Weekly Wrap-Up: 11/3-11/9

In case you missed them, here’s a wrap up of our favorite blog posts of the week. Read, get inspired, and start cooking!

 

Ingredient Spotlight: Chard That other leafy green gets plenty of attention, but we love chard for its nutritious versatility. Find out how to choose, store and prepare it this season, straight from the Williams-Sonoma Test Kitchen!

Our Expert Thanksgiving Timeline To pull off the perfect Thanksgiving feast, you need a plan. We turned to Natasha Gandhi-Rue, Williams-Sonoma culinary expert and French Culinary Institute graduate. Besides being the mastermind behind our in-store technique and cooking classes, Natasha has hosted many a holiday dinner for friends and family — and she has her timeline down to a science. Read on for her expert tips!

Fish Roasted with Shiitake Mushrooms Packed with umami, shiitake mushrooms add a savory, meaty quality to simply roasted fish. Try this recipe with salmon fillets, too.

Recipe Roundup: Thanksgiving Appetizers Start your Thanksgiving feast off on a delicious note with small bites that feature the season’s best ingredients and flavors. Here are some of our favorite no-fuss nibbles — they’ll keep friends and family happy while they wait for the feast to begin.

What We’re Reading: Inside the Test Kitchen by Tyler Florence In his new book Inside the Test Kitchen, Chef Tyler Florence shares creative new twists on old-fashioned comfort foods. Along with the recipes, he shares the trials he held to create each dish in his Test Kitchen in Mill Valley, California, where he and his team brainstormed, cooked and tasted their way through the book. Here’s a sneak peek of recipes from Inside the Test Kitchen, out this month!

Recipe Roundup: Green Beans Green beans are one of the many great — and delicious — Thanksgiving traditions. Here are some of our favorite side dishes featuring green beans (hint: you don’t have to save them for the holiday feast)!

How to Fry a Turkey Frying the Thanksgiving turkey has caught on, and it’s easy to see why: the skin becomes dark and crispy, while the meat remains tender and juicy. Here are some tips for pulling it off at home, plus a recipe!

Crepes Suzette Crepes suzette were made famous in elegant Parisian restaurants at the turn of the twentieth century and have become standard French dessert fare. They are dramatic and utterly delicious.

A Vegetarian Thanksgiving Dinner Here’s a Thanksgiving menu that skips the turkey and meat but pulls out all the other stops. With the rich, warm flavors of brown butter, sweet pumpkin, bright red fruits and deep, dark chocolate, these dishes will wow everyone at the table — vegetarian or not.

Herbed Roast Chicken with Lemon, Garlic and Red Onions In this recipe a compound butter—softened butter combined with herbs, lemon zest and garlic—adds flavor to a roast chicken for a one-dish meal that’s easy enough for a family Sunday supper but also elegant enough for guests.

Recipe Roundup: Thanksgiving Pies It’s the grand finale for our favorite meal of the year: the Thanksgiving pie! Whether you swear by the classics or are looking for a sweet new spin, these autumnal recipes have you covered. Keep reading, and get inspired to start baking.

Crab and Corn Cakes with Sweet and Spicy Dipping Sauce Corn pairs well with delicate crabmeat in these crispy cakes. The easy mayonnaise-based dipping sauce, a heady mix of heat, sweet and tart, is the ideal bright, bold accompaniment. Serve as a starter at a dinner party, enjoy them as an hors d’oeuvre with a bottle of sparkling wine, or treat your family to a weekend brunch with these as the centerpiece.

Thanksgiving Menu: New Traditions at the Table For most people it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without old-fashioned favorites like turkey, mashed potatoes and green bean casserole on the table, and here we give you some of our best versions of these time-tested classics. But adding a few unexpected touches, like elegant appetizers, sparkling cocktails and a decadent chocolate tart, will ensure this Thanksgiving is a truly memorable celebration.

Classic Popovers with Fruit Jam If more people knew how utterly easy they are to make, feather-light popovers would be served at every brunch. Their crusty surfaces and hollow interiors are the perfect medium for warm butter and your favorite fruit jam or preserves.