Curry Bread Pudding with Cardamom Cream

Who says you have to make curry with your curry? No one! This warm winter pudding was inspired by our friends at Hunger Restaurant, and since trying theirs, we have come up with some delightful variations of our own. We've added diced apples to replace the traditional raisins - pears are nice, too - and infused a mild amount of spice into the custard and cream. Enjoy with coffee, chai or your favorite toddy; nothing says holiday like bread pudding. This is also a decadent treat for brunch, too.

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Easy DIY: Spiced Hot Fudge Sauce

Want an easy DIY project that you can take from start to finish in under an hour? This is your post. But beware! Once you start gifting this hot fudge sauce you won't be able to stop... my sister has been asking for it every holiday since 2004. Our favorite formulation combines bittersweet chocolate with Kashmiri Garam Masala and uses maple syrup as the sweetener, but you can switch up the spice and sweetener in all kinds of creative combinations. Chinese Five Spice with agave nectar is another one of our favorites. A decadent dose of sweet and spice will make your holiday extra nice. This recipe makes 2 cups, but double up if you want to make more for gifts

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Heavenly Hawaij Mushroom Soup

This Heavenly Hawaij Soup is the perfect starter for a long holiday feast. Combining aromatic spices, earthy mushrooms and velvety cream, it is as decadent as holiday fare should be. Cardamom, turmeric and saffron are the essential spice elements of the Yemenese blend Hawaij, and they play wonderfully in this exotic mushroom soup. Serve as elegant soup shots to start a meal or by the bowl as a first course. It's a leftover that will have you sneaking back to the kitchen in the middle of the night!

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Dolmades (Stuffed Grape Leaves) for Greek Easter

If you thought that the Easter fun was over far too soon, not to fear! Greek Easter is this coming Sunday, awash with delicious traditions all its own. Not to be missed are these tasty little pockets of meat, rice, and nuts, expertly seasoned with our savory and tangy El Greco blend. They're called "dolmas" in the singular, and "dolmades" when referring to the scores of them you'll eat once you've had a taste of their perfect balance of Mediterranean flavors, all wrapped in a convenient little two-bite nosh.All of the ingredients ought to be readily available in most markets, including grape leaves, which often come in cans or jars. If you've got a grape vine over an arbor, fresh work wonderfully, too; just poach them a bit of salted water with a half a lemon thrown in. Admittedly a little time-consuming, the dolmades can be prepared 2 to 3 days before serving, and refrigerated or frozen until you're ready to use them. If you do freeze them, they can be thawed overnight in the refrigerator, and gently heated with a little broth or water before serving. You'll find them more than worth the effort! Kalo Pascha!

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Roasted Quail Feast for Valentine's Day

Exotic. Aromatic. Romantic. We prepared this intimate feast with a table for two in mind. Succulent quail are perfectly roasted with our Moroccan blend, Ras El Hanout, hinting at rose petals. The finishing touch, a warm coriander infused honey glaze. Our Wild Rice Pilaf features the bold flavor of cassia cinnamon while Paradise Pistachio Relish combines grains of paradise and Aleppo pepper to bring everything together for a memorable Valentine's Day Feast. We will leave the dessert up to you!

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Chuck's Gumbo

Down on Western Avenue, around the corner from our brick & mortar storefront, folks still talk in hushed tones about a little place called Sesto’s Cafe, and the legendary gumbo of Chuck Smith. Chicken and sausage are served up alongside the classic trinity of celery, onion, and bell pepper, with a touch of Herbes de Provence, for mouthwatering and memorable flavor.Sesto’s is gone now, but its legacy lives on in Chuck’s famous recipe, which he generously shared with us. We’ve made a few changes, to keep his secrets safe, but this bayou classic is still worthy of every bit of its formidable reputation.

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Christmas in a Glass!

The first time I ever had a Lion's Tail, I thought it tasted like Christmas in a glass, and it immediately became my go-to libation of the holiday season. This classic cocktail offers up the perfect, winter warming combination of bourbon, citrus and spice that dances on the palate. We've played around with many twists on the original theme and are including recipes for the "classic" and "spice-lover's" versions for you to enjoy.True Allspice Dram is sometimes hard to find. If its not available in your area, or if you love a great infusion project, here's an excellent recipe from Serious Eats.

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Bejeweled Spice Cake

The holy trinity of baking spices: ginger, cassia-cinnamon and allspice combine in this traditional medieval spice blend called Poudre Douce. It makes this upside-down fruit cake an essential for the winter holidays -- and it's a table-top stunner, too! We made a festive selection of dried fruits over the classic pineapple to allow the spices to shine through. Less sweet than those pineapple upside-down cakes of our childhoods, we like this cake at brunch as well as for dessert!

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Ginger Snappiest Cookies

These ginger snaps are the snappiest in town and offer a classic belly warming tingle all season long. Equally at home with a glass of milk, egg nog, hot cocoa or a cocktail, they offer a petite bite of concentrated spice. We added a sprinkle of sugar to our finished cookies for some holiday sparkle.So pretty and delicious on the plate, and so yummy straight off the rack!

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