Cooking

Answered by Matthew Card

Hi Kim, It's alway best to salt your steaks well in advance of cooking. I typically take them out of the fridge an hour before cooking and season GENEROUSLY with kosher salt on both sides. Leave at room temp. Then, just before grilling, I blot dry with paper towels, season GENEROUSLY with black pepper, then drizzle with a very small amount of oil; a little can prevent sticking and enhance browning whereas too much will cause flareups. Blotting dry removes excess moisture, which means the steak will begin to brown faster and develop a flavorful crust. Best, Matt

Answered by Elizabeth Mindreau

Hello, Harissa sauce is harissa paste that has been loosed up with additional oil, so your instinct to use less oil is perfect. Adjust according to how you want the final taste and texture of a dish to be. Perhaps make note of the brand of Harissa sauce (or paste if you find it) and the adjustment you make next to each recipe so that you will know exactly what to do each time you make a dish. Best, The Milk Street Team

Answered by Chris Kimball

You can use parchment paper - I have even used it baking pizza in a very hot oven. It can char and turn black but it won't burst into flames (well, don't hold me to that - it has never happened to me!)

Answered by Chris Kimball

I have found that flavored oils - check out Boyajian - often have more flavor than extracts but I checked their site and they do not have an apple oil. I think that the extract is the best way to go - just add more to get what you want. I found this apple extract but not sure how good it is: https://www.amazon.com/Natural-Apple-Extract-Baking-Flavoring/dp/B09XRJKZ33/ref=asc\_df\_B09XRJKZ33/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693556044361&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1340838846329543532&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9199042&hvtargid=pla-1821519746106&psc=1&mcid=dd9b28fbe19a357fbf05a2b3cb157b68

Answered by Matthew Card

Hi, Grilling can be a real pain in the neck, so I understand why you don't grill. We typically include instructions for broiling or indoor cooking when it's a fairly easy translation. Broiling generally works for grilling, but it's important to remember a few key points. For starters, there's the equipment. A broiler tray, or wire rack set on a rimmed baking sheet, is essential in that it mimics a grill grate and allows liquid to wick away rather than pool on the pan. Then it's crucial to get the pan's height adjusted to the heating element. Usually, its between 4 to 6 inches. Your oven rack should be adjustable to these heights, but you can always put always invert a rimmed baking sheet and place your baking pan on top of it if you need to "fudge" the height. Thirdly, pay CLOSE attention. Depending on the intensity of the heating of the heating element, foods can cook very quickly. Don't walk away! For the potato salad, I would follow the recipe, but broil the potatoes on a broiler tray 6 inches from heating element, turning them as they brown. It should take about 6 minutes. Best, Matt C.

Answered by Chris Kimball

The only thing I can think of is that if the garlic is still in the pan it will burn when you saute the eggplant. But if it is just the oil, I agree - just make sure that there are no bits and pieces of the sofrito left.

Answered by Matthew Card

Hi, Typically, a pan is wiped between batches to ensure nothing cooked is left in the pan that might burn if it were to be cooked longer. Aromatics, like garlic or onions, can burn and taste very acrid if overcooked Yes, everything is ultimately combined for caponata, but the best results come from perfectly cooking each element. That said, if your pan is perfectly clean between batches, I think you're probably safe to skip the step! Thanks, Matt C.

Answered by Whitney Kimball

Hi Sally! This is from our education director Rosie: If you’re feeding hungry people, I think simply doubling the recipe would be a great solution. Six hungry people will eat it all or leave just enough for you to have lunch the next day. If you’re worried about too many leftovers, I would still buy the ingredients for a double batch. Make the double batch up through the cooking the chicken, then portion off whatever you don’t think you will eat and freeze it, without adding the carrots, chilies, peas and basil. With the remaining portion in the pan – what you will serve that night – I would continue with the recipe using as much of the carrots, chilies, peas and basil as you like. It’s flexible. You can either pack it with extra vegetables, or reserve some of the veggies for a quick salad or vegetable stir-fry the next day. You will need to buy new vegetables for when you cook up the frozen portion -- to do that, just defrost the frozen portion and then continue with the recipe as written. Hope that helps!

Answered by Rosie Gill

Hi Robin - The short answer is yes! Here are a few tips: The Everything Pan is just shy of 2" tall and is 11" wide at the bottom, so there is plenty of volume for a deep-dish quiche. In fact, because it is so wide, you may find yourself needing more filling to get the height characteristic of a deep-dish quiche. You'll also need more dough to cover the larger surface area. I recommend doubling our crust recipe and freezing what you don't need. While the Everything Pan is already coated with vegetable oil, try greasing the sides and bottom with cooking spray or neutral oil to be sure that a tender quiche releases into nice slices. Last, our recipes calls for baking in a tart pan placed on a steel, but because the Everything Pan is cast iron, you don't need the steel for heat retention. Best, Rosie

Answered by Chris Kimball

Hi, This could be? Are you steaming or browning first? Both methods work, but we typically boil, then brown, the potstickers. Boil with a fair amount of oil, which will coat the dumplings well and lead to non-stick browning. And what sort of of pan are you using? We'd recommend a well-seasoned or cast iron pan. Also, don't move them until they are ready to release! Just like sauteing or grilling, you want to make sure a crust builds and will release.