Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

Try New Things: Gai Lan

We love all veggies (yes, even beets!), but there are some that really suit our fancy. Gai lan is one! Sometimes called Chinese broccoli, gai lan is, well, not particularly extraordinary. It’s relatively neutral in flavor, a lot like regular old broccoli, with a familiar texture (yup, like broccoli!). It […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

Making Stuffed Pasta

When making stuffed pasta, you may choose to add a small amount of oil to the dough to help it stick together better when sealed around a filling. Roll the pasta out to the thinnest setting on a pasta machine. While rolling and filling one portion of the dough, keep […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

Building a Cheese Plate

Building a great cheese plate requires a basic familiarity with the profiles of the cheeses offered and their capacity to be other food and drink. Of course, you can’t know every cheese—but that’s what cheesemongers are for. They wait behind their counter to find exactly the cheeses you need, based […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

5 of Our Favorite Thanksgiving Desserts

Still looking for something sweet to serve for Thanksgiving dessert? Try one of these—5 of our favorite recipes, any one the perfect end to an extraordinary meal. Maple Pumpkin Pie We think every Thanksgiving table should have a pumpkin pie, and we love this maple version with whipped cream topping. […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

How to Roll Out Pastry Crust

To roll pastry dough, lightly dust a cold work surface, the top of the dough, and rolling pin with bench flour (an unmeasured bowl of all-purpose flour used to flour the dough and work surface). Press the dough from the center, roll it out in one direction, and then roll […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

What To Eat When Turkey is Off the Table

There are plenty of reasons why people may choose not to serve a Thanksgiving turkey, but that doesn’t mean your meal has to be anything less than special. Meat and poultry is a huge focus of holiday menus, and while we love a roast, it’s not always right for every […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

Cooking Methods and Suitable Vegetables

Popular belief suggests that it is better to eat vegetables raw or undercooked, as heating supposedly strips the produce of its nutritional benefits. In rare cases, or if the vegetable is poorly prepared, this might be true. Properly executed, cooking actually improves palatability and digestibility as well as nutritional accessibility. […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

Decorate Your Pie Crust with Cut-Out Shapes

For a festive pie, look to your cookie cutters! Whether you are celebrating Halloween, the first day of school, or a pie-lover’s birthday, you can use your chilled pie dough to create a decorative crust. To make a decorative edge with cutout shapes, roll chilled dough scraps to ⅛-inch thick. […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

Make it Yourself: Pumpkin Purée

Sugar pumpkins (also termed pie or cheese pumpkins) are smaller, sweeter, and more tender and flavorful than pumpkins used for carving Jack-o’-lanterns. The flesh of this variety of pumpkin has a creamier, less stringy flesh. Choose smooth, deep orange pumpkins that are heavy for their size and without cracks or […]