~Izze's Cognitive Reverie~: the things that make a girl happy!!!

This morning I was interupted during my vaccuming by the doorbell, which I hate hearing, and to my surprise the spices I ordered last week had arrived via the postman. When possible I like to order my spices from the Spice House in Chicago. I think I discovered them when I was at the C.I.A(culinary institute of america). I think the school carried their spices in the little store, I'm not sure but regardless, I love this spice store! Here are the spices I ordered: The deluxe BBQ and Grilling set includes...

JAMAICAN JERK SEASONING An exotic mix of the baking spices (such as allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon) along with the potent flavors of garlic and onion; all heated up by the addition of the hottest pepper known to man--the fiery little habanero. This seasoning can be used as a dry rub; however, for authentic Jamaican jerk, follow the instructions on the bottle to make the marinade and let the flavors develop on the meat overnight. Not for the wimpy!

TRINIDAD STYLE LEMON-GARLIC MARINADE A uniquely simple blend of garlic, salt and lemon with just a pinch of cloves which will delight you. A customer from the islands gave us this recipe because he knew his mother made the best fried chicken on the island. Also good for fried fish, grilled chicken, steaks, hamburgers, salads, eggs.

CAJUN STYLE BLACKENING SEASONING From our friends in Louisiana comes this classic American Cajun blend. Adds pizzazz to chicken wings, Louisiana-style catfish, chops, steaks, red snapper; use for spicy Cajun fries.
BRONZEVILLE RIB RUB Our best-selling seasoning for baby back pork ribs, bar none! Shake heavily onto ribs while grilling, or add to a tomato-based sauce for homemade barbecue sauce. Also great for pork chops, roasts, or chicken
KING CREOLE SEASONING Tasty all-purpose blend great on chicken, pork chops, steaks, fish, shrimp.

WEST INDIES BARBECUE SEASONING Use as a dry rub for poultry or pork. Mix in tomato sauce or catsup for your own homemade barbecue seasoning. Great for baby back ribs and a sure hit for baked beans.

BACK OF THE YARDS GARLIC PEPPER (BUTCHER'S RUB) Named after the area of Chicago famous for its meat packing plants, where thousands of new immigrants found jobs and homes in the 1800s, this is one of our best all-purpose blends. Great on turkey, chicken, duck, ribs, chops, hamburgers, veal, lake perch, eggs.

QUEBEC BEEF SPICE Mix a little red wine with some olive oil, shake on about 1-2 tsp. Quebec Beef Spice per pound and let marinate 20 minutes. When you throw the steak on the grill, add some beef stock to the remaining marinade and simmer a few minutes for au jus. The BEST!

MILWAUKEE IRON SEASONING The smokey chipolte chile pepper adds zip to this garlicky Southwestern seasoning. Tasty for homemade salsa, to zip up vegetables. Shake on chicken, steaks, or pork before grilling.

PILSEN LATINO SEASONING A spicy version of adobo seasoning we love on just about everything. Especially tasty to season homemade salsa, on chicken, pork, and Mexican fare.

Double strength Madagascan Vanilla Extract is made from 200 beans per gallon, as opposed to the single strength vanilla extract, which is made from 100 beans per gallon. Hence its name--double strength. Like all our vanilla extracts, the flavor of the beans is extracted using a slow, cold process to maximize the depth and intensity of flavor.

This vanilla extract is known as a bakers twofold vanilla, which means you need only use half of what the recipes calls for. This is good when making white cake or frosting, where you would want as little color change as possible. Most of our customers who buy this love vanilla flavor and use as much as they would of single strength for a stronger vanilla taste.

Our Pickling Spice blend is a mix of whole spices. Lots of rich, premium spices mixed with mustard seeds make this pickling blend special.

We use our richest cracked cassia bark, lots of sweet cloves and allspice berries, some hand-broken star anise, and a few ginny juniper berries.