Milk Street: Tuesday Nights
Winner, 2019 James Beard Cookbook Award for Best General Cookbook Tuesdays are the new Saturdays! Now simple midweek suppers will taste like Saturday night. Ginger-Soy Steak, Salt and Pepper Shrimp, Hazelnut-Crusted Chicken Cutlets, Pasta with Seared Cauliflower and Garlic, and Cuban-Spiced Burgers. Milk Street has searched the world for simple techniques that deliver bold flavor in less time. Here, we present more than 200 solutions for bold weeknight cooking, showing how to make simple, healthy, big-flavor meals that come together in minutes using pantry staples and just a few other ingredients. Milk Street Tuesday Nights is organized by the way you cook. Some chapters focus on time—with recipes that are Fast (under an hour, start to finish), Faster (45 minutes or less) and Fastest (25 minutes or less)—while others highlight easy methods or themes, like Supper Salads, Roast and Simmer, and Easy Additions. And there's always time for pizza, tacos, "walk-away" recipes, one-pot wonders and ultra-fast 20-minute miracles. Great food made quickly, every night of the week.
Il Colle Del Gusto Sicilian Pistachio Spread
Made from Sicilian pistachios and extra-virgin olive oil, Pistacchiosa is a creamy, aromatic spread you will want to put on all your desserts and, yes, eat straight out of the jar.
Huilerie Beaujolaise Calamansi Vinegar
We absolutely love this small-batch vinegar from French artisanal producer Huilerie Beaujolaise. With a bright and tangy vibrancy akin to tangerine, this vinegar almost tastes like a shrub, or drinking vinegar. Ubiquitous to Filipino cuisine, calamansi is a citrus hybrid between kumquat and mandarin orange.
Villa Jerada Harissa
Villa Jerada’s Harissa No. 1 is our favorite version of this North African red pepper paste for its bright, complex flavor. While many store-bought varieties have a one-dimensional spicy flavor, this harissa layers acidity and fruitiness with preserved lemons, a touch of vinegar and tomato paste for a lively, tangy condiment. Villa Jerada uses just enough high-quality Moroccan olive oil to make the harissa spreadable and smooth without diluting its flavor, as opposed to conventional brands that contain a high proportion of water and vegetable oil.
MegaChef Premium Oyster Flavored Sauce
Megachef Oyster Sauce is made with premium oysters that are harvested off the Gulf of Thailand and smoked over hardwood for a deeper flavor and smoky, grilled aroma. We love its complex yet clean flavor: robust and savory, slightly briny and almost sweet. Although it's prepared by cooking down oysters until their juices caramelize, this sauce does not taste like oysters; rather, it has a molasses-like richness and sweet, savory and umami flavor that's slightly similar to soy sauce. Megachef's version has no added artificial flavors or colors—in contrast, even high-quality brands tend to augment their oyster sauce with ingredients like MSG and caramel coloring, resulting in an artificial taste.
While oyster sauce is mostly used as an ingredient for marinades, stir-fries or flavoring rice or noodle dishes, Megachef's Oyster Sauce is also delicious on its own as a condiment—the sauce's smoother consistency compared to other brands is perfect for dipping or drizzling over dishes.
Pic's Smooth Peanut Butter
Pic’s Peanut Butter works equally well for classic peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as it does for baking and cooking. Choose between salted or unsalted—even the salted version has only half the salt of comparable brands. And while not impervious to separating, we find the peanut butter comes together quickly with just a stir or two, as opposed to the vigorous blending required with other versions. It also boasts a shelf stability up to 10 times greater than regular peanut butter. And the peanut butter itself is always made without any added sugar, oil or emulsifiers, so the peanut flavor comes through clearly in both sweet and savory recipes.
Belazu Ingredient Company Rose Harissa
Made with dried rose petals, this aromatic harissa has an amazing depth of flavor, with an up-front warmth that builds gradually. The subtle rose flavor doesn't overpower but rather enhances the other ingredients, layering botanical notes with earthy spices and playing up the fruity and floral notes of the chili. Made with dried rose petals, this aromatic harissa has an amazing depth of flavor, with an up-front warmth that builds gradually. The subtle rose flavor doesn't overpower but rather enhances the other ingredients, layering botanical notes with earthy spices and playing up the fruity and floral notes of the chili.
