Most often, we think of eating pretzels while at carnivals, ball parks, shopping at the mall, and watching a movie. Quite frankly, all you need to do is pick up a bag of your favorite variety, at your local grocery store. Personally, a pretzel that’s right out of the oven, with its hot crunchy crust, and soft chewy interior, is the only pretzel that I truly enjoy. There’s no better way to satisfy that pretzel craving than to make them at home. Read more about Inside-Out Pretzels …
The iconic grilled cheese sandwich. So simple, so plainly perfect. It’s basically 3 ingredients, white bread, sliced American cheese, and butter. It’s eaten by itself or can be dunked into simple homemade soup, like our Tuscany Tomato Soup (containing rich hearty flavors from Tuscany Spice Blend & Sweet Onion Sugar and ready in 10 minutes). Grilled cheese can even be stuffed and loaded up Sloppy Joe style!
The grilled cheese sandwich is an incredible flavor canvas with endless possibilities; bread choices, which cheeses to use. Should it be butter, oil, mayonnaise, and what about added flavors? The idea of sprinkling a spice blend into layers of bread and cheese and grilling to a flavorful perfection, seems just too easy to believe. But it is. Read more about Assemble – Melt – Enjoy …
Spring is one of the most exciting times of the year, especially in the culinary world. It’s time to trade in those classic winter comfort foods for some new and exciting fresh spring flavors! At The Spice & Tea Exchange®, we experimented with many different combinations of products and flavor profiles that we felt would […]
Taco Tuesday. It’s basically a standing Tuesday thing for me, and usually ends up being sort of a pot luck taco Tuesday. Whatever I’ve got going on in my fridge ends up nestled into those heavenly crunchy shells. My favorite however, is still the good old ground beef taco. It’s so simple, and yet satisfies all my basic criteria for the perfect taco. Read more about Taco Tuesday at Its Finest …
Honestly, who doesn’t secretly love a sloppy joe? But I have to say, the sloppy joe gets kind of a bum rap, and is totally under appreciated. So I thought, why not give it a little attention. Let’s face it, the day after St. Patrick’s Day, is sort of forgettable to be National Sloppy Joe […]
From salads to dips, dolloped on a baked potato, and baked onto chicken or even pizza; there isn’t much you can’t do with ranch dressing. There are some great bottled dressings on the market, but why not take a few minutes and DIY? Here is our favorite ranch dressing recipe with a few options to create flavorful alternatives. Read more about For the Love of Ranch …
Indulge a little! As winter approaches its end, take a couple nights to enjoy some of your favorite comfort foods one last time. One of our favorite comfort foods are these caramel-loaded chocolaty Salted Caramel Chocolate Cookies. Read more about Salted Caramel Chocolate Cookies …
Ah Valentine’s Day. Roses are sent to a secret admirer. Lovers and couples exchange gifts of jewelry, fragrance, lingerie and more. It’s also the time to show someone special that you care.
But nothing says “I care” or “I love you,” than a gift made with love. So why not make a gift with love, from one of the most popular gifts of all. Chocolate. Sure, you could make chocolate truffles, or chocolate cake, but why not make something more unique. Chocolate Pasta. Read more about Sweethearts Chocolate Pasta & Valentine’s Drinks …
Mango Habanero Sugar makes dishes spicy-sweet!We can probably all agree that visions of warm sandy beaches, azure seas, and tropical-flavored-anything, are hot on our minds during the cold days of winter. However, the reality may be anything but. Mango Habanero Sugar brings a tropical heatwave of flavor to many everyday dishes. Adding 1-2 tsp Mango Habanero Sugar into pancake or waffle batter, oatmeal, or even on top of your morning grapefruit, will help bring that island vibe. Read more about Cooking Spicy-Sweet with Mango Habanero Sugar …
This curious little taste combination is inspired by one of my favorite holiday sorbets. For a holiday cookie, I thought I’d try to combine the two distinctive flavors into a shortbread-like cookie. And though I love shortbread, I don’t often make them because they are far too delicate for my somewhat sturdy hand. So, I created a cookie that mimics shortbread, has a lovely buttery undertone, and holds together with a little help from cornstarch. Read more about Lemon Star Anise Shortbread Cookies …
After Thanksgiving has come and gone, and you’ve had your fill of turkey sandwiches, get creative with your turkey leftovers! Chef Stefan shared two of his favorite recipes to help you to put your Thanksgiving leftovers to good use! Read more about Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipes …
Quick pickling is a handy little trick to have up your sleeve, especially when vegetables are abundant or rich and spiced foods are on the menu. It’s fast (sometimes as quick as 15 minutes) and if you have a few of The Spice & Tea Exchange®’s most popular blends on hand, you can create a variety of pickling liquids to match just about any meal you’re serving up. Read more about Quick Pickling for the Holidays …
Capturing the Flavor of Fall
As soon as summer ends, it seems like the air is instantly filled with smell of pumpkin pie. It’s warm and inviting; it feels like home. Being at home and back in the kitchen after summer vacation is a good thing! Especially when Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend is in your pantry. It’s a tasty little blend that, yes – works for pumpkin pies, cakes, and cookies – but is also a great seasoning base for a lot of other cooking and baking applications. Read more about Pumpkin Pepitas – Capturing Fall Flavors …
Who doesn’t love the idea of making your own sausage? That is, of course, until you consider that most recipes want you to grind your own meat and stuff your mixture into hog casings! It’s an investment not only in time, but equipment and resources! Well, never has it been so easy to make just about any kind of meat sausage, without a meat grinder, without a sausage stuffer, and without having to track down hog casings! It’s easy, actually pretty fast, too. But when you mix in Tuscany Spice Blend for seasoning, your results are nothing short of super-delicious.
Read more about Tuscany Blend Homestyle Chicken Sausages …
Who doesn’t love a great hot sauce? With so many flavor options available, if you’re a fan you’ll end up with a pantry full of them. We prefer to keep things simple and whip up a batch of seasoned hot sauce whenever we need it. This master recipe is easily adjusted to match whatever you’re cooking up! Read more about Herb Sesame Hot Sauce …