Under the Influence (with Jo Piazza) - Forget Perfect Parties—Here’s How to Celebrate Every Day With Grossy Pelosi

00:00:00.000 hey y'all joe here and you are listening to under the influence i love a party i love a

00:00:13.260 gathering i have pretty much an open door policy at my house if you're walking by see if i'm home

00:00:20.040 because i'll usually invite you in and i'll whip up a cheese plate in about five minutes that will 0.97

00:00:24.700 blow your freaking mind. Okay? It will. It will. I really think that we've been sold the myth that 0.82

00:00:31.140 entertaining means having a spotless house, endless cooking, and absolute perfection.

00:00:38.660 And I do not think that is true. I don't at all. And my guest today doesn't either.

00:00:43.460 You will have probably heard of Dan Pelosi. He's one of my favorite follows on Instagram,

00:00:49.480 where he is grossy Pelosi, which I just love saying out loud. Dan's new cookbook, Let's Party,

00:00:56.320 is about embracing, celebrating every day. It's about just gathering for no reason at all or

00:01:01.900 making up a reason. And he, like me, believes that the very best gatherings come from embracing

00:01:08.420 your imperfections and keeping the food joyful and easy. Today we're talking about how to be

00:01:14.700 a good party host, but also how to be a good party guest. Dan tells me how to build a good

00:01:20.140 party menu and how to prepare it a couple of days ahead of time so that you're not scrambling

00:01:24.380 all day long the day of your party or gathering. And we're also going to dig into one of my

00:01:29.740 favorite foods, which are dips. Dips and cheese, I think, should be food groups all on their own.

00:01:37.180 In fact, I think I could live on just dips and cheese. I truly do. I do. They're the freaking

00:01:42.140 best. And you know who else is the best? Dan Pelosi. I know you're going to love him as much 0.56

00:01:46.600 as I do. Hello, Dan Pelosi. So happy to be here. Oh, my God. I'm just dying. I am so happy to be

00:01:56.240 with you right now. I want to start this interview out by asking you, what is the best thing that you

00:02:02.040 ate this summer? What's the best thing I ate this summer? Okay. Have you been to Stissinghouse?

00:02:10.840 No, not yet.

00:02:11.940 I don't think I've even heard of it.

00:02:13.500 So Stissing House is like kind of up near my, I live in upstate New York most of the time.

00:02:17.540 And this is like incredible restaurants, like the best restaurant in New York.

00:02:21.080 And they just have the best desserts.

00:02:23.980 Oh.

00:02:24.260 And they have this coconut cake that is, they like, it's like probably like 20 inches around

00:02:31.440 and they just like slice big pieces and throughout the night, like everyone gets a piece of a cake.

00:02:35.760 They like keep it out.

00:02:36.720 Like everyone's like watching the cake just here.

00:02:38.940 and it's like a communal experience and the coconut cake is just it's just like the best

00:02:43.720 summer dessert i should probably be saying something i made is the best thing i ate also

00:02:47.660 no you shouldn't actually i love you more for not doing that well i'll never be as impressed

00:02:52.660 with my own food as other people are so and that's a good thing so yeah so the coconut cake

00:02:57.060 assisting house come visit come stay at shea grossy and we'll take you there oh my god done

00:03:02.660 easy peasy i mean we're up in the cat skills like half the time we just got back we were up there

00:03:07.240 for three weeks in august so you know about alexander capskill i do i do yeah we're in west

00:03:11.700 kill okay yeah oh yeah yeah no i think that's like an hour gorgeous yeah of course it is of course

00:03:16.240 it is every time i get in the car i'm like i need to go to the grocery store and i'm like it'll be

00:03:19.100 an hour it'll be literally but that's like somehow that is less stressful than walking two blocks in

00:03:24.780 new york city to slug groceries home oh my god a hundred percent because i'll just put on like a

00:03:29.940 good podcast or a playlist and being in the car especially if i'm alone is like just a really good

00:03:37.420 chill out relaxation time like take your bra off open the windows

00:03:42.080 yeah yeah that's that's that's the story of my life i wanted to ask you that question first

00:03:48.580 because i'm trying to get away from in my everyday life letting the opening question that i ask

00:03:55.820 someone be how are you yeah because i feel like no one knows how to answer that question in the

00:04:02.500 world these days like even if you just had like the best freaking summer of your life you're like

00:04:08.300 everything is weird so i guess i have to be like as good as can be expected do you know who i ask

00:04:14.120 that question to most frequently and i try i cannot stop myself from asking it's my third

00:04:19.740 oh my gosh and he literally every time he's like this isn't about me like he you know i know he's

00:04:27.160 like can you focus on you i my last therapist had like the best mid-century modern furniture

