Milk Street Q&A

Answered by April Dodd

Kathie - eggplant can really be tricky and sticky! One trick you can try is to borrow a technique for carbon steel pan cooking and pre-season your dutch oven to give it a temporary nonstick coating that will make your eggplant less likely to stick. To do that, heat a few tablespoons of neutral oil in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat until the oil starts to smoke, swirling the pan around a bit as it heats. Then, pour off that oil into a heat-safe container and proceed with the recipe as written, including with the oil called for. You should find that you get much less sticking. If that solution doesn't appeal, you could always cook off just the eggplant in a large nonstick skillet; my AllClad nonstick 12" pan is a miracle worker for delicate ingredients like eggplant and tofu. -April D.

Answered by April Dodd

Sharon - our search bar is at the top right of our website homepage. If you enter in a few key words in the name of your recipe, it should show up immediately in the search results.

Answered by April Dodd

Great question, Vincent. Yes, fish sauce can sometimes be a good replacement for soy sauce, but it does bring a richer and more intensely umami-forward flavor. Our favorite alternative is to soak dried shiitake mushrooms in water and use that soaking liquid instead of soy sauce. For an even better approximation of soy's flavor, add a splash of mirin to the mixture for a little subtle sweetness. -April D.

Answered by Elizabeth Mindreau

Hello Hank, Our editorial director visited Hungary recently and brought back some tubes of paprika paste for our recipe developers to work with. The store team is also looking for one to sell in our store so hopefully we can make it easier for you to access in the States! Best, The Milk Street Team

Answered by April Dodd

Great question, Marlene! A great new book for young and aspiring cooks is "(Serious) New Cook" by Cammie Kim Lin and Leah Su Quiroga. "The Forest Feast for Kids" is another great option. And "The Silver Spoon for Children" is a classic with lots of crowd-pleasing Italian recipes that kids as young as 6 can make with only a little adult support. -April D.

Answered by April Dodd

Karmen - do you soak the almonds before beginning the process of pureeing them? You may find it easier to achieve a creamy consistency if the nuts are pre-soaked. But don't throw out that soaking liquid: you can warm it to just under a boil, then drizzle it into your food processor or blender to thin and smooth the butter. You can also reduce the risk of the butter seizing upon addition of maple syrup by thinning the maple with a bit of hot water before drizzling it in. I hope this helps for your next batch! -April D.

Answered by April Dodd

Good question, Peter. Because this recipe uses Canadian bacon, we liked the results when the chopped Canadian bacon is simple added to the egg mixture at the end. Unlike traditional bacon, which is from the pork belly, Canadian bacon is from the loin and is much less fatty, meaning there isn't much fat to render out were it to be cooked earlier in the process. If you are using bacon instead of Canadian bacon, I would recommend cooking the bacon on its own at the very beginning of the recipe, until it is crispy and the fat has rendered out; then, cook the onions and mushrooms in the rendered fat and add the crispy bacon in right before it goes into the oven. -April D.

Answered by April Dodd

Samantha - the high alcohol content of gin and the natural acidity of rhubarb make this cordial an unattractive environment for unfriendly bacteria, which is good news for you. However, because this is not a Milk Street recipe, we cannot provide you a guaranteed answer here. A surefire sign that you should toss it would be any signs of visible mold growth or off aromas. I would also encourage you to send a note to Deb Perelman and / or David Lebovitz, if you can, as they will surely have more concrete insights about their recipes.

Answered by April Dodd

Great question, Stefanie. Unfortunately, we do not have a vegetarian filter on the website. A couple of things you can do: 1) under recipes, select the cookbook "Vegetables," which is all vegetarian; 2) start a search with an ingredient (e.g., broccoli, tofu, chickpeas) you definitely do want to use, which will narrow the results; and 3) join us at a vegetarian livestream class, all of which are included at no additional cost with your Insider membership. You can see our vegetarian virtual classes here. When signing up, be sure to do it from our class calendar page to access your Insider benefit. -April D.

Answered by April Dodd

Hi George - when I look at the Za'atar Flatbreads Recipe (https://www.177milkstreet.com/recipes/zaatar-flatbreads), I don't see any lard called for, nor is there lard in the yogurt dough (https://www.177milkstreet.com/recipes/flatbread-pizza-dough) that is recommended. If you point me to the specific recipe that you see the inconsistency in, I'll be happy to help! -April D.