Store takes Mardi Gras Prize

The store took first prize as the Best Mardi Gras Krew at Findlay Market for 2009. As you can see from the picture below the store really got its Krew on. Thaks to everyone that stopped by to enjoy the fun. I want to give a special thanks to our employees, who did a great job of making our stand and each other look fantastic. Well done!


The Colonel

Spice University - Paprika

A Little Spice of Life
From the Colonel

Paprika Capsicum annum

Paprika is made from certain very finely ground red pepper pods. The color can vary from light bright orange red to dark deep red. The flavor varies from sweet and mild to pungent and hot. Mild paprika can be found in any well stocked supermarket, while ethnic stores or specialty spice vendors will be necessary for a hotter more robust paprika.

Different varieties of bell peppers have been cultivated in America long before the arrival of the Europeans, so their native countries cannot be determined. South American origin is, however, established for all species of the genus Capsicum, which emerged probably in the area bordering Southern Brazil and Bolivia. The species started moving to the North by birds dropping seeds. Since paprika plants tolerate nearly every type of climate, the fruits are produced all over the world. But most of what is produced commercially comes from Spain, South America, California, and Hungary. Indeed paprika has long been more of a staple in Hungary than just a spice. In Hungary, they have elevated growing these peppers to an art, they have six classes or types of paprika ranging from delicate to hot.

When someone comes to the store and asks for paprika, we always smile and say, “Great, what kind would you like?” There are currently five different varieties available. Most of us know one or perhaps two different kinds, but at the supermarket it is difficult to find any but the mildest sweet variety. One of the varieties that has become increasingly popular is smoked paprika. Some vendors sell a smoked paprika that has had chemical smoke added to it, but the very best has been smoked in the traditional way of smoking peppers, with the smoke from a fire of burning wood. The most popular type seems to be an oak smoked paprika.

The Hungarian cuisine uses paprika in dishes such as chicken paprikash and goulash. It is used in many spiced meat products like Spanish chorizos. Many Spanish, Portuguese and Turkish recipes use paprika for soups, stews and casseroles. In India it is sometimes used in tandoori chicken to give it the red color. It is often used as a garnish for salads, appetizers and eggs. In Spain paprika is used to flavor shell fish dishes, rice, and to season tomato and green pepper salads.

An important thing to remember when using paprika in sauces is that it has a high sugar content and burns easily. Add it only when liquid ingredients are present and do not cook it over high heat for too long. Surprisingly to some, this is the same variety of pepper that we see stuffed ubiquitously in olives. Yep, this is the same pepper that gives us pimento.

If you are out of Paprika you might try ground red pepper, but just an eighth of the amount, as it is far hotter and not as sweet.

The guest chef's for this month are Rita Heikenfeld and Debbie Spangler.

Recipes

Rita's Simple Grilled Chicken
Easy Grilled Asparagus
Paprika Salad Dressing
Paprika Moroccan Chicken
Paprika Pork Roast
Chicken Paprikash










Colonel De Stewart

Spice University - Adobo Seasoning

Catch the Colonel Sunday morning January 18th on Q102 FM with Amy Tobin on Amy's Table.

Welcome to Spice University

This is the first installment of what will be a full course on herbs and spices. It is my intent to share with you my knowledge and the knowledge of my staff here at Herbs & Spice and Everything Nice. Several of the chefs and restaurants that we supply have said that they will participate as well. To them I say, thank you. Be sure and give us your feedback on our efforts. I would like for this to be fun as well as educational. Thanks for taking this journey with us.

A Lttle Spice of Life
From The Colonel

Adobo a seasoning, a sauce, and a popular dish.

There are three completely different things that are referred to as adobo. There is adobo seasoning, adobo sauce and adobo (a dish renowned in the Philippines). This has caused a bit of confusion among American cooks. While I am most familiar with the seasoning, let’s take a look at all three of them and try to clear up the mystery of which is what.

Adobo seasoning is a Latino spice mixture used in various countries including Mexico. There can be several different combinations of spices that make up adobo seasoning. But, most will contain salt, garlic, Mexican oregano, and black pepper. Some other ingredients that might be found are onion, cumin, and cayenne pepper.

Adobo seasoning is flavorful and can be mild or hot. Add 1/2 teaspoon per pound for chicken, beef, pork chops, ribs or cutlets, burritos, or to spice up a bland salsa. If you make your own guacamole, adobo will take it to a new level! Some of the many other uses for adobo are as a rub on meats prior to grilling or frying or in taco meat mixtures. These spices are also the perfect seasoning for all your poultry and fish dishes, as well as, bean dishes.

