food52: The Next Phase

I'll chime in and agree on adding a widget and badge!

Reading the comments below from gabrielaskitchen, I thought I'd add a public request related to the website/marketing of Food52. A & M, you already know about this idea, but figured that this space may be consolidating ideas of this sort, so thought I'd put it here, too, for the record. Would you please, please, make a groovy sidebar "badge" that the bloggers can use to help promote the site? I'm sure many would take advantage of this. I have rigged one up on my blog (in case others want to see what I'm talking about)... but it would look so much better if it were official and came from you guys. Actually, your logo--PLUS maybe a little award badge or seal or something that contest winners or editors pick designees have access to. (We all like to do a little cross-promotion, tooting of horns, right?) My graphic skills are OK but not great, and it'd be best if everyone used the same thing... I've seen the logo on at least one other blog (can't remember which), used on a "press" type page when the author got either a win or an editor's pick.

P.S.2. thanks Amanda and Merrill for food52! I've tried and tried to get into other recipe websites, but just didn't vibe with them. food52 was the answer!

The idea I like best for food52two: is Spice/Flavor based recipes. Or flavor combo recipes, i.e. pork/apple, basil/oregano, poultry/nut, or even more broad like savor/sweet etc.

Just a few general suggestions for the website: 1) Having a way to embed hyperlinks would be amazing! 2) More importantly, since food52 has become a hub for the online home cook community, a bulletin board feature would be a great way for food52ers / foodbloggers to connect in real life. Haha, in fact, it seems as if this post turned itself into a bulletin board. (I totally understand if this is too much to ask, I realize that the backend of these sites is already a lot to maintain!) P.S. Anyone in NYC interested in co-hosting nat'l foodblogger bake sale on April 17th, proceeds go to Share OUr Strenght's efforts to end childhood hunger in USA, see Gaby's blog (not me) for more details, contact me at gabrielaskitchen{at}gmail{dot}com if you want to organize nyc bloggers with me, I'd love to collaborate on this with you! Don't have your own blog? I think the food52 community should represent! http://whatsgabycooking.com/bake-sale/

Late in suggestions here, but thought I'd add mine to the pot. I love the idea of healthy eating as defined by individual chefs - we all have our personal health needs that become quite clear in the alterations we make to traditional recipes.

But since that's already been discussed, here's another idea. How about a cookbook that focuses on using what is in your cupboard and fridge - leftovers, that wilting spinach, the half used box of barley. Every home cook knows the pang of guilt they feel when they throw away unused, unappreciated ingredients. Especially in a time of budgeting and sustainability, it would be appropriate to help people manipulate what the food they have and transform it into memorable meals. A book like this would take every cook to the next level.

I'm not quite sure how the contests would be structured, but I'll leave that one to the experts! Thanks for letting us weigh in on this!

Following up on my note below, supporting the suggestion of adding tips/tricks/variations, etc. in sidebars . . . . . . doing that would also promote more interest in and discussion about the recipes, as people try them, share their variations/substitutions, etc. In all likelihood, the site would become even busier, as we all contribute our collective experience with the recipes, for the benefit of anyone else thinking about trying them. My inner engineer is always (to the point of an obsession) looking for ways to improve just about every recipe I try. I suspect that I'm not the only one. I'd love to see more discussion about the recipes themselves -- especially variations, what worked/didn't work -- by people who are actually trying them. (I posted a more detailed comment to this effect on the Feb. 13 post about the new features on the recipe page, if you're interested.) ;o)

I wish I weren't swamped at work so I could (a) read all of these comments and (b) dedicate a proper amount of thought to this conversation! I have another idea, albeit half-baked, that I'd like to throw into the mix. (That is if it hasn't been mentioned already.)

Would anyone be interested in organizing/attending some sort of conference-style event? (Ahem, corporately sponsored. Oxo? Harper? Anyone?) There are just so many cooks I admire here that I'd love to meet and learn a thing or two from!

