Smidgen

The original food influencer? None other than Julia Child. Between hosting one of the most long-running cooking TV shows (really, we wouldn't have food TV without her) to bringing French cooking to the mainstream American kitchen, Julia Child made an impact.

Julia Child's influence is back in a big way with HBO's new show Julia, reinvigorating fan's love for her and introducing a new generation to Julia Child's work.

Smidgen host and owner of Red Stick Spice Company Anne Milneck brings us three lessons everyone can take from Julia Child. If you want to bring some flair to your dinners or want to dive into cooking with wine—this is the Smidgen episode for you.

Please note: You will most likely clamor to purchase a blow torch after listening. You've been advised.

Mentioned on the show:

- This episode is inspired by this blog post, penned by Anne—take a read to get even more Julia Child!

- Get fancy with Suprêmes de Volaille aux Champignons—recipe here. (Special thanks to Kati and Guy for pronouncing this dish on the episode.)

- Make Julia Child's Vinaigrette—learn the Julia oil/acid ratio for salad success here . Shake with great vigor!

- Are you ready to try Mini Baked Alaskas? Fall in love with your new favorite chocolate cake and learn a manageable way to create beautiful, show-stopping desserts for your next dinner party. (A perfect chance to use your brand-new blow torch.) See the gorgeous pictures and try the recipe at home.

- Want more? Red Stick Spice Company hosts the class: What Would Julia Do? Get the details here.

- 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, 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.

Intuitive cook, Improv cook, Recipe cook—which type are you? What are each of these home cook types like, and how can knowing which type of home cook you are help you be a better cook? In the over 300 cooking classes taught at Red Stick Spice Co., (and YES—Anne's counted them!) the instructors and staff have noticed some patterns… some styles… some types, if you will. Now, this is no criticism, in fact Smidgen host and owner of Red Stick Spice Co. Anne Milneck thinks knowing your type is actually a boon. There's something to be learned from each type, and knowing your type can improve your cooking skills. By the end of the episode, you'll know what kind of cook you are and have specific tips and recipes to try to understand who you are in the kitchen even better.

Mentioned on the show:

- This episode is inspired by this blog post, penned by Anne. LINKS to all the recipes mentioned on the podcast can be found here. Be sure to click over and see the amazing pictures of Timmie Callais modeling each cook type in the Red Stick Spice Co. Teaching Kitchen.

- Test out your cooking style while making Sheet Pan Pizza Chicken with Pancetta, Mozzarella, and Spicy Tomatoes. Yum! Recipe here.

- Intrigued by the Roasted Root Burger Anne was enticingly describing on the episode? It's a featured dish in the Cooking with a Cardiologist class. Learn more here. (We love you Dr. Gadi!)

- Did you say Folded TikTok Breakfast Tortilla? Make your own—recipe here.

- 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, 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.

Your pantry is your secret weapon. In this season premiere episode of Smidgen, Anne Milneck shares 5 new pantry staples she is loving right now—each item is a gem you should discover and is chock full of meal inspiration. From a rich (adorably packaged) mayo to a protein-packed rice to a roasty toasty Ginger Garlic Toasted Sesame Oil (made just for Red Stick Spice Company!) plus others—you're going to love hearing about each of these items and how they can make your mealtimes even better.

Included in the episode: Anne walks you through Spicy Beef Pan Fried Dumplings, featuring Ginger Garlic Toasted Sesame Oil—delicious lil' dumplings everyone can make.

Mentioned on the show:

- This episode is inspired by this blog post, penned by Anne. LINKS to all the recipes mentioned on the podcast can be found here.

- Is there a cuter mayo than Kewpie mayo? (Spoiler alert: no.) Red Stick Spice Co offers a Sushi Workshop. Check for dates and details here.

- Other products: Ginger Garlic Toasted Sesame Oil (hello roasty toasty); Soom Dark Chocolate Tahini (excuse us as get a spoon); Parish rice (welcome back, rice!); Red Boat Fish Salt (putting the U in UMAMI!)

- Anne gave a shout-out to Weeknight Dirty Rice. Find the recipe here.

