In case you missed them, here’s a wrap up of our favorite blog posts of the week. Read, get inspired, and start cooking!
Steamed Tofu with Greens & Peanut Sauce This is a virtuous vegetarian dinner, with nutrients from the cabbage and spinach, and protein from the tofu. The steaming technique is quick and lean, limiting the fat content to the healthy fats from coconut milk and peanut butter in the rich sauce. |
Ingredient Spotlight: Mushrooms There’s no substitute for the rich, meaty flavor and delicate texture of mushrooms, from wide portobellos to aromatic porcini and prized morels. Learn how to choose, prep and cook with mushrooms, with new ideas straight from the Williams-Sonoma Test Kitchen. |
Best of the Web: Summer Sendoff As summer fades into fall, now is the time to savor the last of the season’s best flavors! Here are recipes from some of our favorite blogs that we’ll be cooking before the leaves change and temperatures cool down for good. |
Q&A with Chef Thomas McNaughton
Meet Thomas McNaughton, chef at flour + water, central kitchen and salumeria in San Francisco and author of the new book Flour + Water: Pasta. Here, Thomas tells us what he loves about pasta — and how he devoted a whole room in the restaurant to making it! – and why his future plans include starting a goat farm. Read on! |
Cooking with Beer Beer isn’t just for sipping — it can be an ingredient, too. Try using one of your favorite brews in these recipes (just in time for Oktoberfest!), and save the rest of the bottle for the chef. |
Roasted Pears with Honey and Yogurt In this recipe, fresh bay leaves lend aromas of pine and white pepper—flavors typically reserved for savory dishes—to a simple dessert of honeyed pears. Toasted almonds and amaretto round out the mix, and a dollop of tart Greek-style yogurt brings it all together. |
What We’re Reading: Flour + Water: Pasta
Homemade pasta is a labor of love, but the result is a perfect marriage of texture and flavor. When you’re ready to master it at home, there’s no better teacher than Chef Thomas McNaughton, author of the new cookbook Flour + Water: Pasta. Try these autumnal recipes from the book, then pick up a copy to take your pasta skills to the next level. |
Stuffed Pasta 101 Here, Chef Thomas McNaughton shares a few guidelines for making stuffed pasta and answers our questions about how to pull it off at home. |
Lamb Burgers With Red Onion–Cumin Sauce Lamb patties are as appealing as beef, particularly when seasoned with cumin and allspice. Spoon gently spiced creamy yogurt sauce on top, then add the last of the summer tomatoes. Serve with chips and a vegetable salad. |
How to Cook Pasta When we partnered with Chef Thomas McNaughton this month upon the release of Flour + Water: Pasta, we started by asking him the basics: what’s really the best way to cook pasta? As it turns out, the answer is more nuanced than you’d think — and there are plenty of ways to improve on something you’ve been doing the same way for years. |
Weekend Project: Make Your Own Sauerkraut There are plenty of reasons to make sauerkraut: it’s economical, long-lasting and packed with nutrition. But most importantly, homemade sauerkraut is infinitely more delicious than what you can buy in stores. Here’s a recipe to get you started! |
Burrata with Grilled Bread and Heirloom Tomatoes Using burrata, a mozzarella-type Italian cheese with a creamy center, makes this appetizer particularly decadent, but you could also use buffalo mozzarella or a soft goat cheese if you prefer. In winter, substitute oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes for the heirlooms — but make the most of the fresh ones while they’re still in season. |
Celebrate Oktoberfest! Oktoberfest kicks off this weekend! No matter where you are, you can celebrate with steins of cold beer, sizzling sausages, and mounds of tangy sauerkraut. Invite friends over and enjoy a hearty menu — we have all the recipes you need. |
Egg Sandwiches with Wilted Spinach This egg sandwich is special enough for a weekend brunch, but quick enough to assemble for weekday mornings; baking the eggs instead of frying adds to the ease. If you don’t have Manchego cheese, try using a sharp white Cheddar. |
Pulled Chicken Sliders with Apple-Jicama Relish Here, jicama is mixed with apples and red onions to form a slaw that adds a nice crunch to moist pulled chicken. The recipe calls for poaching a whole chicken, which is a method of cooking tender, delicious meat without the added fat. |