Milk Street Q&A

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Peter - Baked goods are successful due to the delicate balance of the ingredients a recipe developer has determined based on food science and testing. Sugar affects the texture and rise in baked goods and there's no hard-and-fast formula for baking with reduced sugar that will cover every single thing you bake. King Arthur has a good article on reducing sugar in recipes. As suggested in the article, you'll want to use a scale that measures in grams and adjust your recipes using baker's percentages, a formula professional bakers use to scale recipes in order to account for the sugar's impact on structure, moisture, and rise. Good luck! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Mitchell - In general, and especially in this recipe, you could use a combination of soy sauce and rice vinegar in place of the fish sauce. It's hard to fully mimic the distinct flavor of fish sauce, but this combo should work OK. I highly recommend this recipe - it's on weekly rotation in my house since it's so easy to prepare and packs a ton of flavor in its simplicity. Make sure to really cook the caramel until it's smoking. You need the bitterness from the dark caramel to balance the sweetness of it. I'd love to know what you think! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Beverly - All of the issues of the magazine and their recipes will appear in the 2020 Annual that is published at the end of the year. The Tuesday night cookbook was published in 2018. Hope that helps! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Dianne - Both our Milk Street Tuesday Nights and New Rules cookbooks have a bunch of great fish recipes. Also, if you use the search feature on the website you can find many really great fish recipes that may have appeared in our magazine. One of my favorites is the Baked Salted Salmon with Dill that appeared in our January-February 2020. It's so simple and hands-off and comes out perfectly-cooked every time. Happy cooking! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Chi - you don't \have\ to temper the eggs when making a pastry cream. See this recipe from Martha Stewart where everything goes in the pot at once. You\do\ need to stir constantly to keep the eggs from forming clumps. Tempering works because the addition of the liquid dilutes the egg proteins making it harder for them to combine and form those clumps. A tempered mixture is already warm so it takes less time to come to a boil and, therefore, requires less stirring and time. But, as long as you stir constantly, you can get the same results from adding the eggs and liquid together from the start. I would still recommend running it through a fine-mesh strainer after cooking to strain our any curds that may have formed despite your best efforts. Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Alix - Unfortunately, we haven't used cookie stamps for any recipes at Milk Street so I can't give you any tested advice. However, here are some of my personal suggestions - Choose the right style of cookie - a shortbread or sablè cookie is probably best for stamping. That's because these don't contain any leavener or eggs (or only egg yolks), which makes them less likely to rise or spread and impact the design. Don't overmix the dough - when creaming the butter and sugar, you want to make sure to mix the butter and sugar thoroughly but you don't want to beat too long or at too high a speed. This will incorporate too much air which will cause the cookies to spread during baking and affect the stamped design. Flour the stamp very well before stamping the cookies - you want to be able to make a relatively deep impression without the stamp sticking to the dough. Chill the cookies before baking - put the stamped cookies in the fridge before baking. I'd say about an hour. Cold cookies won't spread in the oven and will hold the stamped shapes. I hope these suggestions are helpful and lead to some beautiful stamped cookies! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Kiesy - For high-end options, our absolute favorite extra-virgin olive oil is Maalouf Extra Virgin Olive Oil from North Lebanon. It's a truly all-purpose extra-virgin olive oil without the overpowering bitterness that mars some other brands. Unfortunately, it's a small-batch producer and they are sold out in our store until next year's harvest. But, when it comes up again, definitely grab a bottle or two! Our second choice would be the Castelines L'Anglandau Extra-Virgin Olive Oil from Provence. It's a little more peppery than the Maalouf, but it's a favorite in our kitchen too. For daily use, California Olive Ranch extra-virgin olive oil is a terrific product that can be found in most supermarkets. Hope that helps! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Teresa - What you have, essentially, is pork belly. Since it's already been sliced it shouldn't be smoked and cured like bacon at this point. You can, however, use it as you would thin pork belly - search for recipes for sliced pork belly. Unlike bacon, it has only its pork flavor so adding some salt to it is crucial. I'd probably choose to make Char Siu, Chinese-style barbecue. I love it served with steamed rice and sautéed vegetables to soak up the sticky glaze. Good luck! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Jee - This dough is very loose - almost a batter. It would be hard to mix and knead this by hand. You can certainly give it a try though. I would first mix the ingredients together using an oiled spatula until a dough forms and then try using oiled hands to knead the dough. If the dough is too sticky for this, try using an oiled spatula to turn the dough onto itself over and over again until the dough is shiny, wet and elastic. Good luck! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Christopher - Wow, that's very ambitious for a home cook! I don't think I've made a consommé since culinary school. I just don't find the added effort worth it for anything I'm making at home. Milk Street doesn't have a recipe or technique because we just aren't about fussy cooking. We would rather make a simple broth from water or chicken broth and some highly-flavorful ingredients than spend hours babying a consommé. Consider instead our Miso Broth (miso paste adds tons of flavor), our easy Vegetable Broth (a pungent Parmesan rind is added), or simply adding ginger, garlic, fish sauce, coconut water or milk, chiles, or any bold ingredients to water or homemade chicken broth. No need for perfectly clear consommé around here! Best, Lynn C.