I am noticing how often the words "simple" and "spectacular" are used in cookbook titles. How about contests that are, for example, a simple chocolate cake and then the second contest would be for a spectalular (complicated) chocolate cake, or whatever you choose for a theme each week. Mark Bittman and Jean-George did this in Simple to Spectacular in which they did a very basic recipe and then complicated versions. We could use different words to implement the same concept.

Brilliant! I agree with Peter Steinberg.
For the second set of contests there'd be no urgency for results which might provide a more relaxed testing schedule behind the scenes.

I guess I don't like change much either, but I have to say that I could happily spend another year being inspired by the weekly themes you two come up with and keeping things very much as they are. Even when I don't feel proficient enough about something to enter a contest (ex. I've never prepared oysters at home), I use the weekly themes as motivation to expand my cooking horizons. I don't think a week has gone by since I became involved in Food52 last summer that I haven't at least attempted a recipe based on one or both themes.Even when I don't end up posting the result, I really have so much fun creating recipes with Food52 in mind, and I know I am not the only one...

I like the idea of seasonal cooking with what's sustainable and local (kind of like the theme of Amanda's book the Cook and the Gardener) I know you'd be top heavy on "summer" but the challenge is the other seasons!
Street food is a bit limiting in my book.
Or stay the way it is, there's so much variety!

Gotta say I like it as is - I'm so looking forward to the Food 52 cookbook. I really loved the Piglet and hope to see that repeated.

I think that street food is a fun idea but I don't think that it is our book...street food is what it is. It is not the food that we prepare for ourselves each day. It is a snapshot of a place, time , an ethnicitity...it's the fast food that is prepared in a van, a roadside BBQ, a wok on the street. We enjoy it because it is peek into the world of Korean BBQ, shave ice, tacos and many ethnic groups that we do not belong to.

So, I've been out of commission for about a week and a half, and I've missed the dialogue with my Food52 friends. Yes, I do think of this as "my" community, and that's really the power behind what you've created here: a diverse, international community that rallies around a common love of food. I haven't read all the comments below--there are now too many of them--but I did scan and came up with some repeating elements. I definitely agree that keeping this accessible to the international community is important, which is why I would not be in favor of, say, a 50-states tour. I do worry that defining too narrow a theme for a book could result in participants getting bored. One thing I like about this year's project is that I know that if I'm not as excited by the contest themes one week, there will be something totally different the next week. It's not often that there's a week when neither contest theme appeals to me--if I fail to enter, it's generally a time constraint issue. If the whole year were spent on a particular type of food or region, though, I don't know. The idea I saw here that seemed immediately appealing to me was the "street food" concept, because it's international by nature and can encompass healthy or not, savory or sweet; speed and portability are perks to street food, too. But I wonder if it's already too "done"? Another idea that I liked was sharing "heritage" recipes, family recipes; or doing the "traditional/update" contrast. The "traditional" version could be one of the week's contests, and the "updated" would be the second contest. You wouldn't have to submit to both, if one week you wanted to just do traditional, the next week there was a dish you wanted to reinvent. Finally, I do want to echo the "if it isn't broken, don't fix it" thread that runs through some of the comments: so much seems to work well here. Obviously, you will not forget why you created Food52, and I'm sure you'll stay true to its roots as you also evolve. I think the fact that the recipes come from home cooks (some bloggers, some not) is great--but it's also great because we trust you to curate them and your own stamps of approval (and often extra tips on preparation) are valuable. Ultimately, this is about community... but you, Amanda & Merrill, have to also balance community with marketing/revenue concerns. The cookbooks presumably need to be successful products in the marketplace, meaning that we want the book's ultimate audience to be much larger than the community itself. I know you will figure this out with a blend of wisdom, savvy, faithfulness to the values and ideas that started Food52, and a sense of culinary adventure. Good luck, and THANK YOU again so much for all you have created to date.

A theme I keep hoping to see here is "street food". It can be almost anything, and definitely international. Last week Los Angeles held a Street Food Fest which attracted hundreds of people who waited in a two hour line for general admission. Maybe for the next volume?

I haven't read through every comment, so forgive me if I'm repeating someone here. What if the next volume were like Apartment Therapy Presents: Real Homes, Real People, Hundreds of Design Solutions? The new book could focus on Food52's users. The sections could be divided according to # of people in household, or size of kitchens or homes? I like looking at pictures of ginormous dream kitchens, but I also love seeing what can be done with limited space (Jill Santopietro's teensy weensy NY kitchen comes to mind.) It would be great to find a book solution that conveyed the spirit and camaraderie of the Food52 community.

What an extraordinary thread of ideas and feedback -- this is obviously not an easy decision, and we're so glad to have you involved. Thanks, and looking forward to your continued input!

I just read all these comments and I am so moved! Amanda and Merrill, when you decided to do this, did you have any idea that you would be tapping into so many people's deepest desires (to cook well, eat well, learn from each other), or that you would be building such a committed, interesting, loving online community? These are the best kinds of connections, and I feel like we all get to know each other a little bit because of what we like to cook and eat, how we juggle our family and work, how we express our passion for food, and by extension, those we feed. I hope you can continue to make this a successful venture. It's a community I'm proud to be a part of. Thank you. Thank you both. Thank you all.

after 90 comments, someone may have already said this, but we have 50 states here, and I'm wondering if you can't pick an ingredient (still operating seasonally) from each state--something indigenous to each state--and use that as your theme. in some cases, it could be a dish instead of an ingredient. the final two weeks could either revisit a state(s) that offers A LOT of options, or takes a few beloved national dishes to tackle. food52-ers could weigh in, based on where they live, to help decide which item should represent which state. might help sort out the regionalism in a more streamlined way.

Oh, Food52. I love you just the way you are. But change always scares me.

I love all of these ideas! I definitely like the idea of seasonal, states, or even just choosing cooks.

What about heirloom recipes? I guess it sort of goes along with other suggestions for regional/international themes...but I think that heirloom or family recipes are some of the best from home cooks. They're never from cookbooks, sometimes they aren't even exact - but sharing those with other cooks would be so fun! I my great-great-grandmother's recipe for doughnuts - it's in her handwriting and has a big dough smudge on it!

I'm late to the discussion, but have read all the thoughtful ideas and suggestions. I'm SO excited and happy there will be a food52, part 2. And I love the concept and how it's evolved over the past 30-something weeks. I agree with many here, there's no compelling need to reinvent food52 -- what we're creating is really special and creative, and I vote that we just keep adding great ideas as they come up. Love the thought of packaging a CD of videos with the cookbook, ChezSuzanne, and of including essays, personal photos, etc. with the recipes. Congrats, A&M!

Food52 Year 2 is already off to a great start.

So many people have mentioned international cuisine. Combine that with many recipe intro's "My greatgrandmother came from country xyz and created this dish. It's been in the family ever since."

What about a cultural melting pot of family recipes, where we upload pictures of the dish and pictures of the recipe creator/inspiration, and people could vote on both.

I love Merrill's idea of healthy eating. Amanda and Merrill, I love the philosophy behind this book, I noticed that other publications are also picking up this idea- for eg. anyone who has read the latest edition of Saveur can see how homecooks are being given more recognition. I feel that a theme should be kept in mind, otherwise things may be too haphazard, I like your idea about having a cook a week, for eg. I wasnt too keen on the state-by-state idea bec I dont live in America and am not American so I would not be able to participate :( Personal agenda aside ;) I think it would be nice to have a more global feel to the book so lots of people, from all over the world can participate. These are all just my humble opinions. Again, I do love Merrill's idea about creating a healthy food cookbool. Best wishes, shayma

What a great conversation about community. I think that's why your current project has been such a hit. Food blogs, as much as we love them, are about me. Food52 is about us. You've encouraged us into a different kitchens to share techniques, mistakes and the endless ways to use cream. Sunday night suppers, regional cooking, how I got into the kitchen -- all worthy themes but they've all been done. You've got something else here, something unique. I can't quite put my finger on it, but you've created a community kitchen that shows how we live now (sorry, gratuitous NYT reference): on the internet, ample ingredients, ideas at our beck and call, still hungry for food and company. Sorry, that's not quite a book pitch, but it's the theme to explore, I think. This is us. This is how we think, make friends, stuff turkeys. Whatever it is, it's been really, really fun. And whatever it is, it deserves a loud pop of champagne. Can't wait for round 2!

I completely agree with Antonia. Book 2 will have more contributors, new stories, and that's what it seems to be all about. I do like the idea of incorporating mini-photo essays (collages?), like the Thanksgiving feature. However you handle it, I'm looking forward to another year. Thanks A+M!

I actually think that no themes should be pre-determined or decided in advance. What I find so magical about Book 1 is that the recipes have sorted themselves out into categories. You really don't know, from week to week, what types of recipes will emerge in the contests as the best. Anyone can build a cookbook around themes. We have something better, and unexpected. The focus here is on the unique sourcing of the recipes, and the fact that the chosen recipes reflect the community's taste, preferences and judgment. Book 2, even if designed exactly the same way, i.e., without any changes other than to present new contest topics, will be totally different from Book 1, just by virtue of the process. ;o)

Yes, please! Keep it going! Some really fun ideas in these comments, and great community of cooks this site has brought together.

what about something related to the letters of the alphabet? 26 (letters) * 2 = 52; so like the first two weeks you can focus on ingredients that food 52 thinks should be in every stocked pantry: apples, almonds, artichokes, and avocado could be contests for week one, and then the next two weeks would be "b" foods...though this might get slightly harder when you reach weeks x or q, but it could be an idea...

As this discussion continues to blossom - or, perhaps, more appropriately, simmers, stews, percolates - we should all keep in mind the issues we discussed early in the food52 process. Particularly, "Why a book? Why a COOKBOOK?" What is it that food52 has to do that can only be done as a book? What would done in a cookbook that can't be done - or done as well - online, or in a magazine, etc.?

I like the idea of more narrative in a cookbook. Conceivably, you could run contests that would look for the best narrative on a subject, region, food type, etc., without the recipe. Conceivably, if you keep the format of two contests a week, maybe one contest for a recipe, one for a narrative - XX number of words or less.

To pick up on what ChezSuzanne said initially. . . One of my favorite books is Spice by Ana Sortun. The chapters are organized by different spice/flavor combinations and they give recipes in different categories. So, you could present recipes either by technique or new ingredient with seasonality and as part of a menu, and by nature they would be international in scope to begin with. Another fun thing might be to include "street food" from different states-but perhaps a level up for the home cook with more time. Also, menus don't have to take a large part of the book, they can be sidebars, or additional backmatter as part of the book, that would give you more flexibility for including lots of recipes that could be mixed and matched to different menus and different party sizes. The Silver Palate books have a fantastic cornucopia of tidbits of information about ingredient and menu and wine suggestions. I think this is also going to depend on how you want this book to look. Clean, simple, straightforward recipes, with large beautiful pictures or more of an everything book like Joy of Cooking-lots of information, not necessarily an everyday book...and this gets into design, too.

How about a cookbook that is recipes entirely from food bloggers. It takes it up a notch...but I think that most serious cooks (home or otherwise) are up to the challenge. I am continually impressed by the creative verbage that comes from our community! I am not a blogger myself (yet) but I am entertaining the idea very seriously. (how difficult is it?)

