Something From Nothing , Alison Roman’s fourth book, started with a phone message, a chicken, and a jar of olives. “A friend texted me: ‘Every time I make your recipes, I’m amazed how I could make something so good from basically nothing,’” Roman says. “That was my next title!” She hesitated only about titling another volume with the word “nothing.”

After all, her 2019 sophomore book Nothing Fancy , an unfussy food philosophy for newbie and pro hosts alike—more anchovies, lots of tangy citrus, a welcome tangent into a DIY martini bar—became the food bible for millennial dinner-party throwers. With a breezy writing style that means her books are found on bedside tables as often as kitchen worktops, Roman turned a generation into voracious eaters and cooks with her viral cookie recipes,

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