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Milk Street Shorts: Recipes That Pack a Punch
The smartest, simplest, most powerful recipes that will transform your home cooking—from the James Beard Award-winning team at Milk Street
In the kitchen, brevity is brilliant. Short recipes are the ones cooks remember best—not only because they're simple to make and easy to repeat, but because they are boiled down to their elemental beauty and charm.
In Milk Street Shorts, Christopher Kimball and his team of cooks and editors have developed a repertoire of nearly 150 genius recipes that are casual, improvisational, and fun. These recipes are not just short—they're bolder, better cooking because they're short. Their essential cleverness gives them power that does not require long ingredient lists or all-day cooking.
And every recipe packs a punch—throw-it-together meals like "Nothing Soup,"Chili Crisp Peanut Noodles, and Five-Ingredient Pork and Kimchi Stew, snacks and side dishes like Sunflower Hummus, Crispy Spiced Chickpeas, and Salt and Vinegar Smashed Potatoes, and smart ways to use your oven, like Reverse-Sear Pork Loin, Skillet Lasagna, and Two-Hour Turkey. Recipes are organized by simplicity—Short, Shorter, and Shortest—with chapters including skillet suppers, sheet-pan tray bakes, and weeknight desserts like Clementine Blender Cake.
In the kitchen, brevity is brilliant. Short recipes are the ones cooks remember best—not only because they're simple to make and easy to repeat, but because they are boiled down to their elemental beauty and charm.
In Milk Street Shorts, Christopher Kimball and his team of cooks and editors have developed a repertoire of nearly 150 genius recipes that are casual, improvisational, and fun. These recipes are not just short—they're bolder, better cooking because they're short. Their essential cleverness gives them power that does not require long ingredient lists or all-day cooking.
And every recipe packs a punch—throw-it-together meals like "Nothing Soup,"Chili Crisp Peanut Noodles, and Five-Ingredient Pork and Kimchi Stew, snacks and side dishes like Sunflower Hummus, Crispy Spiced Chickpeas, and Salt and Vinegar Smashed Potatoes, and smart ways to use your oven, like Reverse-Sear Pork Loin, Skillet Lasagna, and Two-Hour Turkey. Recipes are organized by simplicity—Short, Shorter, and Shortest—with chapters including skillet suppers, sheet-pan tray bakes, and weeknight desserts like Clementine Blender Cake.
304 pages, Hardcover
Published October 14, 2025
34 people are currently reading
78 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 4, 2026
I really liked this cookbook. I borrowed it from the library and ended up taking so many screenshots that I finally admitted I should just buy my own copy. I’m especially drawn to novel soup recipes, and this one delivers—there are several that look genuinely interesting and, more importantly, manageable.
Because let’s be honest: we’re all ambitious when flipping through a cookbook, but when 6 p.m. hits on a workday, the last thing anyone wants is a recipe with a double-digit ingredient list. This book clearly understands that reality.
The pasta dishes look particularly appealing, as do the creative takes on eggs, veggies, and fried rice. There’s also cookie recipes! 🥳 Throughout, it retains that reassuring Milk Street (with a hint of America’s Test Kitchen DNA) promise: the recipes are tested, they work, and they bring thoughtful international flavors without unnecessary fuss.
I can’t wait to start cooking from it—if I remember, I’ll come back and let y’all know how it goes.
Because let’s be honest: we’re all ambitious when flipping through a cookbook, but when 6 p.m. hits on a workday, the last thing anyone wants is a recipe with a double-digit ingredient list. This book clearly understands that reality.
The pasta dishes look particularly appealing, as do the creative takes on eggs, veggies, and fried rice. There’s also cookie recipes! 🥳 Throughout, it retains that reassuring Milk Street (with a hint of America’s Test Kitchen DNA) promise: the recipes are tested, they work, and they bring thoughtful international flavors without unnecessary fuss.
I can’t wait to start cooking from it—if I remember, I’ll come back and let y’all know how it goes.
October 22, 2025
Delicious food does not have to take hours or require tons of fancy gadgets.
It can be made with thawed frozen peas, pasta from a box and a few other ingredients. Cakes can be made with blenders and whisks — no fancy mixers required. Dinner can be made in less than an hour.