Another thought I had today that builds on the idea of menus: maybe we build a menu over a series of 4 weeks. One week the themes are set for the entree. Then based on what wins, we build onto that with side dishes, appetizers, dessert, cocktails, whatever. And these could be based around types of dining experiences that have been suggested by several others: casual dinner at home, Valentine's dinner for 2, picnic for a hike or for the beach, summer backyard BBQ, etc. That way maybe 2 or 3 sides and 2 or 3 appetizer can be recommended as options for an entree. Regional and cultural influences could easily be integrated. Techniques and photos can easily be folded in. Maybe the book comes with a CD of videos of techniques that people can see. I'm taking Italian lessons right now and our text includes a CD that has been invaluable to me.

Funny I should read this today, as I happen to be brainstorming ideas for cookbooks. Perhaps cook a different recipe each week that is dated exactly 100 years prior to the day you are cooking. I'll expand on this idea Wednesday!

So I've been thinking about this and decided to go to my cookbooks to see what I buy for myself or what others have purchased for me. They seem to fall into a few categories:

1. Easy/quick to prepare: as a single mom working full time, this is the necessary fall-back, with either a small number of ingredients or a short amount of time.
2. A certain type of food item, like soups, casseroles.
3. Centered around an appliance, mostly my crockpot.
4. Regional food, although not the region where I live. Being in Northern California, 20 mins. from Napa, this was surprising even to me. Most of my regions were actually, well, New Orleans.
5. Ethnic or heritage cooking. My parents are Dutch, so I've collected a few Dutch and Indonesian cookbooks to imitate the food I grew up with.

The books that I have which are all-encompassing are those that have been handed down to me and I use them only when really "stuck" on basic cooking techniques, substitution ideas, or a classic recipe.

I agree that my favorite feature on the site are the videos! I love seeing how things can really work in a real kitchen.

Frankly, I love that this is a place to get creative ideas about foods I've made before, plus inspiration for foods I might never have tried. And maybe that's the key - inspiration, innovation, and new twists on food that works at home.

I look periodically at the table of contents for Book 1, which confirms my view that this work / this concept is brilliant. I seriously doubt that you would have any trouble receiving a lot of great recipes for another 52 contests. In fact, you will receive more and more, as the membership grows (as seen by the trend in recent months of an increasing number of excellent, interesting recipes being submitted for each contest). This concept is unique, and it's working beautifully. I ask, why should we do anything else? As long as we have new content, new ideas and new contests to look forward to from week to week, you can count on me -- and hundreds of others, I hazard to guess -- to stick around and continue to enjoy the excitement and inspiration found here.

Cookbook? Based on what I've seen in some pretty trendy restaurants these days, I'd like to see "Comfort Food Revisited: New Twists to Old Classics". But I like the regional idea, too...although international might be overdone a bit. American regional, or state-by-state, might be interesting (although I think you might be hard-pressed to find original recipes attributed to some states!). And when you think about it, with American being such a melting pot, you'd end up with a lot of internationally flavored food anyway!

I like the idea of sharing the glory with excellent cooks. In selecting them, you should try to look for different ethnicities, cultures, locations, states, types of food like Chinese or Italian, and that would give it variety. So the second category beyond ”the cook of the week“ would set the tone: ethnicity, locations (west,north south, countries), countries of the world, etc.. I would love to see faces in addition to dishes.

What about a few weekly menus that play on the regional theme? For example, "Around the World in 7 Days" and you do a recipe from every continent? You could do it based on common road trips as well - "A Week in the Northeast" or Up the Cali Coast?

Agree with monkeymum and eat boutique. I've seen a lot of cookbooks (I used to manage the Julia Child Cookbook Awards), and to me it appears those that succeed have a strong identity/personality. Collections of recipes from multiple sources work well online not so in books as they lack this critical factor, so proceed with care on this angle. A book covering 50 states is too board a topic and variations have been done. Updating old family recipes for health and new flavors is a good idea and done a lot in magazines, so you'd have to put a new spin on this to work; but this fits very well with your current online audience. Seasonality while a hot topic I'm sure is 'old hat' in the publishing as I suspect there are many cookbooks covering this theme are already in the pipeline, anyway what is seasonal is NYC is not the same in NOLA or SF. You've got a lot of great ideas here I've no doubt you'll choose wisely!