Adobo sauce is a tart and rather sour sauce made of ground chilis, herbs, and vinegar. Most recipes that call for adobo sauce ask for it with chipotles as the chili pepper. Just to add to the confusion, adobo sauce is Latino as well. It is also used fairly extensively in the Southwest as a marinade for meat dishes.

Adobo is a specialty dish from the Philippines that is made with chicken or pork simmered in a mixture of garlic, vinegar and soy sauce. Inside the Philippines the most common meat is pork.

Some in the culinary world think that perhaps adobo made its way in many forms in Mexico, the Caribbean, and, with the same name but different flavors, in the Philippines.

So the next time you hear someone mention adobo you can ask them which variation they are talking about. You will be the expert. I would suggest you try them all. They are each very good.

Recipes

Crusted Tilapia with Adobo Seasoning
Chicken Adobo
Filipino Pork Adobo










Colonel De Stewart

Spice University...EQ (Party Source)...Mt. Saint Joe

First, I would like to thank everyone for a truly incredible Holiday season at the market. You have blessed us beyond our expectations. Thank you. We are in the final countdown to the New Year. Beginning in January we will start a project here on the pages of the blog that will hopefully continue for two to three years. Every month we will be presenting a different herb, spice or blend. We will provide you with information about each of the spices and tell you of subsitutes, if any exist, and provide you with several recipes to practice using each of the spices that we cover. I hope that you will enjoy this journey. The idea of Spice U. has me smitten. I am very excited about getting it started. I hope that you will share some of your recipes also. I would like for this to be very interactive.

I also want to point out a couple of things that might be of interest to you. On February 16th Alaina Repic and the old Colonel will be at the Party Source doing a four course menu. We will prepare, Scallops with Orange & Chervil Vinagerette, Salmon the Colonel's Way, Sweet Potato Salad, and Smokey Ice Cream. There are still some spots available. Here is where you register for this class and any other you might like to attend.

Then on April 7th at 12:30 I will be presenting a talk on Trivia, Myths, and Legends of spices at Mt. Saint Joseph Life Learn program. You may contact the Life Learn Programs office by either e-mailing Mary_Brickweg@mail.msj.edu or by phone: 513-244-4525.

All of us at Herbs & Spice and Everything Nice want to wish you the best New Year ever for 2009.

The Colonel

We Won

Wow! The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce selected Herbs & Spice as the recipient of the WE award for Best New Product or Service for 2008. What an honor! This is only possible because of you, our valued customers. Thank you for making 2008 the best year yet. The picture below will show you the beautiful award that we received. If you get a chance to come by the store, we will show it to you in person.

What a year end it has been! First Best in Cincinnati, an on-line magazine (see the November 7, 2008 post below). Then one of the 110 Best of Cincinnati picks by Cincinnati Magazine under the category Best Smoked Salts. Finally, to be chosen Best New Product or Service for 2008 by the Chamber, needless to say we are proud but humbled by all of this.

We are in the midst of a great December at the store. Thank you so much for your patronage. Just a quick reminder, after the first of the year, we will begin the Spice of the Month program, right here in the blog. The first five will be; Adobo Seasoning, parika, chives, nutmeg and dill. In addition to telling you about these spices we will also include recipes for you to try them. Some of you that have stopped by the store have mentioned that you would like to submit recipes for some of these spices too. I would love to see that happen. We are working on some ways to recognize and honor you for participating.

Our great staff along with Susan and I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and/or Happy Hanukkah. Our prayer is for better economic times for 2009.

The Colonel

Chamber News and Go Bearcats

This is the press release from the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce. I thought you might like to see it.

Dear Friends of Herbs & Spice and Everything Nice:

It is our pleasure to inform you that the company has been selected as a finalist for Woman Owned Business of the Year - 25 or Fewer Employees by WE Celebrate, an awards program honoring the best of women in business. Company president Susan Stewart will be recognized at an awards breakfast next Thursday, December 11th, 8am - 10am at the Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown Cincinnati. The company is also featured in today's Business Courier. It would be wonderful if you could join us in honoring Susan, De and their company by attending the WE Celebrate Awards breakfast. Click here to register or call 579-3111 by Monday, December 8. We hope you will join us in honoring this amazing business and its outstanding leader!


Diana Long, SPHRProgram Manager - Women Excel
Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber
300 Carew Tower, 441 Vine Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202
dlong@cincinnatichamber.com
513.686.2946


Herbs & Spice is so proud of the UC football team. This has truly been an historic year for them. In their honor we have developed both a red, white, and black salt blend and a red, white, and black peppercorn blend. They are packaged up in a ready to use grinder. Come by and pick up yours for your Orange Bowl party. They are $8.00 each or both for $15.00.





