For DannyM.’s January writing breather, we’ll post some brief shopping tips & cooking hacks. Here’s a quartet of favorites for your pantry.
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Bell’s Seasoning
Thanksgiving itself in a box– de rigeur for traditional celery, onion, & bread stuffing, and a key component in the savory version of our Butternut Squash & Apple Soup. Widely available wherever spices are sold. Click HERE for history and details.
Montreal Steak Seasoning
This one has an unlikely and interesting history. The city of Montreal has long been home to a substantial Jewish immigrant population, and legend has it that a Romanian-Jewish deli employee– Morris “The Shadow” Sherman, broilerman at Schwartz’s Deli– started using the house Pastrami spices on his personal steaks, and it caught on. I never make homefries without it. Not much info from McCormick’s site, but numerous copycat recipes abound on the web.
Old Bay Seasoning
An essential ingredient for Maryland crabcakes. Martha Stewart’s website tells the story of Old Bay Seasoning HERE better than we can.
Zatarain’s Creole Seasoning
The boundary between the twin Dixie Dusts OLD BAY and ZATARAIN’S might be a bit fuzzy, but Z-powder owns The Big Easy, where it puts the magical essence of NoLa in everything from Jambalaya to Gumbo.
DISHONORABLE MENTION:
Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix
Overexposure ruins just about everything. Rather than support this nefarious industry (it only encourages them) go ahead and mix your own… HERE is one of many recipes available online.