Food52 Genius Recipes: 100 Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

by Kristen Miglore, Amanda Hesser (Foreword by), Merrill Stubbs (Foreword by)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781607747970
Publisher:	Potter/TenSpeed/Harmony
Publication date:	04/07/2015
Series:	Food52 Works Series
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	38,134
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

KRISTEN MIGLORE is the executive editor at Food52.com. She abandoned a career in economics to pursue a master’s degree in Food Studies from New York University and a culinary degree from the Institute of Culinary Education. Her writing has been published in The Wall Street Journal, Saveur, and The Atlantic, and she was nominated for a James Beard Award for the Genius Recipes column in 2014. She lives in New York City.
 
Founded by Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs in 2009, Food52.com has become the premier online community for cooks at all levels, with more than 30,000 recipes, cooking contests, a hotline, and an integrated kitchen and home shop. It was named Best Food Publication at the 2012 James Beard Awards and Best Culinary Website at the 2013 IACP Awards.

Read an Excerpt

Chocolate Mousse from hervé this

Every chocolate book and pastry chef teaches us to never let water get near melting chocolate: It will seize and crumble, and ruin dessert. But Hervé This—the French chemist who invented the study of (and the very phrase) molecular gastronomy—figured out how to mix the unmixable and turn them into chocolate mousse.

It also happens to be the simplest way to make mousse at home: Melt chocolate with water, then cool it over an ice bath and whisk till you have mousse.
Like other emulsions (vinaigrette, aïoli), as you whip, microscopic bits of water get suspended in the fat (here: cocoa butter), thickening it and making it seem creamier. The cooling chocolate crystallizes around the air bubbles, just like whipped cream, to make a remarkably stable foam, a.k.a. mousse.

The best thing about this is that it tastes like pure, unob-structed chocolate, without cream or egg to confuse the issue. (It also happens to be vegan, if you use dark chocolate without any added milk.)

This all happens fast as the mixture cools, so chances are you’ll go too far on your first try and the mousse may stiffen up beyond the point you’d wanted. But if this happens, Mr. This is unfazed—he has you return the chocolate mixture to the pan, melt it, and start over (see note).

Genius Tip
Once you have the rhythm of making this mousse down, you can flavor it as you wish with liqueurs or coffee or spices, sweeten it to your liking, or just keep it dark and intense. 

Serves 4
3⁄4 cup (180ml) water
8 ounces (225g) chocolate (I use bittersweet chocolate that’s 70 percent cacao—choose a high-quality chocolate you love), broken into pieces
Ice cubes
Whipped cream, for topping (optional; page 236)

Simply pour the water into a saucepan over medium-low heat (the water can be improved from the gastronomic point of view if it is flavored with orange juice, for example, or cassis puree—just replace some of the water with an equal amount of the flavorful liquid). Then, add the chocolate and whisk it in as it melts. The result is a homogenous sauce.

Put the saucepan in a bowl partly filled with ice cubes (or pour into another bowl over the ice so it will chill faster), then whisk the chocolate sauce, either manually with a whisk or with an electric mixer (if using an electric mixer, watch closely—it will thicken faster). Whisking creates large air bubbles in the sauce, which steadily thickens. After a while strands of chocolate form inside the loops of the whisk. Pour or spoon immediately into ramekins, small bowls, or jars and let set.

note: Three things can go wrong. Here’s how to fix them. If your chocolate doesn’t contain enough fat and won’t form a mousse, melt the mixture again, add more chocolate, and then whisk it again. If the mousse is not light enough, melt the mixture again, add more water, and whisk it once more. If you whisk it too much, so that it becomes grainy, simply melt the mixture and whisk it again, adding nothing.
3Serve immediately, or refrigerate until serving. Top with whipped cream, if desired.