00:04:34.500 that i've ever seen and i was so distracted by it that i would constantly ask him where he got it i

00:04:41.540 was like is that from auction you know is that is that is that 1964 and he's like this is not about

00:04:48.880 me this is not about my furniture you're deflecting and i'm like i need to know where

00:04:52.320 you got that lamp or we cannot move forward oh i deflect like today i was like my therapy is 45

00:04:57.340 minutes it starts at 9 a.m and i was like i have a 9 30 and he was like what and i was like my book

00:05:03.400 is coming out i'm busy i'm sorry i'm so sorry i just need a hot 15 just a hot team yeah like just

00:05:11.160 tell me everything's fine okay great yeah great yeah i love that and also yeah and also if someone

00:05:16.160 ask me like how have I been or what have I been up to I'm literally like so you don't follow me on

00:05:20.160 Instagram cool right I'm like you don't or but then it gets kind of weird sometimes because if

00:05:26.360 like when they when people know so much right because when you are a person that puts your

00:05:31.400 life out there completely on Instagram I actually really like that it has eliminated small talk

00:05:36.220 from my life you're more like oh I just I just saw you were in the cat skills your book came out I

00:05:41.340 love the trad wives that all showed up and I'm like excellent I don't have to tell you anything

00:05:45.480 but like there have been like one or two times where i'm like oh wow you know too much

00:05:49.400 and maybe i'm just putting too much out there i don't know i don't know i but it is never we're

00:05:56.000 never putting too much like i i do that we you and i do the most on the internet me you and like

00:06:01.500 busy phillips like it's true it is three of us we are doing the most on the internet truly truly i

00:06:08.320 mean but we're we're just hustlers uh but i do love the fact that like i know what parts of the

00:06:14.980 inside of your house look like yeah and i love it so much when we were doing some diy projects

00:06:20.280 last week i was like showing my husband pictures of your beautiful colorful house and i was like

00:06:25.820 i just want more rainbow more rainbow and he's like you sound honestly i get photos some girl

00:06:32.760 yesterday sent me a photo of her new kitchen it was like so so well done but it was like mostly

00:06:39.200 white and she like she put like a couple like colorful objects on a shelf and she was like

00:06:46.440 you inspired me like look I have a rainbow shelf and I was like it was so sweet it was like one

00:06:52.580 one millionth of the amount of color I have in my house but it was just in that moment in her

00:06:56.840 little shelf of color I was like I'm doing the work like this is incredible like I'm so happy

00:07:01.920 you know I know no it's true it's true so I love the book I gotta tell you it has become I'm I'm

00:07:08.400 constantly looking for something new to bring to people's houses when I come over for parties or

00:07:15.080 even for play dates because I get sick of bringing the same old thing you know bringing flowers I

00:07:21.340 often don't have time to cook a dish but I like to bring a present people will use and so this

00:07:27.120 this is my fall go-to for what to take to people's houses I ordered five of them and if I if I get

00:07:33.560 invited to more than five parties you know sorry for that person sorry for number six but yeah this

00:07:39.340 is my go-to and i think people are just gonna love it i'm so excited for it will you tell us

00:07:43.580 all about let's party i will tell you all about let's party okay let me tell you about let's party

00:07:50.820 okay so let's party is my second book my first book is let's eat i love let's because it feels

00:07:57.420 like an invitation it's inclusive it's like just very much like let's go obviously let's go girls

00:08:03.180 is huge to me yes yes yes very like let's go girls let's eat let's party let's eat was like

00:08:09.080 the center of my like sort of nucleus of who I am it was like Italian American cooking it was like

00:08:14.060 family recipes very much like comfort food let's party is very much comfort food it's all delicious

00:08:20.360 recipes that are gorgeous and perfect when made in isolation but I am a big entertainer I throw a lot

00:08:28.960 of gatherings people always say to me that was an amazing party or they'll be like grossy like

00:08:34.620 how do you throw a party like three times a week and I'm like that wasn't a party that's just like

00:08:38.480 how I live my life and what I realized was the way that I live my life is this way because I've done

00:08:45.180 it so much and I have a specific way of doing it to make it not feel like you're throwing a big

00:08:49.420 party you're just having people over and it's like very casual so my goal with this book is to through

00:08:55.080 guides, through menus, through all different kinds of tips and tricks to help people not even feel

00:09:01.880 like they're throwing a party, but really just focus on like the gathering and being present

00:09:06.500 for your people when you invite them to your house. So that's sort of what this book is about.

