If you’re not already acquainted with dim sum, get ready for a treat. Originally from SouthChina, dim sum is a meal made up of dumplings and other small bites—and you don’t need to head to a restaurant to enjoy it. Join guest chefs Sarah and Kaitlin Leung, two of the creators of the popular blog The Woks of Life, at a pre-recorded Zoom class where you’ll learn two delectable dim sum staples. We start with pork and shrimp-stuffed steamed dumplings that are an essential part of any respectable dim sum spread. You’ll learn why shrimp love a quick bath in sugar and baking soda and will see how thorough mixing transforms the texture of the flavorful filling, which is also enriched with shiitake mushrooms, oyster sauce and fragrant sesame oil. Then comes the fun part: shaping. Sarah and Kaitlin show you how to create the classic siu mai shape, which resembles a small cup filled to the brim. Then, you’ll learn how to steam them to perfection using either parchment paper, cheesecloth or cabbage leaves as your base. Plus, they walk you through the steps of making siu mai ahead and freezing for later. Then we turn our attention to another classic dim sum star: Chinese Chicken Curry Puffs. Featuring Madras curry powder plus plenty of black pepper, cumin and turmeric, these richly aromatic treats come together in no time at all thanks to the magic of frozen puff pastry.

What’s on the Menu:
• Apple Pie Cocktail
• Tell Me You Didn’t
• The Mule’s Hind Leg
• Buttered Rum

We love to change the way we cook according to the seasons. Why not do the same with cocktails? J.M. Hirsch, Milk Street’s Editorial Director and author of “Shake Strain Done” and the new book “Pour Me Another,” is the leader of this pre-recorded Zoom livestream class featuring four cocktails that are perfect for crisp autumn evenings. You’ll learn how to draw inspiration from classic fall flavors like apple, pumpkin, maple and citrus and translate them into drinks that are balanced, complex and fun to drink. We start with a spin on apple pie that—spoiler alert—doesn’t actually include any apple. Instead, a combination of apricot brandy and grenadine creates gentle sweetness atop a foundation of white rum and vermouth. Then, we turn to a pumpkin spice latte in cocktail form. Never fear: the cloying sugariness of most pumpkin treats is nowhere to be seen here, as a generous amount of bourbon and splashes of two types of bitters keep the sweetness in check. Next, for you gin lovers out there, we have The Mule’s Hind Leg, which combines gin with Bénédictine, the herbal French liqueur that will become a staple of your bar cart. Finally, we wrap up the journey through J.M.’s choose-your-own-adventure book with some buttered rum. He turns this classic on its head by using fat washing, a fancy-sounding technique that is actually well within reach of the home bartender. Join us to add some refreshing seasonality to your cocktail routine.

“Which aisle of the grocery store can transport you to the cerulean coves of the Costa Brava, the rocky shores of Brittany, or the salmon smokehouses overlooking Alaska’s Bristol Bay? Only the canned fish aisle, where you’ll find tins full of salty treasures from around the world, miraculously preserved and ready for you to enjoy.” So begins Anna Hezel’s new book, “Tin to Table,” a love song to anchovies, sardines, tuna, oysters, scallops, eel and more—all of which you can enjoy straight from a tin. Join Anna at this pre-recorded livestream class to learn why your pantry should perpetually stock an assortment of tinned fish. We start with the basics, like choosing great brands and decoding confusing labels. Then, we put some of Anna’s favorite tinned fishes to use. First is a classic Caesar salad, which just isn’t complete without anchovies. Hers uses anchovies two ways—in the dressing and tossed with toasted challah breadcrumbs—in order to lean into their umami-forward complexity. Then, you’ll see how sardines transform a simple pasta dish, a riff on Sicilian pasta con le sarde. Combined with sweet yellow raisins, bright fennel and grassy white wine, the sardines make this meat-free pasta dish feel robust and filling. Whether you’re already a tinned fish enthusiast or need some guidance as you start your collection, this class is for you.