Table of Contents

Breakfast
Fried Eggs with Wine Vinegar from roger vergé

Chocolate Muscovado Banana Cake from nigel slater

Touch-of-Grace Biscuits 
from shirley corriher

One-Ingredient Corn Butter
from whitney wright

English Porridge from april bloomfield

Roasted Applesauce from judy rodgers

Olive Oil & Maple Granola from nekisia davis

Poached Scrambled Eggs from daniel patterson

Spicy Sauce
from torrisi italian specialties

Yogurt with Toasted Quinoa, Dates & Almonds from sitka & spruce

Potato Scallion Cakes (Fritterra)
from bert greene

Currant Cottage Cheese Pancakes 
from deborah madison

Crepes from kenny shopsin

Raised Waffles 
from marion cunningham

Snacks & Drinks
Bar Nuts 
from union square café

Deviled Eggs 
from virginia willis

Basic Hummus 
from yotam ottolenghi & sami tamimi

One-Ingredient Whole Grain Crackers
from dan barber

No-Knead Bread 
from jim lahey

Grilled Favas 
from ignacio mattos

Classic Guacamole 
from roberto santibañez

Herb Jam with Olives & Lemon from paula wolfert

Salt-Crusted Potatoes with Cilantro Mojo from josé pizarro

Watermelon, Mint & Cider Vinegar Tonic from louisa shafia

Tomato Water Bloody Mary from todd thrasher

Spiced Red Wine (Ypocras) 
from anne willan

Cliff Old Fashioned from dave arnold

Soups & Salads 
Romaine Hearts with Caesar Salad Dressing 
from frankies spuntino

Fresh Fig & Mint Salad 
from richard olney

“Use a Spoon” Chopped Salad 
from michel nischan

Radicchio Salad with Manchego Vinaigrette 
from toro bravo

Garlic-Scented Tomato Salad
from marcella hazan

Warm Squash & Chickpea Salad with Tahini from moro

Kale Salad from northern spy food co.

Green Peach Salad from crook’s corner

Red Salad 
from fergus henderson

Wild & White Rice Salad 
from viana la place & evan kleiman

Roasted Carrot & Avocado Salad with Crunchy Seeds from abc kitchen

Chickpea Stew with Saffron, Yogurt & Garlic from heidi swanson

Spicy Tomato Soup from barbara lynch

Cauliflower Soup from paul bertolli

Potato Soup with Fried Almonds from anya von bremzen

Cheese Brodo
from nate appleman

Lemon Salt
from patricia wells

Chicken Stock
from tom colicchio

Red Wine Vinaigrette
from molly wizenberg & brandon pettit

Meaty Mains 
Salt-Baked Herbed Salmon with Red Onion-Caper Vinaigrette 
from cory schreiber

Shrimp Grits from edna lewis & scott peacock

Crispy-Skinned Fish 
from le bernardin

Rosemary-Brined Buttermilk Fried Chicken 
from michael ruhlman

Simplest Roast Chicken 
from barbara kafka

Chicken Thighs with Lemon 
from canal house

Dry-Brined Turkey (a.k.a. The Judy Bird) 
from russ parsons

Cranberry Sauce
from daniel humm

Onion Carbonara 
from michel richard

Sticky Balsamic Ribs from ian knauer

Carnitas from diana kennedy

Grilled Pork Burgers from suzanne goin

Brisket of Beef 
from nach waxman

Meatballs 
from rao’s

Salt-Crusted Beef Tenderloin Grilled in Cloth (Lomo al Trapo) 
from steven raichlen

Perfect Pan-Seared Steaks 
from j. kenji lópez-alt

Vegetables 
Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Whipped Goat Cheese 
from alon shaya

Broccoli Cooked Forever 
from roy finamore

Garlic Green Beans 
from penelope casas

Ginger Juice
from molly stevens

Balsamic Glazed Beets & Greens 
from peter berley

Grilled Chard Stems with Anchovy Vinaigrette 
from anna klinger

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Fish Sauce Vinaigrette from momofuku