00:09:11.760 It's like a very chill, open, easy breezy way for you to invite like eight people over for dinner

00:09:17.840 to celebrate something either really special or very pedestrian. I give you lots of reasons to

00:09:22.960 celebrate through 16 different menus so maybe we're just celebrating like like you will be

00:09:28.220 on september 2nd when my book comes out that it's peak tomato season so you want to make the tomato

00:09:33.060 girl summer recipe invite your girls over and just make like a fully tomato menu i can't believe you

00:09:39.600 actually you totally know now what i'm doing on september 2nd that's how i'm celebrating your

00:09:44.960 book launch here with my girls it is oh my god that makes me so happy no but i really am not

00:09:50.360 Yeah. And I sort of like, you know, so many questions I get, not only like, how do you throw a party, but like, I'm throwing a party, what should I make? Like, what's a good menu? And so framing up all these new recipes through a menu, and not just a menu, but an executable menu that allows you to get some things to the table hot, some things to the table warm, and some things to the table cold, which is a very important part of putting like six things on the table at the same time.

00:10:17.040 and also shows you how to make them over the course of three days

00:10:21.460 so that you're not cooking at all the morning of the party or the day of.

00:10:25.160 It gives you like a very executable strategy to make the party.

00:10:29.100 So I really thought about all the different angles.

00:10:31.180 I had to stop and think like, how do I do this?

00:10:33.800 Because it doesn't feel like work.

00:10:35.540 It feels like second nature.

00:10:37.660 And my hope is that slowly everyone else can feel

00:10:40.700 by reading and following the way that I do it,

00:10:43.980 how to make it feel like second nature to them.

00:10:45.620 Well, I think it's really important, too, because, I mean, what we know right now is that especially since the pandemic and since people are so absorbed in their phones, that we're kind of moving away from this more communal life, right?

00:11:01.140 And, like, having these kinds of gatherings.

00:11:03.480 So I just love the ethos of this book because I'm the same way, right?

00:11:07.520 Like, I'm Italian-American.

00:11:08.940 I have an open door at my house.

00:11:10.600 I've gotten especially you know as I've gotten a little bit older and more comfortable in my skin

00:11:15.980 I don't straighten up the whole house when people come over I'm like you just come this is how I

00:11:19.960 live you'd like yeah if you don't like it we're probably not going to be friends and so and I can

00:11:24.480 whip up an amazing cheese plate in about five minutes yeah exactly but I think you know a lot

00:11:31.360 of people get really nervous around the idea of like oh but I'm throwing a party instead of

00:11:36.260 thinking i'm just getting people together around food which is the best way to just bring people

00:11:44.380 together and start conversations until i mean for me to live life yeah it's how i live life too and

00:11:49.180 i think for me the idea the idea of a menu is so important to me as an italian american because we

00:11:54.720 did not go to anyone's house and no one came to our house without knowing what you were going to

00:11:59.380 eat like we talked about it we obsessed about it we showed up and we knew what was going to be on

00:12:04.940 the table. So that to me is really important. So if you are an anxious host or you're an anxious

00:12:10.640 guest, pick something that you feel like you can execute, you understand, and that everyone's aware

00:12:16.440 of. So like centering the party or on the menu is really important. I think in a way to sort of

00:12:20.500 create a level of confidence for everyone. Like, am I a guest? I'm going to get fed. Am I a host?

00:12:25.680 I know what I'm feeding people. I know how to get it to the table. And then I can be present and I

00:12:30.380 can be lovely and i can build this wonderful community that i which is why we gather you know

00:12:35.060 i think right now the world is falling apart so bring your closest people together and put your

00:12:40.040 phones away and like talk and eat you know yeah exactly exactly let's put your phones away take

00:12:46.680 photos and tag me oh my god yeah totally absolutely well before you put your phones away you should

00:12:51.160 really make sure that you're ordering let's party because you know i mean look everyone is lying to

00:12:58.340 was clearly the book of the summer we know that but let's party is definitely the book of the fall

00:13:04.980 so i want i want everyone everyone to get this book all right let's take a quick break and when

00:13:09.680 we get back i want to talk about reasons to throw a gathering let's do it

00:13:14.900 okay we are back in let's party the book of the fall you give so many reasons

00:13:27.920 for people to get together to throw a party and just the tagline of this book is recipes and

00:13:34.580 menus for celebrating every day every day every day and I love that because I do think that we

00:13:42.280 can often plod through life without enjoying what is happening to us right now so celebrating every

00:13:49.260 day actually really gets me I think that I'm glad that it did because I think you know and that's

00:13:56.340 sort of like every day is sort of like it's a really important thing to remember because we

00:14:02.660 are here every single day and you can invite people over on a Wednesday for like a fun silly

00:14:08.640 gathering that gets people connecting and it doesn't have to be someone's birthday it's just

00:14:14.940 like it's just what I do like I love being like come over on Thursday you know like or or if you're

00:14:22.000 that's not your how your group rolls i tell you how to you know a month out get people excited in

00:14:27.320 different ways to be like here's what we're doing but it's just really really it's really important

