Milk Street Q&A

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Justi - I don't know specifically how the broiler works with your electric oven, but most electric ovens have a broiler setting that heats an element at the top inside the oven. Good luck and enjoy the recipes! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Roger - A combination of soy sauce and minced anchovies would be a great substitute. If anchovies are not an option then a combination of equal parts soy sauce and vinegar will work pretty well too. Hope that helps! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Naline - Any of the new recipes inspired by our travels to the Amalfi Coast would be great using Meyer lemons. The Meyer lemon is much closer to the type of lemon grown in the Amalfi region than typical supermarket lemons. You can find the story and recipes here.  Another great use would be to make jars of preserved lemons and curd. If you're up for it, I'd do some actual canning and make multiple jars of both that can keep indefinitely. You can use the preserved lemons to make a tangia. Additionally, you could make sorbet, lemonade, chutney or marmalade (again, I'd make multiple jars and give away to lucky friends), make meyer lemon vodka by steeping meyer lemon peel in vodka, any lemon cake recipe...the options are basically endless if you're willing to commit to a lot of lemon-y dishes and desserts for a while! Lucky you! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Anthony - I would not substitute for gluten-free pasta in this particular dish. Since we use a smaller amount of water in order to use the pasta starch to thicken and concentrate the sauce I would be concerned that the rice pasta would get stuck together and become mushy. Generally speaking, gluten-free pasta is best when cooked in a lot of water (5-6 quarts) and stirred often to keep from sticking together. Also, there is some concern that there is arsenic present in rice so you'd want to drain the pasta and not use that water in your finished dish. Hope that helps! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Kim - Unfortunately, this can happen - it's usually polymerized oil that gets stuck on your pan - and it can happen at any heat, really. Have you tried Bar Keeper's Friend to restore your pan? I can imagine how your pan looks and, trust me, mine look the same sometimes. I usually give it a scrub with Bar Keeper's Friend and it's back to new in no time. You can certainly replace it with carbon steel or cast iron, but those both require a fair amount of maintenance too since they need to be seasoned regularly. I'd get some Bar Keeper's Friend and give the pan a scrub down once a week. I personally prefer the powdered version to the more "soft scrub-like" version, since I think the powder is a bit more abrasive (in a good way). Hope that helps! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Evan Petto

Hi Jill! Thank you so much for your question. Please email me directly at [email protected] with the email address used to place the order as well as the order number you received with your confirmation email. Happy to help.

Answered by April Dodd

Melissa - Yes, for a quicker option, you can start with potato starch instead of prepared mashed potatoes, though you will want to add liquid so that you end up with a moisture content similar to that of mashed potatoes. Part of what makes prepared mashed potatoes such a great addition to something like a cinnamon roll recipe is that there is a good amount of fat in mashed potatoes, and that fat impedes gluten development, resulting in a tender, supple dough. There is also water in mashed potatoes, though, so I'd add water and full-fat milk in equal parts to your potato starch until it is pasty and thick; a little melted butter in the mix will also help to give comparable fat content as "real" mashed potatoes. -April D.

Answered by April Dodd

Ruth - thank you for this feedback! We will take it into account. In the meantime, though this won't solve your problem for all recipes, any recipe that was included in an issue of our magazine will clearly say which issue (for example, "appears in January/February 2021"), just under the title of the recipe. Also, when searching for recipes, you can also refine your search by clicking on the down arrow next to "All Recipes" when on the main recipe page and selecting a category or cookbook that interests you. CookISH is our most recent cookbook, with Fast & Slow preceding that, then New Rules, then Tuesday Nights. I hope that helps you keep track of what is new to you! -April D.

Answered by April Dodd

Patricia - I'm glad you found a new tea you love! Fresh moringa leaves taste kind of like arugula: they have a little peppery-spiciness to them. When dried and ground, moringa leaf powder tastes somewhat like matcha: very grassy, with a touch of bitterness. We haven't spent much time with moringa in our development kitchen, so this is just speaking from personal experience - but I hope it helps! - April D.

Answered by April Dodd

Carrie - if you have ground sausage (i.e., sausage meat without a casing), then you are already one step ahead! You can go ahead and use that sausage (once thawed, of course), without needing to add any extra flavor. We simply give this recommendation to clarify that you don't want sliced or whole casing-bound sausage. - April D.