Fried Asparagus with Miso Dressing from nobu matsuhisa

Ratatouille from alice waters

Gratin of Zucchini, Rice & Onions with Cheese 
from julia child

Grated & Salted Zucchini
from julia child

Potato Dominoes 
from francis mallmann

Desserts
Strawberry Lemon Sorbet 
from river café

One-Ingredient Banana Ice Cream
from the kitchn

Fresh Peach Gelato
from russ parsons

Strawberry Shortcakes 
from james beard

Fresh Blueberry Pie 
from rose levy beranbaum

New Classic Coconut Macaroons 
from alice medrich

Sweet Corn & Black Raspberry Ice Cream 
from jeni britton bauer

Chocolate Mousse 
from hervé this

Purple Plum Torte from marian burros

Dense Chocolate Loaf Cake from nigella lawson

Marie-Hélène’s Apple Cake from dorie greenspan

Pumpkin Pie 
from meta given

Molasses Cookies from the silver palate

Cheater Soft-Serve Ice Cream
from john t. edge

Fresh Ginger Cake 
from sylvia thompson

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies 
from kim boyce

Caramelized White Chocolate 
from valrhona

One-Ingredient Sweet Potato Caramel
from brad leone

Brown Butter Tart Crust 
from paule caillat

Eggless Lemon Curd 
from elizabeth falkner

Whipped Cream
from nancy silverton

Orange & Almond Cake 
from claudia roden

Acknowledgments 
Genius Tipsters 
Credits 
Index

Editorial Reviews

Anyone who has ever disregarded the advice to "cook what you know" for a dinner party, and then spent the evening fretting about salmonella, will appreciate the comfort and confidence that come from making something thousands have made before you with great success…the genius here might lie in the book's wide appeal. For beginners, it's like a "Dummies' Guide to the Most Famous Recipes of All Time." For those deep into the food world, it's more like a litmus test: How many of these dishes have you made?

The New York Times Book Review - Jenny Rosenstrach

A New York Times Best Seller

"This is my new favorite cookbook."
- Michael Ruhlman

From the Publisher

★ 01/01/2015
In her weekly "Genius Recipes" column, Food52.com executive editor Miglore highlights unforgettable dishes perfected by such chefs and authors as Julia Child, Suzanne Goin, and Heidi Swanson. This inviting cookbook comprises 100 of the column's more unusual and popular recipes, grouped by course in seven chapters (e.g., breakfast, snacks and drinks, meatless mains). Most feature ingenious cooking methods—a recipe for crepes, for instance, cleverly disguises flour tortillas in a thin layer of egg and cream batter. Similarly, excellent and iconic recipes for no-knead bread, hummus, broccoli cooked forever, and crispy-skinned fish will introduce home cooks to techniques they'll want to use again and again. VERDICT Miglore's addition to Food52's growing list of cookbooks is a treat for readers who enjoy casual gourmet food.

Library Journal

★ 03/16/2015
Food52 executive editor Miglore shares a superb collection of “genius recipes” from her weekly column. To qualify as “genius,” recipes must cause surprise and prompt chefs to rethink the fundamentals of how they cook. She shares the best discoveries from cookbook authors, chefs, and bloggers including Alton Brown’s baked brown rice, cauliflower steaks from Dan Barber, and Alice Waters’s unfussy ratatouille. From breakfast to meaty and meatless mains to desserts, the more than 100 recipes included here are sure to inspire and amaze. Roger Vergé’s recipe for fried eggs with wine vinegar tempers the richness of the yolks with the tart and cleansing balance of a good vinaigrette. The secret to Le Bernardin’s crispy-skilled fish is Wondra flour, instant flour commonly used for clump-free gravies. Broccoli “cooked forever,” from Roy Finamore, defies typical overcooked blah-ness thanks to a two-hour olive oil bath. No-cook cranberry sauce, grilled chard stems with anchovy sauce, and strawberry shortcake made with hard-boiled eggs are just the tip of the genius iceberg shared in these pages. Chicken roasted at 500 degrees, tomato sauce made with butter and onions, and spiced braised lentils with tomatoes and toasted coconut exemplify the tremendous contribution this book will make to any cook’s repertoire. Guaranteed to excite and enlighten cooks everywhere, Miglore’s collection is a must-have for every kitchen. Color photos. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly