The other day I was attempting to make walnut brittle to accompany the
maple-walnut bûche de noël in this month's Gourmet magazine. The recipe
instructed me to heat 1 cup of sugar with 1/4 cup water in a heavy saucepan
over moderately low heat until the sugar was cooked. I tried five times,
adjusting the heat level each time, from very very low to pretty high and
everything in between, but each time, the water evaporated well before there
was any change in the color of the sugar. With the lowest heat, it took
almost one hour before the water evaporated, but each time the result was
the same. What I ended up with was basically rock-candy. My dad even tried
it at his house (he has a much nicer stove and better pots than I do) and he
got the same result. What might I be doing wrong?

Thanks,
Adam