Today, we're exploring Hanukkah food traditions with Jewish culture and food experts.

Merrill shows us a trusty last-minute hors d'oeuvre.

Put time into dinner now, and you can make it last forever -- or at least the whole week. Welcome to Halfway to Dinner, where we show you how to stretch your staples every which way. 

Today: Why use a gremolata just once? Phyllis from Dash and Bella raises the bar, times six. 

We're feeling a bit French today, and we thought you might be too. What'll be on our tables tonight? We're getting our vegetables in (and greens too, please) with Amy_N-B's perfectly Parisian, earthy French "Peasant" Beets. Eaten with a glass of Sancerre on the side, we could easily stop there, but tonight, we're skipping happily along to dessert. Because our night wouldn't be truly French without a little sliver of something sweet, now would it? 

Jenny's found a weeknight soup that is also a full meal. 

Pears are so distinct that the only word we have to describe their shape is "pyriform," which means, literally, "pear-shaped"! They've been cultivated for millennia -- there were pear tree groves in China 3000 years ago -- and there are thousands of varieties, many of them decorative or inedible. In the US, you'll find about 10 common varieties, among them Comice, Anjou, Bartlett, Seckel, and Bosc.

You'll be hearing from the staff at Food52 every week in Too Many Cooks, our group column in which we pool our answers to questions about food, cooking, life, and more.

So tomorrow is December. (Tomorrow!) This shouldn't surprise the lot of you that have somewhat regular access to calendars, but if you're like us, that sentence still makes your jaw drop a little. 

The holiday madness is quickly approaching (read: it's at a dead sprint, heading our way), but we're holding off for one more week. Soon this lovely site that we call home will be awash with edible gifts, holiday roasts, and too many cookies for us to all reasonably consume -- But not yet, people. Not yet. 

We'll be running essays about food memories on Feed52. Want to share your story? View our submission guidelines.Today, Anna Hewitt has the floor.

We've rounded up 7 apps for your iPhone or iPad that will help you get through the holidays without breaking a sweat.

Just in time for hot cocoa and holiday gift-giving, Blue Bottle Coffee's Caitlin Freeman shares a recipe for marshmallows with just a hint of moonshine.