Great news, with limitless resources like this community there are limitless possibilities for books.
I like the idea of seasonal menus. Of course, different regions of the world have different
Ingredients available at any given point so the international aspect is key. I also like the "peak under the tent" idea -
Kitchen tips, unique ingredient ideas, kitchen tours. And an iphone app.

So many great ideas here!

I really like the idea of seasonal recipes (I'm never in the mood for asparagus in November), organizing around menus (holidays/occasions), and doing "behind the scenes" back stories.

I agree with some of you that regional could bring some limitations--on the other hand, I love reading about regional cooking in Saveur (for example) even if it's hard to duplicate in my own home kitchen--I like that kitchen cultural anthropology. What about 2-3 different regional takes on the same dish/menu? How we do it in Kansas vs. how we do it in Ireland?

And speaking of regions and the US, I keep thinking of The Unknown Chef's rants about America's lack of culinary tradition--this could be a chance to, I don't know, maybe redeem American culinary tradition, or reveal what gets obliterated by the noise of chains and fast food. (I know, Food 52 also has a solid international following, too.)

I thought the Thanksgiving photo essay idea was brilliant and I loved seeing the photos submitted within the day of the holiday, all around the country. So I'd like to see more of those collaborative and visual elements, especially of the special and collective moments we celebrate and cook for. Love the seasonal idea also--when those first green things start to pop up at our farmers markets, we need ideas and improvs. And also the cooking collective would be a great resource for solving dilemmas about what to do with the crop of zucchini when you are tired of zucchini! I loved Amanda's book The Cook and the Gardener, so maybe a theme could be developed from that using the whole F52 community's experiences.

I am on the road right now, and can't write much, but how about a virtual potluck menu centered around seasonal/regional/international themes? The contest would ask for a theme-appropriate appetizer, salad, main course, side, dessert, beverage etc. to which food52 members contribute and then vote. The shop could address specific ingredients or equipment unique to the theme. If a F52 member lives or has roots in a relevant region, their kitchen/home/garden/family photos could be shown. And if someone has history or expertise on the theme then they can opt to submit a brief essay that could be intergrated as a forward.
Yay Food52!

What I like best about Food 52 and why I come here to look for a certain recipe is because I know you are testing the recipes, giving your comments, describing the food---most of the recipes over the internet have not been tested and cant' be trusted. I like knowing that your recommendations will work--they may not all be to my specific liking, but then I can make changes the next time. But the FIRST time I make one of your recommendations, it will be good--what I envisioned from what you wrote....with so little time and money to waste, I go to the sources--Cookbooks, Magazines, Articles, Blogs, Internet Sites, Professional Chefs whatever, that have been tried and true to me in the past--and Food 52 is one of them now.

That being said, keep it international, keep it annual and keep expanding the world of great cooks and recipes out there for all of us to enjoy...don't know if this helps.

When I look around my friends, it seems the trends of why we all buy cookbooks has dramatically changed. We're no longer looking for some great recipes in a book since they're now at our fingertips on computer keys. Most people I know now are getting their recipes from the internet through a large host of sites and have been happy with the results of that in their kitchens. What I and my friends buy cookbooks for now are ideas around techniques and ingredients that we might not be as familiar with. We buy cookbooks for information. And as we increasingly become a global culture, I see people more interested in how to infuse Asian or Indian or Japanese or Peruvian ingredidents and cooking techniques into our dinners and not a wealth of resources available yet on how to do that. They want to know about those ingredients, how to work with them, and what flavors they can go with. I also like the idea of arranging the book as menus around different kinds of gatherings. And I definitely like the idea of having a least a section devoted to healthy eating. We can have some great food with great flavor without all the butter, cheese, cream and sugar (not that I don't LOVE all those things). But I'm looking for less temptation, not more....

