Chef, 34, reveals the secret to the perfect homemade pizza – and why people should STOP hosting ‘dinner parties’ for friends and family
- An American chef has urged people to avoid hosting fancy ‘dinner parties’
- Alison Roman has been sharing her philosophy of cooking for family and friends
- She said if she wanted to host a dinner, she would refer it as ‘having people over’
- The 34-year-old also shared her secrets to making the perfect homemade pizzas
A top chef has urged people to avoid hosting fancy ‘dinner parties’ and instead throw pizza parties by following her foolproof entertaining tips.
Alison Roman, 34, who hails from Los Angeles, has been making headlines over the past few months for sharing her very simple philosophy of cooking for family and friends.
Speaking to Good Food Australia, the author of cookbook Nothing Fancy and Dining In said if she wanted to host a dinner at her place, she would instead refer it as ‘having people over’.
Chef Alison Roman (pictured) has urged people to avoid hosting fancy ‘dinner parties’
The 34-year-old revealed the secret to cooking the perfect homemade pizza – including making her own fresh focaccia to use as a base
‘I feel like by calling it a dinner party or entertaining, there are expectations associated with it. “Entertaining” has a real presence to it. It makes people nervous and it makes people feel stressed out immediately,’ Roman said.
‘Having people over can literally just mean having people in your house.’
She said to ‘have people over’ simply means they have the ‘permission to be imperfect’ and guests can enjoy ‘unfussy food, with unfussy vibes’.
In her book Nothing Fancy, Roman said her philosophy translates to ordering pizza if you have to because ‘having people over’ is ‘supposed to be fun’ instead of putting on an ‘entertaining’ show.
In her book Nothing Fancy, Roman said her philosophy translates to ordering pizza if you have to because ‘having people over’ is ‘supposed to be fun’ instead of ‘entertaining’ guests
The columnist for the Good Food also shared her simple tips to throwing a ‘pizza party’ at home to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
She suggested preparing the dough the day before, store it in the fridge, and then transfer it to a tray when your guests arrive.
‘The idea that I’d make a bread dough and leave it to prove overnight so that it can develop flavour and structure to bake the next evening is a really great idea,’ she said.
Instead of creating a traditional pizza dough, Roman said she prefers to make her own fresh batch of focaccia – a flat oven-baked Italian bread – to use as the base.
She said focaccia offers a light, fluffy and crispy-edged crust just like a pizza base.
‘I am the master of my own destiny, I spent some time cheating the system and disgracing professional bakers everywhere, developing a focaccia that can be made in just a few hours,’ she said.
The columnist for the Good Food also shared her simple tips to throwing a ‘pizza party’ at home to avoid feeling overwhelmed
To ‘achieve ultimate pizza success’, Roman said ‘always use less sauce, cheese and toppings than you think’
Roman said the sauce can be prepared in 20 minutes, or you can store them in the freezer for up to one month ahead.
For the toppings, she grates all the cheeses, slices the meats, and chops all the vegetables – before lining the ingredients along the table.
‘This encourages friends to live out their own pizza-topping fantasies,’ she said.
She also said don’t be afraid to use store-bought products such as anchovies and jar of chillies.
To ‘achieve ultimate pizza success’, Roman said ‘always use less sauce, cheese and toppings than you think’.
‘More is not more here; in fact, more will result in a heavy, doughy, soggy-bottomed crust! And bake it longer than you think: crispy crust, both edges and centre, is what we are after.’