Smidgen

Click here to learn more about Culinary Madrid, the cooking (and eating!) travel experience with Anne Milneck and Red Stick Spice Company: Culinary Madrid

Get to know sofrito—a dynamic base that gives a start to Spanish paella and many other Mediterranean dishes that can be made with ingredients that you probably have in your kitchen right now. Anne Milneck—owner of Red Stick Spice Company and the host of Smidgen loves sofrito after learning it from Jim, the instructor for Red Stick Spice's ultra-popular paella class. After listening to this episode of Smidgen, not only will you be prepared to make sofrito tonight, you'll want to try Shrimp with Sofrito and try cooking paella at home. (But did you know there's something better than cooking paella at home? Listen in to learn more.)

· Step one: make Sofrito. Recipe here. Step one and a half: fall in love.

· Two birds, one stone: tapas and sofrito in one swoop—make Shrimp with Sofrito (recipe here.)

· Try one of our favorite paella recipes—Easy weeknight paella.

· How can I learn more about Culinary Madrid—the six day cooking and food tour of Madrid, Spain—and how can I sign up? Click here for Culinary Madrid.

Hear all Smidgen episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pandora, or your browser, or your favorite podcast app. Follow Red Stick Spice Co socials, including Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Smidgen is the award-winning podcast of Red Stick Spice Co.

Click here to learn more about Culinary Madrid, the cooking (and eating!) travel experience with Anne Milneck and Red Stick Spice Company: Culinary Madrid

Tapas—delicious small plates—are a wonderful way to experience a variety of flavors, textures, temperatures, without being overwhelmed at mealtime. Tapas are a great way to try out many different dishes at once and a terrific way to entertain. Tapas are closely associated with Spain (and with good reason!) On this episode of Smidgen, Anne Milneck (host and owner of Red Stick Spice Company) shares some tapas love and suggests some "flavor bombs" you can try at home to get familiar with tapas.

· Try Papas Bravas with Smoky Aioli to get started with tapas in your own home cooking.

· Red Stick Spice Company offers a Hot Smoked Paprika that is sure to satisfy—perfect for tapas.

· Psst! We'll talk about this is a few weeks here on Smidgen, but you can get a sneak peek right now on planning a perfect tapas party here.

· How can I learn more about Culinary Madrid—the six day cooking and food tour of Madrid, Spain—and how can I sign up? Click here for Culinary Madrid.

Hear all Smidgen episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pandora, or your browser, or your favorite podcast app. Follow Red Stick Spice Co socials, including Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Smidgen is the award-winning podcast of Red Stick Spice Co.

Thanksgiving is tomorrow! It's Wednesday my dudes. All the prep work will be oh so appreciated tomorrow, but today is about most folks' favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal: the side dishes. Our tasks today, 1 day until Thanksgiving, is to work on the Thanksgiving sides: Ciabatta Sausage Stuffing and Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes.

• Do you call it dressing or stuffing? Either way you are going to adore this Ciabatta and Sausage Stuffing. Make it today and reheat it tomorrow on Thanksgiving. Recipe: https://blog.redstickspice.com/recipe/ciabatta-sausage-stuffing/
• The mashed potatoes can be made tomorrow, but the prep can start today. Get ready for some Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes. Recipe: https://blog.redstickspice.com/recipe/roasted-garlic-mashed-potatoes/
• Roasted Garlic Olive Oil on roasted garlic? Yes, yes, and yes!
• Red Stick Spice Company also offers a Roasted Garlic Avocado Oil you may want to check out, too.

• How do I get the Red Stick Spice Company newsletter with recipes and cooking ideas? Sign up for our newsletter here.
• Follow Red Stick Spice Co socials, includingFacebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
• We are thankful for you, the listeners of Smidgen.
• HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Hear all Smidgen episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pandora, or your browser, or your favorite podcast app. Smidgen is the award-winning podcast of Red Stick Spice Co.

Two days to go! It's Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Time to bake a sumptuous Pumpkin Cheesecake. This two-layer cheesecake is as gorgeous as it is beautiful. And we don't want to hear anything about "cracked" cheesecakes—that's what the Cardamom Infused Whipped Cream is for.

• It's easy to get Thanksgiving dessert together when you start ahead. Today make Pumpkin Cheesecake with Cardamom Infused Whipped Cream. Recipe: https://blog.redstickspice.com/recipe/pumpkin-cheesecake-pie-with-cardamom-whipped-cream/
• Remember! You already made the crust ahead of time on Day 5! Woo hoo—so easy. Flaky Pie Crust recipe here if you are catching up.
• Does your family need more than one pie option? (Relatable.) Try this divine Chinese 5 Spice Pecan Pie.

It's almost Thanksgiving! So close! It's going to be a good one.

• How do I get the Red Stick Spice Company newsletter with recipes and cooking ideas? Sign up for our newsletter here.
• Follow Red Stick Spice Co socials, includingFacebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
• We are thankful for you, the listeners of Smidgen.

