Milk Street RecipesAsked Jun 24, 2020 by Kristi M.
Hello!
i really love the Brown Bsmati Rice Pilaf with Spiced Beef and Green Beans recipe. The flavors are spectacular! My problem is that the rice is still crunchy at the end of the cooking time. I have made the recipe twice and the rice has been crunchy both times. The only change to the recipe was using one pound of beef instead of 8 oz. However, my friend also made the recipe as written with 8 oz. of beef, and the rice was crunchy. I’m perplexed. It is either not enough water or not long enough cookin time, or both. Please advise. I don’t want to abandon this recipe because its flavors are so good!
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Kristi - I'm so sorry that you're having difficulty with this recipe. I spoke with Courtney Hill, who developed the recipe, and she isn't 100% sure what went wrong, but suggested a few possible causes for your issues. First, make sure you are using brown basmati rice, not brown long-grain rice. This could make a difference in the cooking time and liquid-to-rice ratio. Courtney also recommends really rinsing and draining the rice well. You want to rinse until the water runs clear and then make sure to drain off any excess water. Let me know if this doesn't solve the problem and I'll check in with Courtney again! Best, Lynn C.
Read MoreAsked Jun 22, 2020 by Adam N.
Good Afternoon,
1) How to avoid setting off fire alarm repeatedly:D
2) How to not scorch bottom of pan
3) How to ensure garlic is not completely charred
So I did the coriander traybake recipe yesterday for roasted chicken. It took major vigilance to ensure that it actually turned out ok. I must be doing something wrong as it should not be this challenging. I was using an aluminum rimmed baking tray. By minute 20 the garlic was mostly charred so I had to remove them from the oven to salvage about half of them or they would have been completely burned. This also caused the fire alarm to go off. I’m aware of the requirement for skin to be placed upside so that issue is minimized. It did not work. After 20 minutes the chicken required about 20 more minutes to get up to temperature. This resulted in major scorching on the pan and constant smoking and fire alarm issues. Please advise what I’m doing wrong, thank you!!!
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Adam - Are you using a heavy duty aluminum baking sheet with at least 1" sides? I realize when we say "rimmed baking sheet" we are leaving that pretty open for interpretation. In most cases, any old sheet will do, but in this case you want to make sure you're not using a "cookie sheet" or "jelly roll pan." These are often too lightweight and either have no sides or very low sides. I haven't made the coriander-roasted chicken but I've done the traybake with pomegranate molasses - same technique - about a dozen times and never had issues with overcooking or smoking. For the garlic, it's important to make sure you put it in the center of the baking sheet and surround it with the chicken on all sides. You need the chicken to create a wall, essentially, to protect the garlic from overcooking. Other than those two things, I'm not sure what else could have gone wrong. Let me know if either of these things might have caused the issues. Best, Lynn C.
Read MoreAsked Jun 22, 2020 by Chas B.
Hi!
Just recently joined and feeling overwhelmed by all the recipes!!
My daughter cannot have dairy and we generally also follow a pescatarian/vegetarian diet.
Wishing I could sort through all these amazing recipes to filter out dishes that will work for my family!
Any suggestions?
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Chas - I spoke with our digital content team and we, unfortunately, don't have a filtering system in place in our search engine at the moment. However, we are currently working on website upgrades and this is definitely something we are working on! We appreciate your suggestion and always take these issues into consideration as we further improve our digital experience. Best, Lynn C.
Read MoreAsked Jun 19, 2020 by Heath D.
In the Udon Noodles with Shiitake Mushrooms and Spinach recipe, it asks for a full pound of shiitakes, stemmed and caps sliced thin. Is this a pound of shiitake and then stem and slice or a pound of caps after stem and slice? Am I getting rid of the stems and only using the caps I assume? I always wonder how to read this in recipes.
thank you.
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Heath - For this recipe you will need a pound of shiitakes, which is the weight before stemming. Shiitake mushroom stems are very fibrous and not very pleasant to eat. However, don't throw them away! They are a great source of umami - just throw a handful in to flavor soups or stews and then strain out before serving. You can freeze them and use directly from the freezer. Best, Lynn C.
Read MoreAsked Jun 15, 2020 by Adam N.
Good Afternoon,
I’m extremely grateful for the techniques and the recipe for the Cuban-Spiced burgers and the corresponding ketchup. I absolutely loved it. I have tried for years to improve my burgers for bbq parties and nothing ever panned-out. I’ve tried high grade beef, really good English cheddar, nice brioche buns and special artisan mayonnaises. It still never met my high standards. This MilkStreet recipe actually did and I had only mid grade beef (Trader Joe’s grass fed). The special ketchup on a properly grilled medium rare burger topped with a fried egg is all you really need. No condiments or cheese. I think this recipe can be really enhanced by a proper wine pairing. Please advise if you guys have any wine ideas for my next bbq?