The simplest recipes are the hardest. Think that’s a contradiction of terms? Consider the classic Roman dish Cacio e Pepe. It has just three ingredients, but it has frustrated countless chefs and is considered the most difficult pasta dish to make and serve even by Italians. Whether it’s a broken sauce, a curdled egg or a greasy texture, this seemingly simple dish can go sideways fast. Thankfully, Italian pasta expert extraordinaire Rolando Beramendi has taught a pre-recorded Zoom class with Milk Street to teach you how to execute it with confidence and grace. And for those who want to dig into a plate of pasta that doesn't come with a warning label, Rolando also makes one of the easiest pasta dishes: Spaghetti alla Carbonara. With Rolando as your guide, you’ll learn how to pick high-quality ingredients that will set you up for success, from sharp pecorino Romano to artisanal pasta to salty guanciale and fragrant black peppercorns. You’ll also learn the nuanced timing of both of these dishes, and why having your ingredients fully prepped and ready to go before you turn on a single burner is critical. You’ll also get a peek into Rolando’s experiences as the founder of Italian food importer Manicaretti, which means that eating his way through Italy is literally part of the job description. You’ll come away from this class several steps closer to pasta perfection.

Guest chef Shahir Massoud, author of “Eat, Habibi, Eat: Fresh Recipes for Modern Egyptian Cooking,” is the teacher of this pre-recorded Zoom cooking class where you’ll learn how to achieve falafel perfection. According to Shahir, great falafel should have a crispy, golden exterior that reveals a bright-green center. Green, you ask? That’s right: true Egyptian falafel is made with fava beans, not chickpeas. Shahir’s version uses frozen edamame and peas, making this a perfect dinner solution when you’re not sure what to make for dinner and turn to your freezer for inspiration. And rather than making a whole bunch of individual falafel, we’ll keep things simple by cooking them like a burger (though you could certainly use this recipe for smaller falafel, as well). To accompany our falafel burgers, Shahir teaches you his favorite way to prepare tabbouleh, which starts by giving the tomatoes some time in a low-temperature oven to amplify their natural sweetness. From there, the tabbouleh is a bright and flavorful combination of garlic, olive oil, lemon, cucumber, fresh herbs and, of course, bulgur. This class puts Egyptian-style falafel and tabbouleh easily within reach for many weeknight meals to come.

Biryani is a true labor of love. It simply can’t be thrown together in a rush: it asks for patience, a suite of key kitchen techniques and, yes, a bit of planning ahead. But the result is worth it when you taste the saffron-infused rice, the melt-in-your-mouth lamb marinated in Indian spices and the creamy, rich gravy brightened by tomato and saffron. This is a recipe that benefits from some professional support when you’re making it for the first time. Thankfully, guest chef Cherie Scott, founder of Mumbai to Maine, has taught a class where she walks you through it all. In this pre-recorded Zoom class, you’ll learn Cherie’s mother’s lamb biryani, the same one she used to spend days—days!—preparing for up to 40 people before every big family celebration. Yours won’t take days to make, but you’ll be glad for Cherie’s insights as you blend your own garam masala variation, learn why lamb loves to be marinated in yogurt, make an Indian-style gravy (sauce) and prepare perfumed rice enriched with a splash of milk and a pinch of precious saffron threads. You’ll learn the history of biryanis, which date to the 1600s, when they were a preferred dish of Mughal emperors. You’ll get a peek into Cherie’s pantry and learn which ingredients you’ll want to have on hand for future biryani endeavors. Open a bottle of your best wine: this lamb feast is fit for royalty and calls for nothing less than a celebration!

What’s the one ingredient you’re sure to find in almost every kitchen? It has to be salt. But how much do you know about the science, production, varieties, and applications of this everyday ingredient? Lucky for you, guest chef Naomi Duguid literally wrote the book on the subject. We start this pre-recorded Zoom livestream class with an overview of what salt is and why it has such a transformative effect on our taste buds and food. Then we dive into three mini-recipes that demonstrate both salt’s versatility and its power to preserve other ingredients. The first is three-pepper salt, a combination of dried red cayenne chiles, Sichuan pepper, and black pepper that you’ll want to use on everything from roast chicken to a bowl of popcorn. The second is salted scallions, a classic of the Acadian culinary tradition of Nova Scotia. Thanks to the salt, the chopped scallions keep for months in a jar, becoming a taste of summer in winter and a bold aromatic seasoning all year round. Then you’ll whip up a batch of salted chiles from China’s Hunan province. Once fermented for two weeks, these mildly hot, slightly sweet peppers become a joy to see in your pantry and a treat to eat. Finally, you’ll see how a small amount of salt pork or pancetta gives a succulent lift of flavor to vegetable dishes, as you make an ultra-quick dish of sautéed Brussels sprouts. While we cook, Naomi answers every question you have could ever have about salt, from crystal size and shape to regional varieties and colors.

