Recipes
Voodoo Jalapeño Poppers
We've had a bumper crop of jalapeño peppers from the garden this year, and that means POPPERS! Autumn is chile season, though jalapeños are readily available at the grocery store year round. The flavor buzz from these was well worth the effort of seeding all those little suckers, but do wear gloves! The warm bite of jalapeño with smoky paprika in the cheese and the Voodoo sprinkle on top of these poppers goes down well chased by a rich porter. Enjoy a whole platter by yourself while you watch the game like we did, or serve them up at your next fall fête.
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Sassy Bacon Draped Meatloaf
I've finally nailed a simple and satisfying meatloaf recipe! A generous loaf draped in bacon is always a universal hit, but with classic comfort food, the brilliance is in the details. What set this loaf apart from all the rest was quick sauté on the onions before mixing them in. Their natural sweetness develops, complementing the Vietnamese cassia cinnamon in our bewitching Sassy Steak Spice. It's completely worth the extra step. Tip number two is to leave the loaf pan for banana bread - sculpt this masterpiece free-form in a shallow Pyrex baking dish to allow the bacon to properly crisp, moistening your loaf as it cooks, smoky juices mingling with the beef and spice...Delicious! Any leftovers make great sandwiches the next day, too!
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Salmon Gravlax with Dill Pollen
I love making gravlax because it is such a versatile dish. The cured salmon slices can be used to make elegant hors d'oeuvres, they can be served with a few simple sides to make a nice cool lunch on a hot day, the scraps are great in an omelette for breakfast, and being "cured-but-not-cooked" makes gravlax perfect for coaxing a timid diner into trying more adventurous raw dishes. Most recipes call for fresh dill and while that works just fine, using Dill Pollen creates explosive "pops" of dill flavor that are hard to imitate with other methods. Using some Beet Powder in the sugar mixture adds a beautiful reddish hue to the outer crust of the filet, and the transition from bright salmon orange to deep beet red allows a creative cook to arrange the slices into stunning displays. So this summer when you come home from your fishing trips, try a salmon recipe that just can't be beet.
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Sassy Bourbon-Honey Salmon Fillets
We love salmon here in the Pacific Northwest, and never tire of finding new ways to enjoy it. Lemon & dill? BORING. One of our favorite "out of the box"blends to use is our Sassy Steak Spice. It's bold, exotic, and it hits all the flavor highlights - a little bit smoky, a little bit sweet with just a bit of herbs and heat - which perfectly compliments our favorite fish. We used grilling planks for an alder wood accent to finish it off, but you can also use a grill pan indoors. Love smoky flavors? Use our Upper Left Madrona Smoked Honey to add another layer of smoky flavor.
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Cinnamon Toast Spice Blondies
Sometimes we just want a little something sweet, but not too heavy. This updated version of a classic blondie fits the bill. Our Cinnamon Toast Spice, featuring Indonesian and Vietnamese cassia-cinnamons with true cinnamon, brown sugar and just a hint of nutmeg, perfectly complements the sweet potato base. These disappeared in moments at our last recipe test, and may need a "re-test" in my personal kitchen tonight. They've got sweet potatoes in them... so they're totally healthy, right?
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Pacific Seafood Halibut Escabeche
The first of the season Alaskan halibut has arrived, and we are thrilled! Considered the world’s premium whitefish, first of the season halibut are the best quality because the fat content of the fish is at its absolute peak. To celebrate the arrival of this delicacy from the icy north, we created an escabeche using our Pacific Seafood. What is escabeche? It's the name for a number of dishes Latin American cuisines where the fish or veggies are cooked or pickled in a vinegar-based sauce, and may also include citrus, paprika and other spices. This simple, but delicious, preparation is a luscious showcase of some of Spring's first fresh flavors.
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Kala Masala Skillet Cornbread
This savory cornbread knocked our collective socks off at first bite. Our Kala Masala spice blend is a complex one, and that complexity of flavor transfers easily to the skillet cornbread. There's a tiny bit of heat from some guajillo chiles in the blend that is balanced perfectly by a healthy dose of toasted coconut for sweetness. Try it with a fish, lentil or vegetable soup for maximum enjoyment!
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Aleppo Pepper Muhammara
This eastern Mediterranean dish is the perfect example of that regions ability to take simple ingredients like nuts, peppers and olive oil... and make something magical by adding a spice such as Aleppo Pepper. The sweet and sharp Aleppo chile has a moderate heat and fruity flavor that brings a taste of the sunny Mediterranean to every bite. An elegant alternative to hummus, Muhammara will be the easy holiday hors d'oeuvre that your guests adore.
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Memphis Beale St. BBQ Brisket with Whiskey Sauce
Beef brisket is one of my favorite cuts of meat. When cooked just right, it is incredibly tender and flavorful, and one of the most affordable cuts to boot! However there are an abundance of horror stories out there of under or overcooked brisket that end up tough, dry, chewy, shrunken or shriveled. Don't fear! With a little practice and close attention you can easily avoid these common pitfalls.Briskets come in a wide variety of sizes, from a small one pound size common in the supermarket, to massive fourteen pounders meant to spend an entire day in a smoker; in this recipe we call for about a three pound brisket. Feel free to use whatever size you need to feed everyone at your table. but be sure to adjust the cooking time accordingly. Having an in-oven probe thermometer will be a huge asset here, since being able to pull it out of the oven right at 185°F and letting it rest for a while will give your brisket the maximum amount of time at just the right temperature to melt the fat without overcooking. The key to a tender brisket is cooking it just long enough to allow the connective tissue to breakdown, without leaving it dry and tough.Also, when making the whiskey BBQ sauce, be sure to use a whiskey you would drink. The old adage about not cooking with something you wouldn't drink yourself isn't just for wine!
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