GeneralAsked Jun 10, 2020 by Brenda L.
Can the Spanish almond torte recipe be done in cupcake liners instead of the 9 inch round pan? If so, how long would you bake the cupcakes and would you use the same temperature? Thank you!
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Brenda - Unfortunately I can't give you an exact answer since we haven't tested this in a muffin tin. You can certainly give it a try and use your eyes as a guide! The cake is ready when the surface is deeply browned and the crust feels firm when gently pressed with a finger. If you do decide to try it, let us know how it turns out! Best, Lynn
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
Read MoreAsked Jun 06, 2020 by Adam N.
Good Day,
I’m giving the RINDSGULASCH a go this afternoon and have some questions. I’m very familiar with Czech Gulas and Hungarian cuisine due to family and living there for almost seven years. Anyhow this is quite different. Not in a bad way it’s just using much less broth or water than typical. Which is fine but I want to confirm if everything looks correct with my attempt? As there was hardly any broth to simmer upon mixing everything together. I used slightly more beef about 6 lbs as that was what the roast was from Costco. And I cut beef slightly larger in 2” cubes or so. Please advise if I’m proceeding in the proper manner? Thank you!
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Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Adam - I'm so sorry we didn't get to you over the weekend! We don't man the board when the office is closed. Looks like it turned out perfectly! Nice work! Best, Lynn
Read MoreAsked Jun 05, 2020 by Adam N.
Hello!
Could you please clarify the recipe for tomato sauce for pizza dough. The ingredient list says whole peeled tomatoes with juice.
Is the juice discarded or is it placed in the blender? The recipe only states “process the tomatoes” it makes no reference to the juice.
Thank you for any assistance you can provide :D
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Adam - The tomatoes and their juice are blended in batches - one blended smooth, the other left slightly chunky. The tomatoes are then added to the pot with the garlic, oregano, and pepper flakes, and simmered over low heat until a spatula leaves a trail when dragged through the sauce. This \should\ take between 20-25 minutes, but everyone's cooktop heats differently. The visual clue (the spatula leaving a trail) is a better indication of the proper texture of the sauce when it's ready to be removed and cooled. I hope that helps! Best, Lynn
Read MoreAsked Jun 04, 2020 by Christopher L.
Great recipe! Has anyone tried whole milk yogurt in place of the mayo or partially in place of? Thanks!
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Christopher - I've made this recipe a bunch of times and it's one of the best turkey burger I've had! That's because it's so moist and flavorful thanks to the panade. The main issue with replacing the mayonnaise with whole milk yogurt, especially in the burgers themselves, is the discrepancy in fat content. One of the reasons we chose mayonnaise here is because the fat in it added moisture and flavor to otherwise flavorless, lean ground turkey. Whole milk yogurt only has about .9 grams of fat per tablespoon, whereas mayonnaise has 10 grams of fat per tablespoon. Almost 10x as much. If you're dead-set on using yogurt, I would probably still use the mayonnaise in the burgers themselves and replace the 5 tablespoons of mayo in the spread with yogurt. You'll likely have to add some salt to the spread, since mayo has more sodium than yogurt. I hope that helps. Best, Lynn C.
Read MoreAsked Jun 04, 2020 by Susan T.
I’m thinking about Vacuum sealing my chicken pieces with marinade the night before cooking, which would begin in the morning. Is there any reason not to do this? I guess i am vaguely worried about food safety.
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Susan - Our our Friend of Milk Street, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, strongly recommends against marinating or brining chicken when cooking it sous vide. Here's what he says about brining:
"Brining—the process of soaking meat in a saltwater solution in order to help it retain moisture better in the future—is entirely unnecessary for sous vide cooking. Your chicken will come out plenty moist and juicy, while also having a more concentrated chicken flavor, as using a brine dilutes the flavor of the chicken with water."
And about adding flavorful ingredients to the bag:
"You definitely can. I like to add aromatics based on the flavors of the finished dish, whether that's a few tarragon sprigs and some wheels of lemon for something like a classic Western chicken salad, or slices of ginger, garlic, and scallions for an Asian cold salad. The key is to avoid excess liquid—otherwise, you end up flavoring the liquid with chicken instead of the other way around—and to bear in mind that most spices and garlic will intensify in flavor when added to a sous vide bag."
So it's not really about food safety, it's more about flavor and texture of the chicken. If you'd like more information about sous vide and chicken, he has a great, well-researched piece on Serious Eats you can check out.
I hope that helps! Best, Lynn C.
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