Dear Milk Streeter,
When I was in Zurich recently, I visited a Buddhist monastery just outside of town. It had a spectacular view of a narrow pine-forested valley, and the presiding monk explained some Buddhist philosophy to us. My favorite comment was, “The next time you feel happy, enjoy it. It won’t last!” He went on to say unhappiness in life is due to unrealistic expectations. Yup—true that!
Oddly enough, the best thing I ate in Zurich was a roast beef sandwich from a street vendor. The proprietor had a long smoker on wheels and served the warm meat on a crispy baguette with chimichurri. Divine!
I also went to Hiltl, a vegetarian buffet that has been around since 1898. There were dozens of choices, from samosas to Japanese salads. You fill up your plate and then have it weighed—which means you have to think about the weight of your choices if you want a good deal. (For example, quinoa weighs less than beans.) The couple to my left were speaking French, the folks to my right were speaking German. It’s fun to be in a new place. But I was ready for that roast beef sandwich the next day.
Meanwhile, at Milk Street, our art director, Jennifer Baldino Cox, just sent photos from our printer, who is finishing up our second issue, March-April 2017. It looks great. My favorite recipe is Tahini Swirl Brownies. The slight bitterness of tahini (sesame seed butter) is the perfect match for chocolate. I have eaten dozens of the brownies in the last two months, including one while typing this paragraph! Other favorite recipes include Shrimp in Chipotle Sauce, Cracked Potatoes, Central Mexican Guacamole, Cuban-Style Pork Shoulder, Georgian Chicken Soup, Thai Fried Rice, Peruvian Pesto and Pistachio-Cardamom Loaf Cake. For this issue, we traveled to Peru, Mexico and Thailand for firsthand cooking lessons.
Make sure you get the March-April 2017 issue of Milk Street Magazine! If you received our charter issue, log in to your account and confirm that your annual subscription is active.
Sara Moulton visited in January for a Milk Street Session. Sara answers calls with me on Milk Street Radio. She made an apricot soufflé, and we whisked the whites for it in a copper bowl. It was surprisingly easy. She used to make individual soufflés at La Tulipe in New York—half a dozen at one time—so she has had a lot of practice. She also showed me how to shape the top of the soufflé to give it a “Taj Mahal” appearance. Old things are new again. (The recipe is in her latest book, “Sara Moulton’s Home Cooking 101: How to Make Everything Taste Better.”) Milk Street Television starts taping in early March. We have a few free tickets for folks to be part of the live audience, which will shown on the show’s broadcast. This is first-come, first-served and seating is limited. The show airs on public television in September 2017.
Be on Milk Street TV! Register for free tickets to be part of the studio audience for the filming of Milk Street Television on March 3 and March 6. Tickets are given on a first-come, first-served basis.
On Milk Street Radio, I just interviewed a reporter who went to Palermo, Italy, to eat a spleen sandwich—the spleen is fried in lard, topped with ricotta cheese, then dressed with lemon. On a sweeter note, I also interviewed Dorie Greenspan about her new cookbook, “Dorie’s Cookies.” I spoke to a Vancouver couple that cooks an award-winning take of Indian food, as well as Abraham Conlon, co-author of “Fat Rice,” which features recipes from Macau. I also had one of my favorite interviews of all time, with Pierre Thiam, a chef from Senegal. (The Senegalese tea tradition is three cups: The first is bitter like life, the second mild like love and the third sweet like death.)
Subscribe to the Milk Street Radio podcast on iTunes.
Last but not least, many people want us to take our cooking school on the road or offer online classes. We’re working on the online classes, and until then you can check out our new cooking school videos. We just posted our first one (see below) and the second one is due out next week. If you come to Boston to take a class, we offer discounted rates at local hotels and bed and breakfasts. These are perfect if you enroll in one of our new two-day weekend courses.
Take a private tour of Milk Street with Christopher Kimball! Purchase a Milk Street Cooking School class by Sunday, Feb. 12 to reserve your spot on a tour. Private tours will be held at 4 p.m. on March 30, April 13 and May 18. Spots are given on a first-come, first-served basis and limited to 10 people per tour.
That’s about it this month. It’s rabbit-hunting season, and our game dinner is always planned for April. Maybe Milk Street can help with a recipe? All the best—only a few more weeks till spring.
Cordially,
Christopher Kimball
Founder,
Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street
