All Of It with Alison Stewart

Over the next three days, American Ballet Theatre will make history with "Lifted," the company's first work featuring an all-Black cast and creative team. Alexandra Starr, senior editor at Foreign Affairs and frequent arts contributor to WNYC, joins us to explain why that milestone matters and why it's happening only now.

When Ann Dowd first appeared as Aunt Lydia in Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale," her character was one of the most repugnant on the show, which is set in an alternative world where society is structured around religious fundamentalism and run by violent misogynists. But Lydia is changing. Ann Dowd joins us to discuss the new season of "The Handmaid's Tale."

Actor Joel Edgerton stars in the new Netflix film "The Stranger," which tells the story of an undercover cop who attempts to befriend a suspect in order to gain a confession. Edgerton joins us to discuss the movie, which is available to stream now.

Prue Leith is a beloved co-host of the popular British cooking series, "The Great British Bakeoff." This fall, she's released her latest cookbook, Bliss on Toast, with seventy-five recipes for ingredients and flavors that go great on toast, a British classic. Prue Leith joins to share her love of things on toast and take your calls.

Apricots, almonds & Devonshire clotted cream on an English muffin

This is the most divine, indulgent and irresistible dessert. Don’t skimp on the cream or jam. Better forgo it altogether than try to make it healthy! It’s best made with ripe fresh apricots. If using canned fruit, roast them anyway – it will deepen their flavor.

2 large apricots, or 3 small ones

3 tbsp butter, half of it melted

2 tsp sugar

1 English muffin, split and toasted

2 tbsp apricot preserves

1 tbsp sliced almonds, toasted (see tip, below)

1 small jar of Devonshire clotted cream, or ¾ cup mascarpone

Get the broiler as hot as possible. Halve the apricots, remove the pits and put the halves, pitted side up, on a broiler pan. Brush them with the melted butter and sprinkle with the sugar.

Broil, not too close to the elements or gas flame, for 8–10 minutes until brown around the edges. Meanwhile, butter the toasted muffin halves and put them on warm plates. Spread them with apricot preserves and share the apricot halves between them.

Sprinkle with the almonds and serve with clotted cream or mascarpone.

TIP

You can toast the sliced almonds in the oven under the broiler pan at the same time as roasting the apricots, but they burn in a flash, so be careful. Safer, probably, to stand over them while you gently turn them in a frying pan, or cook for 3 minutes in the microwave, giving them a stir halfway.

If you've ever come home from work and despaired over what to have for dinner, this Milk Street cookbook is for you. The recipes in, Cook What You Have: Make A Meal Out Of Almost Anything, have ten or fewer ingredients and rely on staples you probably already have on hand. Author and Milk Street founder Christopher Kimball is with us to talk simple cooking.

Chicken Paprikash

Start to finish: 1 hour 10 minutes (30 minutes active) Servings: 4 to 6

3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, trimmed

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

1 tablespoon grapeseed or other neutral oil

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons sweet paprika, plus more to serve

2 tablespoons tomato paste

¾ cup sour cream

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven over medium-high, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the chicken skin side down and cook until browned on the bottom, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip the pieces and cook until browned on the second sides, 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a large plate and set aside. Pour off and discard all but 1 tablespoon of the fat in the pot.

Return the Dutch oven to medium and add the onion, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add the paprika and tomato paste; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add 2 cups water and scrape up the browned bits, then nestle in the chicken and pour in the accumulated juices.

Bring to a simmer over medium-high, then cover, reduce to medium-low and cook, stirring and turning the chicken occasionally, until a skewer inserted into the largest thigh meets no resistance, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and, using tongs, transfer the chicken to a wide, shallow serving bowl; set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and cornstarch, then whisk this mixture into the braising liquid in the pot. Bring to a simmer over medium-high and cook, whisking often, until the sauce is creamy and slightly thicker than heavy cream, 5 to 7 minutes.

Return the chicken and accumulated juices to the pot, turning to coat in the sauce. Off heat, taste and season with salt and pepper. Transfer the chicken and sauce to the serving bowl and sprinkle with additional paprika.

Optional garnish: Chopped fresh dill OR chopped fresh chives

Excerpted from MILK STREET: COOK WHAT YOU HAVE by Christopher Kimball. Copyright © 2022 by CPK Media, LLC. 

Jemele Hill is one of the most respected voices in sports journalism. Her career changed when, in 2017, President Trump tweeted at Hill criticizing her and ESPN for the network's ratings. Soon after, Hill left ESPN. Now, she has written a memoir, Uphill, about her life before the recognition. The book touches on her early years growing up in Detroit, why she started writing, and how she broke into the sports media industry. Jemele Hill joins to share her story.

Earlier this year, bass-baritone opera singer Davóne Tines performed as Malcolm X for Pulitzer-Prize winning composer Anthony Davis's opera, "X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X," alongside the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. Today, a recording of the performance is being released to the public. Tines joins to discuss the opera, listen to some of the recording, and preview a string of performances he has in New York City in the coming weeks, including his New York Philharmonic debut on October 28 and a recital of his program "Recital No. 1: MASS" at Carnegie Hall on November 3.

The Broadway revival of Suzan-Lori Parks' "Topdog/Underdog" stars Corey Hawkins and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as brothers Lincoln and Booth, engaged in constant conflict with each other and perform a strange and disturbing reenactment of Lincoln's assassination. The New York Times calls the revival "hilarious, harrowing, and superbly acted." Parks, Hawkins, and Abdul-Mateen II join us to discuss the show, running now at Golden Theatre.

Cookbook author and TV personality Nigella Lawson returns to All Of It to talk more about her most recent cookbook, Cook, Eat, Repeat: Ingredients, Recipes, and Stories ahead of her November 9 event with Ina Garten at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn. Plus, she takes your calls!