it, IMO. 

  • Mushrooms don’t shrink much when you roast them. They just get silkier in texture. 

  • Thinly sliced onions add some fun bits of crunch here. 

  • I would serve this at many a gathering. 

Baked Pasta with Artichokes and Too Much Cheese:

  • Alison absolutely nails the flavor here. Perfect balance of salty, sour (from the artichokes) and creamy (from all that cheese). Pro tip: the flavor gets a glow-up when you add a few tangy-roasted mushrooms on the side. 

  • We are floored that Alison doesn’t mention any options for ready-to-bake noodles. This feels like an obvious miss for the many people who don’t want to deal with the labor of parboiling noodles before assembling the dish. We simply refused to parboil, and so put our ready-to-bake noodles straight into the casserole. The top layer of noodles sure stayed tough and became like noodle chips. Not the worst outcome, but certainly not the most optimal. 

  • In our humble, yet knowledgeable opinions, we don’t love the lasagna noodle choice. We believe in using a penne or rigatoni. We want to avoid the noodle chip effect.

171, 172, 173 recipes cooked, 52 to go.

All-Out-Alison Meal with Turmeric-Roasted Lamb, Sour Cream Flatbread, & Apple and Endive Salad

Another All-Out-Alison meal is in the books. I love making All-Out-Alison meals - who doesn’t want multiple Alison dishes in one sitting? But on days when I make these meals, I find myself in the kitchen for a stretch of hours, flitting between tasks and ingredient prep, and it’s really quite an ordeal. Today’s post will document my process. I’m guessing at the timestamps, but they’re close to being accurate. 

To indicate which dish each step belongs to, I’ll label them with [lamb - Turmeric-Roasted Lamb Shoulder and Carrots with All the Fixings], [flatbread - Sour Cream Flatbreads], [salad - Apple and Endive Salad with Parsley and Salted Almonds], and [salsa verde - Another Salsa Verde]. 

Oh wait, one note before we begin. Alison’s lamb instructions suggest a 3.5-4 lb. boneless lamb shoulder, but I could only find lamb leg (similar cut) that was much smaller or much bigger. Since we were having company, I went with the larger 5.5 lb. cut, which meant that I used more garlic/turmeric for the marinade, and had to cook the lamb longer than instructed. More on that in a bit… 

Let’s make a meal, shall we? 

8:40am: [lamb] Remove the lamb leg from the fridge to let it finish thawing on the counter

11:43am: [lamb] Peel and dice the fresh turmeric and excessive amount of garlic cloves - I used 13

11:53am: [lamb] Create the marinade by combining the turmeric and garlic with olive oil and cumin

11:57am: [lamb] Salt and pepper the lam, then rub the marinade all over, getting in all the cracks. 

12:03pm: [lamb] Search for butcher’s twine in the craft box hiding in my coat closet. I find only crafting string, but decide that it’ll do the job. 

12:08pm: [lamb] Use a sharp knife to cut a slit in the center of the lamb, so the whole thing can fold over like a book, allowing you to tie it like Alison says. 

12:09pm: [lamb] Use the found crafting string to tie the lamb, one inch apart. My hands get very yellow and oily from doing this. 

12:20pm: [lamb] Place the tied lamb on a baking sheet covered with tin foil and, with plastic wrap covering the meat, place it in the fridge to marinate. 

1:01pm: [flatbread] Stir the warm water, sugar, and yeast together until the yeast dissolves. Add four cups of flour and combine until no major dry spots remain. Cover, and let sit for ten minutes to hydrate the flour. 

1:20pm: [flatbread] Add the melted butter, salt, and sour cream to the dough using your hands. The dough feels wet and slimy. The goal is to fully incorporate the sour cream. Once done, cover the dough and let it rest for two hours. 

3:20pm: [flatbread] Uncover the dough bowl and punch down the dough, knocking some of the air out of it. I hear the air escape and it's kind of thrilling. Cover the dough back up and let it sit for another two hours. 

3:22pm: [salsa verde] Slice a shallot in half. Reserve one half in the fridge and dice the other half into the smallest pieces possible. 

3:24pm: [salsa verde] Slice a lemon and squeeze two tablespoons of lemon juice over the shallots. 

3:26pm: [salsa verde] Retrieve my herbs: cilantro, parsley, mint, and chives. Tiny dice two whole cups of herbs (which is a lot of herbs). Use mostly parsley and cilantro, but supplement with mint and chives. 

3:42pm: [salsa verde] Cover the bowl and store in the fridge. Alison’s Another Salsa Verde is complete.

4:00pm: [lamb] Turn on the oven. 