In springtime, we all get excited by leafy herbs, some of the first signs of the warming weather. So what if we told you that fresh herbs don’t have to just be a finishing flourish on your favorite pasta dishes—they can be inside the pasta dough itself? Guest chef and founder of Pasta Social Club Meryl Feinstein is the teacher of this pre-recorded Zoom livestream class where you’ll learn to make visually stunning handmade pasta that puts the flavors of spring right into the dough. You’ll learn how to pick the right herbs for the job: fan-shaped parsley is visually stunning, as are frilly dill fronds and aromatic sage. And speaking of dough, you’ll learn Meryl’s go-to recipe, which has just three ingredients. As with most short-ingredient-list recipes, though, you’ll benefit from a professional’s tips and tricks to get it just right. You’ll learn how to transform the dough into flat noodles—like linguine or lasagna sheets—that put the laminated herbs at center stage. Plus, we provide tips for great sauce pairings and advice on how to store and save your homemade pasta.

Join guest chef Rick Martínez, James Beard Award winner and author of “Mi Cocina,” for a pre-recorded livestream Zoom class that will transport you to two coastal Mexican states: Jalisco and Sinaloa. First, similar to mole but with a shorter ingredient list, pipián is a rich sauce flavored with bold spices like allspice and cloves. With just the right amount of heat from ancho chiles and chiles de árbol, this sauce can transform a rotisserie chicken, quick pan-seared shrimp or any vegetables of your choosing into a celebratory main course. Rick will teach you how to make Pipián Rojo the way they do it in Jalisco: loaded with pumpkin seeds, peanuts and sesame. Then, you’ll learn to make iconic tacos gobernador from Mazatlán in Sinaloa. Classic tacos gobernador combine shrimp and buttery sautéed vegetables inside a toasted, cheese-filled tortilla. As you make your tacos, you won’t just learn how to perfectly cook shrimp and why Rick recommends using both poblano and serrano peppers: you’ll also learn the colorful history of this taco, which was invented by an enterprising restaurateur to impress a local bureaucrat. You’ll also get a peek into the journey that Rick went on to write “Mi Cocina” and will hear stories from the seaside town in Mexico he now calls home.

If you think Korean barbecue is strictly restaurant fare, thinkagain. Guest chef Grace Park, founder of Crazy Korean Cooking, is here to prove that Korean barbecue isn’t just possible at home—it’s dead simple and truly fun. At this pre-recorded Zoom livestream class, Grace will teach you her two favorite proteins for Korean barbecue: galbi (beef short ribs) and spicy pork belly. You’ll learn why marinades are the humble heroes of Korean barbecue. These bold combinations of garlic, soy, sugar, rice wine and fermented chili paste impart big flavor to meat—especially because you'll let your meat marinate for two full days. We’ll walk through the science of long marination and you’ll learn why you should never ever skip the step of putting your meat dry before grilling. Whether you grill your meat on a traditional tabletop setup or at the stove, you’ll get Grace’s pro tips on picking the right pan, keeping your meat from sticking and judging doneness with perfect accuracy. With the meats cooked and ready to go, we’ll move on to the rest of the classic Korean barbecue spread. You’ll see how easy it is to mix up a batch of ssamjang, a Korean dipping sauce that’s deeply savory and nicely spicy.Grace will walk you through the history and flavor profiles of doenjang (soybean paste) and gochujang (fermented hot pepper paste), which are two ingredients you’ll never want to be without again. And then we’ll put it all together. A crunchy lettuce leaf, a smear of ssamjang, a mound of pork belly or short ribs, and a bit of grilled kimchi: it just may be the perfect bite.

It’s happened to all of us: we see a photo of a beautifully decorated cake online and think, “I can definitely do that.” Fast forward to a few hours later and your kitchen is covered in icing, you’re frazzled and the cake is a lopsided mess that looks nothing like the picture. It turns out, cake decorating does require some foundational techniques, a few simple tools and a bit of practice. Guest chef Bronwen Wyatt, creator of Bayou Saint Cake and its devoted following, is here to show you the way at this pre-recorded Zoom class. We start with a lemon semolina cake that is tender enough to be delectable but sturdy enough to stand up to trimming, stacking and frosting. We make Bronwen’s go-to buttercream together. A far cry from sickly-sweet American buttercream, this Swiss Meringue buttercream is silky and fluffy. With our cakes, jam and buttercream at the ready, it’s time to decorate. You’ll learn why your frosting should be a different temperature for your crumb coat than for your final coat. You’ll learn how to wield a pastry bag with confidence. You’ll see the difference that an offset spatula makes. And you’ll get Bronwen’s tips on how to achieve that picture-perfect rustic-yet-elegant finish. The cherry on top is that you’ll get expert advice on how to use fresh fruit, herbs and flowers to make your cake truly stunning. Bronwen will demonstrate three tried-and-true arrangements that you can turn to again and again: the crescent, the wreath and the terrazzo. Join us to become a confident and creative maker of beautiful cakes.