Hear all Smidgen episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pandora, or your browser, or your favorite podcast app. Smidgen is the award-winning podcast of Red Stick Spice Co.

Three days until Thanksgiving, this is a biggie. Monday: Brine the Bird and whip up a delicious batch of Make Ahead Gravy.

• Anne's favorite way to brine a Thanksgiving turkey is to dry brine the bird 3 days before Thanksgiving and store it open in the fridge. Use Red Stick Spice Company Dry Brine. Shop Dry Brine Blend here.
• If you want to learn more about other brining methods, listen to our recent Smidgen episode, Brine Time Anytime.
• Red Stick Spice also offers a Turkey Brine Kit. Shop here.

• Straight from the Red Stick Spice Company Teaching Kitchen is this recipe for Make Ahead Gravy. It yields a whopping 8 cups of gravy that your family is going to love. Recipe: https://blog.redstickspice.com/recipe/make-ahead-turkey-gravy/
• DO NOT toss the drippings from the day-of Thanksgiving turkey! Listen to the episode to learn what Anne does with those precious juices.

• How do I get the Red Stick Spice Company newsletter with recipes and cooking ideas? Sign up for our newsletter here.
• Follow Red Stick Spice Co socials, includingFacebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
• We are thankful for you, the listeners of Smidgen.

Hear all Smidgen episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pandora, or your browser, or your favorite podcast app. Smidgen is the award-winning podcast of Red Stick Spice Co.

Happy 4 days until Thanksgiving. It's Sunday. Today: Shake and store a vinaigrette; cook your cranberry sauce; infuse a cardamom simple syrup. Hint: you'll use the simple syrup for whipped cream later on with an amazing pie we're going to make in a few days.

• Make Ginger Pear Cranberry Sauce. You'll love how the ginger compliments the Fall pear and cranberries. It's a hit! Recipe here: https://blog.redstickspice.com/recipe/ginger-pear-cranberry-sauce/
• Please note: there will not be can ridges on this sauce. We know that's a disappointment to some of y'all. We are confident this fresh sauce will make up for it.

• Include this wonderful Pomegranate Salad with Carrots and Blue Cheese in your Thanksgiving menu. Make the salad ON Thanksgiving; make the dressing today.
• This is a shake-n-store vinaigrette: pour all the ingredients in a jar; shake with vigor; pop in the fridge; DONE.
• Vinaigrette recipe here with the salad: https://blog.redstickspice.com/recipe/pomegranate-salad-with-carrots-blue-cheese/

• Make a Cardamom Infused Simple Syrup—great for cocktails, but you'll also use it to sweeten a whipped cream later this week. Try it! It uses whole cardamom pods—a little different than what you might be used to. Recipe here: https://blog.redstickspice.com/recipe/cardamom-simple-syrup/
• Cardamom is featured on this recent episode of Smidgen—listen here: 5 Spices to Add to Your Spice Rack.
• How do I get the Red Stick Spice Company newsletter with recipes and cooking ideas? Sign up for our newsletter here.
• Follow Red Stick Spice Co socials, includingFacebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
• We are thankful for you, the listeners of Smidgen.

Hear all Smidgen episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pandora, or your browser, or your favorite podcast app. Smidgen is the award-winning podcast of Red Stick Spice Co.

Happy 5 days until Thanksgiving. It's Saturday. Today: Prep pie crust and cookie dough. (Have you not heard about fresh cookies on Thanksgiving? It's a tradition at Anne's house. With the recipes ahead, you're going to want start this tradition for your family!)

• Use your food processor to make this Flaky Pie Crust recipe (one batch at a time!) The secret ingredient is vodka. See the recipe here: https://blog.redstickspice.com/recipe/flaky-pie-crust/

• Take advantage of all the beautiful dried cherries we see this time of year and pick your favorite Red Stick Spice infused sugar to make slice-n-bake Dark Chocolate Cherry cookies. Recipe here: https://blog.redstickspice.com/recipe/dark-chocolate-cherry-slice-bake-cookies/
• Crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside—yes please! Try Salted White Chocolate Oatmeal Recipe: https://blog.redstickspice.com/recipe/salted-white-chocolate-oatmeal-cookies/
• Anne likes a bit of Fleur de Sel salt with cookies. Shop here.
• Interested in some other cookies?
  • Vanilla Bean Sables are a winner for Thanksgiving
  • Read an entire shortbread roundup here from the Red Stick Spice Company blog

• How do I get the Red Stick Spice Company newsletter with recipes and cooking ideas? Sign up for our newsletter here.
• Follow Red Stick Spice Co socials, includingFacebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
• We are thankful for you, the listeners of Smidgen.

Hear all Smidgen episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pandora, or your browser, or your favorite podcast app. Smidgen is the award-winning podcast of Red Stick Spice Co.

