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

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 […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus, Family Fun

Spooky Cookies and Cupcakes for Halloween

Are you afraid of ghosts? Monsters? Zombies!? For Halloween treat inspiration, we look to the creepy crawlies, and this easy spider web design can be used to make creepy cupcakes, spoooooky coooookies, and cakes or pizza that will give you goosebumps! For these cupcakes, we rolled pre-made fondant (you can […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus, Family Fun

Supremely Spooky Pizzas for Halloween

Small foodies may have candy on the brain, but before they start their whirlwind foraging expedition, little ghosts, cowgirls—and hopefully a tiny chef or two!?—need some food-fuel. Since it is Halloween, dinner needs to be fun and maybe a little spooky! For your sake, it should also be easy. We […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

Roasted Tomato Bisque

Makes 4 to 6 servings Roasting the tomatoes adds an unusual twist to this bisque. If you prefer, you can substitute sun-dried tomatoes (not oil-packed) for the roasted tomatoes. Ingredients 2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil 1 1/4 cups diced onion 1/2 cup diced celery 1 1/4 cups diced leek […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

How to Prepare a Bisque

A good bisque reflects the flavor of the main ingredient. If you have added cream to round out and mellow the soup, it should not mask the main flavor. All bisques are slightly coarse or grainy, with a consistency similar to heavy cream. A crustacean bisque is pale pink or […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

How to: Roast Vegetables without a Recipe

As we ease into autumn, we can finally celebrate the return of roasting—especially vegetables. We love roasting because it is one of the most delicious ways to enjoy seasonal fall produce, like hard-skinned squash, cauliflower, fennel, and Brussels sprouts (color = flavor), as well as incredibly easy and hands-off. Even […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

14 Plant-Forward Fall Recipes

As the fall rolls in, you can put on some sweatpants and curl up with a cozy blanket. But you also need to nourish your belly with the flavors of the season. We’ve made a list of some of our best fall recipes which just happen to be plant-forward. Brussels […]