Blog Posts by Food52

As game day draws near, our thoughts -- and our appetites -- turn towards indulgent snacks that excited hands will grab as referees' whistles screech through our speakers, and eager fans yell at screens.

When our eyes don't want to stray too long from the game, the best foods are those that don't take much concentration to eat. This is, we assume, where the concept of chips and dips originated: a need for foods you can combine without considering cutlery or looking too closely at what you're eating. Plus, football begets all things melty, savory, and crunchy. So, no matter who you'll be rooting for next week, serve your fellow spectators these chips and dips, and you'll win the whole crowd.

More Game Day Recipes from Food52:
• Bacon-Wrapped Water Chestnuts
• 9 Favorite Chili Recipes
• Got a cooking question? The Food52 Hotline is here to help!

Brought to you by the spirited home cooks' community at Food52.

Read More »from 8 Chips and Dips for Game Day

It's safe to say that we've moved from the "resolution enthusiasm" stage of winter to the "hibernation" stage. So let's just resolve to make some comfort food, shall we? Whether it's melty grilled cheese, soul-warming French onion soup, or chocolate cake that makes you feel warm and fuzzy on the inside, we've got 10 ways to find refuge from harsh weather and biting cold in the comfort of your kitchen.

More from Food52:
• Need to get away? Take a vacation in your kitchen with bright, sunny food (and drinks!).
• Keep warm with a hot toddy.
• Got a cooking question? The Food52 Hotline is here to help!

Brought to you by the spirited home cooks' community at Food52.

Read More »from 10 Winter Comfort Foods

Dreams of summer. They're inevitable this time of year, when memories of sun and warmth are fuzzy at best, and it's hard to believe that you'll ever be able to step outside without a coat again. Moorish Paella, warm with spice and color, is a ticket out of this greyness. It tastes of warm nights in faraway places. Tartine's genius lemon cream is equally transporting: soft, breezy and positively luscious. Dinner is indeed a good time to escape.

Moorish Paella by NWB

Serves 4

4 bone-in skin on chicken thighs
4 small or 2 large links of Merguez sausage (chorizo is fine if you can't find the lamb sausage)
1/2 head of cauliflower cut into pieces
1 teaspoon caraway, ground
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon harissa
2 cups Arborio (or other short grain) rice
8 ounces tomato sauce
3 cups chicken stock
Salt to taste
1 small onion, diced
1 garlic clove, diced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Read More »from Dinner Tonight: Moorish Paella + Tartine's Lemon Cream

Every week on Food52.com, we're digging up Genius Recipes -- the ones that make us rethink cooking myths, get us talking, and change the way we cook.

Today: No trussing, no basting. It turns out the juiciest and speediest roast chicken is the simplest of all.

  –Kristen Miglore, Senior Editor, Food52.com

Choosing one genius roast chicken is a tall, if not impossible, order. You might as well ask a parent to pick a favorite child. They are all special and clever and equally deserving of love, which is why it's taken me this long to commit.

>>RELATED: A Genius Approach to Beef Brisket

Since this column launched, every time I felt the urge to roast a chicken, I knew I couldn't just freestyle, throwing in whatever wayward herb sprigs and scraps of onion I had laying around. Each time, I had to test out a new contender from the Roast Chicken Hall of Fame.

With Judy Rodgers, I pre-salted my bird 2 days ahead. Its flesh was seasoned through to its middle; its juices

Read More »from The Simplest and Best Roast Chicken

There are few things as lovable -- as comforting, as forgiving, as deeply soul- and body-satisfying -- as chili in the winter. These are chilis for every mood, every whim, every fancy, to soothe any chills or stress. Some have beans, others don't; some include pork, others feature beef or chicken or lamb. Take your pick, head to the stove, and whip up a double batch for the whole gang on Game Day.

More from Food52:
• Chorizo Cornbread
• Mix up a beer cocktail to drink with your chili -- or to enjoy while you make it.
• Got a question in the kitchen? The Food52 Hotline is here to help!

Brought to you by the spirited home cooks' community at Food52.

Read More »from 9 Chili Recipes for Game Day

You would be hard pressed to find a more wintry meal than this. It celebrates our desire for hearty suppers with a warmly seasoned lamb stew, brightened by the sunny pleasures of citrus. An apple and celeriac puree lends the meal a rare and magical combination of rib-sticking-ness and physician-approved lightness. It's an exotic take on meat and potatoes that we're convinced will please every last person at the table, and perhaps the cook most of all because -- as always -- it comes together in under an hour.

The Menu

Moroccan Style Lamb by healthierkitchen

Serves 4 - 6

1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon raz el hanout (optional)
2 pounds boneless lamb shoulder, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion,

Read More »from Dinner Tonight: Moroccan Lamb + Celery Root Puree

Every week on Food52.com, we're digging up Genius Recipes -- the ones that make us rethink cooking myths, get us talking, and change the way we cook.

The no-knead bread revolution finally comes to pizza -- and it's even more revolutionary.

- Kristen Miglore, Senior Editor, Food52.com

The Internet got its first viral recipe in 2006, when Mark Bittman brought Jim Lahey's technique for No-Knead Bread to light in the New York Times. Not-kneading tore through the blogosphere, seeding something of a revolution.

The instant and lasting popularity of the no-knead method is not because kneading is so strenuous (it'll never cramp your biceps like whipping egg whites will), but because it requires an understanding. You must form a relationship with your dough, find your rhythm, and sense when it's feeling too dry, or leathery, or loose (and how to fix it). These are worthy and satisfying pursuits, but they give cooks enough pause that bread baking was once reserved for

Read More »from Genius No-Knead Pizza Dough

We get it. January's the start of a new year: a fresh start, a healthy start, a cleansing-through-leafy-greens start. Everyone's telling you to dive into bowls of kale, to crunch into piles of raw veggies, to whip up frigid smoothies -- but all you really want is something warm. Something comforting. Something that won't leave you colder (and hungrier) than you were at the start.

That's why we're turning to warm salads this January: salads that are comforting, filling, and (bonus!) can be stretched throughout the week. Some are vegetable based, some are grain based -- and all reflect what we're craving this winter.

More from Food52:
• Our 7 favorite cool-weather soups
• See Food52's New Year's Resolutions for 2013 -- and share your own.
• Got a question in the kitchen? The Food52 Hotline is here to help!

Read More »from 8 Warm Salads