00:14:31.740 to me that as we go through the year like i talk about january my january menu is called joyuary

00:14:36.940 and it's like january is a shitty time so like why not be the person that brings people together

00:14:42.140 and eats like really yummy food and like we're all coming out of our like pajama holes and we

00:14:47.420 might still be wearing our pajamas but like I'm definitely going to be still in my pajamas during

00:14:52.520 February yeah for sure it just it's like it's a good reminder that like oh yeah the farmer's

00:14:59.400 market's popping like let me go buy a bunch of stuff and you'll see on the internet like this

00:15:03.460 is happening like you know I started writing this book two years ago and then now this summer

00:15:08.000 everyone's like tomato party and I'm like great like that's in the book like let's go you know

00:15:12.580 so it's like it's just like fun it's very like joyful it's very just like silly and it talks a

00:15:18.560 lot about like you know my my history like my history of going to fire island for every summer

00:15:25.080 for the past 15 years and like making a bunch of dips and us like laying by the side of the pool

00:15:30.500 and eating dips you know like that's what you do for lunch and then those dips ends up on the

00:15:34.760 dinner table as like a topping for your burger so like there's a lot of like my herstory in the

00:15:39.380 book that gives everyday reasons to celebrate so yeah no i think the dip making is such a good tip

00:15:46.900 because a dip is really an all-day snack right it's like it's kind of like the little black dress

00:15:51.640 of a food item it goes from day to night and i mean i i will do on like a saturday where we know

00:15:59.020 people are gonna like pop in and out i'll do it i'll do some dips in the morning and they do they

00:16:04.020 go they go until late night is what they do oh for sure and then you're like eating them for

00:16:08.360 breakfast and then you're like also dips making ahead like people love a make ahead i love a make

00:16:14.140 ahead dips make them ahead let them sit in the fridge for the week like you know the the peanut

00:16:20.500 butter dip in the book makes the most delicious like noodle dressing for like a like a peanutty

00:16:26.640 like it's just it's just endless it's so good so i have not tried that one yet i'm going to do

00:16:32.740 the peanut dip when i really this this is inspiring we had back to school week this week and you know

00:16:39.500 at first i was just stressed and exhausted by it my husband's like should we do something like with

00:16:43.220 the other parents and i'm like shut your mouth i want to do nothing and then of course like

00:16:47.140 yesterday i was like everyone should really get together how about a potluck in the park across 0.55

00:16:50.660 the street from my house i'll host everyone can use my bathroom so now we're doing that i'm gonna

00:16:54.920 do the peanut the peanut dip for it i'm gonna send you a photo it is so the peanut butter dip

00:17:00.120 is inspired by the best after-suitable snack which is like celery carrots and peanut butter

00:17:04.680 you know it's like yes but it's like a bit of like a fresh take inspired by like peanut sauce

00:17:09.980 and then you know it's it's just like so yummy but like the peanut dip with like pretzels and

00:17:15.240 apple slices and celery it's like oh my god the kids adults everyone will love it i served it this

00:17:21.780 weekend to my whole family and they were so happy so yeah because it's because it's absolute

00:17:26.520 perfection absolute perfection i just i can't wait to like get it out there to everyone so

00:17:31.720 talk to me we're gonna we're gonna go through two things one i want to talk about being a good host

00:17:36.420 and two i want to talk about being a good guest like what are your top five ish go over go under

00:17:43.280 i don't care tips for being a really good host of a gathering yeah um well i do think you know

00:17:53.500 I talked a little bit about the menu but I do think that sending an invite to people inviting

00:17:59.580 them and say hey I really want to cook like these things I'd love for you to come and enjoy them

00:18:04.400 to me that's like the most confident invite you can give because you're telling people I'm going

00:18:10.680 to take care of you like I you my gluten-free friend will have something to eat you my vegetarian

00:18:17.340 friend you my like meat eaters are gonna like you are gonna be fed here my sister and i always joke

00:18:24.320 that we don't trust anyone so we go to everyone's parties we eat before we go um i don't want people

00:18:31.060 to eat before they come to my house like i want them to feel really good and know that this is

00:18:34.560 what's going to be served um so that i think is a great way to like sort of invite people in

00:18:39.120 celebration of food as the heart of the party and the menu um i also think when people arrive at your

00:18:44.820 house um you kind of have to like help them navigate what you've set up right yeah absolutely

00:18:52.500 you need like a bossy host you can be like come on in have a drink pour it for them tell them

00:18:59.380 we're going to eat in about 30 minutes so like mingle or like hey can you like put the you know

00:19:05.700 if you know people are looking for something to do ask them to ask them to do something simple

00:19:10.100 like can you put these crackers in a bowl or like whatever so like help people and then also you

