Milk Street RecipesAsked May 27, 2025 by Robert H.
The Milk Street recipe of Risotto alla Milanese calls for a tsp of saffron threads. I attempted to find out how to convert threads to tsps but found confusing and conflicting information. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
Answered by Elizabeth Mindreau
Hi Robert –
This is a good question. Milk Street recipes using saffron call for a volume amount which leaves a lot of room for interpretation. A good rule of thumb I've seen recommended by some sources is to use 3 strands per person in a dish. Our Risotto alla Milanese serves 4, so that would be 3 strands times 4 equals 12 strands for the entire dish.
Read MoreAsked May 08, 2025 by Jennifer L.
I have not made this yet but am wondering if it would be a good choice to serve as a buffet option for a luncheon. It would have to be prepared ahead of time and served either cold or at room temperature. Any thoughts would be appreciated. I have not had much luck finding simple vegetarian, fish-free pasta salad options on this site and I was hoping this one might fit the bill. Thank you.
Answered by Elizabeth Mindreau
Hello Jennifer –
The creamy potato and artichoke pasta is a dish that is best when served warm and eaten right away, we wouldn't recommend this one for a buffet. We have some other pasta dishes that would be great: pearl couscous is a good option for pasta salads – Zucchini with tomato, pearl couscous and mint; any short-shaped pasta with pesto would be good, such as – Pasta with pesto all genovese or Pasta with parsley, walnut and caper pesto; fresh tomatoes and herbs work great – Pasta with fresh tomatoes, capers and herbs. Rice salads are also great for a buffet. We have this Provençal-style salad, perfect for make-ahead. Hopefully one of these options will work for your buffet. Let us know how it turns out!
Read MoreAsked Apr 10, 2025 by Mitchell G.
I love the idea of the Broken Phyllo Baklava Cake and plan to try it.
https://www.177milkstreet.com/recipes/broken-phyllo-baklava-cake
The only thing that's throwing me is the lack of honey in a "baklava" cake. It seems like that could be introduced in the syrup but I'm also guessing the Milk Street chefs would have considered that. I didn't want to waste the time or ingredients if it's a bad idea. If it isn't already a bad idea, I'd also love some advice on the best way to incorporate honey into the recipe. I promise not to review it based on me messing it up ;-)
Thanks!
Answered by Elizabeth Mindreau
Hello Mitchell –
Your instincts are correct, honey would be great with this! The recipe is based on a Phyllo Cake we learned from chef Maria Leivaditaki in which she made a syrup with sugar, orange peel and bay leaves. We turned it into a Baklava Cake, keeping sugar model for the syrup. I talked to the developer of the Baklava Cake about using honey in the recipe. She recommends using ¾ honey in place of the 1 cup sugar in the syrup. We have not tried this for this particular cake, but we think it should work just fine. Let us know how it turns out!
Read MoreAsked Mar 20, 2025 by Joanne G.
Let me start by saying..,I LOVE THIS RECIPE AS INCLUDED IN THE LASAGNA BOLOGNESE. HOWEVER, In the recipe for Parmesan Besciamela, it states "This white sauce is packed with flavor from bay, basil and Parmesan and gets a hint of heat from red pepper flakes". Editor's note: 2/24/25: recipe was redeveloped. It also recommends straining. The published recipe does not include pepper flakes, basil nor straining! And the ingredient amounts are different (half and half and the parmesan). With only 3 cups of half and half it was almost impossible to strain it and why would you need to if there's no basil??? I just fished out the 2 bay leaves. So, all in all, this current recipe needs to be re-written and re-published, please!
Answered by Elizabeth Mindreau
Hello Joanne –
We apologize for any confusion or inconvenience due to changes in our recipes. I will pass your message along to our Editorial Team for their consideration.
Thank you for sharing this feedback.
Read MoreAsked Mar 13, 2025 by Joanne G.
I made the cranberry-orange soda bread yesterday. After the recommended 35-40 min of baking time, I check the internal temp and it was only 160. I baked it another 8 min and it still had reached only 170. However, the bottom, when “ thumped” was hollow. After it rested,The outside was quite done but the inside was still a bit moist. My oven was “right on” (by thermometer) at 400.
