Food52 Genius Recipes

There are good recipes and there are great ones—and then, there are genius recipes. Genius recipes surprise us and make us rethink the way we cook. They might involve an unexpectedly simple technique, debunk a kitchen myth, or apply a familiar ingredient in a new way. They’re handed down by luminaries of the food world and become their legacies. And, once we’ve folded them into our repertoires, they make us feel pretty genius too. In this collection are 100 of the smartest and most remarkable ones. There isn’t yet a single cookbook where you can find Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter, Jim Lahey’s No-Knead Bread, and Nigella Lawson’s Dense Chocolate Loaf Cake—plus dozens more of the most talked about, just-crazy-enough-to-work recipes of our time. Until now. These are what Food52 Executive Editor Kristen Miglore calls genius recipes. Passed down from the cookbook authors, chefs, and bloggers who made them legendary, these foolproof recipes rethink cooking tropes, solve problems, get us talking, and make cooking more fun. Every week, Kristen features one such recipe and explains just what’s so brilliant about it in the James Beard Award-nominated Genius Recipes column on Food52. Here, in this book, she compiles 100 of the most essential ones—nearly half of which have never been featured in the column—with tips, riffs, mini-recipes, and stunning photographs from James Ransom, to create a cooking canon that will stand the test of time. Once you try Michael Ruhlman’s fried chicken or Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi’s hummus, you’ll never want to go back to other versions. But there’s also a surprising ginger juice you didn’t realize you were missing and will want to put on everything—and a way to cook white chocolate that (finally) exposes its hidden glory. Some of these recipes you’ll follow to a T, but others will be jumping-off points for you to experiment with and make your own. Either way, with Kristen at the helm, revealing and explaining the genius of each recipe, Genius Recipes is destined to become every home cook’s go-to resource for smart, memorable cooking—because no one cook could have taught us so much.

In this follow-up to the IACP award-winning, New York Times best-selling cookbook Genius Recipes, Food52 is back with the most beloved and talked-about desserts of our time (and the under-the-radar gems that will soon join their ranks)—in a collection that will make you a local legend, and a smarter baker to boot. IACP AWARD WINNER • Featured as one of the best and most anticipated fall cookbooks by the New York Times, Eater, Epicurious, The Kitchn, Kitchen Arts & Letters, Delish, Mercury News, Sweet Paul, and PopSugar. Drawing from her James Beard Award-nominated Genius Recipes column and powered by the cooking wisdom and generosity of the Food52 community, creative director Kristen Miglore set out to unearth the most game-changing dessert recipes from beloved cookbook authors, chefs, and bakers—and collect them all in one indispensable guide. This led her to iconic desserts spanning the last century: Maida Heatter’s East 62nd Street Lemon Cake, François Payard’s Flourless Chocolate-Walnut Cookies, and Nancy Silverton’s Butterscotch Budino. But it also turned up little-known gems: a comforting Peach Cobbler with Hot Sugar Crust from Renee Erickson and an imaginative Parsnip Cake with Blood Orange Buttercream from Lucky Peach, along with genius tips, riffs, and mini-recipes, and the lively stories behind each one. The genius of this collection is that Kristen has scouted out and rigorously tested recipes from the most trusted dessert experts, finding over 100 of their standouts. Each recipe shines in a different way and teaches you something new, whether it’s how to use unconventional ingredients (like Sunset’s whole orange cake), how to make the most of brilliant methods (roasted sugar from Stella Parks), or how to embrace stunning simplicity (Dorie Greenspan’s three-ingredient cookies). With photographer James Ransom’s riveting images throughout, Genius Desserts is destined to become every baker's go-to reference for the very best desserts from the smartest teachers of our time—for all the dinner parties, potlucks, bake sales, and late-night snacks in between.

100 of Food52’s simplest, most rule-breaking recipes yet to help beginners and other time-strapped cooks build confidence in the kitchen, from the New York Times bestselling Genius series. IACP AWARD FINALIST • ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR: Los Angeles Times, Epicurious There’s no better way to learn how to make great food than to stand at the elbow of a skilled cook, ask questions, and watch their every move. In Simply Genius, Food52 founding editor and Genius Recipes columnist Kristen Miglore gives you access to genius cooks like Samin Nosrat (Buttermilk-Marinated Roast Chicken), Dr. Jessica B. Harris (Mayonnaise d’Avocat), Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi (Roasted Butternut Squash & Red Onion with Tahini & Za’atar), Gonzalo Guzmán (Frijoles Negros de la Olla), Leah Chase (Rice Pancakes with Ham & Tomato-Basil Sauce), Heidi Swanson (Farro & Olive Salad), Jacques Pépin (Fresh Tomato Sauce), and more, as they share their brilliant cooking tips through a collection of essential recipes. Miglore packs the book with helpful visuals (like brilliant doneness charts for everything from chicken to eggs to cake), illustrated step-by-step diagrams to show you smarter ways to prep (handling hot chiles, neatly separating eggs, tricking herbs into staying fresh), and myth-busting truths that make cooking so much more welcoming (no, you don't have to soak your beans before you cook them; no, you don't have to soften butter to make chocolate chip cookies). Primers on common woes and how to fix them tell you how to rescue your dinner when things go wrong, and how to make sure everything’s smoother next time. And once you get a recipe down, Miglore shares “3 More Ways” to use that new technique to make even more rewarding meals. More than 150 recipes and variations teach you building blocks, fit easily into your life, and prove that all of us can become genius cooks when we have the right teachers.

The Best Cooks Are Home Cooks Accomplished food writers and editors Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs had a mission: to discover and celebrate the best home cooks in the country. Each week for fifty-two weeks, they ran recipe contests on their website, Food52.com, and the 140 winning recipes make up this book. They include: Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies Secret Ingredient Beef Stew Simple Summer Peach Cake Wishbone Roast Chicken with Herb Butter These recipes prove the truth that great home cooking doesn’t have to be complicated or precious to be memorable. This book captures the community spirit that has made Food52 a success. It features Amanda’s and Merrill’s thoughts and tips on every recipe, plus behind-the-scenes photos, reader comments, and portraits of the contributors—putting you right in the kitchen with America’s most talented cooks.

A collection of 60 recipes for turning ordinary salads into one-dish worthy meals. Does anybody need a recipe to make a salad? Of course not. But if you want your salad to hold strong in your lunch bag or carry the day as a one-bowl dinner, dressing on lettuce isn’t going to cut it. Make way for Mighty Salads, in which the editors of Food52 present sixty salads hefty with vegetables, meats, grains, beans, fish, seafood, pasta, and bread. Think shrimp and radicchio tossed in a bacon vinaigrette, a make-ahead jumble of white beans with charred lemon and fennel, slow-roasted duck and apples scattered across spicy greens. It’s comforting food made captivating by simply charring one ingredient or marinating another—shaving some, or roasting a bunch. But because we don’t always follow recipes, there are also loose formulas for confident off-roading, as well as back-pocket tips and genius tricks for improving any old salad. Because once you know how to fix too-salty dressing, wash greens once and for all, keep an avocado from browning, and even sprout your own grains, the humble salad starts looking a lot more interesting—and a whole lot more like dinner.

Fewer ingredients, big-time flavors—that’s the magic of Big Little Recipes. Inspired by Food52’s award-winning column, this clever cookbook features 60 new recipes that’ll deliver wow-worthy results in five, four, three . . . or, yep, even two ingredients. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST Put down the long grocery lists. Food52’s Big Little Recipes is minimalism at its best. From pasta sauce you’ll want by the gallon to chewy-dreamy oatmeal cookies, this cookbook is packed with crowd pleasers and smart techniques—showing just how much you can accomplish with essentials you can count on one hand. Can long-winded classics, like chili or eggplant Parmesan, work for busy weeknights? Why, yes. Will chicken noodle soup taste even more chicken noodle-y with just three ingredients? Absolutely. Does subbing in olive oil for butter in lemon bars really make a difference? You bet. With Emma Laperruque by your side, you’ll learn how to make every step count and flavor sing. (She’ll even prove that water—yes, water—can be invaluable in everything from ultra-tender meatloaf to veggie burgers.) There’s no shortage of extras, too. You’ll find tons of need-to-know tips, mini-recipe spreads, and choose-your-own-adventure charts to give meal-planning a burst of energy: A fervent case for simpler homemade stock, a loving ode to canned tuna, a very good reason to always have bananas in your freezer, and more. This’ll be your new sidekick for every meal—fresh-as-heck salads, brothy comfort foods, brawny meats, briny fishes, and hearty vegetables that’ll take center stage. Big Little Recipes shows busy home cooks how to turn less into more.

The ultimate guide to the kitchen from Food52--the award-winning kitchen and home destination--filled with ideas for creating, organizing, and enjoying everyone's favorite room in the house. The first step to better, happier cooking? Setting up a tip-top kitchen. We're talking one that's stocked with essential tools and ingredients, organized so everything you need is close at hand, and sparkling-clean from floor to ceiling. Food52 is here to make it happen. Your Do-Anything Kitchen gathers the smartest ideas and savviest tricks from the Food52 community and test kitchen to help you transform your space into its very best self. If you're ready for a top-to-bottom kitchen revamp, this handbook's got you covered--but it's packed with small-but-mighty upgrades, too. Stick with us, and you'll get to know which cooking tools are must-haves, discover new pantry staples for on-a-whim meals, and learn tons of tips to make your fridge (freezer, too!) work even harder for you. You'll find strategies for tidying storage-container clutter and arranging all your cooking gadgets--and while you're at it, maximizing precious drawer and counter space. Once you've gotten your kitchen in order, you can start cooking with a new spring in your step, thanks to a handy how-to on knife skills and a mini-guide to mise en place. A chapter chock-full of cleaning advice will keep your kitchen at its spiffiest. Throughout, you'll get tours of real-life, super-functional home kitchens from cookbook authors, chefs, bakers, and more. Armed with a choose-your-own-adventure meal-prep planner, helpful charts on the art of speedy, streamlined dinners, and a game-changing cleaning checklist, you'll whiz through your routine like the efficiency expert you now are. So whether you're putting together your very first kitchen or looking to spruce up a well-loved space, Your Do-Anything Kitchen will turn it into the greatest-possible place to cook--and spend time.

A stunning collection of hassle-free recipes for baking cakes, cookies, tarts, puddings, muffins, bread, and more, from the editors behind the leading food website Food52. Whether it's the chocolate cake at every childhood birthday, blondies waiting for you after school, or hot dinner rolls smeared with butter at Thanksgiving dinner, homemade baked goods hold a place in many of our best memories. And that's why baking shouldn't be reserved for special occasions. With this book, curated by the editors of Food52, you can have homemade treats far superior to the store-bought variety, even when it feels like you're too busy to turn on the oven. From Brown Butter Cupcake Brownies to "Cuppa Cuppa Sticka" Peach and Blueberry Cobbler, these sixty reliable, easy-to-execute recipes won't have you hunting down special equipment and hard-to-find ingredients or leave you with a kitchen covered in flour and a skink piled high with bowls. They're not ordinary or ho-hum, either: ingredients you've baked with before (and some you haven't - like black sesame, coconut oil, and lavender) come together to create new favorites like Baked Cardamom French Toast and Olive Oil and Sesame Crackers. Filled with generations’ worth of kitchen wisdom, beautiful photography, and tips you'll return to, Baking is the new go-to collection for anyone who wants to whip up something sweet every day.