Hot Drinks

From China’s millennia-old tea rituals to Romans’ love of mulled wine, hot beverages around the world have evolved to reflect the cultures that prepare them.

By Milk StreetDecember 19, 2024

Chris Kimball's Book Reviews

Get a taste of what Christopher Kimball is reading at Milk Street.

By Christopher KimballDecember 19, 2024

Pastry Brushes

Tool Test

By Milk StreetDecember 19, 2024

Kitchen Shears

Tool Test

By Milk StreetDecember 19, 2024

Toasted Sesame Oil

Taste Test

By Milk StreetDecember 19, 2024

Ricotta

Taste test

By Milk StreetDecember 19, 2024

Curry Powder

Taste Test

By Milk StreetDecember 19, 2024

Panko

Kitchen Pantry

By Milk StreetDecember 19, 2024

Broth Boosters

Change the way you cook

By Milk StreetDecember 19, 2024

Off The Air

Editors’ Answers to Milk Street Radio Questions

Kitchen Insider

Tips and Tricks From Our Kitchen

By Milk StreetDecember 19, 2024

Small Bites from Milk Street

Meze

By Milk StreetDecember 19, 2024

Tuscany’s Twice-Cooked Soup

It gets better the next day, but you won’t want to wait

By J.M. HirschJanuary 10, 2025

Hong Kong’s Answer to Meat and Potatoes

Tender beef, crispy-fluffy potatoes and a blizzard of black pepper

By J.M. HirschJanuary 10, 2025

Lazio’s Easiest, No-Cook Pasta Sauce

In a hillside village north of Rome, we learned the delicious simplicity of herbs and garlic

By J.M. HirschJanuary 10, 2025

Mexican Stir-Fry

Puntas de res is a quick skillet supper that may have inspired fajitas.

By Christopher KimballJanuary 10, 2025

Calabria’s Surf and Turf—Chickpeas and Clams

Ceci e vongole taught me a valuable lesson in food pairing

By Christopher KimballJanuary 10, 2025

All Hail Romanian Bakers!

In a Saxon village in Transylvania, I tasted lichiu and never looked back

By Christopher KimballJanuary 10, 2025

From the Heart of Tuscany, the Original Biscotti

Crunchy, citrusy and just a hint chewy

By J.M. HirschJanuary 10, 2025

Hungarian Shepherd’s Stew

Comfort built from pasta, potatoes, pork and tons of paprika

By J.M. HirschJanuary 10, 2025

Curried Brown Rice with Charred Cabbage and Tomatoes

A type of Indian vegetable stir-fry called thoran inspired this simple mix of grain and vegetables. We especially like nutty, nubby, firm-textured farro, but brown rice is great as well. Whichever you use, you’ll need 4 cups cooked grain, and be sure

One-Pot Short Rib Ragù with Pasta

Using either the pressure-cooker or slow-cooker function, the Instant Pot allows you to put pasta sauced with a rich, meaty ragù on the table with minimal effort. We use boneless short ribs, which are nicely marbled and rich in flavor. After cooking,

Dry-Fried Green Beans with Pork and Scallions

This is our spin on a favorite Sichuan dish that uses a technique called dry-frying. We precook green beans in a small amount of oil to lightly char them and evaporate any moisture, which concentrates their flavor. Then the beans are stir-fried with g

Romanian Crème Fraîche Cake (Lichiu)

During a trip to Transylvania, we tasted lichiu, a sweet yeasted dough spread with a creamy, lemony, semolina filling and a custard upper layer made with crème fraîche and egg yolks. The semolina and custard fuse during baking, resulting in a deliciou

Baked Ricotta with Sautéed Leek, Walnuts and Dill

This dip gets rich complexity from a trio of cheeses—ricotta paired with mozzarella for gooeyness and Parmesan for sharp, nutty notes. The cooking starts on the stovetop, finishes in the oven and the dish is brought to the table in the same skillet. I

Skillet-Toasted Beef-Stuffed Pitas (Arayes)

The Levantine favorite called arayes are pita breads stuffed with spiced ground beef or lamb, then pan-fried or griddled until the meat is juicy and the bread is crisp. We season the meat with baharat, a Middle Eastern spice blend. If you can’t find i

Hungarian-Style Shepherd’s Stew with Potatoes and Sausage

In Bokros, Hungary, home cook Erzsebet Buzder-Lantos taught us her favorite childhood dish, a hearty stew called keménytarhonya, also known as pásztortarhonya. The star ingredient is tarhonya, a pellet-like pasta. For our version, we use fregola, a ty

Haitian-Style Citrus and Herb Pork

Considered the national dish of Haiti, griot (pronounced gree-oh, sometimes spelled griyo) marinates chunks of well-marbled pork in a boldly herbal, garlicky, citrusy blend laced with spices and fresh chilies. The meat is first slow-cooked until tende