We love cast iron. It holds heat for even cooking, it is nonstick if you treat it properly and it lasts forever. It can also be used on the stovetop, in an oven, on the grill or directly over hot coals. Questions about cast iron, however, abound. How do I keep it seasoned? What can I—and can’t I—cook in it? Is the no-soap rule hard and fast? Can a pitted, rusted cast-iron pan be rescued?

We answer all your questions at this pre-recorded livestream workshop taught by Creative Director Matthew Card, who uses his 12-inch cast-iron skillet so much that it sits full-time on the range waiting for the next meal. We cover pan selection, maintenance, cooking, seasoning and more. We also get into the details of lighter, thinner carbon-steel pans, which we turn to almost as regularly as our trusty cast irons. Bring your questions and your pan—whether it’s gleaming or crusted with last night’s dinner—and you’ll be ready to cook with it by the end of this class.

Caramel sauce is arguably the “mother” sauce of dessert, with its unique capacity to enhance fruit, chocolate, confection, cake or cream. Sure, it’s sweet and unctuous, but what makes it so compelling culinarily is its complex bitterness. The bitter sharpens other flavors in a dessert through contrast and complement. As important and useful as caramel is, making it can feel daunting. In this workshop with Milk Street’s Matt Card, you will work though the fundamentals of a basic and classic caramel sauce, learning the science, equipment and technique needed to create perfect caramel every time. With the basics understood, you will learn to make a flavorful array of caramel variations, like ones using orange juice, coffee, chai spices and even crème fraîche. If you love making desserts and want to add a fundamental baking technique to your repertoire, join Matt and learn the mother of all dessert sauces.

From Turkey to Tunisia and Jordan to Iraq, the Middle East is a vast region with countless layers of culinary influence. It’s a part of the world we love to learn about at Milk Street, and one of our favorite teachers is chef, author and spice aficionado Lior Lev Sercarz, whose most recent book is “A Middle Eastern Pantry.” Lior is the teacher of this pre-recorded livestream class, where he proves that equipping your pantry with a short list of essential ingredients will set you up for endless delicious meals. We’re going beyond tahini and olive oil here. You’ll come away completely convinced that you need a jar of pickled grape leaves on hand for dolmas, which are prepared more like a casserole than you might think. Then, you’ll learn to make homemade versions of three beloved and utilitarian spice blends: tart za’atar, nutty dukkah and savory shawarma—that’s right, shawarma is a spice blend as well as a meat preparation. Finally, to satisfy your sweet tooth, you’ll use date syrup and rose water—both must-haves in a well-stocked Middle Eastern pantry—to make jallab, a nonalcoholic refreshing chilled drink that’s garnished with pine nuts. As we cook, Lior will shed light on the production, history, cultural resonance and storage of each of these staples. You’ll come away with a super-powered pantry to make future Middle Eastern meals a breeze to prepare.

Pesto doesn’t need basil. Or pine nuts or Parmesan, or even pasta. The word comes from pestare, the Italian verb for pound. That means countless combinations of ground vegetables, herbs, cheese and nuts can be considered a pesto to dress vegetables, stir into soups, and yes, use as a pasta sauce. At Milk Street, we’ve tasted more than a dozen and have learned that, simply put, there are no real rules. In that case, how do you know to make a good pesto? Does the order of ingredients matter? How do you know if the consistency is right? We answer all your pesto questions and make three pestos together in this 75-minute pre-recorded Zoom class taught by Milk Street’s Rosemary Gill and April Dodd. The first is a very simple one made from fennel, green olives and pistachios; the lessons here are all about flavor combinations and how to make substitutions. The second and third pestos are both from the Amalfi Coast but share little in terms of flavor or technique. One is a parsley pesto is little more than barely blanched parsley enriched with anchovy, but its vibrant hue and complex flavor are now legendary at Milk Street. The second is equally loved and uses whole lemons, almonds and Parmesan cheese to create a bright but rich sauce. Each of these recipes accompanies pasta in our new cookbook “Noodles.” However, in class we’ll discuss many other uses for each. They’re so good, though, you may just eat them right out of the bowl with a spoon.