Auria's Malaysian Kitchen Lime Leaf Sambal
Based on a family recipe, Lime Leaf Sambal by Auria's Malaysian Kitchen is a one-of-a-kind tangy and savory chili paste made with makrut lime leaves and lime juice. The clarifying aroma and complex floral notes of makrut lime complement the chili peppers' fresh, vibrant quality without making the hot sauce taste overwhelmingly citrusy. The sambal is rounded out with pungent garlic, cane sugar and kosher salt for a savory, balanced condiment that has both the brightness of fresh chilies and the depth of cooked chilies.
Brooklyn Delhi Roasted Garlic Achaar
Even those averse to raw garlic will love Brooklyn Delhi's Roasted Garlic Achaar, which showcases the caramelized, mellow qualities of roasted garlic. This bold sauce has spicy-sweet notes up front, followed by an aromatic lemony tang and lingering mustard pungency; just a small amount will add depth and nuance to any meal.
Brooklyn Delhi Tomato Achaar
Robust, savory-sweet Tomato Achaar features bright tomato fruit enhanced with tart tamarind, earthy garlic and nutty sesame oil, for a subtly spiced, well-rounded sauce with just the right amount of tang. The achaar's mild heat level and smooth consistency make it an easy, complexly flavored substitute for tomato paste in soups and sauces.
Rustichella d'Abruzzo Farro Couscous
North African couscous often appears in Sicilian cooking because of their geographic proximity—take, for instance, couscous alla Trapanese, which pairs fresh seafood with the tiny pasta shape. This satisfyingly chewy couscous is made with farro, an ancient grain with a light nutty flavor reminiscent of oats or barley. Historic Italian producer Rustichella d'Abruzzo—a family company that traces its roots back to 1924 in Penne, Italy—makes its pasta using traditional methods, including slow-drying at low temperatures over the course of days. Try Rustichella d'Abruzzo Farro Couscous with our North African Chicken Couscous.
Mymouné Mulberry Preserves
This may be my favorite jam in the world, other than my favorite Sicilian Orange Marmalade. It is astonishingly refreshing and intriguing, with a flavor that balances sweetness and wild blueberry with wild herbs. It tastes undomesticated, as if it had been made in the far hills of some undiscovered country or something offered at the table in a Greek myth. It is great as a spread for pancakes (I love my own maple syrup but mulberry jam on pancakes is one of life’s rare treats), on toast, or on a fresh, hot corn muffin. Just delightful!
Salute Santé! Grapeseed Oil
Made from the seeds of wine grapes, this cold-pressed oil has an exceptionally light flavor yet full body. Similar to good olive oil, it has a fine balance of subtle peppery and fruity notes, ideal for enhancing vinaigrettes without leaving a greasy aftertaste. Yet the flavor is subtle enough that it won’t impart flavors to dishes when you want a neutral cooking medium. Arguably one of the best oils with a high smoke point, grapeseed oil is our go-to choice for sautéing, searing and stir-frying. It won’t impart flavors to dishes when cooking, nor will it smell fishy, like overheated canola oil. We also appreciate that company founder and Austrian-born chef Valentin Humer makes a point to package his product in metal bottles so no light gets in, ensuring a more stable product with a longer shelf life. Use Salute Santé's Grapeseed Oil for lighter foods—such as fish or delicate vegetables—that could benefit from a little richness but not the heaviness of fats like butter. It's the perfect oil for recipes such as our Udon Noodles with Shiitake Mushrooms and Spinach. Or try it in our Hazelnut-Crusted Chicken Cutlets with Arugula and Fennel Salad for fried and breaded chicken that is rich but not greasy. We also like to use Salute Santé Grapeseed Oil raw for subtle dimension in salad dressings. Use it in our Apple and Fennel Salad with Candied Pecans to emphasize its peppery and fruity flavors. Or make a chili-infused oil to dress our Smashed Cucumber Salad, which will still taste refreshing and crisp with Salute Santé's light and smooth product.
