Smoked Sugar and What Stratford Chefs School Taught Me About Myself

by Charmian Christie on February 6, 2012

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This is how much of a sugar addict I am. I drove an hour on a dark, cold, rainy January night just so I could sample smoked sugar.

What’s smoked sugar you ask? It’s sugar. That’s been smoked.*

As eager as I am to try new sweets, I am equally entrenched in my culinary dislikes. Without hesitating, I will tell you I don’t like custard, I don’t like caviar and I don’t like chives. And it’s not just things that start with the letter c, either. Foie gras, beets, parsnips, liver, and truffles (the fungus, not the chocolate) don’t make it into my kitchen. But I was so eager to taste smoked sugar —the final dish of a full-course meal — I was willing to throw myself into the unknown. [Read full article.]

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Recipe: Spicy Spinach Soup

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What’s happening to me? The minute I went to photograph this dessert I thought, “Rats! I should have made the cobbler in a cast iron frying pan. It would have looked so much more rustic.” Great. It’s not enough that I’m criticized for being a food snob. Now I’m about to push myself into a [...]

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If you read my 2012 Culinary Bucket List, you’ll see I have a lot of baking to do. In case a from-scratch cake is on your list, I thought I’d start the new year off with some baking tips I learned from Camilla V. Saulsbury, author of Piece of Cake and 750 Best Muffin Recipes. [...]

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It’s January. Has been for a few days. I know I’m a bit late with this but, oh well, here goes anyway… Every year I swear to myself I will post more often. I will get better at my photos. I’ll be a better blogger. These vague goals slip through my fingers like typos on [...]

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It’s almost noon on the day before Christmas Eve and I’m not finished my shopping. Not by a long shot. I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess  I’m not the only one who needs the born-of-fear adrenaline to face the holiday crowds. Or maybe you’re too disorganized busy to get it [...]

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As a food writer, I’ve dabbled in the gluten-free world. I’ve bought guar gum and xantham, various rice flours, teff, sorghum and nutmeals. They’re taking up a lot of room in my spiffy new pantry along with the gluten-loaded all-purpose, whole wheat, cake & pastry, bread and unbleached flours. Since everyone in my house can [...]

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Last year, due to circumstances beyond my control, I didn’t do any Christmas baking. Not so much as a single shortbread came out of my kitchen. But this year? I’m making up for the loss. The rumballs are rolled, the eggnog is chilling and now it’s time for some serious sugar. Luckily, Anna Olson recently released [...]

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I’m trying not to be resentful but a certain celebrity llama has more Twitter followers than I do. And his first name isn’t Dali. To be fair, the llama is a talented goat herder, so I can see the appeal. Why all the fuss over a shaggy camelid? Polka Spot belongs to the Fabulous Beekman [...]

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Walnuts are the hard-done-by, neglected middle child of the nut family. Between the mature and established almond, with its fancy frangipane and marzipan pastes, and attention-grabbing, TV-diva baby of a macadamia (I’m looking at you Roseanne!) walnuts are easily overlooked. Sure, you can find them huddled in a corner with the maple syrup, but have [...]

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