00:19:15.520 know get to know like who you're inviting i always invite like a really good conversationalist

00:19:20.900 so that they can kind of handle bringing the conversation life so like mixing in those people

00:19:26.760 who you know are going to be able to to navigate and then i also think another really important

00:19:32.640 thing that you should consider as a host is like don't don't have expectations for your guests

00:19:37.320 like let them be guests right like don't expect them to like clean don't expect them like if they

00:19:43.100 ask if they reach out and say how can i help sure but like otherwise like you need to be able to

00:19:49.100 pull off this party with no help right yes yes i totally agree you need to be you need to be

00:19:55.820 self-sufficient you need to be self-sufficient and that was really important to me and that's

00:19:59.460 why i spent so much time with these recipes making sure that the recipes were executable

00:20:03.340 and telling you how to get it all done before people show up so that you have a few little

00:20:08.260 things to do when they're there but really when people are there you are not running around they're

00:20:13.600 not trying to help you you don't know how to like communicate how to help like like be responsible

00:20:19.060 for your own party and i think that's really important yeah no i agree i also i i like the

00:20:25.840 idea of being a bossy host because frankly i've walked into too many parties where i'm like where

00:20:32.000 do i go what do i do they're like oh grab yourself a drink and i'm like i don't know i've never been

00:20:37.040 here before like how long until we eat how long until there are like dinner drinks so that i know

00:20:44.040 how many to have right like i want to i want to be comfortable in a space i mean i do that all the

00:20:49.980 way and i write about this book like i tell you when to leave my party like i think that i think

00:20:54.280 that's a huge one that is a huge huge one i say that oh party's over yes i say it right up front

00:21:00.140 i say it in the invite and i say it in all the reminders i'm like you know we're we go to bed

00:21:05.600 early in this house party's gonna be over probably by eight so you know doors are doors are closed

00:21:10.360 at eight i think so i think the worst guest i mean but i mean i also i'm a person that loves

00:21:16.200 a linger but i like i like a linger on my terms right well so but and i think the worst guest

00:21:22.220 is the one that doesn't know when the party is over the lingering guest and you're just like

00:21:27.880 something go home lies about those guests is that those are the kind of guests they're the opposite

00:21:33.760 of me but you need to know they're going to keep the party going whether or not they are in your

00:21:39.300 home they're going to go to a bar with someone else's house there are people who are wired to

00:21:45.560 like party party party i love those people just get out of my house and do it somewhere else so

00:21:51.200 you are not ruining their night or their vibe by taking them to transfer their party energy to

00:21:58.180 another location. No, no, not at all. Not at all. You're just you're just actually improving your

00:22:02.940 morning, to be honest. Yeah. Yeah. And protecting your space. That's true. All right. Let's take

00:22:08.480 one more quick break. And when we get back, I want to talk about being a good party guest,

00:22:12.040 because I think that is as important as being a good host. Absolutely.

00:22:21.200 okay we are back talk to me a little bit about how you can be a good party guest

00:22:28.740 okay i'm very specific so like if i say like please don't bring food like i'm good i don't

00:22:34.800 need anything please please truly don't bring anything to my party that i am going to have to

00:22:40.040 like plate serve open like any of that stuff like don't give me more work because like

00:22:46.420 i'm dialed like i know what i need to do i'm dialed don't interrupt my flow just come and

00:22:54.000 if i say like don't bring anything truly don't bring anything why can't people why can't people

00:22:59.760 accept that why can't people accept the don't bring anything to my party don't know like i am

00:23:05.440 someone who has more than i need like i'm good like just come i just want you to come like what

00:23:09.960 i need for me to do is be a great guest like talk to people like have fun be entertaining like

00:23:15.660 there's a reason why we want you here right yes um so that's huge don't bring someone unannounced

00:23:23.320 like don't bring another person and be like my friends here i brought them like without notice

00:23:27.940 like please because like you know food we're not making food endlessly like we're planning and we're

00:23:33.180 feeding the people that are there i also think like and you know i have this uh guest guide in

00:23:38.640 my book from that's written by my favorite drag queen a very good friend of mine Juanita Moore

00:23:42.600 in San Francisco and Juanita is it's her guide to the guest list and she has guest lists for

00:23:46.540 clubs she has guest lists for her home I talk a lot about her in the intro to my book she taught

00:23:50.380 me a lot about entertaining at her table and she she tells the story of like a guest showed up and

00:23:57.360 was like they were late and she was like why were you late and they were like oh I was really hungry

00:24:02.240 so I stopped to get Thai food and it's like shut up no like I just said meanwhile I just said

00:24:10.040 sometimes i will eat before i go to someone's house but like i wouldn't tell them that like

00:24:13.940 i don't know how much to eat so i could eat again i would never tell them that and then even if i

