Between the endless cooking, baking, decorating, card writing and gift giving, the holiday season can be an overwhelming time. When you add hosting to the mix, it’s like a big knot of anxiety—but it doesn’t have to be that way!
Dan Pelosi (aka GrossyPelosi on Instagram) is the New York Times-bestselling author of 2023’s Let’s Eat cookbook and the 2025 follow-up Let’s Party. While his Instagram Stories overflow with the seemingly complex feasts he’s whipping up for friends and family this time of year, he’s also a staunch proponent of leaning on shortcuts to make hosting a simpler task.
“That’s sort of my whole ethos,” Dan told me in a recent interview for Taste of Home. “It’s all about making things easy and delicious, all in the effort of bringing the people that you love together and focusing on the reason for the season.”
What is Dan Pelosi’s top holiday hosting hack?
When it comes to minimizing holiday stress, Dan suggests that hosts plan a menu that relies on simple recipes and quick cook times.
One unexpected ingredient he’s been leaning on for that is frozen french fries. He’s a particularly big fan of topping them with fresh or dried herbs like sage, rosemary and thyme as well as a wheel of Brie cheese to give them a holiday flair. A french fry charcuterie board is also a surefire crowd-pleaser, he said.
“I think it’s just genius and a fun way to embrace the fry in new ways,” Dan, who’s recently partnered with McCain Foods, said. “You can treat them as this incredible canvas for really any flavor that you throw at it, and who doesn’t love french fries?”
What are Dan Pelosi’s favorite holiday dishes?
Embracing comfort while hosting during the holidays likely comes to Dan from his time spent in the kitchen while his mother, aunt and grandparents prepared family feasts.
Growing up in an Italian American household, holiday spreads typically included not just the traditional mains—turkey for Thanksgiving, ham for Christmas—but also the family-favorite heavy hitters: meatballs, lasagna and hearty marinara. If there’s not a lasagna on the table, Dan said, it’s just not a holiday.
“We were always making room for those crowd-pleasing dishes, and I still have to stick to those traditions,” Dan said. “My grandfather is 103, and if there’s no pasta, it’s just like, ‘What are you doing?’ You’ve got to keep him happy.”
What is Dan Pelosi’s top tip for beginning cooks?
While he’s basically a pro at hosting these days, Dan admitted it wasn’t always this way. One Fourth of July, he was preparing to host a backyard barbecue for his friends in Brooklyn only to discover his grill was completely out of gas. It’s a mistake he said he’ll never make again, and it extends to the advice he gives to anyone at the beginning of their journey of hosting and cooking for guests: Preparation is the key.
“Read the recipe,” Dan said. “Read every recipe all the way through. We have to embrace our strengths and make sure that this recipe is going to work for you and that your oven is going to be free.”
Ultimately, he added, being a great host is about being present for your guests and ready to enjoy their company—not about perfectly executing a dish worthy of a Michelin star every single time.
“A little bit of preparation goes a long way,” the author said. “Creating nostalgic meals or following easy recipes to make sure you can be with your people is kind of the goal of all of this.”
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Dining and Cooking