4:15pm: [lamb] Pull out the dutch oven and pour some oil into the base. Turn on the burner to medium heat. Remove the lamb from the fridge and place it in the dutch oven to brown the meat, turning the meat with your tongs every 4-6 minutes. 

4:35pm: [lamb] Place the carrots in the pot with the lamb, and toss the carrots in the excess fat at the bottom. 

4:40pm: [lamb] Lift the pot, with lamb and carrots inside, into the oven. Set a timer for one hour and ten minutes. Alison recommends one hour for a medium-cooked lamb. But given the size of the cut of meat, I know I’ll need more time. I just need to check and see how much extra time at the 1:10 mark. 

4:42pm: [salad] Quarter the endives lengthwise, and toss the leaves in a large bowl. Slice the other half of the shallot into very thin rounds, separating them as I lob them into the bowl. Trim several strands of parsley and mint, also adding them to the bowl. 

4:52pm: [salad] Pour out a pile of almonds on the cutting board and chop them into small bits. Place them into a bowl on the counter. 

4:58pm: CLEAN THE HOUSE - GUESTS ARE COMING OVER 

5:20pm: [flatbread] Pour the dough onto a cutting board, and using a dough cutter, create six equally sized balls of dough. Using just a modicum of flour to dust them so they don’t stick to your hands. Coax the first dough ball into a flat, mini pizza shape, letting the dough stretch over the back of my hands like Alison says. 

5:27pm: [flatbread] Get out the cast iron skillet and turn the heat to medium-high. Pour out a bit of olive oil and lay the first dough round in there. I hear it sizzle, and within three to four minutes, just like Alison says, the dough is bubbly and golden. I flip the bread and let it heat for two minutes on the other side. Continue with the rest of the dough, rolling each one out just before the skillet frees up. Keep the flatbreads warm under two plates. One dish done! 

5:50pm: [lamb] Check on the lamb. Insert the meat thermometer. Oh boy, it’s still 95 degrees in the deepest part, and we’re aiming for between 145 and 160. Push it back in and set the time for another 30 minutes from now. 

5:56pm: [salad] Add olive oil to the bowl of almonds, along with salt and pepper, and stir to combine. 

5:59pm: [salad] Thinly slice the Honeycrisp apple into rounds. Then toss the apples with the endive and herb mixture, along with salt and lemon juice. 

6:05pm: [salad] Arrange the salad on a serving platter, then drizzle the almond mixture over the top. Quick! Take several fabulously lit pictures just before the sun goes down. Wrap the plate and place it on the table. Two dishes done! 

6:15pm: [lamb] Check on the lamb, and realize it still has another 15-25 degrees to go in several parts before it’s considered medium-rare. Slide it back in and set a new timer for 20 minutes. 

6:20pm: Get changed, remove your apron and brush your hair. 

6:30pm: Guests arrive! Friends from my hometown in Southern California. Marissa and Drew. Entertain them with a glass of wine (that they brought - it’s so good!). 

6:45pm: [lamb] Check on the lamb, and it’s done! Probably could have taken it out 8-10 minutes earlier… Oh well. It’s still soft and easy to chew. The flavor is incredibly rich but not too overpowering. The turmeric is less harsh and the garlic more potent than you expected. The lamb is delicious. A success! Just next time, try to get one in the right weight range. I think that’ll save lots of guesswork. 

6:50pm: Serve the lamb with garlicky yogurt, Alison’s Another Salsa Verde, and flaky salt. 

7:45pm: Transition from dinner to the gf apple crisp Marissa made, and enjoy every sweet bite. Even better? The company and conversation. 

I hope you enjoyed this play by play. Making meals can be a lot of work, but at least they’re rewarding. 

161 recipes cooked, 64 to go.

Scallops with Corn, Hazelnuts, and Brown Butter Chermoula by Alison Roman

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Let’s talk about scallops. Scallops are small, fleshy circles of meat that grow inside of hinged shells. They are, in fact, animals. They have organs and eyes that can detect light and motion. There are over 300 species of scallops! Scallops have a tiny muscle flap on their sides that needs to be removed before cooking (I’m not sure why - they’re probably too tough?), and they shrink down quite a bit as they cook, perhaps by about 40-50%. They smell rather fishy! 

Alison instructs us to sear the scallops in a skillet with a bit of canola oil, browning them on both sides. After cleaning my scallops, I did just as instructed. But I was unable to get a good sear because the scallops leaked a potently fishy liquid that covered the pan, creating a soggy surface environment opposite the dry heat required to sear. Why this happened to me, and not Alison – I’m not sure? I ended up draining the liquid and getting a bit of light brown color on each side, but the whole process took far longer than she mentions, and the scallops seemed a bit too dry by the end. There are one or two other scallop recipes yet in this project, so I hope to report back with more success. 