00:24:19.380 was full i would still eat again eat like that's you're a pro like you eat before you eat like

00:24:24.480 that's what we do in my family i mean that's what we we are again like we are italian americans we

00:24:28.720 eat before we eat yes before we eat so that is really funny um as well so but yes but i think

00:24:36.480 you know i love my favorite thing about hosting and my favorite thing about being hosted is i

00:24:41.420 want to find out more about you as a person yes yes i want to come into your house and be like 1.00

00:24:46.720 this bitch is wild like oh my god look at her curtains or like she did not put like cinnamon 1.00

00:24:51.560 on pineapple oh my god that's amazing like tell me something about you right and so like if you're 1.00

00:24:59.240 gonna bring me a gift bring me like some weird sculpture from like the street like the store

00:25:03.280 down the street that you like love or like tell me about the like 300 year old woman who like 1.00

00:25:07.320 painted an egg like do yes yes to blow my mind a little like i don't need a bottle of wine

00:25:13.500 that is that is the other thing or bring let's party danie Pelosi's book what you say is a

00:25:20.240 cookbook is a great gift to bring because it's a great gift you love and you want to share

00:25:25.140 something you love with them and i do think cookbooks especially my no everyone's cookbooks

00:25:29.900 anyone's good box yeah but especially but especially yours especially yours but no i

00:25:34.160 we always get the bottle of wine and it's always a crap bottle of wine too i mean mostly because

00:25:39.180 people people are busy and they're like oh my gosh i'm just i'm gonna re-gift this bottle of

00:25:43.380 wine that someone brought to my last party so it's just like this wine that is constantly being

00:25:48.060 circulated around the neighborhood and it never gets opened because i have the right amount of

00:25:51.680 drinks for people at my parties well like yeah that to me that's like the box check gift like

00:25:56.920 don't bring me a box check gift like don't bring me the gift just to check a box because the box

00:26:01.860 no one's asking you to check the box like bring something you're excited about or don't bring

00:26:06.000 anything at all and i think that's really important i also just want to say back to being a good host

00:26:10.820 and a good guest i do think it is okay to gather your friends and say hey do you want to make a

00:26:16.740 recipe out of this book or any book and like because like you know like what can i bring

00:26:21.840 that answer could be like hey everyone's cooking like out of like dan pelosi's cookbook and there's

00:26:26.900 this great like pumpkin spice menu like that's a fun way to host too so i think that that's a good

00:26:32.200 thing that's a really fun way to host yeah i mean i've got to say what can i bring i kind of hate

00:26:37.380 that question because i'm like i don't nothing or i don't know but yeah dividing it uh into and

00:26:43.620 again i think it's really fun to do it out of one cookbook i've i've been thinking about starting

00:26:50.080 a book club that is just a cookbook club and because everyone is reading a whole book these

00:26:56.460 days can get really hard for a lot of people but what if we all had this cookbook and we all just

00:27:01.600 choose one recipe like that seems so fun to me so much fun and like such a dream and people do that

00:27:08.220 with my book all the time they do it with let's eat and they make a menu out of let's eat or like

00:27:13.180 they make a bunch of rest they make a menu out of let's eat and so i am so so hopeful that people

00:27:18.540 will do this with this book like i'm ready to see the parties oh no there's gonna be there's gonna

00:27:23.240 parties i mean every and you want everyone to tag you that's the thing you're like tag me

00:27:26.900 please i'm so excited to show how you were doing this right i i you know i write these recipes

00:27:33.560 because i i want to i want people to make them and i want to hear about it and i want to hear

00:27:37.360 their their successes people ask me questions in the dms like they'll be in the middle of making

00:27:41.420 a recipe and they'll dm me and i'm like oh my god like what if i wasn't here to answer that like

00:27:45.980 but i love but i love that you are oh there's something really funny that happens which is so

00:27:52.200 evidence of our brains rotting from the internet but like i'll have some recipes in my book that

00:27:57.840 like go over three pages and people will be like grossly like you um left out the last two steps

00:28:03.140 of this recipe and i'm like oh um you just have to turn the page you turn turn the page and they're

00:28:10.360 like oh i couldn't scroll any further and you're like just i know because we're so rotted from

00:28:14.820 scrolling it's like why we forgot that books you just turn the page it just and the worst part is 0.98

00:28:20.840 They get so, like, it's embarrassing because you're like, you know, clearly like you're like, oh, fuck, like, of course. 0.98

00:28:26.260 But like, you're so. 0.98

00:28:27.640 And I love that instead of stopping for a minute and like taking a breath, they'll DM me.

00:28:31.840 It's hysterical.

00:28:33.000 I know.

00:28:33.560 I love that.

00:28:34.200 But I actually do love that.

