Dan Pelosi on the Power of the Dinner Party

Plus: The pineapple pulled pork sliders of my dreams.

New around here? Welcome! Catch up on my conversations with Rosie Kellett, Hetty McKinnon, Meera Sodha, Molly Baz, Noor Murad, Melissa Clark, and J. Kenji López-Alt. Check out the big list of all the cookbooks every guest has recommended so far. And New York friends, don’t miss the Farm to People discount below!

Dan Pelosi has always helped dinner party hosts feel more confident in the kitchen, but his latest book, Let’s Party (Bookshop here), feels especially important now.

“Based on so many things that are happening in the world,” he tells me in this week’s podcast episode, “we need community more than ever… I really think it starts with the people in your house or the people who live next door to you or the people in your town or the people in your class or wherever, you know, you find your nearest, smallest circle of community. Those are the people that are going to get you through trying times.”

Just invite them over. Even if this week is gonna be wild. They’re all wild, right?

Dan is generous with make-ahead menu ideas, and the kind of tips that’ll guarantee a good time for guests and host alike.

If there are roadblocks to gathering together, Dan says, “I think you need to take the roadblock and make it your strength. I think you need to make it your reason to party.”

“You know, people have been gathering to eat since the beginning of time. Like, this is one of the traditions that has made it, right? And there's a reason why we do that. So, like, figure out a way to bring that into your life.I don't need to be the person to tell you this,” he continues, “but, like, we’re all on our phones. Human connection is out the window. And it is good to feel these things again.”

I talk to Dan about how to dial down the stress when you’re feeding a crowd, the hosting mistake he’ll never make again, what he’s cooking from late-summer garden abundance, and when he’s at his happiest in the kitchen.

Scroll down for Dan’s recipe for pulled pork sliders, which I’ll be making over and over this fall. The shreddy meat, cooked with pineapple and fennel in a quick homemade sauce, just gets better the next day, and leftovers are excellent on a grain bowl paired with ribbons of cabbage.

Win a copy of Let’s Party

Thanks to Union Square & Co., I’ve got one copy of Dan’s new book to give away. To enter, make sure you’re signed up as a paid subscriber by end of day Sunday, September 7, 2025. That’s all you need to do, though leaving a comment and hitting that ❤️ at the bottom of this post will make my day.

Giveaway winner will be alerted by Substack DM and email—be sure to check your messages!

Becoming a paid subscriber is a the best way to keep this show on the road, but free subscribers can enter the giveaway by sending us a little voice memo for potential inclusion on the show. Just follow the instructions here by Sunday, September 7 to enter.

U.S. addresses only, 18+. Giveaway not sponsored or administered by Substack. Ends September 7, 2025. This newsletter includes affiliate links—commissions from your purchase help to support the show.

Dan mentioned:

Grossy’s Marinara
Cornbread With Honey Butter
Cranberry Walnut Bread
Zucchini Bread
Pumpkin Bread With Olive Oil Drizzle
Favorite Fall Salad
Mom’s Italian Bread
Giambotta (Food52)
Late Summer Bolognese
Pasta Primavera (NYT Cooking, gift link)
The Mill Food Recycler
Moccamaster coffee maker
14-inch All-Clad Frying Pan
One-Pot Chicken and Rice With Caramelized Lemon (NYT Cooking, gift link)
Sausages & Peppers & Potatoes, & Onions
Andy Baraghani’s Sticky Miso Salmon Bowl (NYT Cooking, gift link)
Zaynab Issa’s Smashed Beef Kebab With Cucumber Yogurt (NYT Cooking, gift link)
Cottage Pie (NYT Cooking, gift link)
Zaynab Issa’s Third Culture Cooking (Bookshop here)
River Cafe London: 30 Years of Recipes (Bookshop here), especially the chocolate nemesis cake
Samin Nosrat’s Good Things (Bookshop here)

From the ad break:

Farm to People: Use code DINNERPLAN25 for $25 off your first Farm Box
Made In Cookware: Use code DINNERPLAN for 10% off regularly priced items
Salad Sprinkles: Use code SPRINKLES4DINNER for 20% off
Find Coop’s Hot Fudge on IG @coopshotfudge or visit enjoycoops.com
At Poupon’s Table by wine importer Kermit Lynch

Maggie mentioned:

Melissa Clark’s Grilled Clams and Mussels with Garlic, Almonds and Mint (NYT Cooking, gift link)
A few favorite non-alcoholic wines: Oddbird sparkling rosé, Eins Zwei Zero, Saint Viviana NA Sparkling Chardonnay

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Photo: Johnny Miller

Pineapple Fennel Pulled Pork Sliders

Recipe reprinted with permission from Let’s Party by Dan Pelosi © 2025. Published by Union Square & Co., an imprint of Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group.

Serves 6 to 8

Sliders are famously a two-bite delight. These sliders are so delicious, I think we can get that down to one bite. The pork braises slowly for hours in a homemade barbecue sauce featuring layers of smoky, tangy notes, along with large pieces of fennel for a subtle anise flavor and sweet chunks of pineapple. Each bite is a perfect mix of flavors and textures, from the rich, fall-apart pork to the crunchy bread and butter pickles, and soft Hawaiian rolls. These sliders can slide into my DMs for an invite anytime!

Make Ahead: The shredded, cooled pork can be covered with cling wrap and refrigerated up to 3 days.

Beer Barbecue Sauce
2 teaspoons neutral oil
1 medium red onion, diced
½ teaspoon kosher salt
12 ounces brown or amber ale
½ cup ketchup
¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
¼ cup honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Sliders
2 tablespoons neutral oil
2 pounds pork shoulder
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large fennel bulb, halved and thinly sliced
16 ounces frozen pineapple, thawed
2 (12-count) packages Hawaiian sweet rolls
Bread and butter pickles, for serving

1. MAKE THE SAUCE: Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the onion and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the beer, ketchup, brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic powder, paprika, cumin, and black pepper. Bring to a simmer, stirring often, then cook until the sauce is slightly thickened and the flavors have melded, about 10 minutes.

2. MAKE THE SLIDERS: In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Season the pork generously with salt and pepper. When the oil is shimmering, add the pork and cook until browned, about 5 minutes per side.

3. Add the fennel, pineapple, and barbecue sauce. Stir to mix, then cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer until the pork is very tender, about 3 hours. About 15 minutes before the pork is done, remove the lid and increase the heat to high. Cook, stirring often, until the sauce is reduced by about a third and thickly coats the pork, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat. Use two forks to shred the pork in the pan and toss to coat in the sauce. Let cool for 10 minutes.

4. Use a serrated knife to cut through the sheet of rolls crosswise, leaving the bottoms and the tops connected. Lay the bottoms on a serving platter and spoon the pulled pork on top. Arrange the pickles all over the pork, then press the tops down to close the sandwiches before serving. Let everyone reach in to pull the rolls apart.