Soon after we launched the site, we noticed that a number of long comment threads were taking shape on both recipes and blog posts. We didn't want anyone to miss out on a conversation...

Some of you may have noticed a new button on the left hand side of the page (it's been hanging out there quietly for over a week). We haven't publicized the shop until now because we wanted to make sure everything was running smoothly. Now that it is, we'd love for you to stop in and have a look around.

In the shop, we've gathered some of our favorite books, artisanal food, cookware and tabletop items for you to browse -- and we've provided links to the producers' websites in case you'd like to buy anything. Right now, the shop is stocked with our personal picks, and we plan to expand it over the next several weeks. But before too long, we hope to crowd-source some of the offerings, as we do the food52 recipe database. After all, no one could be better at knowing what the food52 community likes than all of you who are part of it.

We're still thinking about the best way to do this, so if you have any ideas please leave them in the comments section below. You can also let us know about any small food producers and artisans that you think we should include by leaving a comment. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy exploring the shop!

Some of you have been wondering about a mysterious contest category called the Wildcard. We thought it was time to explain it.

So how do you enter a recipe to be considered as a wildcard?

You don't!

We created the Wildcard category as a way to highlight recipes that don't fit into our weekly recipe themes. Sometimes we choose past finalists that didn't win but that we think deserve to be in the book, like the Pink Greens. Mostly, though, we look for excellent recipes that are uploaded to the site without the explicit intention of being considered for the book. We test and photograph them the same way we test all contest finalists, the winners all receive a box of prizes from OXO, and the recipes will appear in the food52 cookbook.

So in case you needed another reason to share your recipes with the food52 community, here you go! One of them just may end up in our book.

In case you'd like a behind the scenes look at our today show adventure, click the photo below to see a slideshow of Sarah Shatz's pictures!

Thanks to everyone for coming -- wanted to share a few shots from the party! Click the photo for a slideshow....

Look at what Helen's mom got for us -- good for carrying everything from groceries to children!

A great friend is throwing us a small party on Wednesday, October 28 in New York to celebrate the launch of the site. It'll be friends, family, and people who've helped us at every step of the way.

We'd love to have some of our food52 community there. The first five people to email us at editors@food52.com will be added to the invite list. Please, only email if you are able to attend.

We'd love to meet you all, and we hope that someday we will, but for now, we're looking forward to meeting a few of you! -Amanda & Merrill

We're excited about our partnership with Chambers Street Wines, a wine store in lower Manhattan that stocks excellent small-producer wines from around the world. They have agreed to give our community a 10% discount on any purchase from their website (they'll deliver anywhere in the continental US). All you have to do is use the promotional code food52 at checkout. Chambers Street also pairs wines with each of the Finalist recipes and many of the Editors' Picks on the site. So if you love a recipe, try the wine the experts have paired with it, or if you're looking for something new to enjoy, take full advantage of our discount -- and as a special offer, we'll be sending food52 DropStops (pictured below) to the first 50 people who purchase wine from Chambers Street.

Example of recipes that feature wine pairings:

Eggplant Parmesan by Nancy Jo

Tuscan Grilled Zucchini and Summer Squash by Stefano Coppola

BLT Panzanella by Meredith Shanley

The Recipe Search is back in action. It should now return helpful results. Please give it a try and let us know if you have any further problems.

We wanted to let you know that we're aware that the Recipe Search isn't working as it should (the Contest Winners and Editors' Picks filters function properly, but that's about it), and that it will be fixed very soon. For now, we've renamed it the Magical Randomizer, but we look forward to the time when it reclaims its identity as a helpful Recipe Search. We'll keep you posted.

Not sure if you've noticed but on your Profile Page, along with your recipes there is a section called "Fans." Here, anyone who has "fanned" you will show up, as well as anyone you've chosen to be a fan of. You can fan someone by going to any profile page and and clicking on "Be My Fan" in the left margin.

Becoming a fan of someone on the site makes it easier to keep up with their latest recipes, photos and video. And it's just the first part of a set of social features we'll be implementing. For instance, soon you'll be able to receive email alerts any time someone comments on your recipes.

Also, while we're on this profile section of the site, here's another feature we'd like to highlight: Saved Recipes. You can save any recipe on food52 and have it stored on your profile page along with your own recipes. Just go to a recipe you like and click on Save Recipe in the left margin.

That's enough from us -- we'd love to hear from you about features you'd like on the site. We're all ears!