00:28:35.460 And it's because you are so charismatic and forthcoming online.

00:28:41.460 Like, you know, people feel like they can talk to you, which I love because your recipes are also really relatable to me.

00:28:47.180 I'm like, oh, I can make this.

00:28:48.800 there's so many cookbooks that i look at and i'm like fuck no i'm like i can't get this done

00:28:52.780 but like everything in here i'm like i could do this well that's the goal i mean like i think 0.66

00:28:57.420 first of all like i'm mom so like when i go home to my mom i'm like mom how do i and she's like

00:29:02.740 honey like you know how to do that you're just asking because i'm here and that's how i feel

00:29:06.520 with my followers like they ask me questions they already know the answer to but they forget

00:29:09.660 because i'm their mom so it's like so sweet i take it as a compliment and the second thing is

00:29:14.220 the recipes in this book are actually like so easy like i was making some this weekend and i was like

00:29:18.380 wait this is so easy it's it's wild how much like flavor we build with so little work it's it's

00:29:24.820 really cool and that's key with arties no it totally is it totally is uh i want to talk a

00:29:30.740 little bit about a tomato party because i am throwing a tomato party next week in celebration

00:29:35.760 of this book obviously um talk to me about what the menu should look like for a tomato party

00:29:41.720 well i will talk to you about it absolutely you want to crack open crack open a book

00:29:47.900 i'll crack a little girl um the tomato girl uh summer chapter and i just want to read this um

00:29:54.600 one line that i read over and over because you know sometimes when you write a line you're like

00:29:58.500 really pleased with yourself like oh my god are you kidding me yes um the opening line says you

00:30:04.600 know that board game operation if it were based on me you'd see a tomato where my heart would be 0.91

00:30:10.660 i mean you should that should be on your on your tombstone you should tattoo that on on your booty

00:30:17.740 yeah i love that i love that for you so i actually made this recipe on friday for um my local library

00:30:25.500 girlies because i do like a fundraiser every year and i donate a lunch with grossy to like raise

00:30:29.800 money for like the local library and it's been the highest bid item for two years in a row so i'm

00:30:34.380 very proud oh my gosh you should be i love that the first recipe is panzanella so like you let

00:30:40.020 your tomatoes soak you can let them soak overnight they get extra juicy and then you have basically

00:30:44.520 crusty bread that you're drying out and then you just combine them at the last minute and it's

00:30:48.740 dream so like that's like a recipe we make in our sleep so good so good so good so perfect and so

00:30:54.820 perfect for right now because the tomatoes right now just want to be soaked no they want they want

00:30:59.400 to sweat tomato pie which is probably the most involved recipe in the book but so easy and this

00:31:04.980 was the favorite of everyone at the party they said this was the best recipe in the table

00:31:09.080 and this is a great make ahead because you can serve tomato pie room temperature so you could

00:31:13.840 bake the pie let it sit out you make the crust a couple days ahead like it's such an easy peasy

00:31:20.120 win and it's so simple and it's nice to have different textures like you have a panzanella

00:31:25.320 then you have a tomato pie and then sunshine pasta this is in celebration of sun gold but you

00:31:32.880 could also use cherry or grape and this pasta it's you cook the pasta but you do not cook the

00:31:38.220 sauce you just slice the tomatoes in half it's like inspired by nanos who didn't want to cook

00:31:42.840 in the summer so they would like just stir tomatoes with salt so the the juices the sweet

00:31:47.580 juices from the tomatoes make the sauce and then you put fresh oregano olive oil and parmesan cheese

00:31:52.100 and you toss it in with the pasta and let me tell you it is so so good if you can get sun golds

00:31:57.900 make it with sun golds and that you can serve cold warm or hot like it makes a great pasta salad it

00:32:02.940 makes a great warm pasta then we have the flank steak with tomato chimichurri so it's like a

00:32:07.800 chimichurri with tomatoes you you grill the steak really simply and then you put the chimichurri on

00:32:13.840 top as a way to like post marinate the steak it's really delicious oh yes you can't do that over any

00:32:20.540 protein or fish like it's not like you could also do it over grilled vegetables right like it's it's

00:32:25.580 an easy veggie thing okay and then the tomato granita so we made a dessert out of tomato yeah

00:32:31.840 This is the one that I'm most excited to try because it seems bananas to me.

00:32:37.220 OK, bananas.

00:32:38.700 Three ingredients.

00:32:40.020 You literally blend tomatoes, sugar and salt in a blender, pour it in a like a nine or like a loaf pan.

00:32:49.800 You freeze it and then you like you scrape the granita.

00:32:52.200 So over like the course of like eight hours or overnight, every couple of hours, it's like a Tamagotchi.

00:32:56.640 You just like scrape it, put it back in the freezer and then you get this like fluffy, sweet, tomatoey, gorgeous granita, which is so good.

00:33:07.680 Which is, you know, a personal favorite. Granita was indeed invented in Sicily.

00:33:11.860 Yes. Yes. Yes.

00:33:13.680 Yeah. So the fresh tomato Bloody Mary, my best friend Mary, which is N-A or A, depending on what you want to do. 0.99

00:33:20.740 But this is all made with fresh tomatoes.

00:33:22.520 So you get fresh tomatoes, you blend them up with, like, all the Bloody Mary ingredients.

00:33:26.760 So it's not the, like, silky Bloody Mary.

00:33:30.380 It's, like, actually, like, tastes like fresh tomatoes.

00:33:33.960 Mm-hmm.

00:33:34.500 Mm-hmm.

00:33:35.000 Yeah.

00:33:35.300 I mean, that's—so is it almost more like a gazpacho-y Bloody Mary?

00:33:39.140 Well, it's—a few people were asking.

00:33:41.300 It's not really—it is kind of gazpacho-y, but, like, you drink it, and it's just—it's—yeah.

00:33:46.960 It's so good.

00:33:48.280 Yeah.

00:33:48.600 I'm so excited for this party.

00:33:50.260 I'm going to send you all the pictures.

00:33:51.520 you should just come down to philly man i mean i am anytime you come to philly i don't care why

00:33:58.020 you were here or how long you were here you will stop by this house and i will feed you

00:34:01.280 i'm ready my favorite museum is in philly it's the one i forget what it's called but it's like

00:34:05.700 the one that has all the bar all over the walls oh the barns the barns so the barns yeah yeah

00:34:11.020 barns collection it's yeah it's it's perfection it's absolute perfection um so yeah just let me

00:34:15.720 let me know when you are in town and i will i will feed you you will bring nothing to my house and i

00:34:20.580 we'll just feed you you do not eat ahead of time you do not no i will not i will not i will not go

00:34:26.200 to any of the amazing restaurants in philadelphia before we we do we do have a lot of really good

00:34:30.540 restaurants in philadelphia to be honest it's yeah it's kind of bananas here uh okay everyone

00:34:37.280 i think everyone that listens loves you and knows where to find you online but tell them where to

00:34:42.120 find you on social media if they don't know and also tell them where to find your wonderful book

00:34:46.900 Let's Party, which I assume everyone has already stopped and ordered in order to bring it to every

00:34:52.720 party they're invited to this fall. You should definitely order 100 copies and bring them to

00:34:57.020 every party. So you can find me online at Grossi Pelosi, G-R-O-S-S-Y-P-E-L-O-S-I,

00:35:04.080 on Instagram and all the other things, but really Instagram. And then you can find me online at

00:35:10.940 danpelosi.com, where you'll find links to where to buy my cookbook. You can also buy my cookbook

00:35:16.500 anywhere books are sold um it comes out on september 2nd i don't know if that's before

00:35:21.060 after this airs but um i think we're gonna air right right at pub right at pub oh cool so you're

00:35:26.560 amazing so they can go and grab my book anywhere yeah anywhere anywhere the books are sold i really

00:35:33.400 hope they love it and enjoy it and cook from it um it was a labor of love and joy so hopefully

00:35:39.300 they feel that yeah and i think what you're gonna do is encourage a lot of people to throw a

00:35:43.940 gathering that might have been nervous before right like i think we do just need the blueprint

00:35:48.760 yeah yeah you gotta just do it a few times and then you'll be like

00:35:52.160 it's muscle memory i'm just gonna i'm just gonna feed some people yeah absolutely foolproof parties

00:36:00.540 so good you know it's it's so fun and also i just want to say if you just want to take this book and

00:36:07.180 make a recipe for dinner also incredible you know well you know i do and again i'm gonna go back to

00:36:12.780 your great tagline for a hot second as we close out celebrating the every day and i think that's 0.99

00:36:17.900 a really good reminder too we have a lot of busy moms in the audience who are like oh my god meal

00:36:23.440 planning sucks and i'm like these meals are really easy so like let's just let's make let's make this 1.00

00:36:29.340 mealtime fun for and even if you're just doing it for you and your husband because your kids are 0.99

00:36:33.080 picky ass eaters who are just gonna eat chicken nuggets give them to them and make yourself a 0.97

00:36:36.600 nice dinner totally and like yeah i mean there's so much more to say but yes there's so much more 0.98

00:36:41.540 decide all of the things all of the things all right order the book dan thank you so much for

00:36:45.340 being here this was you're the best thank you

00:37:11.540 Thank you.

Under the Influence (with Jo Piazza) - September 02, 2025

Forget Perfect Parties—Here’s How to Celebrate Every Day With Grossy Pelosi

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