I first learned of the forthcoming "Milk Street Shorts" (available Oct. 14), the latest offering from Christopher Kimball and his team of cooks and editors, at the end of January, when I observed a Recipe Development Bootcamp, a four-class offering of Milk Street's In-Person Cooking School, held at Field Farm in Williamstown. To explain the difference between well-written and poorly-written recipes, participants were given bare bones instructions for the Butter-Crisped Crouton and Gruyère Omelet that appears in this cookbook. The results were eye-opening when compared to each other and to what the recipe should look like.
Read my full review here:
https://www.berkshireeagle.com/arts_a...
It can be made with thawed frozen peas, pasta from a box and a few other ingredients. Cakes can be made with blenders and whisks — no fancy mixers required. Dinner can be made in less than an hour.
I first learned of the forthcoming "Milk Street Shorts" (available Oct. 14), the latest offering from Christopher Kimball and his team of cooks and editors, at the end of January, when I observed a Recipe Development Bootcamp, a four-class offering of Milk Street's In-Person Cooking School, held at Field Farm in Williamstown. To explain the difference between well-written and poorly-written recipes, participants were given bare bones instructions for the Butter-Crisped Crouton and Gruyère Omelet that appears in this cookbook. The results were eye-opening when compared to each other and to what the recipe should look like.
Read my full review here:
https://www.berkshireeagle.com/arts_a...
November 23, 2025
Milk Street publications highlight international dishes. They teach how these can be easily made in home kitchens. I own and use many of their titles and they are among my favorites.
The many recipes offer the reader simple instructions. They require generally accessible ingredients. Full page photographs show the finished product. Each edition repeats this same basic formula. “Shorts” differs in its theme of quick and easy meals.
Thankfully they don’t save time by the use of instant or pre-made products. You may find canned tomatoes mentioned, but never pre-measured cake or pudding mixes. They generally discourage the use of frozen foods.
The results are usually successful. They can be outstandingly good.
I have a few gripes. Sometimes the cookbooks repeat recipes from book to book so if you own others you might want to check the ratio of original dishes to those previously printed. They also recommend the use of salted butter which can make things taste too salty.
A few of the techniques don’t suit me. I’m too chicken to cut the corn off the cob or spatchcock a chicken.
But on the whole, I find “Shorts” a worthwhile investment.
The many recipes offer the reader simple instructions. They require generally accessible ingredients. Full page photographs show the finished product. Each edition repeats this same basic formula. “Shorts” differs in its theme of quick and easy meals.
Thankfully they don’t save time by the use of instant or pre-made products. You may find canned tomatoes mentioned, but never pre-measured cake or pudding mixes. They generally discourage the use of frozen foods.
The results are usually successful. They can be outstandingly good.
I have a few gripes. Sometimes the cookbooks repeat recipes from book to book so if you own others you might want to check the ratio of original dishes to those previously printed. They also recommend the use of salted butter which can make things taste too salty.
A few of the techniques don’t suit me. I’m too chicken to cut the corn off the cob or spatchcock a chicken.
But on the whole, I find “Shorts” a worthwhile investment.
December 1, 2025
The point of this book is maximum flavor, with minimal effort. The longest cooking time here is a little over an hour, and most recipes are around the 30-40 minute mark. The Japanese eggs are amazing; I also loved the traybakes chapter and their old-school take on the shrimp and feta bake that's all over tik-tok.
These are active cooking recipes, and there isn't any nutritional information. But they are very good (lots of pastas) and veggie-forward. This is an excellent introduction to Milk Street's way of cooking, and it's a lot less intimidating than their other cookbooks.
These are active cooking recipes, and there isn't any nutritional information. But they are very good (lots of pastas) and veggie-forward. This is an excellent introduction to Milk Street's way of cooking, and it's a lot less intimidating than their other cookbooks.
November 29, 2025
This cookbook isn’t for everyone. This is NOT a shortcut cookbook. A few recipes take less than 30 minutes to complete, but most take 1-2 hours. There are photos accompanying each recipe. The recipes aren’t conducive for most weekday meals and for kids’ palates. This is more of a “foodie” cookbook for adults who want to spend their weekends in the kitchen.
March 7, 2026
Other than the chapters on baking, I found only a handful of things that I’d want to make. Odd combos of ingredients or ones I don’t have & don’t want to buy. Worth a look from the library but wouldn’t buy.
November 2, 2025
not my fave Milk Street
December 11, 2025
Simple but delicious recipes. A keeper.
April 23, 2026
Lots of yummy recipes.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews