Hello, welcome to Home Movies! Each Tuesday, we'll be posting videos for recipes featured in A Newsletter and my two cookbooks, Dining In and Nothing Fancy. You'll get the informative techniques and tips that make these recipes great, plus, the embarrassing stories behind them. Goodbye Meatballs (and a breakup), sticky cinnamon rolls (the best you've ever had), potato leek soup (how the most boring sounding thing becomes your new favorite food) plus Q+A's, and more to come.

Subscribe to A Newsletter: https://anewsletter.alisoneroman.com/
Find Nothing Fancy online: https://www.alisoneroman.com/nothing-...
Find Dining In online: https://www.alisoneroman.com/dining-in

Website: https://www.alisoneroman.com/
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#alisonroman #alisonromanhomemovies #alisonromannothingfancy

I have written many chicken recipes in my life (have eaten hundreds, likely thousands of chickens) and sure, I think they’re all great, but I’m only human and of course do have favorites. This recipe for One-Pot Chicken with Caramelized Lemon and Dates is one of them.

Bone-in, skin-on chicken (parts or a whole bird) seared in a pot (one pot!), lemon slices are caramelized in the chicken fat along with quartered shallots (you can use red onion, too) then dates and thyme are added along with a bit of water to create a little shallow braising liquid to finish cooking the meat. The chicken itself is crispy, juicy and braise-y all at once with a very tangy, salty, sweet, bitter and chicken-y sauce to bathe in, and honestly just an absolute dream of a one-pot dinner (did I mention this all happens in one pot? It does!).

This sassy number first appeared in Nothing Fancy (https://bookshop.org/books/not....hing-fancy-unfussy-f and in my opinion is one of the best ways to roast a chicken when you’ve exhausted your enthusiasm for simple roast chicken (which--- maybe you haven’t? I don’t blame you). It’s a special chicken (aren’t they all?), feeling more complex and complicated than it is, tasting like it’s got a lot more ingredients than it does.

I modified the recipe that appears in the book to be more *weeknight friendly* which by, I mean, more quarantine-friendly because no longer are we out of time, per se, we’re mostly just out of a reason to care about anything and the apathy is setting in at record levels and even though the hours are bleeding together and nobody knows what day it is and of course we HAVE the time, maybe you just don't WANT to wait for a whole chicken to roast-- I get that!

So, instead of a whole chicken, this recipe uses parts. But you can do it either way-- for both recipe options, head here (https://anewsletter.alisonerom....an.com/p/onepotchick As for what to serve it with, you could do any sort of starchy thing your heart desires (steamed rice, toasted bread, boiled or roasted potatoes) and a lemony green salad with herbs. Or, you know, the chicken alone. Thanks for tuning in!


RECIPE & INGREDIENTS:
https://anewsletter.alisonerom....an.com/p/onepotchick


VIDEO CHAPTERS:
0:00 Start
0:10 Home Movies with Alison Roman intro
0:21 Intro to One Pot Chicken with Dates and Caramelized Lemon
0:40 Assemble the ingredients for the sauce
1:25 Seasoning the chicken
1:55 Continue assembling the ingredients for the sauce
3:14 Searing the chicken
3:45 Prep the ingredients for the sauce
5:07 Heat up the oven
5:17 Take out 2/3 of the chicken from the pot
5:28 Add the lemons and shallots to the chicken
6:15 Put the chicken back in the pot
6:39 Add the dates to the pot
6:55 Add water to the pot
7:32 Place the pot in the oven (no lid)
7:56 Remove the pot from the oven
8:44 Serving the one pot chicken
9:33 Tasting the one pot chicken
10:20 Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions


#onepotchicken #onepotchickenrecipe #easychickenrecipe
#alisonroman #alisonromanhomemovies #alisonromannothingfancy


Subscribe to A Newsletter: https://anewsletter.alisoneroman.com/
Find Nothing Fancy online: https://www.alisoneroman.com/nothing-fancy
Find Dining In online: https://www.alisoneroman.com/dining-in

Website: https://www.alisoneroman.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alisoneroman
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alisoneroman


VIDEO CREDITS:
Director/Editor: Daniel Hurwitz
Director of Photography: Charlie Gruet
Sound: Brian Cushin

In the first episode of Home Movies with Alison Roman (that's me), I'm going to be showing you how I make meatballs from my newsletter, cleverly titled, "A Newsletter." While a lot of my recipes are inspired by something FUN and WONDERFUL, these ones were inspired by.....something, uh, not great. Anyway, I won't say this is the ONLY way to make meatballs, but I do think it's the BEST. There's isn’t really a “secret” to them, but there are two important steps that make a huge difference:

1. Using bread crumbs instead of fresh bread, and soaking them in a mixture of ricotta and egg for at least 10 minutes. This is essentially the “soak milk in bread” step you’ll find in many meatball recipes, but instead of soaking the bread in milk, soak it in cheese. Cheese is better than milk. Simple math. This means the meatballs will be richer, more flavorful with the added bonus of never having to say "now I'm going to soak milk in bread."

2. Searing the meatballs in the pot, *then* making the sauce. Meatballs done on a sheet pan are not bad, but they are not browned, and the browning is what is going to not only make our meatballs taste amazing, but the sauce, too (and yes, I've tested side by side, and YES there IS a difference!). Doing them in a pot is more work, sure, but you reap the rewards in the form of fat and juicy bits and browned, delicious meat that all flavor your tomato sauce as you finish gently cooking the meatballs.


RECIPE & INGREDIENTS:
https://anewsletter.alisonerom....an.com/p/a-newslette


VIDEO CHAPTERS:
0:00 Start
0:10 Intro to Goodbye Meatballs
0:25 Home Movies with Alison Roman intro
0:34 Prep the ingredients for the meatballs
4:33 Adding the meat to the bread mixture
5:52 Prep for cooking the meatballs
6:45 Prep the ingredients for the sauce
7:16 Rolling the meatballs
7:51 The story behind "Goodbye Meatballs"
9:39 Cooking the meatballs
12:04 Building the sauce
13:40 Start boiling water for the pasta
13:50 Finish the meatballs in the sauce
14:45 Cooking the pasta
15:04 Serving the meatballs, sauce, and pasta
16:14 Tasting the meatballs


#meatballs #meatballsrecipe #goodbyemeatballs
#alisonroman #alisonromanhomemovies #alisonromannothingfancy


Subscribe to A Newsletter: https://anewsletter.alisoneroman.com/
Find Nothing Fancy online: https://www.alisoneroman.com/nothing-fancy
Find Dining In online: https://www.alisoneroman.com/dining-in

Website: https://www.alisoneroman.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alisoneroman/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alisoneroman


VIDEO CREDITS:
Director/Editor: Daniel Hurwitz
Director of Photography: Charlie Gruet
Sound: Brian Cushin
Special Thanks: Justin Sloan

This cake can best be described as a sticky toffee pudding meets vanilla birthday cake meets apple pie meets a pancake with apples on top. It’s a soft cake without much texture (you bake it until the apples fall apart and become jammy), which is usually something I’m against but here, I’m actively seeking that custardy, soaked cake energy.

It’s made in one-bowl, which means you don’t need any special equipment (love that for us!) and even if you’re a nervous baker, you should have a gorgeous success on their hands. Here are some FAQ’s I’ve received for this cake.

What kind of apples are best to use in this cake?

I like to use Honeycrisp or Pink Lady—they are large, juicy, tart and while they definitely soften, they don’t totally turn to mush when baked (like Granny Smith apples tend to do) which is great since I like a bit of texture in the cake. Flavor-wise, they are closest to tasting like my favorite Japanese apple gummy candies, which of course is a compliment.

What kind of cake pan can I bake this in?

I like a standard 9” aluminum cake pan—a springform will also work well. I say you can bake in an 8” cake pan, just know that you might hold back a little bit of the batter or be prepared to bake a bit longer (more cake batter in the pan = more time to bake). 9” glass pie plates and 1.5qt. oval baking dishes also work here! I have also seen this cake baked in an 8x8 square. I do not recommend bundt or loaf pans for this cake.

I don’t eat dairy, what can I substitute the butter and buttermilk here for?

I am not a dairy-free baking expert, but many people have made this cake using butter substitutes (the most popular recommendation has been Miyokos vegan butter)—the buttermilk, however, I’m guessing a nut/oat milk with lemon juice or Kite Hill dairy-free yogurt thinned with a bit of lemon juice.

How do I make this cake gluten-free?

I am not a gluten-free baking expert, but many people have made this cake using their favorite GF flour blend to great success, it seems. If you have experience doing this and have found one type of gluten-free flour works well, plz let me and other readers know in the comments below 😇

I don’t have buttermilk, what can I use instead?

In order of preference: yogurt thinned with a little milk or water to the consistency of buttermilk, milk with a few tablespoons of lemon juice. Sour cream almost has *too much* fat here, but I’ll bet in a pinch, thinned out similarly to yogurt, it would work.

My cake isn’t baked through after the time you said/I cut into the cake and it still felt underdone!