- If you loved the Spicy Beef Pan Fried Dumplings (and we're sure you will), consider signing up for the Lil' Dumplings class. Learn to make all kinds of pot stickers and other yummy dumplings. Details here.

- Want to learn how to fold dumplings? We like this video from Wei's Red House Kitchen.

- Bonus: Click here for a special dumpling recipe pack from Anne, complete with some how-to pictures for folding dumplings.

- Did you hear Anne say Red Boat Salt Buttermilk Fried Chicken? Oh yes: get the recipe here.

- 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, 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.

Tea is tasted through an activity called cupping, where tea is sipped at various temperatures and is assessed for color, aroma, and finally taste. One aspect of experiencing tea in this way is having a particular vocabulary of vivid words to describe the way the tea looks, smells, and its flavor. That vocabulary comes from daily practice—which means lots and lots of trying tea.

On this episode of Smidgen, host Anne Milneck (a self-described perpetual student of tea) is joined by wine professional Lauren Luquet (Luquet Wine Co.) and coffee professional Dominick Blanda (City Roots Coffee Bar) to tase milk oolong, courtesy of SoGo Tea Bar. Lauren and Dominick have that vocabulary for wine and coffee—how can their perspective help us appreciate tea more, and get excited for the adventure that can be found in a lovely cup of tea?

SoGo Tea Bar is located just inside of Red Stick Spice Company in Mid City, Baton Rouge. SoGo is a must-visit stop in Baton Rouge, and the knowledgeable SoGo baristas are ready to get you to a tea you'll love.

Mentioned on the show:

- Enjoy tea the SoGo way! In Baton Rouge: look over the SoGo menu here and pop in for a sip. Outside of Baton Rouge: Check out the selection of tea available and place your order to be shipped right to your door.

- Anne leads a Tea 101 class! Learn more here.

- Follow SoGo Tea Bar on Instagram.

- Lauren Luquet is a wine professional, specializing in American-based wineries. Learn more: Luquet Wine Co. Follow Lauren on Instagram.

- Dominick Blanda is a partner, coffee roaster/enthusiast, and jack-of-all-trades at City Roots Coffee Bar in Baton Rouge. Visit in person when in Baton Rouge or order online here. Follow City Roots Coffee Bar on Facebook and Instagram.

- 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, 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.

A simple dredging of melted butter, a beautiful brick red spice blend, and an absolutely scorching hot cast iron skillet are all you need to make tempting blackened fish at home. (You'll also probably need to temporarily disable your home smoke alarm, but we'll get to that shortly.)

The question comes up: is the blackening the seasoning or the cooking technique? There's no one better to answer that question than Chef Frank Brigtsen, who with his wife Marna, owns Brigtsen's restaurant in the Riverbend neighborhood in Uptown New Orleans. Chef Brigtsen has personally blackened over 60,000 fish (!) and even enjoys blackening a variety of fish, steaks, and even veggies when he's eating at home.

In addition to having his own restaurant in New Orleans, Chef Brigtsen apprenticed at Commander's Palace and was the first night chef at K-Paul's, working with Chef Paul Prudhomme. In this episode, you'll not only hear the story of the very first blackened redfish to be ever cooked at K-Paul's by Paul Prudhomme, you'll learn enough of how to blacken fish to try this style of cooking at home yourself.

Mentioned on the show:

- In the New Orleans area, be sure to visit Brigsten's in Riverbend. You can find Brigtsen's on Facebook and Chef Frank Brigtsen on Instagram.

- What can be blackened? Can I blacken steak, shrimp, or salmon?

- What seasonings should I use when I try to blacken fish?

- Did Chef Paul Prudhomme inspire the overfishing of redfish in the Gulf of Mexico?

- Anne used Red Stick Spice Company Cajun Blackening Spice Blend for her Blackened Gulf Fish recipe.

- DON'T FORGET TO REACTIVATE YOUR HOME SMOKE DETECTOR!

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

- Oven questions? Listen back to Anne's episode about managing heat and getting to know your oven to help you bake: Smidgen episode, The Right (Kitchen) Tool for the Job.