Grab yourself a bib, because it’s time to tackle lobster together. Guest chef Spencer Watts is the son of a fisherman and the author of “Fish for You,” a love song to fish and shellfish. And few shellfish hold a spot in as many of our hearts as the lobster . Join Spencer in this pre - recorded class to learn how to make lobster a regular appearance in your own kitchen. We start with an overview of lobster sourcing and purchasing tips. Whether you want to tackle the lobster yourself or have your fishmonger do s ome primary cuts, you’ll learn all the lingo to use at the fish counter. Plus, you’ll get permission from the expert to opt for easier-to-prepare fresh or frozen lobster tails or shell-free “knuckles.” Then, Spencer will walk you through cooking lobster at home, which may sound intimidating but is actually very straightforward, especially when you know Spencer’s simple timing equation based on the weight of your lobster. You’ll learn why the freezer is a key part of the process and will see why it’s worth i t to have an ice bath on hand. Our lobster discussion doesn’t stop at the meat: you’ll learn how to transform the shells into an aromatic lobster oil and the bodies into a quick stock. With all this lobster knowledge in hand, we make a round of lobster puf fs. Think of them like all the good parts of a lobster roll, but charmingly bite-sized

Calling all chocolate lovers! This is your chance to learn about working with chocolates with a celebrated chocolatier. Paul Young, author of “The Joy of Chocolate,” wants to bring the joys of great chocolate to your home kitchen via this pre-recorded Zoom class. After covering the bases, like what to look for when shopping for chocolate, we’ll jump into two chocolate-forward confections. First, if you’re short of time and need to whip up a dessert that is both deeply chocolatey and totally impressive, Paul’s truffle torte is your one-stop shop. The base is a convenient no-bake combination of almonds, white chocolate and honey, and the chocolate torte itself calls for just three ingredients. You read that right: a torte for which all you need is chocolate, sugar and heavy cream. But it’s the recipes with the shortest ingredient lists that depend most on technique, and this one is no exception. Paul will show you how to achieve a creamy, luxurious chocolate mixture without running any risk of seized chocolate or gritty bits of sugar. For chocolate lovers, one single dessert simply isn’t enough, so we’ll then turn from tortes to cookies. Paul’s Triple-Chocolate Sandwich Cookies use three types of chocolate: a robust 72% cacao, a sweet 40% milk chocolate and a dash of real white chocolate. (What is “real” white chocolate, you ask? Paul will fill you in!) The richness of the chocolate is balanced by toasty brown butter and nutty rye flour in the cookies, which are good enough that you could make them without the triple-chocolate filling—but why would you? Join us to treat yourself and all the chocolate lovers in your life.

Crispy and crunchy, toasty fried noodles are fun, delicious and useful. They can become a pancake-like base that supports a whole meal, function like croutons or tortilla chips for a finishing crunch on lentils and salads, or be that just-crisp-enough addition to a frittata or casserole that takes it from good to outstanding. How you fry them is crucial to the end result and in this 75-minute pre-recorded Zoom class taught by Milk Street’s Rosemary Gill and April Dodd, you’ll learn everything you need to know to start experimenting. We’ll make two dishes from Milk Street’s new book, aptly named “Noodles” : Mi Xào Giòn (Vietnamese Pan-Fried Noodles with Shrimp and Bok Choy) and Harak Osbao (Syrian Pasta and Lentils with Pomegranate Molasses). In the mì xào giòn, we pan-fry fresh egg noodles in a skillet into a crisp-crusted cake and top it with a slightly-saucy stir-fry of shrimp and mixed vegetable, the heat from which softens the noodles to crunchy-chewy deliciousness. To make the harak osbao, we use fried noodles very differently. Rather than being the foundation of the dish, they are a crunchy garnish, adding a textural pop to a base of lentils and boiled pasta brightened by sweet-and-sour pomegranate molasses and lemony cilantro. As we cook, we talk about more approaches for frying noodles and uses for them. Join us to fry up some noodles and make two delicious meals.