Alison Roman (Extended)

Summary

The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert
Guest: Alison Roman (Extended Edition)
Release Date: November 24, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this extended episode, Stephen Colbert welcomes bestselling cookbook author and chef Alison Roman to discuss her new book, "Something from Nothing." The conversation revolves around making great food with minimal, everyday ingredients, approachable pantry hacks, and playful banter about favorite (and least favorite) foods. The exchange is hands-on, with the duo preparing a crispy chicken cutlet dish while offering practical cooking advice, debunking kitchen myths, and sharing plenty of laughs.
Tone: Lighthearted, witty, conversational, and a little irreverent.

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Key Discussion & Cooking Segments

1. Introducing Alison Roman and Cooking Philosophy

[04:01-04:24]

• Colbert introduces Roman as one of his favorite chefs and NYT bestselling author.
• Roman discusses the core theme of her cookbook: making "something from nothing."
  • Quote:
    Roman [04:24]: "You can make something from it, is what you can."
  • On minimalism: boiled potato with salt as an underrated snack.

2. Making the Chicken Cutlet: Pantry Essentials & Simple Gear

[04:41-05:54]

• The featured recipe is a crispy chicken cutlet with parmesan and burst tomatoes.
• Roman advocates for panko breadcrumbs as a pantry MVP:
  • Quote:
    Roman [04:41]: "Panko breadcrumbs are that breadcrumb. They are like, a thing that I use for everything and especially a cutlet."
• Emphasis on using tools you actually have (like a skillet instead of a mallet).
  • Quote:
    Roman [05:16]: "I'm not calling for any equipment that you might not have."

3. Cooking Technique: Bread, Egg, and Fry

[06:12-08:25]

• Step-by-step, Roman walks Colbert through pounding out the chicken, breading, and frying.
• Highlights not soaking fried food in sauce—maintain that crunch!
  • Quote:
    Roman [06:43]: "I am not a huge fan of what we like to call a crispy gone soggy food... feels like a crime."
• On home cook realism:
  • Quote:
    Roman [07:02]: "Making your own breadcrumbs is a real fantasy, and we all love to live that fantasy, but that's not the world I'm living in."
• The key to restaurant flavor: more salt and olive oil.
  • Quote:
    Roman [07:37]: "People are always like, why does it taste so good in a restaurant? Because they're using so much salt and so much olive oil."

4. Parent Humor & Halloween Costumes

[08:34-08:57]

• Colbert jokes about Roman’s viral family Halloween costumes as Ina Garten, her husband as Jeffrey, and their son as a roast chicken.

5. The Perfect Sauce & The "Soggy Chicken" Debate

[09:30-10:14]

• Roman shares her alternative: a “light, saucy, burst tomato situation,” not a heavy marinara.
  • Quote:
    Roman [09:34]: "It's not like a heavy marinara sauce with, like, goopy cheese. It's sort of just like a light, saucy, burst tomato situation that you would cook in the same skillet."
• Roman, playfully exasperated as Colbert adds too much tomato: "You're making it wet. He made it wet. Okay, well, we can't eat this now."
  • Memorable Exchange:
    Colbert [10:01]: "Why is that too much?"
    Roman: "That's way too much... not too saucy. You're making it wet."

6. Hers and His Herbs: Basil, Dill, Parsley, & Tarragon

[10:22-10:47]

• Roman admits to not loving basil, preferring dill and parsley—audience reacts in mock-shock.
  • Quote:
    Roman [10:28]: "It's not my favorite herb. I think it was."
    Roman [10:32]: "Dill, parsley."
• Colbert declares, "Garbage herb!" about tarragon, causing more playful banter.

7. Pasta Debates: Bucatini vs. Penne

[10:51-11:39]

• Colbert ribbing Roman over her anchovy-shallot-harissa pasta, served on bucatini—claims you can't "Lady and the Tramp" it.
  • Quote:
    Colbert [11:07]: "You say, oh, there's a hole in the bucatini. And when you eat it, it's like a straw, and it gets everywhere..."
    • Roman stands by bucatini; least favorite? Penne.
      • Quote:
        Roman [11:29]: "It's the worst pasta shape. It is."
    • Fond nostalgia over farfalle (bowtie) pasta.

8. The Final Taste Test & Book Plug

[11:58-12:39]

• The reveal: Colbert and Roman swap sides, sample the dish.
• Roman explains the dish as a "lighter, crunchier, crispier, fresher" take on chicken parmesan.
  • Quote:
    Roman [12:11]: "So basically the idea is like the idea of a chicken parm, but like lighter, crunchier, crispier, fresher."
• They joke about cheese (Colbert: "How's that cheese candy?").
• Show closes with Roman’s book plug:
  • Colbert [12:39]: "Something from Nothing is available now. Alison Roman, everybody!"

