Today: Why Azerbaijan? Anna finds the inspiration for her feast.

Today: Brette starts setting the table, with plates, bowls, and silveware.

Weeknight cooking, inspired by Bugs Bunny? Jenny explains. 

Just because it's a weeknight doen't mean you can't play around a bit in the kitchen.

Recently, we learned all about hot peppers. Today we turn to their mild-mannered cousin, the bell pepper. Crunchy when raw, meltingly sweet when roasted, bell peppers come in a rainbow of colors. And unlike other peppers, which vary in heat depending on factors ranging from their species to the weather, you'll never find a hot bell pepper: due to a recessive gene, they don't produce capsaicin, the chemical that causes spiciness.

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.

Merrill is the inspiration for this week's Too Many Cooks question. Yes, Merrill -- who you can see here clutching her cut finger after a Horseradish Vodka Bloody Mary mishap -- who once "burned down her kitchen attempting to deep-fry eggs."

Maybe you've guessed the question by now. Hint: it's one that we ask all of our contest winners.

What's your most spectacular kitchen disaster? Let the mishaps and mess-ups begin.

Turn this fall's apple harvest into a tart, crisp drinking vinegar.

It's that time again -- help us pick the contest finalists for Your Best Grapes! 

When there's a chill in the air, and the leaves start to fall, and you dust off that peacoat from the back of your closet, there are few things more appealing than a hot bowl of soup. Cozy up with one of these recipes, and maybe -- maybe! -- you'll start to embrace the new season.

Once again, we want to give a big thanks to all of our volunteer recipe testers for your thoughtful comments and for helping us continue to strengthen our recipe recommendations. You can read the winning headnote and tester's comments by clicking through to the Community Picks recipes — the comments are at the top. And even if the recipe you tested wasn't chosen as a CP, please feel free to leave your testing notes in the recipe's comments section. Constructive criticism is always encouraged!