Answered by Elizabeth Mindreau
Hi Adam - We're so glad that you enjoyed the Cuban-spiced burgers. We are not really qualified to advise on wine pairings as our focus is on developing recipes. We recommend that you consult with someone at a local wine shop. They will be able to advise you according to the specific dishes on your barbecue menu.
Read MoreAsked Jun 10, 2020 by Allyson M.
Has anyone done this? I was thinking of using 50 grams of starter in place
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Allyson - We haven't tried this at Milk Street, but maybe someone else on the board has done it and can weigh in here. Good luck! Best, Lynn
Read MoreAsked Jun 09, 2020 by Adam N.
Good Evening,
I’m going to prepare the Risotto all Milanese tomorrow. I see the recipe calls for steeping the saffron. I’ve noticed that on several MilkStreet recipes that involve saffron. I always thought you got more out of the saffron by using mortar and pestle and then blooming with hot water or ice cubes. Is there some advantages to steeping the full thread?
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Adam - Saffron is like tea in that it should be steeped in hot liquid to really enhance it’s flavor and aroma. After 10-15 minutes of steeping in the broth in the recipe, the liquid will grow deep orange in color and is ready to add. If you'd like you can simply crush the threads a bit with your fingers before adding to the water, but it's really not necessary. This method is a little simpler and more common in recipes that already call for water or broth (like our Risotto alla Milanese). For dishes that do not call for liquid, grinding the saffron to a powder with a little salt or sugar (to act as an abrasive) in a mortar and pestle will allow you to steep it in a smaller amount of water so you can add it to any dish at any point. Hope that clears it up! Best, Lynn
Read MoreAsked Jun 09, 2020 by Adam N.
Good Evening,
I’ve seen it mentioned that the recommended shelf life for MilkStreet pizza dough is 72 hours. I was wondering the reasoning for that timeline? It’s cited in many reliable locations that actually a 7 day fermentation may be ideal. Tonight I made the white arugula pizza with MilkStreet dough and it was really outstanding. That white arugula recipe just skyrocketed into my recipe stratosphere. Anyhow the dough was first made Thursday night. I also made pizza Friday night so 24 hours fermentation. Today would have roughly been 96 hours and I much preferred tonight’s dough structure. Any guidance on why the 72 hours figure was given would be much appreciated.
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Adam - I spoke with Diane Unger, the recipe developer of this pizza recipe and our Director of Recipe Development, and, in her testing, she found that the yeast was compromised after the 72-hour mark and she lost oven spring when baking the pizza. This is likely because we are using instant yeast here. You'd probably have better results for a longer ferment if you were using active dry yeast. Hope this helps! Best, Lynn
Read MoreAsked Jun 08, 2020 by Adam N.
Good Evening,
I took a swing at the Milk Street Tzatzki this evening to accompany my souvlaki. It came out way to salty so I had to cut it with more Greek yogurt. Wondering why that may have been? My theory is that I may have been to conservative with the amount of cucumber used as I stopped shredding upon seeds being apparent. This is different from my usual as I would scoop out all the seeds and just shred the whole thing. Any guidance you can provide would be much appreciated as tzatziki is something I really love.
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Adam - First, what type and brand of salt are you using? At Milk Street we use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt in all of our recipes. If you are using another brand of kosher salt (Morton's, for example) you would use a little more than half the amount called for in the recipe. For table salt it would be half the amount. The other consideration would be the Greek yogurt. You can use whole milk or low-fat Greek yogurt but we don't recommend nonfat yogurt. The lack of fat in nonfat yogurt will not only weaken the flavor of the tzatziki, but may also cause it to seem too salty since the salt will be more prominent. Hope that helps! Best, Lynn
Read MoreAsked Jun 06, 2020 by Linda K.
The Milk Street fruit crostata is now a family favorite. We wondered if it can be made as 3 smaller crostata? What adjustments would need to be made to the cooking time and temperature?
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Linda - We haven't tested this as 3 smaller crostatas, so I can't provide specifics on the time difference. But, smaller crostatas will likely cook faster so I would start checking them after 10 minutes to gauge how they are doing and how much longer you anticipate they will need. At this point you may want to lower the temperature if they are browning too much. I'm guessing these will be done somewhere between 12-18 minutes. Good luck! Best, Lynn
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