Entries tagged with 'Williams-Sonoma'
Page 1 of 1
[Photographs: Lucy Baker] The country's gone mad for fried chicken and so far I've kept my mouth shut. Truth be told, I'm a bit of a hater. It all began back in third grade when my class had a family recipe day. I cast my vote for chocolate donut cake (so named because it was baked in a tube pan), but my mother insisted on making the fried chicken she grew up with in Virginia. I remember shaking the raw chicken pieces in a brown paper bag filled with breadcrumbs, and watching safely from across the kitchen as my mom dropped each breast and drumstick into a hissing pot of hot oil. The next day I carried a platter...
Continue reading »
The ice cream, but in cake form. [Photographs: Lucy Baker] I've expounded in the past about my love for all things cookies and cream. Just as shaved black truffles always improve savory dishes, crumbled chocolate sandwich cookies never fail to elevate desserts to new heights. On a recent shopping trip to Williams-Sonoma, as I browsed the company's ever-expanding line of baking mixes, I came across a cookies and cream loaf cake ($10.50). Like most Williams-Sonoma products, it was expensive. But top-quality food is worth a splurge, and the box promised "real cream flavor" and "the aroma of an old-fashioned ice cream parlor." Sure, making a loaf cake from scratch and dumping in some crushed-up Oreos would be easy. Nonetheless, I...
Continue reading »
Williams-Sonoma, which also operates Pottery Barn and the West Elm chains, said Tuesday that quarterly profits fell 90 percent, reports the New York Times. They don't expect to see a boost again until the holiday season. Maybe by then people can start justifying that $500 Le Creuset Dutch oven....
Continue reading »
Christmas is here, and 'tis the season of splurging—when it comes to both cash and calories. On a recent shopping trip to Williams-Sonoma I couldn't resist picking up a box of this Sugarplum Crumble Specialty Bread Mix, which promised to be "a festive bread studded and swirled with sweet plums and topped with crystallized ginger streusel." The price seemed at little steep at $14.00, but the friendly sales associate persuaded me, with much eye rolling and gesticulation, saying that it was "brand new and absolutely amazing." Since I had offered to bring dessert to an upcoming holiday party, I figured, why not? Bread, loaf cake—what's the difference?...
Continue reading »
As winter, with its gray skies, whipping winds, and white Christmases rolls in, all I want at the end of the day (or in the morning when I first wake up, or right now, in the office) is a magically warming and charming and energizing cup of hot chocolate. But it seems like the only way to make one without much effort is to rip open a paper packet of powder. Even Starbucks starts with syrup. But I don't want hot cocoa. I don't want hot chocolate milk. I want hot C-H-O-C-O-L-A-T-E. Dynamic duo Williams-Sonoma and Bialetti (of espresso pot fame) have co-released the Hot Chocolate Pot. Plug it in, pour in some milk, and add fresh chopped chocolate—or...
Continue reading »
Last year, in our Store-Bought Stuffing Mix Showdown, all the boxed stuffing contestants were priced between $2.49 and $4.99. This year, we decided to defy the recession and test-run Williams-Sonoma's La Brea boxed stuffings, priced at the comparatively astronomical $10 to $12 per box. I tested the two flavors on offer this year: Harvest Blend, with pecans and cranberries, and Classic, with Herbes de Provence and chestnuts. While the Harvest Blend is the pricier of the two at $12, the pecans and cranberries are included in the box, while the recommended roasted chestnuts for the Classic are sold separately at a whopping $16.50 a jar. So how did they fare among our eager Serious Eaters?...
Continue reading »
With all the intense preparation needed for Thanksgiving dinners, a baking mix or sauce mix here and there isn't going to make or break the authenticity of your meal. The key is to use mixes that actually make life easier, rather than ones that complicate your free time. While I may not be preparing a whole meal for the holidays, the least I can do is bring a side dish, or perhaps, a bag of fresh buttermilk biscuits. So when Ed Levine handed me a pack of Organic Southern Buttermilk Biscuit Mix ($10.50 at Williams-Sonoma, at stores only) to try at home, I happily obliged and got to work. The tools necessary: the mix, a stick of unsalted butter,...
Continue reading »
My mom's version of Monkey Bread; my version from the King Arthur Flour mix Every Christmas morning for as long as I can remember, my mom would make her version of classic Monkey Bread using Pillsbury dough, with at least a stick of butter and a cup of sugar (if not double of both). I have such fond memories of the bread that I set out to recreate it with the King Arthur Flour Classic Monkey Bread Mix ($12.50, williams-sonoma.com) and its accompanying baking mold ($29.95, williams-sonoma.com). This mix is not about saving time or saving calories; start to finish the process was approximately 3 1/2 hours, including waiting time (and lots of cleaning). For a good laugh, I...
Continue reading »
If you're into gadgets and looking to make your own baby purees, Williams-Sonoma is now selling the Beaba Babycook. Pronounced "Bay-OBB-uh," the device has been popular for several years in Europe and is now available in the US. There's a video on the Williams-Sonoma site showing how it works. It's basically a mini-chopper than can steam food before you puree it. The industrial design is tops—with chubby curves and lime-green trim, it looks like a dollhouse accessory, albeit with a sharp blade....
Continue reading »