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.

Baking gluten-free is a bear, even for experienced bakers. A lot of the usual rules don't apply and gluten-free baking has tons of methods and practices that bakers need to know before they can achieve "GF" baking success. We get this episode's question from Connie, who knows her way around an oven; she simply had disaster after disaster trying to bake gluten-free. To help Connie out, Smidgen host (and infamous non-baker) Anne Milneck brings on Kelly Courson of CeliacChicks.com to get into some of the ways bakers can make beautiful and delicious baked goods, and to share some of the factors that go into successful gluten-free baking.

If you want to make delectable goodies for your friends or family that forgo gluten, in this episode you'll learn about several key ingredients every GF bakers need to know; you'll have cookbooks and recipes that are kitchen-tested; you'll be connected to mixes that are specially formulated for the home cook.

To top off all this valuable information, Anne heads into the Red Stick Spice Company teaching kitchen—with some help from friend of the shop Kayla and bakes a classic birthday cake, complete with rainbow sprinkles.

Mentioned on the show:

- If you know someone with celiac disease, Kelly's website CeliacChicks.com is a must. Follow Kelly on Instagram.

- Kelly recommends you try Cup4Cup products—flours, mixes, recipes. See the Cup4Cup website here.

- Some cookbooks to try: Culinary Institute of America Gluten-Free Baking is one Kelly likes; Anne got the birthday cake recipe from Cannelle et Vanille by Aran Goyoaga.

- Were you tempted by talk of the almond cake on Smidgen? Here's the recipe on the Red Stick Spice Company website.

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

- Oven questions? Listen back to Anne's episode about managing heat and getting to know your oven to help you bake: Smidgen episode, The Right (Kitchen) Tool for the Job.

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.

What do we bring? When there's a happy occasion like a new baby or a solemn passing like losing a loved one the time-honored tradition of bringing food to our friends and family is a tangible way to show our care and concern. However, there are lots of food handling practices that come into play when we're cooking for others. Our inspiration question comes from Terry (after experiencing the digital magazine Pathway) and to help properly answer, Smidgen host and owner of Red Stick Spice Company Anne Milneck brings on Dr. Wenqing "Wennie" Xu to discuss food handling practices that every home cook can learn and use right away.

After an information packed (and fun!) session with Wennie, Anne pulls on friend and professional organizer Sara Landry West of South Coast Organizers to deal with a current trend—do we bring and leave a dish when bringing someone food? Do we use disposables? How does a professional organizer take on this topic—to pyrex or not to pyrex, that is the question (and Smidgen has the answer.)

Finally, Anne gets to the kitchen to make cassoulet (classic, comforting, delicious) and a 15 minute/5 ingredient salted butterscotch sauce that can top ice cream for a refreshing, sumptuous treat—both would be welcome to let someone know you're thinking of them.

Mentioned on the show:

- Dr. Wennie has a informative and easy to access video series called Food Safety Bites, created with the LSU AgCenter

- Looking for a new hobby? Both Anne and Wennie collect food thermometers! Check out the cool ThermoPop instant read thermometer (available in a gorgeous rainbow of colors.) Want readings fast? Thermapen One gives you the temp of your proteins in one second. Wow! Get ultra-fancy with wi-fi and Bluetooth® enabled Signals™ BBQ Alarm thermometer.

- Yum—Fleur de Sel boasts mineral flavors and gives a nice crunch. A delightful salt to use in the butterscotch sauce, and a unique addition to many dishes.

- 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, 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.

Salt is essential! Whether it's to enhance flavors or get necessary minerals into our diets, salt cannot be divorced from cooking. But should salt and pepper—often thought of going together—be split up? We're getting salty on this episode of Smidgen, with Anne heading off to the salt mine (so to speak.) JQ Dickenson Salt-Works has been producing salt in West Virginia (you read that right) for over 200 years. Nancy Bruns is a chef and along with her brother Lewis Payne are continuing the family tradition of harvesting salt in Malden, West Virginia. Nancy joins Smidgen host and owner of Red Stick Spice Company Anne Milneck to discuss how salt is made in a land locked area, and what kinds of flavors home cooks can expect to experience when trying different unrefined salts.

