We met six years ago, when Amanda was looking for someone to help her with a dauntingly large cookbook she was writing for the New York Times. After testing more than 1,400 recipes together, eating countless dinners at 11 P.M., and doing all the necessary research and proofreading and dishwashing, we finished the book, which was published by W.W. Norton last year. We also became great friends and discovered how much we love cooking together.
Food52 grew out of an insight we had while working on The Essential New York Times Cookbook: many of the best recipes come from home cooks. It occurred to us that home cooks are both practical and inventive, and these qualities tend to lead to great recipes. At Food52.com, we recognize talented home cooks by giving them a place to show off their work, a place where cooks of all levels come to be inspired and to be part of a constructive and supportive community.
We love spending time in the kitchen, and we believe, like many cooks out there—both professional and amateur—that memorable cooking doesn’t have to be complicated or precious. It’s about discovering that frying an egg in olive oil over high heat gives the white a great crackly texture, that slashing the legs of a chicken before roasting allows the dark and white meat to cook evenly, that maple syrup adds not only sweetness but depth to an otherwise ho-hum vinaigrette.
We think cooking is really important—especially now. Over the past decade, many studies have shown that children from families who eat together do better in school, that eating “whole” foods is healthier, that eating sustainably will save the environment. But no one has pointed out that the only way to achieve all this in a comprehensive, lasting way is for people to cook.
Because:
If you cook, your family will eat dinner together.
If you cook, you will naturally have a more sustainable household.
If you cook, you’ll set a lifelong example for your children.
If you cook, you’ll understand what goes into food and eat more healthily.
If you cook, you’ll make your home an important place in your life.
If you cook, you’ll make others happy.
If you cook, people will remember you.
This cookbook is the love child of the Food52 community, and the result of a year’s worth of recipe contests—every recipe comes from one of our members and was chosen as a winner by his or her peers. It’s not just the delicious concoctions, but the creativity and voice behind each recipe that make this cookbook truly special; no one chef could come up with this many great recipes in one year, and no one cookbook author could dream up this many entertaining backstories. We hope you’ll get in the kitchen and have as much fun as we did making all of these terrific recipes and learning from talented home cooks from all over.