Casey Elsass

Well, great news for you.

In my cookbook, every recipe has a key to show you if it follows any dietary restrictions.

Also, every recipe is ranked by effort level.

So no matter what your skillset in the kitchen is, you can find something you're gonna love.

I would say for vegans, don't think of replacement.

Think of things that are naturally vegan.

Things like guacamole, salsas, things that don't even have dairy as part of the equation are so much easier than trying to swap out an ingredient.

I mean, I think a roast chicken is always the right move.

And it's shockingly easy once you get the hang of it, because really it's just about seasoning ahead of time and monitoring the temperature as you bake it.

But you really just slide the whole thing in the oven, you bake it, you pull it out, it's ready to go.

That's always my favorite move when people are coming over.

I do like the canned version.

For me, I'd say it's the opposite texture.

I like the smoothness of that, but I also really like the flavor balance that they nail in the can.

You can't always get it quite right with the homemade.

Punch bowl.

I think the less, the more you can do ahead of time, the more you can be present at your own party.

And I hate the idea of being bartender all night.

Well, I mean, I think it's obvious which team I'm on since I wrote a whole book about it.

I think the pros to a potluck are less pressure, more fun, more loose, more interactive.