The Colonel

Fox 19 and New Gift Items

I apologize for the late notice, but tomorrow morning I will appear on Fox 19 here in Cincinnati. I should be on sometime between 8:00 and 9:00am. I will be preparing the Colonel's Bourbon Sweet Potatoes.

We also have two new gift items for the holidays. There are two distinctive baskets. The first is our All Bourbon Basket. It contains your choice of one of our three Bourbon Barrel Sorghums, Bourbon Barrel Aged Vanilla Extract, Bourbon Vanilla Sugar, and Bourbon Barrel Smoked Sea Salt.



The second basket is called the Colonel's Favorites. It contains your choice of two of our five herbed vinegars, Herb Shop Cream Cheese mix, your choice of one of our marinades, Grilled Fruit Salad Mix (with the complete recipe), The Colonel's Pork and Poultry Rub, The Colonel's Smokey Rub, The Colonel's Chef's Seasoning Internationale, and The Colonel's Chipotle Spice Blend.




Colonel De Stewart

This is a great honor

I'm not really sure where to begin with this blog. I am so deeply touched by what folks have said. Ok, here is what I am going all maudlin over. If you go to http://www.thebestincincinnati.com/index.php?page=Home&screen=details&id=161 you can rate and review our store. This was the kind of reactions that I had hoped for when we first opened the store. I would encourage you all to go there and see what is being said. While you are on the web site, look around at some of the other businesses that are spotlighted. I consider it a great honor to be included. Thank you to everyone the made this possible.

Colonel De Stewart

CincyChic and More

CincyChic is an on-line publication that is targeted at women. The current issue is titled "Spice It Up" and there is a spotlight article on Herbs & Spice and Everything Nice. There is even a picture of Susan & I as well as some great shots of some of our salts. To see the whole magazine simply go to http://cincychic.com/. To go directly to our article go to http://cincychic.com/content/view/1386/1/.

Stop by and catch the new items we have. We have 2 herb calendars, a new Bourbon Vanilla Sugar, and the Colonel's Bayou Blend. The Bayou Blend is the spicest combination we have developed yet. So, if you are into heat, come by and give it a try. If you are thinking of giving a gift pack of spices for the Holidays, you will want to place those orders soon. We get a lot of special Holiday orders and the closer the Holidays get, the harder it is to accomodate your needs. We will have several different pre-packaged gift items available, but if you want a custom gift pack we would ask that you have that order in by December 14th. This will allow us time to complete everyones order.

I look forward to seeing or hearing from everyone soon.

Colonel De Stewart

Mt. Saint Joe and Taste Cincinnati Magazine

Sorry for the late notice, but I will be teaching at Mt. Saint Joseph College's LifeLearn class in Delhi tomorrow afternoon, September 30, 2008. I understand that there are 30 people registered and the room holds 28. This should be interesting. The topic is Salts of the World. I have samples of salts from many countries. We had to reschedule this class because of the unbelievable event of Hurricane Ike as he blew through Kentucky and Ohio. If you haven't been to the store this week, then you haven't seen the 11 new salts that have arrived. When you come into the store be sure and ask to see the salt bricks and salt plates. We will share with you what these are and how you use them.

I would also like to thank Stephen Kidd, Publisher of Taste Magazine Cincinnati. Taste is a magazine published four times a year. It is an excellently writen magazine with great articles and many recipes. The Restaurant Guide in the back of the magazine is amazing. There is even a map to help you locate every restaurant listed. In the Fall 2008 issue you will find my recipe for Chicken Pot Pie in a Sugar Pumpkin.

Colonel De Stewart

New Blending Station & Tailgating Recipe

If you have been in the market over the past two months, I'm sure you couldn't help but notice the construction area next to our spice cases. I am happy to announce that the "Blending Station" is now complete. It was worth the wait. Now that the construction is over, this is where you will be able to watch as we blend our many unique spice blends. Make sure you come by and take a look. I look forward to your comments.

While I'm at it I might as well put a plug in for the guys responsible. My buds Tony Zimmerman and Tiny Tim (yes just like Dickens) from AZA Construction built and assembled this masterpiece. (As of this writing, their web site is down. Thanks to the unusual Mid-West hurricane Ike that we experienced on Sunday.) Here is a picture that I took with my cell phone during construction, just to give you an idea of why I am babbleing over this new area of our store.





Here's a treat from Alaina Repic. Alaina is the manager of Herbs & Spice and Everything Nice and a recent Culinary Graduate.