Answered by Elizabeth Mindreau
Hello Joanne –
I checked with one of baking experts who developed this recipe. She said that the height of your bread could affect the baking time, saying that a taller bread would take longer to fully bake than a squat bread. At Milk Street we love to toast slices of this soda bread. That could help eliminate the moisture for this loaf. For future reference, the internal temp for soda bread should be 200°F to 210°F.
Read MoreAsked Mar 10, 2025 by Thomas N.
Watched Milk Street episode recently with Christopher Kimbell preparing an Ethiopian Lentil dish that was flavored with Berbere spice. He added many different spices but didn't give the amounts of each spice.
Q: Is there a recipe for this dish with the amounts of the spices included? Thanks.
Answered by Elizabeth Mindreau
Hello Thomas –
Yes, the recipe is Berbere-Spiced Red Lentils. You can find it in the most recent edition of our TV cookbook, our "365" cookbook, in the July/Aug 2022 issue of our magazine and online. The recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of berbere spice which you can purchase as a spice blend or you can make your own and measure out 1 tablespoon. Attached is a pdf of the Milk Street berbere spice blend.
https://www.177milkstreet.com/discussion/uploads/398/PPJNHRQU7JCB.pdf
Read MoreAsked Feb 19, 2025 by Todd W.
Wondering if anyone has made this recipe for a crowd. Would this be easily to scale it up and do entirely in the oven? Instead of thickening the sauce, just roast uncovered in pans, and then finish with the lemons and the green olives. Also, is 3 lbs of chicken thighs more than the standard 1/2 lb per person?
Answered by Elizabeth Mindreau
Hello Todd –
I shared your query with our Culinary Director and he said that he wouldn't recommend roasting it uncovered. This is a braise, which requires moist, covered heat. The liquid might dry out in a roasting pan before the chicken is cooked through. It would be better to use 2 large Dutch ovens, covered, if you wanted to make a larger batch in the oven, but you would still need to simmer it to reduce the sauce on the cooktop.
\\\* please note, this method has not been tested in the Milk Street Kitchen.
As for the meat weight, 3 pounds of bone-in chicken thighs is usually between 6 and 8 thighs, depending on their size. Figuring 2 thighs per person, this is how we settled on this being enough to serve 4. Chicken on the bone does lose a fair amount of weight during the cooking process.
A tagine is a classic braise, and changing the cooking method might result in mixed success. He'd recommend the traybake below, which you could make 2 of at once for a crowd, that has a similar flavor profile.
https://www.177milkstreet.com/recipes/greek-chicken-potato-traybake
Read MoreAsked Feb 16, 2025 by Deb B.
I wanted to make the latest Tiramisu recipe, and my partner advised me not to. He said that raw eggs can transfer the bird flu virus. What is your take on the safety of raw eggs? Is there any substitute for the Tiramisu recipe in the latest issue of Milk Street?
Answered by Elizabeth Mindreau
Hello Deb –
It might be best to be cautious and wait until after the bird flu crisis as passed to make this recipe.
Read MoreAsked Feb 03, 2025 by James M.
It appears this rib rack recipe bakes for 2.5 hours unwrapped (with basting). There is another rib rack recipe, a Korean style rib, where the rib rack is wrapped throughout the 2.5 hours. Do both methods produce equaly tender, fall-off-the-bone results? Do you have a preference one way the other? Thank you.
Answered by Elizabeth Mindreau
Hello James,
With both recipes you will end up with tender, delicious ribs, the difference will be in the cooking method and the flavor profiles. With lacquered pork ribs with hoisin, honey and five-spice you will need to baste every 30 minutes for over 2 hours. The Gochijang-glazed ribs will be hands-off while the ribs cook but you will make a sauce out of the cooking juices, glaze the ribs with that and then broil the ribs briefly. Not a lot of work, but it all comes at the end right before serving.
I'd recommend starting with the recipe with the method that works best for you. See how you like it and then try the other recipe the next time you make ribs. You can decide which method and which flavor profile you like best. Let us know how it turns out!
Read MoreAsked Jan 19, 2025 by Carolyn B.
I would like to make Beef and Onion Tagine but am having trouble finding boneless beef short ribs. Can you suggest a substitute? Thx.
Carolyn
Answered by Elizabeth Mindreau
Hello Carolyn –
Chuck roast would be a good substitute. It's cut from the same part (shoulder) of the cow.
Read More 