---

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Using What You Have:
  "I'm not calling for any equipment that you might not have, but we all have a tiny skillet."
  – Alison Roman, [05:16]

• On Realistic Home Cooking:
  "Making your own breadcrumbs is a real fantasy, and we all love to live that fantasy, but that's not the world I'm living in."
  – Alison Roman, [07:02]

• On Restaurant Food at Home:
  "People are always like, why does it taste so good in a restaurant? Because they're using so much salt and so much olive oil."
  – Alison Roman, [07:37]

• On Herbs:
  "Dill, parsley."
  – Alison Roman, [10:32]
  "Garbage herb."
  – Stephen Colbert, on tarragon, [10:42]

• On Pasta Shapes:
  "It's the worst pasta shape. It is."
  – Alison Roman, on penne, [11:29]

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [04:01] — Alison Roman introduction and philosophy
• [04:41] — Essential pantry ingredients
• [06:12] — Cooking technique insights
• [08:34] — Halloween costume banter
• [09:30] — Tomato sauce methodology and debate
• [10:22] — Herb preferences
• [10:51] — Pasta debates
• [11:58] — Tasting, book plug, and closing laughter

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Summary

An episode filled with practical culinary wisdom, charming authenticity, and spontaneous laughs. Listeners and aspiring home cooks are guided through making delicious food with minimal fuss, and fans of both Colbert and Roman will especially enjoy the rapport and uniquely relatable kitchen confessions. The episode concludes with a spirited defense of bucatini, a takedown of penne, and universal agreement—never enough cheese.

Perfect For: Anyone who loves approachable humor, home cooking tips, and witty irreverence about food culture.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

It's a hard nut smooth.

[A]

Exactly. I mean, even out of the shell, it's still a nut.

[B]

We can't disparage the nuts.

[C]

You.

[A]

I'm not disparaging the nut. I'm describing the nut.

[B]

Don't disparage any flavors.

[A]

I'm not. I am celebrating the pistachio right now. I'm on board. I love pistachios. I love a crushed pistachio. Like a pistachio crusted trout. Oh, unbelievable. Instead of a trout amandine, a trout pistachio. Fantastic. Enough butter? Who cares?

[B]

Very good.

[A]

And I love pistachio ice cream.

[B]

Have you had the sea salt and vinegar? Wonderful pistachio. It's delicious.

[A]

I didn't even know I get them.

[B]

Before the softball games.

[A]

But that's. You see, it's been a while since I've been the spokesman for wonderful Pistachios. I didn't realize we'd achieved new pistachio technology.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

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[B]

That was a wonderful.

[A]

I wonder what more there is to learn. We just told them so much. We just told them so much about pistachios. But evidently there's a whole other world. There's an unexplored vista.

[B]

They got a bunch of flavors. They got dill pickle, jalapeno lime, as we learned, smoky barbecue. There's a lot of different flavors.

[A]

Wow. And I would not disparage any of them.

[B]

No, no, no.

[A]

Bring it on.

[B]

Nothing bad to say.

[A]

Nut me, nut. Nut me with nut meat.

[B]

We're nut.

[A]

No, we got nothing but nut. Nutty, nutty, nutty, nutty. Talk about, talk about, talk about, talk about nutty. Good.

[D]

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[B]

It's the Late Show Poncho with Stephen Colbert.

[A]

Welcome back once again to the Late Show. Ladies and gentlemen, my next guest is one of my favorite chefs and a New York Times bestselling cookbook author. Please welcome back to the Late Show, Alison Roman. Alison, thanks so much for being here.

[C]

Hi. Thank you.

[A]

Good to see you. Now, what do we got here? The new cookbook is Something from Nothing. Yeah. Something which I think is fantastic because mostly a lot of people have nothing.

[C]

And you can make something from it, is what you can.

[A]

You can make nothing. Okay, so what is the most something you've ever made from nothing?

[C]

God, I feel like a boiled potato with salt is a really underrated snack. But it does sound like food that you would eat if you were really in trouble.

[A]

I'm Irish. I'm all in.

[C]

Yeah, that feels like very on brand.

[A]

What are we making tonight?

[C]

This is a bit more something, I guess, but this is going to be a crisp be chicken cutlet with parmesan and burst tomatoes. And basically, I dedicate like an entire page in the book to panko breadcrumbs, because the book is sort of like, what can you keep in your pantry that will make you feel like you can make something? And for me, panko breadcrumbs are that Breadcrumb. They are like, a thing that I use for everything and especially a cutlet.

[A]

I'm all in.

[C]

Great.

[A]

I love anything breaded and fried.