Spicy Haitian Slaw (Pikliz)

Serve this crunchy, spicy slaw alongside braised meats or fried foods, as a filling for tacos or atop a bowl of black beans. For a spicier version, leave some or all of the seeds in the chili. Shred the carrot using the large holes of a box grater. Le

Almond and Citrus Biscotti

In Tuscany, Antonio Mattei Premiata Fabrica di Biscotti is a bakery that has been churning out the twice-baked cookies for more than a century. Their biscotti are classic and simple, just flour, sugar, eggs, almonds and pine nuts. On the other hand, c

Chili Crisp-Peanut Noodles with Bok Choy

For this pantry-friendly dinner, we throw together a simple homemade chili crisp by sizzling sliced garlic and shallots in oil, then adding pepper flakes and paprika. As for the noodles, dried lo mein or udon or non-instant ramen—even spaghetti—works

Green Olive and Garlic Braised Chicken

Large, buttery Castelvetrano olives are especially good paired with this braised chicken, a dish taught to us by Eleonora Fratini Martini, a home cook from Ascoli Marche on Italy’s Adriatic coast. But if you can’t find Castelvetrano, any jarred pitted

Suya-Spiced Spatchcocked Roasted Chicken

Splayed and spiced! We gave roast chicken the suya treatment—a bold seasoning rub of ground peanuts, hot paprika, brown sugar, garlic and ginger inspired by West African grilled beef skewers. Spatchcocking the bird—cutting out the backbone and flatten

Pasta with Lemon-Marjoram Sauce (Maccheroni con Aglio e Maggiorana)

In Mompeo, a village about 30 miles northeast of Rome, home cook Alfonsina Cortegiani taught us how she makes maccheroni con aglio e maggiorana, a simple, delicious pairing of pasta with fresh marjoram, garlic and olive oil, finished with cheese. The

Mexican Cumin-Spiced Beef with Tomatoes, Onion and Peppers (Puntas de Res a la Mexicana)

Puntas de res a la Mexicana is a one-pan affair in which beef is spiked with cumin and balanced by the sweet acidity of tomatoes. During a trip to Mexico, recipe writer Paola Briseño-González shared with us how she makes the classic dish. When slicing

Chickpeas and Clams (Ceci e Vongole)

Giancarlo Suriano is the founder of Surianolii, a purveyor of Calabrian ingredients. He demonstrated his version of ceci e vongole during our visit, a quick one-pot dish of chickpeas and clams. Calabrian chilies are fruity and not too spicy; Fresno ch

Oven-Stewed Mexican Pinto Beans

To make these simple, satisfying stewed beans, we borrowed a lesson we learned in Mexico City from chef Eduardo García of Máximo Bistrot. We simmer onion and garlic into the beans for foundational flavor, then at the end stir in a sautéed mix of aroma

Cantonese Stir-Fried Black Pepper Beef and Potatoes

In Hong Kong, Oi Man Sang Kitchen cook Tang Kwok Keung showed us how to make black pepper beef with potatoes, one of the eatery’s signature stir-fries. Our adaptation simplifies the process by simmering the potatoes instead of deep-frying them. Prior

Crisp-Skinned Broiled Salmon with Cucumber-Sesame Salad

For salmon with crispy-savory potato chip-like skin and meaty, tender flesh, we borrow a technique from Japanese shiozake, which uses salt to draw out moisture from the fish. The salt needs at least four hours to work, but can go for up to 24 hours fo

Salt-and-Pepper Shrimp

Classic salt-and-pepper shrimp, without the deep fryer.

Ribollita (Tuscan White Bean and Vegetable Soup)

This Tuscan veggie soup ribollita makes smart use of beans and bread to create a creamy soup with clear flavors.

Roasted Red Pepper Lentil Soup

This hearty soup, which happens to be vegan, gets loads of flavor from a base of sautéed shallots, tomato paste, cumin and smoked paprika. The earthiness of green lentils is offset by the sweetness and bright color of roasted red peppers. Spinach, add

Crisp Oven-Fried Cauliflower with Tahini-Yogurt Sauce

Corn starch and oven frying mimics crispy-creamy Lebanese fried cauliflower, for the home kitchen.

Spicy Broccolini with Seared Tofu and Sesame Oil

This hearty vegetarian main gets its spicy-salty earthiness from chili-bean sauce, or toban djan, a common ingredient in Sichuan cooking. The brownish red sauce is sold in jars; if it’s not available, approximate the flavor by mixing 2 tablespoons red

Skillet Spanakopita

We love spanakopita—Greek spinach and feta pastry pockets—so much that we turned it into a skillet-sized brunch dish. OR We took spanakopita—the popular Greek spinach-and-feta-stuffed triangle—and expanded it into an abundant, skillet-filling course.