Let’s talk about chermoula (ch-er-moo-la). Chermoula is a kind of relish used in seafood dishes in many Arabic countries. It typically includes garlic, cumin and coriander, among other spices. Alison’s chermoula also used red pepper flakes, cumin, and paprika. In this recipe, chermoula is cooked until fragrant and toasted in a foamy pat of butter. Then the corn is added and cooked until bright yellow. 

Let’s talk about corn. I love fresh corn in the summer. Cutting it off the ear is a bit more work than buying it frozen, but fresh corn has such a better flavor and texture. My corn cutting tip: stand the ear upside down on it’s head, holding it by the stalk, inside of a large, deep bowl. Take a sharp knife and saw the kernels off one side of the ear, rotating it so that you get all sides clean. The bowl will keep the kernels from flying all over the counter and floor, which always happens when I use a cutting board instead. This, friends, is the best way to cut fresh corn. 

Let’s talk about hazelnuts. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I don’t like hazelnuts. At ALL. Alison apparently loves them. So anytime I see them in a recipe, I swap them for a different kind of nut. In this dish, I subbed the hazelnuts with toasted pistachios, which I roasted in the oven for 10 minutes before chopping them for the garnish. 

This kind of dish was a new adventure for me. I enjoyed it, but probably won’t make it again. The scallops were a little too fishy, and the coriander seeds overwhelmed the flavor. The pistachios and cilantro were a nice touch, and I preferred a squeeze of lime, which is pictured in the book, but isn’t mentioned in the recipe. 

Scallops and Corn were the final dish for my All-Out-Alison Meal! This week’s AOA meal menu included: 

I can highly recommend this as a complete meal for your next dinner party! However, be prepared to spend about 4 hours of prep time in the kitchen. 

89 recipes cooked, 136 to go.

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Sticky Chili Chicken with Hot-and-Sour Pineapple by Alison Roman

hey bud

hey bud

Themed birthday parties were my childhood idea of “BEST BIRTHDAY EVER.” I would spend days and days dreaming up the theme, possible decorations, any necessary costumes, the games we would play, invitation design, etc. Thankfully, my parents were totally on board, costumes and all. I had several themed birthday parties, at least two of which were “Hawaiian Luau’s.” Both parties had tiki torches lit in the backyard, fake flower leis doled out at the door, plastic flamingos and grass skirts, the whole sha-bang. 

I recently thought about how fun it would be to throw another luau party, but make it more “adult.” There would still be tiki torches, lei’s and a plastic flamingo. There would also be some sort of delicious spiked punch and a pineapple juice, rum cocktail. And instead of serving hawaiian pizza (which no one actually likes), I’d serve this sticky chili chicken. 3 large platters of it, with extra pineapple spears on the side. 

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Here’s the process for making this fabulous pineapple chicken. First, marinate the bird! I used a 4lb. organic chicken from TJ’s. I patted it dry, and seasoned it with salt and pepper before placing it in a gallon-sized Ziploc. Then I assembled the marinade – the most labor-intensive step (which is hardly labor-intensive at all). The marinade includes: brown sugar, chili paste (Alison suggest sambal, but I used harissa), fish sauce, lime juice, red pepper flakes, garlic, and rice wine vinegar. 

I cannot, for the life of me, find rice wine vinegar anywhere. I own rice vinegar, wine vinegar, and mirin (sweet rice cooking wine), but the specific rice wine vinegar combination is nowhere to be found. Alison uses this mythical substance in multiple recipes, so it must exist. But alas, I got creative with this recipe. To replace ¼ cup rice wine vinegar, I used ⅛ cup rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar, and 1 tablespoon of mirin. It seemed to work great! 

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I let the chicken marinate for about 4 hours. In the meantime, I peeled and cored a small pineapple, and cut it into spears. The spears joined the chicken and all of the marinade on a sheet pan to cook at 425 for an hour. My chicken took longer than usual to cook, I think because we left another sheet pan in the oven underneath the chicken, and that blocked some of the heat. (Why did we do that? I’m not sure. I wasn’t thinking.) The bird was ready in an hour and 20 minutes. While roasting, the pineapple released its sweet juices, which bubbled and thickened perfectly with the hot and sour marinade. A bite of roast chicken with a piece of spicy pineapple? It brought me right back to my luau. 

I served this dish as part of, what I am now going to call, an “ALL-OUT-ALISON” meal: 

If you made it to the end of this post, consider yourself warmly invited to my next luau.

83 recipes cooked, 142 to go.

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