[C]

Let's do it. Exactly. Okay, so.

[A]

So we got our cutlet right here.

[C]

Yeah. So I feel like you. Not everybody has, like, a mallet.

[A]

Right.

[C]

I feel like that's a very unique equipment. Piece of equipment. And part of the book is also like. Okay, I'm not calling for any equipment that you might not have, but we all have a tiny skillet. So carefully and without hitting this, because this is hot.

[A]

Hot oil.

[C]

Yeah. We're gonna pound this out a little bit and kind of hold it closer. It's not baseball style. You wanna come up closer. Here, put your thumb here.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

And like. Yeah, there we go.

[A]

I like it.

[C]

Okay, your hand is in your pocket, which is extremely comfortable and casual.

[A]

Sometimes violence is the answer.

[C]

I will say it does feel good. Don't do this when a baby is napping, though.

[A]

Let me feel you chicken a little bit.

[C]

Basically your chicken. Okay. There we go. Thank you.

[A]

Okay. Is it good?

[C]

Yeah. Your chicken's gonna contract and become thicker when you cook it, so, like, go a little thinner, but anyway. Okay, crack an egg.

[A]

Tonight we're serving contracted chicken.

[C]

I know. It's very delicious on it.

[A]

I think so.

[C]

Okay, crack an egg into here.

[A]

Okay, we're going to. Ah.

[C]

Oh, wow. That egg really wanted.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

Once again, putting me to shame in that department. Basically, this is sort of like egg wash crumb, and then there's parmesan in the crumb. So I am not a huge fan of what we like to call a crispy gone soggy food, meaning food that you spend the energy and effort making crispy, and then only to, like, cover it in a bunch of sauce, and.

[A]

Then that's a heartbreak.

[C]

Feels like a crime. And so how do you solve that? Well, you just keep it crispy, basically. And so I've put on it, the.

[A]

Way to solve it is to. Don't do that.

[C]

It's just. Don't do that. Yeah, basically.

[A]

Now, wait, I gotta ask you, panko breadcrumbs here, is that some fancy chefs say, you gotta make your own panko breadcrumbs. You. Can I go buy a bag?

[C]

Absolutely. People, you know, I feel like making your own breadcrumbs is a real fantasy, and we all love to live that fantasy, but that's not the world I'm living in. And I feel like breaking out a food processor to process, like, old bread. Like, I also don't have old bread. I have bread that I eat, and then there's no more bread. And so I feel like, you know, all right, season your egg with a little salt.

[A]

Season my egg with a little salt.

[C]

And also season your chicken. We're sort of like, in a season as you go. We're going to season all of these things.

[A]

You definitely season as you go. I've followed some of your recipes, and you're all for, like, just keep going. Just keep throwing salt in there. Yeah, there you go. Restaurants serve so much more salt than.

[C]

We think, and that's what I'm saying. People are always like, why does it taste so good in a restaurant? Because they're using so much salt and so much olive oil. And people are like, how do I get my food to taste better? More salt, more olive oil. And you're like, oh, that was it, actually.

[A]

All right, so.

[C]

Okay. So you can use your hands or. Because we're on tv, use tongs. Yeah.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

I don't have to, but at home.

[A]

You just knuckle deep into something.

[C]

I really would. Yeah, I just do whatever. You don't want to know what I do at home. Okay.

[A]

What are the.

[C]

You want to. Okay, Add your cheese to this too.

[A]

Oh, add. Oh, you really overachieved. I up.

[C]

No, no, no. You're perfect just the way you are.

[A]

Oh, you're just being nice because we're on tv, but you're gonna yell at me when this is all over. I can feel it.

[C]

But have you ever had, like, the cheese, like, parmesan cheese that gets brown on a. Like. On like, a sheet pan or like, a skillet?

[A]

Oh, amazing.

[C]

So that's basically what we're doing.

[A]

Cheese candy.

[C]

Yeah. So we're kind of. Okay. Well, not what I would call it, but we are going to recreate that flavor here.

[A]

Get your own show.

[C]

Yeah, I'm trying.

[A]

All right. Speaking of chicken, I love your costume from this Halloween here. This is you and your husband as Ina Garten and her husband Jeffrey.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And is the son or daughter? I don't know.

[C]

Son.

[A]

Your son is a roast chicken?

[C]

Yeah, we were like, roast chicken, and then he kind of looked like we were making chicken, and I don't know. We went with either whatever people wanted.

[A]

To just tell me he wasn't soggy at the end.

[C]

No, I would never do that to my son. Or chicken cutlet. All right, I'm really going for it with pressing the crimson because I'm not touching it. I'm a Virgo.

[A]

Okay. That's. Oh, look at that. She's hissing. Yeah, it's hissing. It's beautiful.