Every oven is different! Isn’t that beautiful? Sort of, I guess. If your cake doesn’t feel done by the end of the time range I’ve given, let it bake an additional 5–10 minutes. Your oven could be running low, or maybe you’ve been opening it a lot, or maybe something else is baking at the same time—lots of variables! As always, bake to the indicator (golden brown, springs back, pulling away from the sides of the pan), not the time.

I’m worried about my cake sticking! Should I line with parchment?

I only use non-stick spray, but as you’ll see in the video below, sometimes the apples do stick (which I don’t mind, because they come out easily and nobody will ever know they were stuck to the bottom of the pan). If you’re worried at all, you can absolutely line with parchment paper.


RECIPE & INGREDIENTS:
https://anewsletter.alisonerom....an.com/stickyappleca


VIDEO CHAPTERS:
0:00​ Start
0:10​ Home Movies with Alison Roman intro
0:20 Intro to Sticky Apple Cake
0:35 Ingredients needed for the Sticky Apple Cake
0:47​ Assemble the ingredients for the cake
2:08 Brown the butter
2:23 Prep the vanilla bean
3:12 Combine the vanilla bean with the butter
3:39 Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C) and prepare brown sugar
4:36 Prep the pan and start combining the dry ingredients
5:50 Prep the buttermilk and eggs
6:16 Slice the apples
6:38 Place the apples in the pan
7:20 Whisk the buttermilk egg mixture into the dry ingredients
7:54 Pour the mix into the pan on top of the apples
8:15 Place the pan in the oven
8:25 A brief message on buttermilk
9:56 Remove the pan from the oven
10:38 Flip the pan to plate the cake
11:46 Serve the Sticky Apple Cake


#applecake #applecakerecipe #easyapplecake
#alisonroman #alisonromanhomemovies #alisonromannothingfancy


Subscribe to A Newsletter: https://anewsletter.alisoneroman.com/
Find Nothing Fancy online: https://www.alisoneroman.com/nothing-fancy
Find Dining In online: https://www.alisoneroman.com/dining-in

Website: https://www.alisoneroman.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alisoneroman
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alisoneroman


VIDEO CREDITS:
Director/Editor: Daniel Hurwitz
Director of Photography: Charlie Gruet
Sound: Brian Cushin

Some personal news: Today, February 16th, 2021, marks the last time I am able to publicly talk about BEANS.

It’s been a good run. I’ve truly enjoyed talking about beans for the last several years, asking you to cook dried beans without soaking, and writing recipes for those beans you’ve cooked (presumably, without soaking). I’ve loved the extremely tepid take of “soak if you want and don’t soak if you don’t” and having so many strangers on the internet (mostly men!) tell me why I’m wrong. I will chase the high that can only be achieved from being benignly contrarian about the most boring topic known to man (beans) forevermore.

Signing off from the bean discourse for the last time, I can’t help but wonder: Will I ever feel again?

If you’d like to make a pot of beans and are looking for a recipe, know that this is more a method than a recipe. Also, please note that this is more MY method, MY recipe, and not THE ONLY method or THE ONLY recipe. There are a million fantastic ways to cook beans, this is simply one.

But what beans should I cook?
Listen, it takes cooking a lot of beans to find your bean. Finding your bean should not be taken any less seriously than finding “your person” or “your apartment” or “your karaoke song.” All are important milestones in your long and gorgeous life and sometimes those things take time, so be patient, try many beans, think about what makes a good bean to you. Is it firm and starchy? Is it fall-apart and creamy? Is it small with thin skin or large and sturdy enough to be eaten with a toothpick? My advice: Buy new and different beans. Cook them. Eat them. Cook with them. Listen to yourself, listen to your heart. Then and only then will you find your bean.

To start your bean adventure, Rancho Gordo (https://www.ranchogordo.com/) is of course an excellent mail-order source.

No more beans:
Thank you for tuning in and I’ll see you next week for more HOME MOVIES.


RECIPE & INGREDIENTS:
https://anewsletter.alisonerom....an.com/brothy-beans-


VIDEO CHAPTERS:
0:00 Start
0:10 Home Movies with Alison Roman intro
0:20 Intro to Brothy Beans
1:10 To soak or not to soak
1:56 Prep ingredients
2:33 Begin cooking the vegetables
3:22 Add beans and water to the pot
4:25 Bean Myths
5:24 Reduce the heat to a low simmer
6:07 How to check on the beans
6:40 Prep the rest of the ingredients
7:29 Olive oil toast the bread
7:51 Wilt the greens in the olive oil
8:14 Add the beans and broth to the greens
8:30 Plate the dish
9:00 Taste the dish


