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 ul...
Apr 27, 2023•11 min
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 Mi...
Apr 24, 2023•13 min
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. Thanksgiving Side Dishes 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 tom...
Nov 23, 2022•7 min
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. Pies to Make for Thanksgiving 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-chees...
Nov 22, 2022•5 min
Three days until Thanksgiving, this is a biggie. Monday: Brine the Bird and whip up a delicious batch of Make Ahead Gravy. How to Brine a Thanksgiving Turkey 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 offe...
Nov 21, 2022•7 min
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. Cranberry Sauce for Thanksgiving 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...
Nov 20, 2022•4 min
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!) Pie Crust for Thanksgiving 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/ Cookies for Thanksg...
Nov 19, 2022•7 min
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...
Nov 09, 2022•34 min•Season 5Ep. 6
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 ...
Nov 03, 2022•34 min•Season 5Ep. 5
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!) Mention...
Oct 27, 2022•28 min•Season 5Ep. 4
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...
Oct 20, 2022•22 min•Season 5Ep. 3
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 actuall...
Oct 13, 2022•34 min•Season 5Ep. 2
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. Includ...
Oct 06, 2022•21 min•Season 5Ep. 1
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 professiona...
Jun 09, 2022•43 min•Season 4Ep. 7
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 Riv...
May 26, 2022•38 min•Season 4Ep. 6
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 ...
May 19, 2022•35 min•Season 4Ep. 5
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 A...
May 12, 2022•40 min•Season 4Ep. 4
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 t...
May 05, 2022•25 min•Season 4Ep. 3
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 ...
Apr 28, 2022•34 min•Season 4Ep. 2
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 Ma...
Apr 21, 2022•37 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Discover Pathway: A Culinary Journal , Anne’s tribute to South Louisiana. You can also download Pathway as a PDF . In this episode, Anne walks us through Hot & Crispy Des Allemands Catfish Sandwich —you can see all the amazing recipes of Pathway here . Hurricane Ida made landfall on August 29, 2021, cutting a path of destruction across part of South Louisiana. La Place, Louisiana was particularly hard hit, and La Place happens to be the hometown of Smidgen host and owner of Red Stick Spice C...
Mar 07, 2022•42 min
The very first interview on the very first episode of Smidgen was with Galen Iverstine of Iverstine Farms Butcher . Galen is back on this Season 3 finale episode of Smidgen to talk about what impact the last year had on his small business; what he learned as a rancher from the pandemic; and what customers are shopping for now at the meat counter. Galen and Anne Milneck, host of Smidgen and owner of Red Stick Spice Co. discuss the realities of shopping local—is “shop local” just a popular slogan ...
Apr 22, 2021•41 min•Season 3Ep. 8
When you walk into Red Stick Spice Co. looking for tea, the staff will ask you, “Caffeine or no caffeine?” Your answer will set a course for your sipping future. Last week on Smidgen was all about tea from Camelia Sinensis . This episode of Smidgen is the no caffeine side of things—herbals and botanicals. Host Anne Milneck walks us through the leaves, flowers, bushes, roots, and other delights that make up herbal teas. The “rules” of herbal tea are different (in that there really aren’t any rule...
Apr 15, 2021•38 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Watch the leaves dance about in the water, allow the aroma to change and develop, maybe gently raise and dunk the infuser in your cup… and in a few minutes, take a sip of something rich and complex. It’s tea—delicious, flavorful joy in a cup. Red Stick Spice Co. is a spice shop, yes, but it’s also a purveyor of tea. Anne Milneck, host of Smidgen, is a tea sommelier and certified tea lover. All of the skills that make Anne passionate about blending spices translate to the world of tea (and what a...
Apr 08, 2021•52 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Here we are, back with our ol’ pal CHICKEN! This reliable protein finds the way onto many of our dinner tables (for lots and lots… and lots of meals.) With all this poultry, it could be easy for chicken to be boring or even a chore. Anne Milneck, chef and owner of Red Stick Spice Co. has some things stored in the pantry to let chicken be the star of dinner. Long time listeners of Smidgen know that Anne might even joke about the most convenient forms of the bird ( we’re looking at you, boneless s...
Apr 01, 2021•59 min•Season 3Ep. 5
It happens to everyone—don’t panic—and there is hope to escape. We’re talking about cooking ruts. Even Anne, a chef and foodie pro, has known a rut or two in her time and assures us it’s not just the pandemic that is causing this bout of malaise. In this episode, Anne diagnoses two common cooking ruts and gives specifics on how to get out. Anne details how to take your most successful meals—the mainstays, the favorites—and make strategic swaps to give new life to your staples that you don’t want...
Mar 25, 2021•31 min•Season 3Ep. 4
It’s the equipment episode of Smidgen! It’s not just food that goes into meal preparation. Anne takes us on a tour of the kitchen—from smallwares to the stove to the oven to electrical tools—everything we use to be amazing home cooks. Since Anne just spent the pandemic building out a 2,000 ft teaching kitchen, she’s got lots of thoughts about what goes into a kitchen that serves the needs of cooks who are making meals for families daily. Want to learn how your oven works? Anne has a couple tests...
Mar 18, 2021•55 min•Season 3Ep. 3
The pandemic impacted so many families’ eating routines, but one thing that never changes is the need to get dinner on the table quickly. Quick dinners that are hot, nutritious, and delicious are always in demand, no matter what the current circumstances. How much of fast dinners is hype? What can we keep in the pantry to make quick dinners easier? How do we keep fast dinners from getting boring (or plunging us into a cooking rut?) All these questions and more answered on this episode of Smidgen...
Mar 11, 2021•40 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Smidgen is back! The podcast of Red Stick Spice Company, hosted by Anne Milneck, kicks off Season 3 with a dive into some of the best (and most delicious) food trends of 2021. The prior year had people cooking—a lot—and now, this year, folks are getting specific about the brands used; high-quality, top of the line spices and ingredients; and adding fancy touches to go-to weekly dinners (standby for more on that in a moment!) If you want to be ahead of the foodie curve, you’ll get introduced to a...
Mar 04, 2021•48 min•Season 3Ep. 1
New year, new flavors, by now you probably have some new cooking skills, new favorites AND now—a new season of SMIDGEN, the podcast of Red Stick Spice Co is coming soon. Join your host Anne Milneck—chef, spice girl, and teacher to talk about… the food trends you need to know about (and how to bring these trends to your own table); how to cook for your family NOW; cooking ruts (and how to get out of them); we’re going to take a deep dive into tea—two whole episodes! and SO MUCH MORE. Also new on ...
Mar 02, 2021•1 min
