What Exactly Is Russian Food Today?

Darra Goldstein’s written four cookbooks on Russian cuisine—each starkly different, reflective of her own ever-evolving understanding of and relationship to the continent. Beyond the North Wind: Russia in Recipes and Lore, her latest book, came from a …

Darra Goldstein's written four cookbooks on Russian cuisine—each starkly different, reflective of her own ever-evolving understanding of and relationship to the continent. Beyond the North Wind: Russia in Recipes and Lore, her latest book, came from a realization that the her first three cookbooks—on elaborate tsarist, austere Soviet, and cross-cultural Georgian—were not at all indicative of how Russians eat and cook today. To define “Russian” cuisine today called for a return to the elemental, the geographical.


Coral Lee: What first sparked this interest in Russian culture and cuisine?

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Hey, What’s Happening With the Piglet?

Dear Food52ers,

Whether you’ve been part of our community for one year or all ten-plus, you’ve probably heard about our Piglet Tournament of Cookbooks (and if you haven’t, take a gander here—there’s quite a bit to catch up on!). Fifteen-second version…

Dear Food52ers,

Whether you’ve been part of our community for one year or all ten-plus, you’ve probably heard about our Piglet Tournament of Cookbooks (and if you haven’t, take a gander here—there’s quite a bit to catch up on!). Fifteen-second version: The Piglet is our annual month-long cookbook competition, in which sixteen of the very best cookbooks of the year enter into a bracketed-style face-off until one is deemed the winner. The judges—some of our favorite voices both in and outside of the food world—write (or video-record, or draw) an extended judgment declaring the winner and explaining their selection process.

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For Even Better Bacon, Chrissy Teigen Does This

In my eyes, Chrissy Teigen—cookbook author, supermodel, Twitter queen—can do no wrong. And for good reason: She’s brought magic to my kitchen with recipes like French toast casserole and crispy rice salad. Sure, there was that one time when I almost se…

In my eyes, Chrissy Teigen—cookbook author, supermodel, Twitter queen—can do no wrong. And for good reason: She's brought magic to my kitchen with recipes like French toast casserole and crispy rice salad. Sure, there was that one time when I almost set fire to my kitchen while making her everything bagel breakfast bake, but it was my lack of preparation that was to blame, not Chrissy. Never Chrissy.

With two cookbooks (Cravings and Cravings: Hungry for More, both of which are must-buys) out in the world, I thought for a while that I would have to survive without new cookable content until her next book launch. But then she blessed us with a website dedicated to her favorite recipes, restaurants, kitchen tools, and musings on why Lucky Charms's marshmallows belong in hot chocolate (sheer brilliance).

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Our 13 Favorite Cookbooks of 2019

When we’re looking for ideas on the perfect recipe to make for dinner tonight, or to comfort a loved one this weekend, or to impress guests at that gathering in a couple weeks, books always lead the way. Discovering new cookbooks always means discoveri…

When we're looking for ideas on the perfect recipe to make for dinner tonight, or to comfort a loved one this weekend, or to impress guests at that gathering in a couple weeks, books always lead the way. Discovering new cookbooks always means discovering new techniques, new flavor combinations we'd have never thought to put together, and new discourses for considering food. It also means awakening new cooking inspiration within ourselves.

2019 saw no shortage of cookbooks to discover, whether they changed the way we grocery shopped or made us look at our dinner mainstays a little differently. With so much greatness, how could we conceive of which ones were best?

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The 10 Most Legendary Cookbooks of the Last Decade

The Piglet Tournament of Cookbooks has a long and storied past. There are illustrious judges, controversial decisions and upsets, comment squabbles galore, and really solid books. If you’re with us for your very first Piglet (which starts next Tuesday,…

The Piglet Tournament of Cookbooks has a long and storied past. There are illustrious judges, controversial decisions and upsets, comment squabbles galore, and really solid books. If you're with us for your very first Piglet (which starts next Tuesday, on March 5—huzzah!), you can read all about how it works here.

