Brinda Ayer – FoodWatcher

The Genius Potato Salad That Converted a Potato Salad Skeptic

Every week in Genius Recipes—often with your help!—Food52 Founding Editor and lifelong Genius-hunter Kristen Miglore is unearthing recipes that will change the way you cook…usually! While she’s on sabbatical for a few more weeks, a few friendly faces…

Every week in Genius Recipes—often with your help!—Food52 Founding Editor and lifelong Genius-hunter Kristen Miglore is unearthing recipes that will change the way you cook...usually! While she's on sabbatical for a few more weeks, a few friendly faces will share their most Genius finds.

Potato salad dates back to the early 19th century, when German immigrants first arrived in America. In the two-ish centuries since, the dish has made its mark as a cookout mainstay and an important symbol of family history and hierarchy.

Our 44 Best Vegetarian Pasta Recipes Of. All. Time.

If I got stuck on a desert island, I would ask to take my toothbrush, a two-quart pot, and a lifetime supply of spaghetti (whole-wheat, please) plus tomato sauce (Marcella Hazan’s or this buttery no-cook number). As a vegetarian, I eat pasta an astonis…

If I got stuck on a desert island, I would ask to take my toothbrush, a two-quart pot, and a lifetime supply of spaghetti (whole-wheat, please) plus tomato sauce (Marcella Hazan's or this buttery no-cook number). As a vegetarian, I eat pasta an astonishing number of times each week, relying on it for just about everything.

Do I need a quick and convenient dinner? There's a pasta for that. Am I trying to impress my boyfriend's family? I turn to pasta, too. Am I feeling a little down? Who but pasta could see me through? Pasta's also the perfect vehicle for many vegetables, when I don't really feel like eating vegetables (yes, even vegetarians have this problem).

21 Very Easy, Very Genius Appetizers to Make All Summer

With Genius Recipes correspondent Kristen off for a few months trying to raise a genius newborn, we’re revisiting the column’s Greatest Hits with brand-new videos—and hearing from a few special surprise guests. Wish her luck! (And keep sending those ti…

Imagine you’re hosting a dinner party tonight—one you’ve been planning for weeks. You bought all the groceries ahead of time and meal-prepped like a champ. The guest list is confirmed (and not one person cancelled last minute!); the showstopping main is in the oven; the wine is chilling; a playlist of soothing folk indie is gently creating a mood in the background. Everything is low stress, under control, dare we say...perfect?

17 Easy, Inspiring Meals That Are Busting Us Out of Our Cooking Rut

By now, you’ve probably heard about (if not, begun to experience…) what folks are calling the pandemic wall. Nearly a year into this new state of living we’re collectively experiencing, there’s plenty to fret about—and frankly, without aiming to go f…

By now, you've probably heard about (if not, begun to experience...) what folks are calling the pandemic wall. Nearly a year into this new state of living we're collectively experiencing, there's plenty to fret about—and frankly, without aiming to go full-on Eeyore, it's exhausting. But because cereal for dinner gets old after the third night straight (trust me...I'm speaking from experience), I turned to the Food52 team to find out what's keeping them eating well and saving their energy these days.

Below, 17 dinners that require only a handful of ingredients and minimal active cooking, like speedy grits, bubbly bakes, or done-in-a-flash fish. Let us know what you're cooking these days—we gladly welcome suggestions.

A Thanksgiving Super-Menu From Food52’s Resident Experts

Earlier this year, we asked ourselves: What would happen if some of the country’s best cooks—an expert bread baker, cheese plater, pasta maker, Genius Recipe hunter, cocktail slinger, and pie know-it-all, to name just a few—got together to make our dre…

Earlier this year, we asked ourselves: What would happen if some of the country's best cooks—an expert bread baker, cheese plater, pasta maker, Genius Recipe hunter, cocktail slinger, and pie know-it-all, to name just a few—got together to make our dream Thanksgiving menu?

It'd be a menu with the biggest and juiciest bird out there, yes, but with crispy chicken for smaller gatherings and brown-butter tortelli for our vegetarian friends (hey, that's me!). We'd find a sweet-spicy-smoky take on our favorite cornbread dressing; a minimalist greens gratin that's luxuriously full of cream and sharp cheddar; a so-simple cheese basket to graze on as you cook, and naturally leavened flatbread to go with. And of course, we couldn't dream up the perfect menu without pie—not one kind, but two!—and a festive, fizzy cocktail too.

I’m Not Vegan, But I Can’t Stop Making These Exceptional Plant-Based Recipes

A couple years ago, I challenged myself to eat entirely plant-based meals for a month. That meant no yogurt, eggs, cheese, gelatin-laced foods—the works. Surely it wouldn’t be that big of an adjustment, I told myself. After all, I’m already a vegetaria…

A couple years ago, I challenged myself to eat entirely plant-based meals for a month. That meant no yogurt, eggs, cheese, gelatin-laced foods—the works. Surely it wouldn't be that big of an adjustment, I told myself. After all, I'm already a vegetarian, and pasta is generally plant-based, right? (Right!) I would be fine.

And fine I was, of course, but also a lot more thoughtful (and creative!) about my food choices. Where I'd usually throw in a soft-boiled egg or garnish with a few nubs of cheese, I pressed tofu, marinated tempeh, and roasted jackfruit—ahead of time. I carefully read labels, asked questions at restaurants, and went through a lot of nutritional yeast. And I actually didn't eat that much pasta!

15 Soothing Cooking Projects to Busy Your Hands & Nourish Your Soul

When the world seems like an especially confusing place, when everything feels out of our control, when we need something to help make our days a little brighter and better—we turn to cooking. Cooking channels our creative energy, keeps our hands busy …

Whether you prefer to meditatively roll and slice pasta sheets, stir a skillet of gently caramelizing onions, or lovingly shape and fold crusty loaves of sourdough, we’ve got some ideas. Here are 15 recipes to keep your hands busy and your stomachs full during even the most stressful times (like...right now).

The Pineapple Cutting Trick We Learned From Chrissy Teigen’s Mom

Chrissy Teigen—cookbook author, recipe site helm-er, kitchenware creator, actress, hilarious Twitter personality, woman about town—has given us some of our very favorite kitchen hacks over the years. See this "why didn't we think of that?" way to make bacon even better; this crispy rice salad that changed the way we think about salads; this large-format casserole that tastes just like our favorite everything bagel breakfast with all the fixings.

And the best part of it all: Stanning Chrissy and her ingenious tricks is sort of a two-for-one package, because we also get access to her incredible mom, Pepper—to whom Chrissy credits all of her cooking know-how. So when Chrissy posted a video of Pepper's go-to way to cut pineapple, you can bet we paid attention. Chrissy's Cravings account said of this technique: "Out of all the tricks Pepper has up her sleeve, this hack has to be one of our favorites."

17 Vegan Pie Recipes That Are Practically Perfect

Plant-based desserts are just as important in our repertoire as their buttery, eggy counterparts. Take these Genius chocolate chip cookies, this fudgy banana brownie cake, this richer-than-rich mousse, these scotcheroos that are apt to stick to the roo…

Vegan pies deserve to be in that pantheon, too—after all, how could we resist a flaky-crispy tart filled to the brim with fruit, custard, chocolate, or all of the above? So, for our own edification and yours, we've rounded up our 18 best plant-based pies. All they'll need is a scoop of (non-dairy) ice cream.