- Merrill

Since we did a video tour of Amanda's kitchen, I thought I'd put together a slide show of mine. Here I've included some of my favorite cooking and serving items, along with a recipe for Coconut Rice Pudding with Ginger Lemongrass Syrup that would be perfect served in the Roseware glasses my mother gave me.

Click the play button to see us prepare the two finalist recipes for Your Best Potato Gratin: Potato Leek au Gratin by AlexisC and Individual Sweet Potato Gratins with Creme Fraiche, Onions and Bacon by ApartmentCooker. Watch A&M work through bloodshed and control issues, and make some delicious food!

Next week's themes will be (you can enter beginning Monday):

Your Best Fig Recipe

Your Best Stew with Olives

And, and...! We'd like you to vote on these upcoming themes:

Chicken with Mustard

Autumn Vegetable Puree (no potato)

TV or Movie Snack

Tell us which ones you'd prefer by leaving a comment below.

Here are some of the recipes that caught our eye among this week's contest entries.

Bubbie's Holiday Apple Cake by Bubbie

Deep South Apple Cake by Frugal Kiwi

Gingerbread Apple Bundt Cake by suz

Sunday Morning Apple Coffee Cake by SavorySweetLife

blueberry applesauce cake by Heather

Heavenly Apple Cake by Veronica

Rosh Hashana Apple Cake by koshercamembert

Bay-scented potato gratin by Marie Viljoen

Potato, Porcini and Squash Gratin by Maria Teresa Jorge

- Amanda

After a week during which my kitchen felt like an apple cake factory, I figured it was time for a salad. So I took the concepts behind escarole salad with warm bacon dressing and pear and blue cheese salad -- two salads I love -- and combined them. I crisped bacon in a pan, then sauteed shallots and figs, and finished the dressing with red wine vinegar and a little sugar. The warm dressing softens the lettuce leaves -- I used curly endive but you could use escarole, arugula or romaine -- and adds a little bitterness. And for a little salinity to contrast with the sweet figs, I crumbled some blue cheese on top.

"'There are many excellent food sites online—and an increasing number of them,' Stubbs adds. 'But interestingly, there isn't really a space that studies the talent and knowledge of home chefs.'" - Matt Haber, Portfolio

"The Food52.com goal is to create a bank of well-curated recipes from good cooks who submit recipes on a theme, like beef salad or end-of-summer cocktails, and then vote for the best." - Kim Severson, The New York Times

Congratulations to this week's winners!

Kamileon won the contest for Your Best Brunch Eggs with Savory Bread Pudding.

Hotplate Gourmet won the contest for Your Best Way to Cook Greens with Linguini with Breadcrumbs and Kale.

We asked them both to answer a few questions about cooking and eating.

- Merrill

Recently, we've been trying to eat more fish in my house. One day I was at the market looking for wild salmon and discovered they were out of it. Although I had never cooked with it before, I bought some arctic char at the fishmonger's recommendation. That night, I improvised with a few things I had in the fridge, and the resulting recipe is one I've repeated many times since. It's simple and quick, but it never fails to please.

Keeping the skin on, you coat the fish in a lemon herb mayonnaise and then cook it, skin up, at a very low temperature (250°) for 15 to 20 minutes. Then, you flip it over and broil it quickly to brown the top. The gentle cooking keeps the fish really tender and prevents it from drying out, and the broiler gives you the added benefit of some caramelization -- it's the best of both worlds. You can make this recipe with salmon, but char is a fish you should get to know if you don't already. Not only does it have a mild, rich flavor, but it's also an eco-friendly choice.

- Amanda (photo by Deborah Copaken Kogan)

This past weekend, my husband and I had dinner at our friends' Deb and Paul's house. Paul had marinated a butterflied leg of lamb to grill on their rooftop patio, and he headed out there well after dark. The fall's earlier sundowns have never stopped people from grilling, but grilling in the dark usually involves a jury-rigged move with flashlights. Paul, an excellent cook, has come up with a nifty solution: he wears a camping headlamp from L.L.Bean. Nerdy, you say? I think not, after tasting his perfectly grilled lamb. For the recipe....continue reading.