But seriously...about those books. Each year, the title that takes home the prized Piglet trophy (yeah, there's actually a trophy) is the best of the best, the crème de la crème, the cookbook we couldn't live without. Collectively, they're the books we turn to time and again, the ones that have changed the way we cook and bake. They're the stuff of legends.

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30-Minute, Big-Flavor Soups That’ll Help You Beat the Cold Snap

My husband and I have a new habit: These days, we almost always have soup for lunch. He started this new tradition a few weeks ago, when the weather started to turn cold, and I happily began to join in.

Soups and stews are very popular in Germany, whe…

My husband and I have a new habit: These days, we almost always have soup for lunch. He started this new tradition a few weeks ago, when the weather started to turn cold, and I happily began to join in.

Soups and stews are very popular in Germany, where I’m from; thick lentil, pea, or potato soups enriched with smoked sausage (knackwurst, or knacker) are all German wintertime classics. But my relationship with liquid foods hasn't been the most harmonious. As a child, I ate soup, but I wasn’t particularly fond of it. I always felt that there was something missing, or maybe I just wasn’t ready for it yet.

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This Book Will Help You Learn to Cook Anything—Kinda

Years after publishing his tome on homemade charcuterie, prolific writer Michael Ruhlman was still thinking and writing a lot for his loyal, DIY community (even launching an app for his meat-cur(e)ous readers to connect). In June 2009, he blogged about…

Years after publishing his tome on homemade charcuterie, prolific writer Michael Ruhlman was still thinking and writing a lot for his loyal, DIY community (even launching an app for his meat-cur(e)ous readers to connect). In June 2009, he blogged about how a home cook might approach salting and drying a pancetta at home, and some recommended applications for said pancetta—one of them a BLT. As is common among excited home cooks—and the most excitable of them all, online users—the comment section quickly snowballed from pancetta looks like bacon, why not just make bacon?, to I have lettuce and tomatoes growing in my garden right now, to BRB, making a BLT from scratch.

And so, Michael posted an official challenge to all of his readers: to make a BLT from scratch in one day. Hundreds of submissions poured in. Most notably, a letter from 10-year-old Emma Kate Smith, who successfully completed the challenge (relying on dad only to light the smoker and handle the meat slicer). This brought Michael—as it would anyone!—to happy, proud tears. This was living, edible proof that from-scratch cooking is not only accessible, but empowering.

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Adeena Sussman’s Green Shakshuka with Crispy Latkes

Shakshuka with mixed greens, herbs, onions, garlic, and spices—and eggs that cook right in the pan. Make it for dinner with crispy latkes, and eat the rest for breakfast the next day! Continue reading “Adeena Sussman’s Green Shakshuka…

Shakshuka with mixed greens, herbs, onions, garlic, and spices—and eggs that cook right in the pan. Make it for dinner with crispy latkes, and eat the rest for breakfast the next day!

Continue reading "Adeena Sussman’s Green Shakshuka with Crispy Latkes" »

5 Tips for Raising an Adventurous Eater

How do you raise an adventurous eater? One who loves veggies and trying new foods? We’ve got 5 great tips from Vicki and Misha Collins and their new cookbook The Adventurous Eaters Club, plus a VIDEO of making beet gnocchi together! Continu…

How do you raise an adventurous eater? One who loves veggies and trying new foods? We've got 5 great tips from Vicki and Misha Collins and their new cookbook The Adventurous Eaters Club, plus a VIDEO of making beet gnocchi together!

Continue reading "5 Tips for Raising an Adventurous Eater" »

Shauna Sever’s Frosted Snickerdoodle Bars

These frosted snickerdoodle bars are loaded with cinnamon. They taste like snickerdoodle cookies, except BETTER because of that thick layer of frosting! Make them for your next potluck or office party, and prepare for compliments. Continue …

These frosted snickerdoodle bars are loaded with cinnamon. They taste like snickerdoodle cookies, except BETTER because of that thick layer of frosting! Make them for your next potluck or office party, and prepare for compliments.

Continue reading "Shauna Sever’s Frosted Snickerdoodle Bars" »