I think it would be pretty timely and especially relevant given the state of our nation's health (and the obesity and diabetes levels of our children) to think about devoting at least a segment of Food52 to recipes that emphasize healthy eating. Not that there's anything wrong with 20 lbs of butter! It's just that perhaps we could be helpful to those in need of lighter but equally creative and flavorful food.

What do you all look for in a cookbook? What makes your favorite cookbook the one you turn to over and over again?

Sure believe this discussion will go on for some time but I know I won't be able to sleep tonite until I send some of my first thoughts back to you. I'm new to F52 since right before Christmas and I gotta say what a presence it is in my life now. Finding so many that relate, react and respond to cooking the way I have (outside of the true professional culinary world) is gratifying beyond measure. We are speaking a familiar language among ourselves and you ladies are my heroines for giving us this voice. Okay, so I know evolution is inevitable but I don't want this format to change...just yet! The cooks who have been in this from the beginning and probably Amanda and Merrill, too, might find all this a bit stale going into a new year but there are plenty of others who are new to this, embracing and appreciating the challenging aspect of the contests without being overwhelmed by lots of perimeters. There's always so much pressure to tweak the great ideas. Rambling aside, the surprise to learn the next week's contest is the best and keeps one coming back for more. Keep it international for sure.Menus? That needs more feedback from the community.

I agree that the regional idea is a little limiting, as it would disclude those not in the U.S., and thus limit some very interesting recipes with ingredients and techniques we may not be familiar with here. I like the “menu theme” idea – i.e. picnics, brunch, spring menu, etc. What about also having a theme per season w/ local ingredients relevant to that cook’s geographical location, i.e.: brunch in spring, winter stews in fall, or desserts in summer, utilizing fresh local produce.

Keep it international. Food52 is a global community. If possible, I’d love to see 4-season menus in our cookbook (breakfast/lunch/dinner, starters, entrees, sides, desserts, drinks for each season) with special celebratory menu themes thrown in, e.g. Holidays, Friends Hanging Out on the Back Deck, Beach Party, Apple Picking in the Orchard, Picnic in the Park, Book Club Dinner. These are moments that could take place anywhere in the world.

I am a newcomer to Food 52, so I am pleased to hear it is proceeding on. I just love the community that you have built here. I feel revived almost on a daily basis to keep cooking and striving for my family and friends by these amazingly passionate people. Just keep the community going. On a side note, I think the surprise element of the weekly contest keeps it sincere and not too choreographed. This is really what people are cooking for their families.

First of all... You have to embrace the idea that "Food52" is going to be around for a LONG time. Now that you know that you have built something that LIVES and THRIVES and will be around for a while, don't waste time worrying the next one might be the last one. It won't!

Regionality is problematic. Would it be "Food52" does Southwest? "Food52" Does Cajun?

You have been successful enough that you inherently have resources that are not just USA-regional, but encompass international ingredients, flavors, and techniques.

I would suggest types of food. "Food 52 Does Meat" would be a no-brainer. I believe, with the cooks you have today, you could do 52 weeks of pork, 52 weeks of beef, 52 weeks of chicken, etc. Maybe 52 weeks of lamb and other less common meats and offal. You could easily do 52 weeks of starters/appetizers. 52 weeks of desserts is a no-brainer. 52 weeks of sides? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? We're talking Volumes 1, 2, and 3.

You have developed such GREAT resources among the home cooks you have today - and it's only going to grow - that you have to actually think smaller, more precise. Do you not think you could do 52 weeks of pasta and grains? Volume 1..?

To be more inclusive, perhaps you would consider - instead of giving one chef one week's recipe - giving one chef input into one week's theme, with a heavily-weighted vote in the result. Let one outstanding chef choose the theme and judge the result - along with Amanda and Merrill.

Most important, don't sell yourselves and your community short. THIS LIVES! This can go on for a long time, so don't try to get your arms around everything with each opportunity. There will be more books to come.