[C]

It'll sizzle. It'll be delicious.

[A]

So imagine we made it.

[C]

Yeah, imagine we made it. And we made it down here.

[A]

Okay, great.

[C]

I guess I have both.

[A]

You have one.

[C]

That's not nice.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

All of them.

[A]

Mine, I would not recommend.

[C]

No, no.

[A]

Anyone in the pro row? Little chicken, guys. Here we go.

[C]

This is. I will say, you'll notice this is a sauce that we're gonna put on it.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

But it's not like a heavy marinara sauce with, like, goopy cheese. It's sort of just like a light, saucy, burst tomato situation that you would cook in the same skillet. So, you know, you wanna go ahead and do that?

[A]

I would sure do that. While I. While I am ladling. This looks fantastic. I'm just gonna.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

Yeah. Really good.

[A]

Oh, my God. Well, I'm doing that.

[C]

I'm gonna somehow navigate this.

[A]

Would you serve this, like, with a side of pasta or.

[C]

I would do a big, peppery salad, so you have to stop.

[A]

Why? Why was that too much?

[C]

That's way too much.

[A]

Why is that too much?

[C]

I said not too saucy. You're making it wet. He made it wet. Okay, well, we can't eat this now. No, it is okay. This is the most ridiculous.

[A]

I'll hold the cheese.

[C]

Okay. And I'll. Okay. There. Oh, it's so sweet. There we go. Okay.

[A]

Okay. There we go.

[C]

Anyway, if you're a fan of basil, which I am, about once a year.

[A]

Once a year.

[C]

I know it's very controversial. It's not my favorite herb. I think it was.

[A]

What's your favorite herb?

[C]

Dill, parsley.

[A]

What?

[C]

Someone said what?

[A]

What?

[B]

Exactly.

[C]

I know. It's so good.

[A]

Please don't say tarragon.

[C]

No, that's like. I would say top eight, but not top eight.

[A]

Garbage herb.

[C]

Wow. Garbage herb.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

What did it do to you?

[A]

Bearnaise.

[C]

Oh, bearnaise is fantastic.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

Have you ever.

[A]

I have a problem with one of your dishes. Whoa.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

Oh, no. I hate this already. What is that?

[A]

I love your. You know how I feel about your shallots with the anchovies and harissa, and it's so fantastic.

[C]

Thank you.

[A]

You serve it on bucatini. Have I yelled at you about this before?

[C]

You have. You say, oh, there's a hole in the bucatini. And when you eat it, it's like a straw, and it gets everywhere, and it's like pasta shit.

[A]

You can't. Lady in the Tramp with buc.

[C]

You could if you were like a little bit more aggressive with it. I feel like you have to, like, really want it.

[A]

You'd have to chomp your way down the noodle.

[C]

Yeah, we're on the favorite.

[A]

Do you have a favorite noodle?

[C]

Bucatini.

[A]

Do you have a least favorite noodle?

[C]

Penne.

[A]

Why penne?

[C]

It's the worst pasta shape. It is.

[A]

Why? Because It's a quality 90s noodle.

[C]

I know. You know what's a quality 90s noodle? Is a bow tie farfalle. We gotta bring it back.

[A]

All right. Yes.

[C]

Thank you so much. Thank you.

[A]

How do you feel about radiatore?

[C]

Love ratiatore. I love a rigatoni. Classic rigatoni. That's a crowd pleaser.

[A]

Should I have been doing what you're doing right now? I'm doing yours. Okay, well, cheers. We're way out of time. I think they turned off the cameras a while ago. Let's switch sides. Let's switch sides. Let's switch sides again. I'll hold up the book.

[C]

I think I actually thought. It's not my good side.

[A]

Ok. Oh, should we. Can I try it now?

[C]

Well, not this. Try this. Yes. If it's too soggy, it's not my fault.

[A]

Ok.

[C]

It's all set. But it will be delicious.

[A]

Okay, here we go. I'm going in.

[C]

Go in. And so basically the idea is like the idea of a chicken parm, but like lighter, crunchier, crispier, fresher.

[B]

Right?

[A]

It's conceptually a chicken parm.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

It has the worst.

[A]

It doesn't want to be pinned down.

[C]

It has the words chicken and parm in it, which helps for a lot. That's good.

[A]

That's crispy.

[C]

How's that cheese candy?

[A]

There you go.

[C]

Wow. Never enough cheese.

[A]

Something from Nothing is available now. Palace and Roman, everybody. We'll be right back. Thank you for listening to the late Show Pod show with Stephen Colbert. Just one more thing. If you want to see more of me, come to The Late Show YouTube channel for more clips and exclusives.

[C]

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[A]

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