On Smidgen, we love to bring you new insight on your favorites. Adding new spices to your standbys can give new life and new perspectives to dishes you prepare all the time. Like tacos? Try them with new chiles for a whole new taste sensation. Like hot chocolate? Mix in this spice for a whole new sipping experience. Want more like this? In this season finale episode, Smidgen host Anne Milneck will give you 5 spices to explore plus dishes to try out these new spices. There's nothing more fun than trying new flavors with Anne as your guide.

• Can you say delicious? Get to know Pasilla Negro Chiles with Pasilla Pulled Chicken Tacos.
• Now you know! Mexican oregano is not the same as Mediterranean oregano!
• As the weather cools, try Timut Hot Chocolate using the intriguing Timut Peppercorns.
• This is cardamom's season to shine. Why not try a little something different with whole cardamom pods? A perfect application is a Cardamom Simple Syrup. Cheers!
• Are you ready for Thanksgiving? Red Stick Spice Company has you covered! Look for blog posts; social media posts; podcast episodes and MORE counting down five days to help you get ready for Thanksgiving. You'll get a short podcast episode each day to help you prep—no rushed, crazed, hair-on-fire holidays this year! Stay tuned.
• How do I get the Red Stick Spice Company newsletter with recipes and cooking ideas? Sign up for our newsletter here.
• Follow Red Stick Spice Co socials, includingFacebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

Hear all Smidgen episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pandora, or your browser, or your favorite podcast app. Smidgen is the award-winning podcast of Red Stick Spice Co.

You can't get more down to basics than olive oil. Don't let the familiarity of olive oil prevent you from finding new and intriguing ways to use (and enjoy!) this kitchen must-have. Besides all the glorious regions that produce a variety of olive oils, there is an array of flavored olive oils to sample and savor (Smidgen host Anne Milneck shares some suggestions for you to try—available from Red Stick Spice Company.)

If you are ready to get some new eyes for olive oil, dive into this episode of Smidgen. Plus—you'll get a dinner idea you can use this week and a dessert idea (a dessert CHALLENGE in fact.) Don't miss the secret bonus way to use olive oil (get out your cocktail shaker. You read that right: olive oil in a cocktail. Who knew?!) An especially delicious episode of Smidgen.

• Make salmon this week using the "lazy simmer" method using olive oil. Crispy Skin Salmon recipe here.
• Ooh la la, try Herbes de Provence extra virgin olive oil from Red Stick Spice Company.
• Anne recommends mushroom lovers try Porcini Extra Virgin Olive Oil. A treat for sauteing and as a finishing drizzle.
• Garlic gets a lot of love, but consider Red Stick Spice's Shallot Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Allium amazement awaits you.
• Bake up some Citrus Olive Oil Mini Loaf Cakes. Try the very popular Meyer Lemon Olive Oil; get hyped for Blood Orange Avocado Oil—both from Red Stick Spice Company.
• Do you pledge to take the olive oil on ice cream challenge? DON'T RUN AWAY YET. Read up about it here (you'll thank us later.)
• Anne wrote a blog post about these three ways to use olive oil. Read it here.
• Bonus way to use olive oil: Try an Olive Oil Gin Sour – credit to Julianna McIntosh; recipe found on the FeedFeed. So tasty!
• How do I get the Red Stick Spice Company newsletter with recipes and cooking ideas? Sign up for our newsletter here.
• Follow Red Stick Spice Co socials, includingFacebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

Hear all Smidgen episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pandora, or your browser, or your favorite podcast app. Smidgen is the award-winning podcast of Red Stick Spice Co.

We love sheet pans! Sheet pan suppers, sheet pans themselves—if it can be made on a sheet pan, we are here for it. Anne Milneck—host of Smidgen, chef/owner of Red Stick Spice Company, and unabashed sheet pan enthusiast—has four new* recipes for home cooks to try and enjoy. (*New? Maybe not. Anne explains how most sheet pan recipes are actually a combination of techniques. In any case, each recipe is fun, flavorful, sets you up for success, and can solve your dinner quandaries this week!)

- Get the recipes here:

• School Cafeteria Pizza
• Sheet Pan Ratatouille
• Sheet Pan Nachos
• Sheet Pan Italian Sandwiches

- Read the blog post Anne wrote about these sheet pan suppers here.

- Want to shop USA Pan? See the variety of USA Pan pans (including muffin tins; cake rounds; square pans, etc) offered via Red Stick Spice Company here. See all the sizes of sheet pans available from USA Pan at Red Stick Spice here. (Bonus: Here's the gasp-worthy USA Pan cookie sheet and the most adorable mini sheet pan you've ever seen.)

- How do I get the Red Stick Spice Company newsletter with recipes and cooking ideas? Sign up for our newsletter here.

- Listen to Anne's conversation with sheet pan cookbook author Molly Gilbert here. Smidgen Season 1, Episode 2 (!) While you're at it, fall in love with slab grilled cheese here.

- Follow Red Stick Spice Co socials, including Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

Hear all Smidgen episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pandora, or your browser, or your favorite podcast app. Smidgen is the award-winning podcast of Red Stick Spice Co.