If you’ve followed a few of my recipes, you will find that I almost always favor sea salt over traditional table salt.  Why is this?  Chemically, the two salt varieties both contain sodium and chloride; but vast differences can be found in their taste and texture. 

Raw sugar is cane sugar which has been minimally processed. The precise definition varies, but in all cases, raw sugar is the product of the first stage of the cane sugar refining process and as a result it has a higher molasses content than table sugar, which lends the raw sugar a rich, complex flavor.

San Marzano tomatoes are a variety of plum tomatoes and considered by many to be the best sauce tomato variety in the world. Legend has it that the first San Marzano tomatoes were planted in the region that now bares its name near Naples, Italy in the late 1700’s. The region’s volcanic soil acts as a filter, removing impurities in the water. The result is a much celebrated tomato.

I can’t think of another event where you find greater cast-iron pan abuse then the office chili cook-off. At these horrific culinary showings, Jane from accounting usually brings her ‘secret’ family recipe of chili which is really just a mixture of store-bought seasoning packets.  Jane's cubicle-mate Donny brings a garnish of cornbread, presented in a brand-new sparkling pan. Chided into sampling a bit of everyone’s cornbread, your only hope is to recall the napkin-over-mouth food removal technique you mastered to avoid eating vegetables as a wee little lad.