Today: Polite (and still-cool) ways to send out party invitations.

Amanda and Merrill show us how to carve a chicken.

How to spatchcock (a.k.a. butterfly) any bird for quicker, more even cooking.

Amanda shows us how to stretch pizza dough.

We're giving vanilla some well-deserved time in the spotlight. 

What class of Dutch oven belongs in a first kitchen? 

Set the stage for your dream kitchen. 

In all likelihood, there is an island, or at the very least, counters that go on for miles, on which you chop, dice, and mix. (You set up separate stations for each, just because you can.) There are appliances and tools ready for you at your every mixing and churning whimsy, places to bake, and then to cool, all of your latest creations. And somewhere -- maybe above the stove, maybe beside it -- there are likely copper pots, beautiful and shining and ready to simmer. 

A&M get a lesson in pumpkin carving from the Maniac Pumpkin Carvers. 

This is the final installment in our 3-part series on food science from the Modernist Cuisine team. We're giving away a copy of Modernist Cuisine at Home below, along with some handy equipment for your own Modernist kitchen. We're also selling Modernist Cuisine at Home at an exclusive discount you won't find anywhere else in the Food52 Shop.

Merrill shares her favorite way to peel an apple.