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Call for Genius Recipe Tips (+ More Greatest Hits)

December  6, 2013

Cooked something genius lately? We want to hear about it.

Call for Genius Recipe Tips from Food52  Call for Genius Recipe Tips from Food52  Call for Genius Recipe Tips from Food52

Call for Genius Recipe Tips from Food52  Call for Genius Recipe Tips from Food52  Call for Genius Recipe Tips from Food52

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Call for Genius Recipe Tips from Food52  Call for Genius Recipe Tips from Food52  Call for Genius Recipe Tips from Food52

These recipes look good, right? They are. We're lucky to know about them -- and it's all thanks to you!

I've said it time and again: there's no match for the Genius Recipes that the Food52 community sends my way -- the crazy new trick you tried last week, the soup you've been making for 20 years, the dessert your friends insist you bring to every party. You know they work, and why they're life-changing. And then -- you heroes -- you share them with us.

So this is your official reminder: keep those tips coming! A genius chicken technique? Or one for greens, or beans, or bread? We've unearthed 119 Genius Recipes so far. I can't wait to see (and cook) what else you have in store.

Got a genius recipe to share -- from a classic cookbook, an online source, or anywhere, really? Please send it my way (and tell me what's so smart about it) at [email protected] (or just tell us in the comments!).

Photos by James Ransom

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From our new podcast network, The Genius Recipe Tapes is lifelong Genius hunter Kristen Miglore’s 10-year-strong column in audio form, featuring all the uncut gems from the weekly column and video series. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts so you don’t miss out.

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See what other Food52 readers are saying.

  • saveur
    saveur
  • JulieBoulangerie
    JulieBoulangerie
  • lacrema
    lacrema
  • RavensFeast
    RavensFeast
  • gravy lessons
    gravy lessons
I'm an ex-economist, lifelong-Californian who moved to New York to work in food media in 2007, before returning to the land of Dutch Crunch bread and tri-tip barbecues in 2020. Dodgy career choices aside, I can't help but apply the rational tendencies of my former life to things like: recipe tweaking, digging up obscure facts about pizza, and deciding how many pastries to put in my purse for "later."

32 Comments

saveur August 17, 2014
And Nigella's clementine cake, in which whole clementines are used!
 
saveur August 17, 2014
Angela Liddon's glo bars

Something with cashew cream!
And these uber good truffles
http://tastespace.wordpress.com/2013/12/14/the-best-chocolate-truffles/
 
JulieBoulangerie May 3, 2014
Cathy Whim's Fruit Crisp, from Nostrana in Portland, Oregon.
http://www.oregonlive.com/foodday/index.ssf/2008/06/recipe_detail.html?id=8262&search=&q_dish=Desserts
It's so simple! Do what the restaurant does and put a little almond extract or perhaps amaretto spiked cream on top before serving it quite warm.
 
lacrema March 19, 2014
Smitten Kitchen's oven-roasted tomatoes http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/08/slow-roasted-tomatoes/ (I do them at 250 and store in oil). They are divine, require only garic, salt, and oil, and can be used on everything. I blend them into sauce, toss into pastas, use on pizza or bruschetta, put on sandwiches, blend into mayos-- they are beautiful and SO EASY.
 
RavensFeast January 29, 2014
Marcella Hazan's recipe for cabbage/arborio rice dish. Somewhere between a porridge and a risotto, comforting, simple and absolutely delicious. I cannot stop making it. Molly @ Orangette posted it a while back: http://orangette.blogspot.com/2013/12/approximately-soup.html
 
gravy L. January 8, 2014
Kienow's Bavarian Banana Cake is a favorite in our home and community. Sadly Kienow's closed years ago, but they shared their recipe with The Oregonian, so the cake lives on. http://food52.com/recipes/25822-bavarian-banana-cake
 
chrissyb December 14, 2013
This is my go-to recipe for cut-out sugar cookies. When I was younger, I had went through several sugar cookie recipes, but they wouldn't roll out good, but this one is pretty no-fail. http://www.landolakes.com/recipe/2217/best-ever-butter-cookies
 
arcane54 December 11, 2013
Momofuku's ginger scallion sauce on poached chicken.... or by the spoonful on anything.
 
