Food Crimes, Homemade Burgers, Whole Hogs: 10 Hot Topics On Food Republic

With temperatures reaching unbearable highs across the country, you might find yourself staying indoors this weekend. But what to do? We've got you covered here at Food Republic. You could start by binge-watching all three seasons of The Mind of a Chef, available on Netflix starting tomorrow. Mix things up between episodes by watching the second installment of our original series Food Crimes, in which we investigate the rarefied world of saffron — both as the world's most precious and valuable spice and as a lesser-known commodity tied up in the nuclear-armament dealings between the U.S., its allies at the U.N. and the ostracized outlier Iran. As a snack break, why don't you incorporate some of our homemade burger advice and put together our popular broccolini recipe? Find yourself with some serious time (and ambition) on your hands? Check out our guide to cooking a whole hog. All that and more on this week's Hot Topics on Food Republic.

  • We launched episode two of our original series Food Crimes, investigating saffron.
  • Here's how gritty NYC history inspired the city's acclaimed Dead Rabbit bar.
  • Binge time! The Mind of a Chef season three is available on Netflix this weekend.
  • How do you make the perfect homemade burger? We've got you covered.
  • A Paris food writer tells us where to eat in her city.
  • Go ham! Here's how to properly cook a whole hog at home.
  • Allow us to tell you why Indian pickle is a great condiment.
  • Mix up this vegetarian broccolini recipe with grilled lemon, pine nuts and chili.
  • We ask bartenders about their favorite moments from Tales of the Cocktail.
  • Meet Abe Schoener, the wine world's enigmatic cult hero.