As the holiday season approaches, the thought of hosting can feel overwhelming. But cookbook author and social media personality Dan Pelosi, known online as GrossyPelosi, is on a mission to change that. His new cookbook, Let's Party, released in late 2025, is a practical guide to gathering friends and family with ease, featuring over 100 recipes across 16 themed menus.
The Philosophy of Effortless Hosting
For Pelosi, throwing a party is second nature, a skill honed in his Italian American childhood home in Connecticut. "It was just my favourite place to be always," he recalls, describing a household where last-minute guests were always welcome. This ingrained philosophy forms the core of his book: hosting doesn't have to be hard.
"It should feel natural. And that's kind of the goal of writing this book, to tell people why and how it feels natural to me, and how they can hopefully get to the same place where it just feels like every other day," Pelosi explained in a recent interview.
Three Holiday Recipes to Try
Let's Party is packed with make-ahead dishes and complete menu timelines to reduce host stress. For the holiday season, Pelosi highlights three standout recipes perfect for feeding a crowd:
- 'Don't Tell Your Nonna About This Lasagna': A comforting, crowd-pleasing baked pasta dish that promises to be the star of any festive table.
- Crispy Artichokes and Marinated Butter Beans: A vibrant, flavourful side or appetizer that adds a fresh element to rich holiday meals.
- Warm Farro Salad with Dried Fruit: A hearty and wholesome grain salad offering a perfect balance of textures and sweet-and-savory notes.
These recipes, along with guides on creating a guest list and giving your home a quick "glow-up," are designed to make any gathering feel seamless.
A Trend Toward Intimate Entertaining
Pelosi's Let's Party is part of a notable trend in recent cookbook publishing, focusing on accessible, lowercase "e" entertaining. It joins other 2025 releases like Hetty Lui McKinnon's Linger, Samin Nosrat's Good Things, and Casey Elsass's What Can I Bring?, all emphasizing connection over perfection.
Pelosi attributes this renewed cultural focus on gathering to our collective experience emerging from the pandemic into a fragmented world. The desire for genuine, manageable connection around the table has never been stronger, and his cookbook provides the toolkit to make it happen without the traditional stress of hosting.
Whether planning his favourite annual holiday cookie party or a simple girls' night in, Pelosi's approach is a refreshing reminder that the joy is in the gathering itself. With Let's Party, Canadian home cooks have a new resource to create their own memorable, and mercifully easy, holiday celebrations.
