It’s an all-out holiday hour of Milk Street Radio! We check in with French baker Dominique Ansel about how the invention of the cronut changed his life, his secret trick to a perfect fruit soufflé and why you shouldn’t buy cookies in France. Plus, author Julia Georgallis offers three tips for how to eat (and drink!) your Christmas tree; Adam Gopnik and Chris Kimball reflect on their top food books of the year; J.M. Hirsch provides a festive batched cocktail recipe; Cheryl Day answers your biggest baking questions: and we prepare your new favorite dessert: Paris Flan.

Get this week’s recipe for Paris Flan here.

You can find our Best Recipes of 2024 collection here.

Music credits, courtesy of Artlist:

Bob Hart - O Christmas Tree

The BaldyBrothers - Another Blue

Flint - Peach Jam

Avner Kelmer - Supper West Side

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In this special episode, we’re sharing an extended interview with Al Roker. Al makes his return to Milk Street to discuss his latest cookbook — a collaboration with his daughter, Courtney Roker Laga — as well as the jobs he worked prior to landing at NBC and the food he uses as a test to determine whether or not someone can be his friend. 

You can find our Best Recipes of 2024 collection here.

Listen to Milk Street Radio on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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Al Roker is back on Milk Street with family recipes and television stories to share. He recalls celebrity-filled lunches at the NBC commissary and the holiday meal he dreamt of while recovering from surgery. Plus, Ben Mims reveals the secret history of cookies; Grant Barrett and Martha Barnette of “A Way With Words” express holiday gratitude with food-themed compliments; and we prepare Cantonese Sweet-and-Sour Pork.

Get this week’s recipe for Cantonese Sweet and Sour Pork here.

You can find our Best Recipes of 2024 collection here.

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In this special episode, we share a few of our favorite moments about baking. Cheryl Day—cookbook author, co-owner of Back in the Day Bakery in Savannah, Georgia, and now Milk Street Radio guest co-host—reveals her tips for perfect biscuits, cakes and cookies. Plus, a computer designs the ultimate chocolate chip cookie; Chris Kimball and Dan Pashman consider the muffin; and is it magic, or is it Maple-Whiskey Pudding Cakes?

Get the recipe for Maple-Whiskey Pudding Cakes here.

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We’re kicking off the holiday season with Rose Levy Beranbaum and Woody Wolston in celebration of the 35th anniversary of “The Cake Bible.” Beranbaum and Wolston reveal their tricks for génoise, their secret ingredient for perfect chocolate cake and their full-throated defense of fondant—yes, fondant! Plus, we explore the delightfully strange world of food miniatures with Emily Kenway, Chris and Sara answer your holiday cooking questions, and we make Almond and Citrus Biscotti.

Get this week’s recipe for Almond and Citrus Biscotti here.

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This week, we go behind the scenes of French restaurants with writer and former waiter Edward Chisholm to experience the chaotic rush of Sunday brunch, discover where waiters go on their time off and find out what happens to your food before it reaches the plate. Plus, we investigate a street food mystery in India with journalist Barkha Kumari, Adam Gopnik gets in a pickle about fermented foods, and we make the Moroccan beef and chickpea stew harira. (Originally aired December 9, 2022.)

Get this week’s recipe for Moroccan Beef, Tomato and Chickpea Stew here.

We want to hear your culinary tips! Share your cooking hacks, secret ingredients or unexpected techniques with us for a chance to hear yourself on Milk Street Radio! Here's how: https://www.177milkstreet.com/radiotips

Listen to Milk Street Radio on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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It’s our annual Thanksgiving special, and we’re dedicating the hour to solving your toughest problems. Jet Tila has ideas for reimagining vegetable side dishes, Cheryl Day solves the issue of overflowing pies, Christopher Kimball defends mini marshmallows on sweet potato casserole, and much more. Plus, we’ll get a Thanksgiving poetry reading from Adam Gopnik, find out how to make a turkey in just two hours and hear about our listeners’ most unique holiday traditions.

We want to hear your culinary tips! Share your cooking hacks, secret ingredients or unexpected techniques with us for a chance to hear yourself on Milk Street Radio! Here's how: https://www.177milkstreet.com/radiotips

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Madhur Jaffrey joins us and shares memories from mountain picnics in the Himalayas, her favorite way to enjoy a mango and stories from her career as a film and food star. Plus, we make Turkish-Style Flaky Flatbreads and journalist David Johns tries to find out—could ice cream actually be good for you? (Originally aired November 9, 2023.)

Get this week’s recipe for Turkish-Style Flaky Flatbreads here.

We want to hear your culinary tips! Share your cooking hacks, secret ingredients or unexpected techniques with us for a chance to hear yourself on Milk Street Radio! Here's how: https://www.177milkstreet.com/radiotips

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Matt Goulding shares stories from his new documentary series, “Omnivore.” We find out why he followed a tuna on a journey around the world, what Big Ag can learn from Mexican corn farmers and what happened when René Redzepi served one of the world’s hottest chili peppers at Noma. Plus, Sonoko Sakai reveals how to “wafu” your cooking, J. Kenji López-Alt solves the problems of cooking fish at home, and we uncover the history of Ukrainian borsch.

Get this week’s recipe for Ukrainian Borsch here.

We want to hear your culinary tips! Share your cooking hacks, secret ingredients or unexpected techniques with us for a chance to hear yourself on Milk Street Radio! Here's how: https://www.177milkstreet.com/radiotips

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According to journalist Zoë Schlanger, your garden isn’t just full of plants that are alive, but plants that can think—like the rice plant, which recognizes its own family members. Schlanger takes us inside a hotbed of scientific controversy: the study of plant intelligence. Plus, the Washington Post’s Joe Yonan masters the art of plant-based cooking; Grant Barrett and Martha Barnette help us wrap our heads around food words; and we make a Greek White Bean Soup.

Get this week’s recipe for Greek White Bean Soup here.

We want to hear your culinary tips! Share your cooking hacks, secret ingredients or unexpected techniques with us for a chance to hear yourself on Milk Street Radio! Here's how: https://www.177milkstreet.com/radiotips

Listen to Milk Street Radio on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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This week, we’re celebrating the holiday of tricks and treats with Halloween scholar Lesley Bannatyne. She teaches us how to emulate the romping Halloween parties of the Victorian era, complete with matchmaking games and dinners for the dead. Plus, we discuss Cotton Candy Grapes and other new candy-inspired flavors in fruit breeding; Dan Pashman has a suggestion for your trick-or-treat offering this year; and we make a German-Style winter squash bread. (Originally aired October 28, 2022.)

Get this week’s recipe for German-Style Winter Squash Bread here.

We want to hear your culinary tips! Share your cooking hacks, secret ingredients or unexpected techniques with us for a chance to hear yourself on Milk Street Radio! Here's how: https://www.177milkstreet.com/radiotips

Listen to Milk Street Radio on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.