#beans #beansrecipe #alisonromanhomemovies
#alisonroman #alisonromannothingfancy #alisonromandiningin


Subscribe to A Newsletter: https://anewsletter.alisoneroman.com/
Find Nothing Fancy online: https://www.alisoneroman.com/nothing-fancy
Find Dining In online: https://www.alisoneroman.com/dining-in

Website: https://www.alisoneroman.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alisoneroman
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alisoneroman


VIDEO CREDITS:
Director: Daniel Hurwitz
Director of Photography: Charlie Gruet
Sound: Brian Cushin
Editor: Lee Manansala

There are a few recipes wherein I’m not entirely sure the world needs another version, but then there are times where I am so unsatisfied with all of those other versions that I simply must try to satisfy at least one person (myself) with something else.

Cinnamon rolls are one of those recipes. In my personal experience, they have a lot of issues: too dry, only good day-of, too sweet, too much frosting (why is there frosting), too LARGE. I’m not saying other recipes don’t exist that satisfy some of these issues (people LOVE this King Arthur recipe which uses a very cool flour-hydration method aka tangzhong which purportedly solves for the “too dry/only good day-of” issue), I’m just saying that after a bit of self-reflection it seemed that maybe I didn’t want a cinnamon roll at all.

But did I want a sticky bun? Honestly, no. I’ve never been able to get past the “wet nuts” of it all. But points for being sticky and unfrosted, so I sort of went for a mix between the two, hence the name (Sticky Cinnamon Rolls, rather than Cinnamony Sticky Rolls, which is a real mouthful).

The dough itself is a relatively classic enriched dough, not quite eggy or buttery enough to be brioche, but it comes close. The interior has the expected butter/brown sugar/cinnamon/salt filling which comes across as enough but never too much (who among us?). The stickiness comes from maple syrup, poured both into the bottom of the baking dish and used on top as a glaze. The syrup on the bottom soaks in gently to the bottom of the rolls (like French toast, almost), but also starts to reduce and caramelize as they bake, making it extra sticky and in some places, a little crunchy.

There is flaky salt on the top, but there is no frosting and there is no icing. I repeat, there is no frosting (but there is flaky salt). If you must frost, who am I to stop you, but I would imagine you’ll find the sticky bottom PLUS frosting maybe a bit too much (but don’t let me stop you from trying!).

Re: the baking vessel, I’ve used one 9-inch cake pan and 9x4-inch loaf pan, but I’ve baked these in a 9x13 baking dish before (which requires a bit more time in the oven, but not much). You can also use a cast-iron skillet-- I’ve really seen it all. The buns themselves are to me, just the perfect amount of cinnamon roll for one person, never needing to be “cut in half” (imagine!).

For more on all of this, at the risk of me repeating myself (which I do love to do!), head here for the full read (https://anewsletter.alisonerom....an.com/p/a-newslette


RECIPE & INGREDIENTS:
https://anewsletter.alisonerom....an.com/cinnamon-roll


VIDEO CHAPTERS:
0:00​ Start
0:28​ Intro to Sticky Cinnamon Rolls
1:04 Set up the stand mixer
1:25 Add the wet ingredients to the stand mixer
2:18 Prepare the dry ingredients
3:23 Add the dry ingredients to the stand mixer
4:12 Add the eggs to the stand mixer
5:08 Add the butter to the dough
6:29 When you know your dough is ready
7:30 Proof your cinnamon roll dough
8:04 How to make the cinnamon roll filling
8:38 Prepare the pans for baking
9:19 Roll out the dough
10:26 Add the butter and filling
10:52 How to roll the cinnamon rolls
11:53 Measure, cut, and place cinnamon rolls in cake pan
12:33 Proof the cinnamon rolls for an hour
13:14 Bake the cinnamon rolls
13:37 Finish the cinnamon rolls with maple syrup
14:08 Taste the cinnamon rolls


#cinnamonrolls #cinnamonbuns #cinnamonrollsrecipe
#cinnamonbunsrecipe #howtomakecinnamonrolls #howtomakecinnamonbuns
#alisonroman #alisonromanhomemovies #alisonromannothingfancy #alisonromandiningin


Subscribe to A Newsletter: https://anewsletter.alisoneroman.com/
Find Nothing Fancy online: https://www.alisoneroman.com/nothing-fancy
Find Dining In online: https://www.alisoneroman.com/dining-in

Website: https://www.alisoneroman.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alisoneroman
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alisoneroman


VIDEO CREDITS:
Director/Editor: Daniel Hurwitz
Additional Editing: Nadeer Faragalla
Director of Photography: Dennis Thomas
Sound: Joe Quartararo