Then to put some of this salty knowledge into action, Anne heads to the kitchen to make Rosemary Focaccia with Finishing Salt.

Mentioned on the show:

- The JQ Dickenson Salt-Works website is a wealth of information and an attractive showcase of their offerings. Visit JQDSalt.com to learn more. Want to know how salt is made? Interested in how a modern salt-works can harvest salt in a sustainable way? Watch the JQ Dickenson Salt-Works videos here.

- What is unrefined salt?

- Make your own batch of No-Knead Rosemary Focaccia. Take Anne's tip and try different salts on top of this delicious bread to get a sense of the variety of qualities and textures that can be found in various salts.

- Start your salty exploration by peeking at Red Stick Spice Company's selection of salts on our website. Red Stick Spice Company has dozen of salts to choose from.

- Should salt and pepper get a divorce?

- Throwback to Rosemary Gill talking spices (and revealing the origins of the salt/pepper divorce question) on Smidgen, Season 2. Listen to the episode here.

- What's the problem with recipes saying salt and pepper to taste at the end of the recipe?

- 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, 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.

We're taking on listener questions this season of Smidgen, and on this episode it's all about BRINE. Wet brine? Dry brine? What proteins can be brined? Our question comes from Caroline and to answer, Red Stick Spice Company store owner and Smidgen host Anne Milneck brings on Rhonda and Danny Titus of Road Toad Smokin' BBQ. Rhonda—known as the "Chicken Queen" is an award-winning griller and she shares her champion brining secrets on Smidgen.

By the end of this episode, you'll know exactly how to wet brine a variety of proteins (plus get some extra tips for spatchcocking chicken.) You'll know about early salting and dry brining and you're going to want to try them all!

Mentioned on the show:

- Try your hand at Maple Brined Pork Loin using delicious Garlic Maple Rub

- Anne recommends savory Lamb Blend that (surprise!) can be used on lots of proteins besides lamb

- How does Rhonda wet brine her award-winning chicken? What goes into her brine?

- How long do I wet brine chicken? (Timing is critical! The difference between super moist and spongey is TIME.)

- What are some tips for making spatchcock chicken easier?

- How do I incorporate spices into my brining? Whare are some spice suggestions?

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

- Want to learn more about competitive barbecuing? Rhonda and Danny compete with Barbecue Competitors Alliance (BCABBQ.org)—see upcoming events here: BCA BBQ Upcoming Events

- My mouth is watering—can you tell me more about the Zuni Café Chicken? Read the blog post.

We hope this episode inspires you to try brining—both wet and dry—as a way to reinvent some of your favorite dishes. 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.

How do you keep pizza dough from springing back when you're making pizza at home? We get our question from Mary, student of the Pizza Masterclass at Red Stick Spice Company. Mary was trying to stretch out her dough and it would not cooperate, instead the dough wanted to stay in a ball. Smidgen host Anne Milneck brings on pizza expert Cara Peterson of Go Eat Concepts and Rocca Pizzeria in Baton Rouge to talk all things pizza making at home. (Cara also happens to be the instructor of the Pizza Masterclass at Red Stick Spice.)

This episode is going to inspire you to try new toppings and new techniques for pizza at home. We can't guarantee that your pizza will be a perfect circle (surprise—it doesn't have to be!) but we know you'll be a better pizza chef after listening to this episode.

Mentioned on the show:

- Make Cara's fresh, from scratch pizza dough and try your hand at Neapolitan Pizza

- What is proofing and how many proofing stages does pizza dough go through?

- When should I start my dough if I want pizza on Friday?

- If I don't want to start pizza dough from scratch, what options do I have?

- What are some toppings I haven't considered for pizza at home?

- I don't have a hearth or woodburning oven. How can my normal conventional oven make great pizza?

- THIS SETTLES IT: Does pineapple belong on pizza?

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

If this episode doesn't inspire you to throw a pizza party, we don't know what will. We look forward to seeing the homemade circles (or ovals) you create to make your own homemade pizzas. 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.