The problem is because you are not returning anything from the append
function, only the each
loop within it. Try this:
$("<tbody/>").append(function(){
options = ["ONE","TWO","THREE","FOUR"];
var $container = $('<table></table>');
$.each(options, function(val) {
$container.append($("<tr/>").append(
$("<td/>").html("4/6/2013 10:41"),
$("<td/>").html("5/6/2013 10:42"),
$("<td/>").html(val),
$("<td/>").html("<img src='pdf_16x16.png'/>"),
$("<td/>").html("<a href='#'>Re-Upload Documents</a>")
));
});
return $container.html();
});