All Roads Lead to the Kitchen: seasonings

You've gotta love having a little stash of tasty, aromatic salt hiding out in the fridge waiting to be pulled out at the last minute to add pizzazz to almost any savory dish. You've also gotta love the word pizzazz. Pizzazz! Go ahead say it. PIZZAZZ! Fun, right? Although once I've said it a certain number of times, it starts to come out sounding like something Gomer Pyle would say. Pizzaayuhzz.

But truly, if you whip up a batch of this when you have fifteen spare minutes, you'll be in for many future moments of pleasure. Grilling a steak? Sprinkle it with some of this aromatic salt as soon as you turn it. Watch it melt into the warmth and smell the sweet fragrance of garlic and herbs with an undercurrent of bright lemon. Sprinkle it on fish. Season under the skin of a bird before you roast it. Drizzle some new potatoes with olive oil and then give it a shower of this goodness before giving it a roast in the oven. Toss it in hot, buttered broccoli or green beans. Use it to flavor homemade cheese. You name it, you'll want to include it.

You may feel a certain pull. Something guiding you to the fridge. And maybe you'll find yourself opening up the container holding your booty and then reaching in to take a little pinch. Pungent, spicy, lemony, herby salt. It's like that.

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Aromatic Salt

by Heather Schmitt-González

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: n/a

Keywords: condiment herbs salt

Ingredients (~6¾ oz.)

~2 oz. thyme (or rosemary) sprigs
~1¾ oz. sage sprigs
2-4 small dried red chiles
2 bay leaves
zest of 1 lemon
3 garlic cloves, peeled
¼ oz. black peppercorns
9 oz. salt (kosher, coarse or flake sea salt, or a mix)

Instructions

Pull the thyme (or rosemary) sprigs from the stems...or leave the thyme on the stems if they are soft. Pull the sage leaves from the stems. Place both in a food processor (I use a small one left over from when my babies were actually babies and I made baby food) along with the bay leaves, chiles, lemon zest, and garlic. Pulse-chop until everything is in tiny pieces.

Transfer to an airtight container with a lid. Grind the peppercorns and stir them into the mixture along with the salt. Mix thoroughly and keep in the refrigerator.

note:

If you like heat, add all of the dried chiles, seeds and all. If you aren't sure, start with two. Cut a slit in the side and shake out most of the seeds before adding to the processor. You can always grind up more if you decide you want it spicier.

adapted from Twelve by Tessa Kiros

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I am sharing this post with:
IHCC theme: Some Like it Hot-And Spicy!

I was recently contacted by Sara of Amazing Taste Foods. She asked me if I'd like to try some of their sprinkle on seasoning packets. Well, yeah. I do love to try new things, and I'd probably try almost anything at least once- you never know until you try it, right?! I received all 9 of their Amazing Taste Seasoning packets to try! They have 5 basic "protein specific" packet which include Beef, Pork, Burger, Poultry and Seafood; there are also 4 general packets- Chili, Fajita, Malibu and zesty Steak House. I don't use spice packets very often since I have a habit of buying all kinds of spices and herbs...and then I mix my own, but I have been known to grab a few packets to keep around the house in case of laziness or in-a-hurry-ness. You can find these packets in a lot of grocery stores....here is what they look like (along w/ a listing of the stores where you can find them). They even threw in a few recipes!

I decided to use the Pork seasoning and the Chili seasoning. I grabbed: about a pound and a half of thin cut pork chops and sprinkled them with a half a packet of Amazing Taste pork seasoning. I then heated up the grill pan, misted it with some pan spray, and "grilled" up some chops!

Next I used: 1 (19.75 oz.) can of Black Beans, drained and added 1/2 packet of Amazing Taste Chili Seasoning and 1 1/4 c. Chicken Broth. I also put on a pot of brown rice to cook while the beans simmered. Once the rice was cooked (about 20 mins.), the beans were ready.

The result was VERY GOOD:

"Grilled" Pork Chops w/ brothy Black Beans and Brown Rice.

This pork seasoning has a "hint of grill flavor"...which is why I chose to use the grill pan. It really did taste like I threw it outside on the charcoal grill (which I love dearly). The beans were slightly spicy and full of flavor! All I had to add was the beautiful, chewy & nutty brown rice and some cream with a sprinkling of fresh herbs. So, next time you're at the market, grab a couple of packets of Amazing Taste Seasonings...I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Oh, and of course, there is no MSG added. PS...don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY and chile roundup...cookin' w/ chiles this month? Send your link and a photo my way!