Fatworks Organic Free-Range Chicken Fat
Nothing imparts buttery, roasted richness like golden schmaltz, or chicken fat, and artisanal producer Fatworks, based in Colorado, sells this unseasoned small-batch version so it's especially versatile and can be flavored to your liking. We love using it to add savory, meaty flavor to morning eggs or extra nuance to any chicken recipe. Fatworks' careful sourcing—only from small family farms—and kettle-rendering processing method ensure a velvety, full-flavored product that can be treated like a high-quality butter or olive oil.
Mymouné Sundried Fig Preserves
This dense, intensely flavored Lebanese Sundried Fig Jam is perfectly balanced and only moderately sweet. It consists of 75% fruit, so you can taste all the richness of the figs. We like how the decadent, warm sweetness is accented and made more interesting by subtle savory notes from aniseed, while the sesame seeds in the jam enhance the figs' natural texture. This thick, decadent fig jam also has chunks of fruit for a more satisfying bite. Spread it with butter or ricotta on toast or in a sandwich. You can also feature it on a cheese tray, paired with creamy goat cheese, or even add a little to a meat stew to balance heavier flavors. Or smear a little between layers of carrot cake along with cardamom-scented cream cheese frosting.
Brooklyn Delhi Tomato Achaar and Roasted Garlic Achaar
With a name that means “pickled” in Hindi, achaar is a staple Indian condiment that adds a fiery, tangy accent to any meal. New York-based company Brooklyn Delhi uses fresh, local produce in its award-winning achaars, which are prepared in small batches by founder and chef Chitra Agrawal.
Robust, savory-sweet Tomato Achaar features bright tomato fruit enhanced with tart tamarind, earthy garlic and nutty sesame oil, for a subtly spiced, well-rounded sauce with just the right amount of tang. The achaar's mild heat level and smooth consistency make it an easy, complexly flavored substitute for tomato paste in soups and sauces—if you don't use it all for dipping.
And even those averse to raw garlic will love Roasted Garlic Achaar, which showcases the caramelized, mellow qualities of roasted garlic. The sauce has spicy-sweet notes up front, followed by an aromatic lemony tang and lingering mustard pungency. We love Roasted Garlic Achaar whipped into mayonnaise and smeared on sandwiches, or use it as a softer alternative to minced garlic or shallot in salad dressings.
- Net Weight: 9 ounces
- Ingredients: Tomato Achaar: locally grown tomatoes, sesame oil, expeller pressed canola oil, garlic, salt, red chili powder, tamarind, spices (black mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, turmeric, asafetida), unrefined sugar cane | Roasted Garlic Achaar: roasted garlic, lemon, non-GMO canola oil, salt, red chili powder, spices (black mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, turmeric), unrefined sugar cane
Huilerie Beaujolaise Raspberry Vinegar
This smooth, full-bodied raspberry vinegar from French artisanal producer Huilerie Beaujolaise is wonderfully complex, with a perfect balance between tart and sweet that works in both sweet and savory recipes. Unlike the ambiguous mixed-berry flavor of other vinegars, there is no mistaking the raspberry characteristics in this vinegar. It has a concentrated, jam-like fruitiness without being cloyingly sweet—rather, the berries' natural tartness combined with acetic acid make for a well-rounded flavor profile with plenty of depth, like a brighter version of balsamic. Huilerie Beaujolaise enhances the vinegar with a bit of raspberry juice after fermentation, which creates a fuller mouthfeel similar to that of barrel-aged vinegar.
Irish Black Butter
A conserve of apples, cider, brandy, and spices, Irish Black Butter has a uniquely deep, caramelized apple flavor with subtle spice notes and an almost earthy, smoky finish. It’s made by cooking down the country’s famous Armagh Bramley apples until they developed a rich molasses-like quality and warm complexity; the apples themselves have a Protected Geographic Indication recognized by the European Union. Irish Black Butter has an excellent smooth, spreadable texture that is a bit thicker than store-bought apple butters; it isn’t silky or gelatinous on the tongue but rather has a very fine granularity like any good homemade apple butter. We absolutely love this award-winning paste for its depth of flavor—it’s the best apple butter you’ll ever have.