r/52weeksofcooking • u/aleckscasablancs • 4h ago
Week 43: Y2K - "So what, no fuckin’ ziti now?" Sopranos Ziti
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r/52weeksofcooking • u/52WeeksOfCooking • Dec 08 '25
2026 Weekly Challenge List
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/r/52weeksofcooking is a way for each participant to challenge themselves to cook something different each week. The technicalities of each week's theme are largely unimportant, and are always open to interpretation. Basically, if you can make an argument for your dish being relevant to the theme, then it's fine.
- Week 1: January 1st - January 7th: Inspired by a Joke
- Week 2: January 8 - January 14: Singaporean
- Week 3: January 15 - January 21: Contrasts
- Week 4: January 22 - January 28: Vinegar
- Week 5: January 29 - February 4: Ugandan
- Week 6: February 5 - February 11: Hotpot
- Week 7: February 12 - February 18: Sugar
- Week 8: February 19 - February 25: Flying
- Week 9: February 26 - March 4: Braising
- Week 10: March 5 - March 11: Turnips and Radishes
- Week 11: March 12 - March 18: Oddly Named
- Week 12: March 19 - March 25: Fictional Places
- Week 13: March 26 - April 1: Chilis
- Week 14: April 2 - April 8: Hanami
- Week 15: April 9 - April 15: Syrian
- Week 16: April 16 - April 22: Infused
- Week 17: April 23 - April 29: Alpine
- Week 18: April 30 - May 6: Bucket List Destination
- Week 19: May 7 - May 13: Tricolor
- Week 20: May 14 - May 20: Jams and Jellies
- Week 21: May 21 - May 27: Symmetry
- Week 22: May 28 - June 3: Fifteen Minutes or Less
- Week 23: June 4 - June 10: Coffee
- Week 24: June 11 - June 17: Tarot
- Week 25: June 18 - June 24: Gardening
- Week 26: June 25 - July 1: High-fiber
- Week 27: July 2 - July 8: World Cup
- Week 28: July 9 - July 15: Wild West
- Week 29: July 16 - July 22: Offal
- Week 30: July 23 - July 29: Science Fair
- Week 31: July 30 - August 5: Cantonese
- Week 32: August 6 - August 12: Gimmicks
- Week 33: August 13 - August 19: Lost in Translation
- Week 34: August 20 - August 26: Trinidadian
- Week 35: August 27 - September 2: Rolling
- Week 36: September 3 - September 9: Ginger
- Week 37: September 10 - September 16: Same Longitude
- Week 38: September 17 - September 23: High-hydration dough
- Week 39: September 24 - September 30: Pears
- Week 40: October 1 - October 7: Cottagecore
- Week 41: October 8 - October 14: Velveting
- Week 42: October 15 - October 21: Taro
- Week 43: October 22 - October 28: Y2K
- Week 44: October 29 - November 4: Southern Italian
- Week 45: November 5 - November 11: Nuts
Join our Discord to get pinged whenever a new week is announced! (React to the stickied comment in the #planning channel!)
r/52weeksofcooking • u/52WeeksOfCooking • 6d ago
Week 42 Introduction Thread: Taro
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This week’s cooking theme is taro, a starchy, earthy, and versatile tropical root that is one of the world's oldest cultivated crops.
Taro was an important food in South and Southeast Asia before spreading throughout the Pacific, where it became, and remains, a staple. It also traveled westward into Africa and later the Caribbean and Latin America, becoming an essential source of carbs and calories in many communities.
Taro goes by many names around the world: in Japan, it’s known as satoimo (and is a quintessential taste of autumn, associated with the moon); in Indian cooking, you may encounter arbi or arvi; in the Caribbean, dasheen and/or eddoe; in Portuguese-speaking countries, inhame can refer to taro or other tubers; and in parts of Africa and the Caribbean, cocoyam is used for taro and related aroids. If you're having trouble sourcing "taro", looking for it under its other names may yield results (especially if you look for it in Asian, South Asian, African, Caribbean, or Pacific Islander grocery stores, or online. It may be sold fresh, frozen, peeled, cut into chunks, or powdered.)
As an ingredient, taro is notable for its creamy texture when cooked, its ability to absorb surrounding flavors, and its usefulness in everything from savory stews to sweet desserts.
For example:
- Poi (Hawaii) -- taro mash
- Laing (Philippines) -- using taro leaves
- Taro cake (Southern China) -- dim sum!
- Arbi masala (India) -- curry time!
- Taro patties (Caribbean) -- crispy snacks
- Satoimo no nimono (Japan) -- it's how you know autumn is here
- Chè khoai môn (Vietnam) -- a sweet application with rice
- Kolokasi (Cyprus) -- pork and taro root stew
Taro boast an enviable nutrition profile, with water-soluble fiber (that's what makes it slimy) and more potassium than regular potatoes. Consider taking a potato-dish and swapping in taro as an experiment, like these taro fries or taro mashed potatoes.
If acquiring taro is a stretch, you can go the other direction and take a classic taro recipe from any culture and incorporate a replacement. For example, poi'uala (poi with sweet potatoes), calalloo with spinach leaves in place of dasheen, or cocoyam-less fufu with potato flakes and tapioca starch.
From fresh satoimo to frozen taro and creative substitutes, this week let's explore an ingredient whose culinary history spans continents, cultures, and thousands of years.
r/52weeksofcooking • u/Annabellemcintyre2 • 8h ago
Week 43: Y2K - Y2K Leopard Heart Chocolate Cake
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I searched Y2K cakes online and took inspiration from what came up - heart cakes, leopard/cheetah prints, bright colours, etc, to make this cake. I made a heart chocolate cake, filled it with pink vanilla buttercream, spread some more buttercream around and on top of the cake, then placed edible leopard wafer paper strips around and on top of the cake. I piped some more buttercream on the cake, then added sone black bows on the sides of the cake. I also topped the cake with white chocolate (tinted pink) 'Y2K' word.
So I ordered a leopard wafer circle top for my cake, but I didn't read the description properly and it was so tiny and way lighter than the leopard strips, so I just cut some strips to put on top. It doesn't look as professional, but I found it hilarious because it is a Y2K cake - which originally refers to the computer glitch. So I had a glitch for my Y2K cake but it's all fine in the end! No need to fear! 🤣 This cake was a big hit - yes that is one of my daughters trying to grab the cake in photo 4, I could barely get my photos done in time. 😅
r/52weeksofcooking • u/Noyau_Nyx • 2h ago
Week 42: Taro - Star Wars Blue Milk (Meta: Sci-Fi & Fantasy)
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r/52weeksofcooking • u/Modboi • 1h ago
Week 40: Cottagecore - “Rustic” (Failed) Cottage Cheese Dumplings - (Meta: Low Allium)
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r/52weeksofcooking • u/Pinkbasil • 1h ago
Week 39: pears - honey and cinnamon baked pears with honey ice cream
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r/52weeksofcooking • u/WorldCookingAdvnture • 17m ago
Week 42: Taro- Pollo en crema guatemalteca w/ ube tortillas (Meta: Latin American 🇬🇹)
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Yes, I know ube is not the same thing as taro… but same concept/flavor.
r/52weeksofcooking • u/aryn240 • 5h ago
Week 42: Taro - An Incredibly Gummy Taro Ice Cream
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Tastes awesome. Added way too much vanilla pudding mix (to add fat / creaminess) and it's difficult to eat too much of it at once. Shout-out to my boi ninja creami
r/52weeksofcooking • u/pajamakitten • 4h ago
Week 42: Taro: Tahini, Almond, Raspberry, Orange Ice Cream
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r/52weeksofcooking • u/ETDuckQueen • 7h ago
Week 39: Pears - Caramel Pear Pudding (Meta: Bucket List)
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Write-up pending.
r/52weeksofcooking • u/Marx0r • 1h ago
Week 42: Taro - Taro Ice Cream and Congee (Meta: Entree, Dessert)
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r/52weeksofcooking • u/laylaholic • 4h ago
Week 42: Taro (t) - "The Rooster" Skillet Chicken Thighs with a Red Wine Sauce
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r/52weeksofcooking • u/morelbolete • 18h ago
Week 42: Taro -Tea eggs with Anice, Red cabbage and Oystersauce
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Tried to come up with something with the letters T. A. R. O. but was more difficult then expected. this is the result :) Maybe it should be Taross since it also has spring onions and soy sauce. I hoped the red cabbage would make it a bit more like in the color of Taro, but that didn't happen. Taste is good :)
r/52weeksofcooking • u/ShimmeringIce • 20h ago
Week 39: Pears - Pear Gorgonzola Pasta
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I was inspired by all the other pear-gorgonzola combos from this week ^^
Still doing some simple recipes because I'm still drowning in class work. This one was satisfyingly simple though, and very good for how fast it comes together. I will be fiddling with this one with my remaining ingredients. I think this would go pretty hard with some gnocchi and I'm excited to try it out.
Recipe: https://theshortordercook.com/caramelized-pear-gorgonzola-pasta/
r/52weeksofcooking • u/Brilliant_Standard32 • 1d ago
Week 42: Taro - Spicy Taro Bisque (Meta: Soup)
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r/52weeksofcooking • u/LveeD • 1d ago
Week 42: Taro - Taro chip crusted chicken tenders with honey mustard sauce
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Taro was an interesting choice for this week. I’m on year three of doing this challenge and this is honestly the first I’ve struggled with. Taro is super hard to find around here and I live in Fort Lauderdale with ample Latin markets and Asian markets at my fingertips. Even my local grocery store usually has it but everywhere was out. 7 grocery stores before deciding on Taro Chips, another three before I found them. But the end result was delicious!! Easy to make, kinda healthy since it was baked, definitely crunchy, super tasty, but not worth the stress or effort to source Taro.
