Milk Street RecipesAsked Jul 19, 2022 by John G.
I've made the orange coriamder yogurt loaf cake twice now. The first time was cooked through but a bit dry. I blame it on using a 9x5 glass pan and not adjusting temp amd/or cook time.
For the 2nd, I got a metal 8.5 x 4.5 pan as suggested in the recipe. This time I baked it for about 40 minutes and the toothpick had very few crumbs (as suggested). However, when cutting through the center today i had a cavity (hole) about the width of a golf ball right in the middle of the cake where the cake was very wet. The rest of the cake was still a bit on the drier side, but the taste is still good.
Two questions:
1. What would cause that cavity? Just needing more baking time?
2. Is the wet portion in the middle safe to eat?
I really like flavor so am trying to get this to work!
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi John -
A hole or, sometimes a series of larger holes referred to as a tunnel, is usually the result of overmixing. Overmixing the batter once the flour has been added creates too much gluten resulting in a very strong structural network in which large air bubbles can get trapped. As for whether or not the wet portion is safe to eat I would say it depends on how wet it is. If it's just a little overly moist, it's probably fine to eat. If it's still liquid there would be more risk, but I'm not sure how much you would want to eat it at that point given the textural issues anyway.
Best,
The Milk Street Team
Read MoreAsked Jul 05, 2022 by Claudia M.
I recently made the chicken shawarma, from the Tuesday Night Med cookbook. It instructs to cut the chicken thighs crosswise into 3. I wasn't sure what this meant for a boneless thigh (and I wish there were pictures online) . I rolled the thigh as if the bones were back inside, and sliced it into 3 pieces crosswise. I found that this left me with strips that were very uneven in size and cooked very unevenly - some strips had pieces that were very overcooked while the rest was still juicy, and some entire pieces were overcooked. I was wondering if I cut them incorrectly, and if it might be better to cook the whole boneless thigh and then slice them after broiling.....
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Claudia -
To cut the thighs crosswise, place the thigh with the longer end towards you (shorter ends on the left and right) and cut the thigh into three equal pieces. Making sure to cut them into equal pieces should prevent the strips from cooking unevenly.
Hope that helps!
Best,
The Milk Street Team
Read MoreAsked Jun 21, 2022 by Chris L.
You list "Sweet-and-Salty Peanut Noodles" on the cover of May - June 2022. Which recipe is this exactly??
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Chris -
It's the Chili-Soy Noodles with Bok Choy and Peanuts, which can be found here - https://www.177milkstreet.com/recipes/chili-soy-noodles-bok-choy-peanuts.
Best,
The Milk Street Team
Read MoreAsked May 16, 2022 by Todd W.
I made the crumble yesterday. We were a bit skeptical adding tahini to blueberries but it really balanced out the sweetness. We will definitely make this again!
The ingredient list calls for 164 grams of brown sugar, divided. 54 g is mixed in with the blueberries and 107g with the topping. That's 161 grams. Something needs to be corrected.
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Todd - There should be a total of 164 grams of brown sugar split between 54 grams mixed with the blueberries and 110 grams for the crumble topping. We've updated the website to reflect the correction. Best, The Milk Street Team
Read MoreAsked Apr 07, 2022 by Kevin M.
Having this recipe for dinner and if I can make it ahead to any extent it would be helpful. Any suggestions on how I could do this without interfering with the results of this great recipe? Thanks.
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Kevin - We think you can make both the meatballs and the sauce ahead of time. The meatballs may take a little bit longer to bake through, but otherwise shouldn't be a problem to bake from the fridge. Rewarm the sauce, covered, over low heat so it doesn't reduce too much. Best, The Milk Street Team
Read MoreAsked Mar 06, 2022 by Katherine K.
Most of your recipes call for salted butter; I only have unsalted butter. What adjustments to make with salting food? It seems most current recipes and cook books from other sources call for unsalted. Why do you feel salted is better? Thanks!
Answered by Lynn Clark
Many chefs and bakers believe that using unsalted butter will allow you to control the salt content in your dishes better than using salted butter. But we've tested salted versus unsalted butter in a number of savory and baking recipes and we didn’t find any measurable difference between the two. The small amount of salt in salted butter (it's about 1/4 teaspoon per stick, depending on the brand) is undetectable when cooked or baked in a recipe, we found.
Still, we have a preference between the two. Though most culinary professionals and publications will recommend using unsalted butter, we prefer the salted kind because it tastes better when you’re not cooking with it. Unsalted butter doesn’t cut it on toast! Since we prefer to stick with one kind, salted butter is our choice. It also has a longer shelf life. So if you don’t go through butter at a fast rate, buying salted butter is a good idea.
You can certainly still use unsalted butter in our recipes if you prefer. You just may need to adjust the salt to your personal tastes. You can also see this discussion for more details from Chris on why he prefers salted butter and, more specifically, the why he prefers European-style butters.
Best, The Milk Street Team
Read MoreAsked Feb 09, 2022 by James B.
What size Dutch oven is used in the recipes? I have seen 7 quart.
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi James - We use a 7-quart enameled cast iron Dutch oven. Best, The Milk Street Team
Read MoreAsked Jan 27, 2022 by Michael P.
Just wanted to bring to attention that the timing for the Caldo Tlalpeño recipe is really off. The stated time start to finish is 1 hour but if you add up all the times in the recipe, in the best case, it would be 71 minutes, but of course that's not including any of the rest, such as chopping vegatbles, removing chicken from frying, etc. It actually took me over 2 hours to make this... It's a great soup, but that certainly seems like an error to me.
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Michael - You're right. The times here are probably a little off since they don't account for simmering, heating, and prep time. I'm going to let our recipe editor know to update. That being said, the cooking times actually add up to a total of 68 minutes, since shredding the chicken and cooking the beans takes place while the rice is cooking so those times would be combined. Best, Lynn C.
Read MoreAsked Jan 05, 2022 by Robert L.
When a recipe calls for white vinegar, does it mean white distilled vinegar or white wine vinegar? I've tried the white distilled vinegar and it doesn't taste good in a recipe. I believe it's primary use is for cleaning coffee pots.
Thank-You
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Robert - When we simply call for "white vinegar" in a recipe (which, admittedly is rare) we mean regular distilled white vinegar. If and when we call for white wine vinegar we will specify it as such. We usually only call for distilled white vinegar in situations when we want the tartness of vinegar, but otherwise the flavor of the vinegar is masked by other more prominent flavors. Best, The Milk Street Team
Read MoreAsked Dec 04, 2021 by Elizabeth K.
How can I keep soda bread from going stale so fast? I want to give it as a Christmas gift but would have to make it at least on Dec 23rd.
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Elizabeth-
Your best bet would be to bake, cool, wrap tightly in plastic and aluminum foil, and freeze. Thaw completely at room temperature before gifting. Best, The Milk Street Team
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