On a personal note, I just want to say how great this idea was—a community cookbook. Congratulations on your first contract and what sounds like a 2nd contract in progress! My personal suggestions are from the standpoint of an art director at one of those big publishing companies in N.Y. and as a foodie, like everyone else here! I think that we're living in a pretty global community and the recipes I see being submitted to this site are pretty international and varied in scope. It would be great to keep the spontaneity and element of surprise for future weekly contests. I just wonder if creating a regional cuisine might limit the contributions you get? Is the food52 community well represented in the first place? That might be a logistical question for you or a marketing issue. I love seeing menus in cookbooks and regional and even international dishes would make that even more interesting. On a more techie note, if your publisher has the forethought, you could supplement your future Ipad version of this cookbook with the videos you've already produced. I'm sure that will make your videographer very happy!

As a student of food history I really like the regional idea (like a whole lot). I admit to spending an indecent amount of money for a first edition of Sheila Hibben's AMERICAN REGIONAL COOKERY published in 1946. I have my mother's first edition of THE NEW YORK TIMES COOKBOOK, but a book to look at as a model could be SAVEUR COOKS AUTHENTIC AMERICAN from back in the day when Saveur (under Coleman Andrews) was still worth reading.
Statewise, I wouldn't want to be responsible for Oklahoma or the Dakotas. But you could also group states into sub-regional themes like say, "Panhandle", "Carolinas" or worse "Flyover States." California like Italy has very different traditions depending on where you happen to be. Louisiana is a whole other can of worms.
All of that said, I like the region idea but not "state of the week" which is too Wolf Blitzer.

That's terrific that you already have your book contract for #2 even before having the design/concept worked out. Your publisher must love you almost as much as we do!! One of my favorite things about the way Book 1 is organized is that we don't know from week to week what the categories in the future (other than the next current one, and then only a day or two before) will be. The element of surprise makes it so fun! Thank you -- and your publisher -- for opening up for discussion, and allowing at least some collaborative input on, the organization/underlying activities that will be used for Book 2.

I'm with monkeymom and Jennifer Ann- you have a beautiful and original idea that is far from becoming anything but innovative. I do like the menu idea because it gives life to at least another 52 themes...I'm just worried when you will sneak in a vacation/take a break/recharge batteries, etc!

I really like how this first year of Food52 has been inclusive...it flushes out an international feel while at the same time drawing a community together. It seems to be gaining momentum in that way... you may not want to lose that by narrowing too closely on specific geographical regions. On another note, I really like Jennifer Ann's idea about menus. Maybe people could not only vote on which items each week, but also vote on the menu themes for the following week from a list of editor picks. This would retain the global feel and the community aspect as well.

I always love cookbooks with menu ideas - it would be fun to spin a contest or two or three around an entire meal (what you served for brunch, Friday night cards, picnic in the park, boss is coming to dinner . . .)

There are two things that I love about Food 52, which I hope can be preserved in round two.

1.) The Food 52 project is an apt 21st century interpretation of the community cookbook-- its community is global, inclusive and exploits the internet in the best possible way, making a truly interactive experience.

2.) The finalist recipes are all remarkable for their accessibility to home cooks and each seems to have something special that I never thought of. I've grown attached to the secret ingredients and cool techniques. I bet there are so many more out there.

Hmm...time to simmer some ideas. Glad to see it will keep on going.

I'm so happy that this project will continue after June! I have learned so much from so many talented cooks. One idea for book two might be to single out two cooks each week to suggest the themes that everyone else will submit recipes for, sort of in the manner of Tuesdays with Dorie. I also like the regional idea.

P.S. I like your shortening joke :)

I'll definitely need to give this one a lot more thought, but in the meantime, here are a few observations. What will make the current book great, ultimately, is that the recipes will all have been curated. So the book will be balanced, and interesting, and useful. The project is ultimately about the book, and not just about us -- the cooks and the community. So let's all keep that in mind. We want the next year to be fun and interesting, but we also want to create an excellent cookbook that people will turn to and use, and without hesitation will designate as their favorite cookbook when filling out their profiles. ;o)