Abbie C. December 9, 2013
David Lebovitz's warm sticky toffee pudding recipe is amazing and fool-proof. It's the perfect desert for this time of the year, or all year if you're a stp glutton like me...
 
Denise N. December 9, 2013
Porchetta stuffed with herbs, garlic and most of all -- and the most distinguishing ingredient -- fennel pollen. It transforms pork roast into something wonderous.
 
Aiala H. December 9, 2013
Veggie potato hamburger or black pepper and honey muffins! www.foodstyleforaliving.com
 
Robin O. December 8, 2013
Nigella's My Brown Bread from How to be a Domestic Goddess, Delia Smih's Flaky Fish Pie, Long Fusilli with Roasted Tomatoes by Lidia Bastianich, Beer Braised Short Ribs of Beef by James Villas and my husband's recipe for Shrimps in Whiskey! All so simple and so delicious!
 
Alan D. December 8, 2013
Another one is chicken with sumac. You can just rub chicken parts with sumac salt and pepper before roasting on a bed of onions, or roast it as in this recipe, adapted from Mary Laird Hammady's Lebanese Mountain Cooking: http://alandivack.blogspot.com/2010/03/chicken-with-sumac.html
 
Amy December 8, 2013
After boiling an egg, right after being rinsed in cold water, lightly crack it all around. Place a teaspoon thru a crack and under the membrane slightly pushing spoon with the curve of the egg. Once u get the hang of this it's amazing how effortlessly the shell comes off.
 
Alan D. December 8, 2013
When making chicken stew, do like they do in the Philippines with adobo: simmer the chicken first, then broil to brown while you reduce the sauce. No messy browning, and no flabby skin. I use it whenever I stew chicken with skin, but especially in this recipe for Armico, an old Sephardi chicken dish: http://alandivack.blogspot.com/2009/09/armico-sephardi-chicken-dish-for-before.html
 
DiggingDogFarm December 8, 2013
Edna Lewis' Chicken Stock.
Simple, fast and delicious!
Pure genius!
Quoting Edna from her book "In Pursuit of Flavor"....
"I do not believe in cooking stock for a long period of time; it loses its good taste."

I agree with Edna!
 
Angela December 8, 2013
Just tried Marcella Hazan's Rice and Smothered Cabbage Soup from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, which I found via Orangette and The Wednesday Chef. It was genius given the few ingredients, simplicity of preparation and seriously comforting result. A recipe to share widely and make over and over again this winter.

http://orangette.blogspot.com/2013/12/approximately-soup.html
http://wednesdaychef.typepad.com/the_wednesday_chef/2008/01/marcella-hazans.html
 
Nicole December 8, 2013
Grown-up Paleo chicken nuggets made with pork rind crust. Quick and easy, and seriously good. Especially when you're craving "naughty" food.
 
X December 8, 2013
Richard Olney's classic Brussels Sprouts Gratin with cream, bacon and breadcrumbs from Simple French Food (1974). I have been preparing this recipe for nearly 30 years. I have never found a Brussels sprouts recipe that even came close to this ones deliciousness. Converts all Brussels sprouts haters. My children used to beg for this dish (and still do when they come home).
 
Pegeen December 8, 2013
Cranberry relish adapted from James Beard

A genius recipe for a fast, delicious cranberry sauce to brighten up beef, pork or chicken.

Makes about 3-1/2 cups

- 1 lb (4 cups) fresh cranberries, rinsed and drained
- 1 small navel orange, quartered with peel left on
- 3/4 to 1 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons Grand Marnier liquor or bourbon

Equipment: food processor with metal blade

Add half of the cranberries (2 cups) and half of the orange (2 quarters) to food processor. Pulse a few times until mixture is coarsely chopped. Scrape out of food processor into a bowl. Add remaining cranberries and orange pieces to food processor, pulse a few times until coarsely chopped. Return first batch from bowl to food processor. Add ¾ cup sugar and Grand Marnier or bourbon. Pulse three or four times to mix. Taste and add more sugar as desired. (Pulse only once or twice to blend in sugar – you don’t want to pulverize the cranberries.)

Refrigerate in an air-tight container. Can be made several days ahead.
 
Pegeen December 8, 2013
Or turkey... or venison!