Thursday, September 2, 2010

The spice of Life and my adventures in the Kitchen! & Gieveaway



Ever since I can remember, spice has been part of my life. My mom believes there's nothing Habanero won't cure (which btw is the hottest pepper on Earth) go figure eh!

When it comes to cooking is it a drudgery for you or an adventure?

You should know it's an adventure for me.

Here's what my journey has been like.
My mom also believes nutmeg and cloves was made to go with everything as well, dinner was like the lottery at my house growing up. With my mom's sense of adventure you never know what type of experiment we will be eating....
Hence my journey and luv affair with spices..

I've had several people asked me what are the most have spice in my pantry..

1 Sea Salt , kosher salt, smoke hickory sea salt
2.Madagascar Pepper
3.Hot Chipotle grind
4. Adirondack Garlic
5.Rosemary/ and  Tandoori Paste

I luv to experiment with all kinds of cuisine from Caribbean to Indian. The spicier the better, but due to my dh not able to eat spicy food I have to tone it down a bit..

People always asked me what is so special about Madagascar peppers? this pepper is intense and spicy with a nutty flavor, this is not your reg pepper from the grocery store. French Chefs swear by this pepper and it also has the ability to enhance what ever flavor. 12 oz will last you a while and the cost vary between $16-19.

Here are my fav recipes using Madagascar pepper.

Bryers vanilla ice cream, fresh cream, cabot yogurt strawberry, strawberries, a pinch of nutmeg, a pinch of Madagascar peppercorn, blend all the ingredient together for a great smoothie..


Strawberries soak in modena balsamic vinegar and ground Madagascar peppercorn, let soak overnight serve with vanilla ice cream....

William Sonoma is currently having a spice celebration...
they have a fabulous spice recipes and combination on their website William Sonoma.

I am giving away a $10.00 Certificate to William Sonoma..

Here 's how to win it..

 1.Leave a comment  on your adventures in the kitchen?What spices would you try at William Sonoma?
2. follow the blog and tell your friends about it..
You have from today until September 15th..
Extended till the 30th

Have a great day,
Maggie


Ps let me know what your favorite food sites are? don't forget the cartridge giveaway here
Share/Bookmark

25 comments:

littlen said...

Must admit I'm not very adventureous when it ocmes to cooking. I pretty much stick to the basics. I might give fennel a try.

Just Call Me Grammy said...

I don't know spices as well as I would like. But being from a good Swedish family we can't live without cloves and allspice. I would love to try the Hot Chipotle grind you mentioned...love anything Chipotle.

pcrusberg said...

I'm a pretty adventurous cook, but when the ingredient list gets to be over 15 items, I lose interest. I would love to get some herbs de provence. The food blogs I love are Food TV and the one that used to be Epicurious. Thanks!

IRW Dana said...

YOu've inspired me to get out my spices and "spice up" our supper. Thanks

TheCraftInMe said...

I'd like to start experimenting more with Chinese dishes.
The Chinese Five Spice Powder would get me off to a great start!
http://thecraftinme.blogspot.com/

Stephie C said...

I love cardamom in almost ALL baked goods...it just reminds me of my Great Grandma's house :)
sunni08 at gmail dot com

Stephie C said...

I follow
sunni08 at gmail dot com

Unknown said...

my mom is the cooking expert and always has new ingredients, she would love this store. I am not that adventurous! LOL But would love to win it for her :) or for me to try something new.

I would get some rosemary
maybe.

jakellcth @ msn.com

Unknown said...

following your blog and e-mailed it to my mom & sister :)

jakellcth @msn. com

Susan from SC said...

Wow, your blog is amazing. You are so talented. I wish I had a fraction of your natural ability. I'm excited to see what you do next!
--suebella4u@hotmail.com

Lovin Hello Kitty said...

My family loves spicy we grow habeneros and my daughter and husband love them. I am more of the milder person, just a little bit of hot for me.

just jayma said...

My husband LOVES to experiment with spices. Most of the time, he does okay. Sometimes, he hits the nail on the head, but then cant' remember what he did! LOL

Unknown said...

Ha.....and here I though my mom was the only one.....LOL
When ever I go into that store I'm like a kid in a candy store...it always smells sooooo good so honestly I wouldn't even know where to start. I would try anything atleast once.

KatieJ said...

I like to read the Picky Palate blog, and I love the reviews on Allrecipes.com.

Becky Moore said...

My husband used to be a chef so I'm usually not allowed in the kitchen but when I do get the chance to cook I prowl allrecipes.com for something new to try.

Aimee said...

I love the new spices at Williams Sonoma, especially that Madras curry powder. The pink curing salt is something I want to try. My favorite food websites are food.com (formally recipezaar) and Epicurious.

Melissa said...

My friend swears by Williams Sonoma spices! Guess I need to make a stop by and check things out!

Turnedgypsy said...

I like spicey food.

My granddaughter would really love the Princess cartridge. YOu are so sweet to do this. I love getting ideas from your blog.

woohoo

mcwooten1999@carolina.rr.com
grandma chris and caitlin

Kim. said...

I am not very good with spicy foods as they just don't seem to mix with my medication but my husband loves all spices and loves to experiment with different combinations. Cumin, paprikka, fennel and curry powders and always on our cupboard.
Kim xXx

mekei said...

i want to try the hot chipolte! i like it spicy!!!!!

Jennifer said...

Maggie,

I am learning to like to cook more by following your blog...so thank you for that!!! :)

I used to cook like a chemist (follow the recipes to a t), but now I am realizing that it's more fun to experiment-even if I can never exactly duplicate my creations! ;)

My can't live without spice would have to be garlic (I go a little overboard with the fresh garlic and I love garlic salt, too)! If you were to ask my son, I think his favorite spice that I use in my cooking would be the lemon pepper.

Thanks for sharing,

Jenniferc

stefeni said...

I've always wanted a nice spice rack, except that's all it'd be cuz I'd never use it. Wish I held the skills to cook a decent meal!

Court said...

I LOVE spices and thank goodness I married a man that loves spicy as much as I do - that must be torture!!!

I am now VERY curious about the Madagascar peppers so if William Sonoma carries that, then I will get it!

Haidee said...

I really like to have a great tasting spice rack too. My Hubby is Italian & he likes flavor.
Glad I stop by.

mekei said...

oooh, there's lots of things i could get with this. i am sure i will have to pull out my credit card to finish my purchases but it would be so much fun to win.