TAILGATE TOUCHDOWNS

Alright you football fanatic foodies, it’s time to don the apron and get to cooking up a spread that will tackle your pre-game hunger and sack your tastebuds. Yes, folks it’s that time of year again!!! It’s football time and no one knows how to party more than a diehard football tailgator. Whether you are enjoying the game at home or have made the pilgrimage to the pre-game parking lot festivities this recipe is sure to please the crowd.

Now, this recipe may be new to some and old to others but when done right it will have your whole team cheering for more. Beer Can Chicken. First things first, before even thinking about throwing my soon-not-secret-rub on the bird you need to soak this bad boy in some of the Col.’s Basil Pepper Garlic Vinegar. Not only will this add tons of flavor to the chicken but it will make it tender and juicy as well. Pour the entire bottle into a large zip lock bag along with the whole chicken (eviscerated of course) and seal it up sometime in the morning. You may flip the bag over a few times to ensure equal coverage. By the time you are ready to start cooking it will be ready to go after patting it dry. Now, for the spices. Below is my recipe for BCC Rub but you may use whatever you like.

¼ c. Smoked Paprika
2 T California Garlic Granules
2 T Onion Granules
1 ½ T Salt
1 T Black Pepper (ground)
1 t New Mexico Chili Powder (optional)

Combine the above ingredients and rub over the chicken, and under the skin. Sprinkle a bit in the body cavity and reserve the rest for the beer can. Speaking of the beer, let’s take a look at our fizzy friends. We have a wide range of choices when it comes to which beer (or cola if necessary) we use. While I prefer a dark beer (i.e. Guinness or Anchor Porter) a nice wheat beer will do just fine. The dark beer adds a depth and sweetness that a regular or light beer just can’t match. Now if you are adverse to beer you can use any cola you like. Either empty half or drink half the can and add the rest of the spices. The last step here is to take an entire head of garlic with top cut off and most of the paper removed and put it down the neck of the bird to prevent the steam from getting out

Now that you have prepped the bird and picked your liquid it’s time to assemble. You may have seen the contraptions they sell to stabilize the concoction but it’s not necessary by any means. It will stay upright because of the can. The only rigging you may want to do is tying the wings together in front of the bird (as demonstrated below)




As for your grill you will want to place an aluminum pan underneath the bird to catch the drippings and prevent flare-ups. The grill or oven needs to be at medium heat (oven @ 350°). The chicken will cook for about an hour and a half, instant thermometer will register 170 when inserted into the crease between the leg and breast. Remove carefully, remember there is a molten can of liquid to contend with. That’s it!!!

Beer Can Chicken goes great with potatoes and roasted corn. Try your corn with Chef’s Seasoning available at Herbs and Spice, you’ll never look at corn the same way again.

Colonel De Stewart

Emerging Business for 2008

Thanks to your support Herbs & Spice and Everything Nice was runner up as the Emerging Business for 2008. We took 2nd place to a franchise. Why they were in there is anybodies guess. Oh well. Next year we our goal is to be named Business of the Year. All right, enough back patting.

Many of you have asked for reprints of my columns from PulseDT (formerly the DownTowner). So in and effort to provide you with this information, starting next week, I will begin publishing to the blog both the articles and the recipe(s) that go along with the article. They will not be in the order they were published the first time. I will most likely provide them alphabetically. All of the recipes that were published with the articles will also be included. Additionally, there will be several recipes that have never been published.

We are offering a new product. A good friend of ours, Rob Miller, has developed a great new mustard. Rob is currently hiding out in Pennsylvania. At $5.00 this large jar is a bargain.

Colonel De Stewart

Fox 19 Appearance

From time to time I am asked to make an appearance on Fox 19's morning show. Rob Williams and Sheila Gray are always gracious hosts. For those of you outside of the city, this is the Cincinnati Morning show on our Fox affiliate.

The last time I appeared was on Opening day. That day I boiled jumbo hot dogs in Morlein's Over The Rhine Ale and made Orange Tomato Ketchup.

This time I will be on at about 8:15 am on August 4th. I will be preparing a very delicous summer treat Watermelon Tomato Salad. For those in the Cincinnati viewing area, I hope that you can tune in and see how this works out. I will be given 3 whole minutes to put this salad together and talk to the host. My how time flies when one is having fun.

Colonel De Stewart

New T-Shirts are in

At last the new Herbs & Spice t-shirts are in. They are black with white lettering. On the front is the Herbs & Spice logo and underneath is our slogan, "Taking the common and making it uncommon." On the back is the winning slogan from our contest. The winning slogan is "Nothing Beats a Good Rub." We got lots of different sizes. The shirts come in small, medium, large, extra large and double extra large. Come and get yours today! At $15.00 we think they are a steal or at least reasonable.

Colonel De Stewart

Welcome To The Herbs & Spice Blog!

Welcome to the new Herbs & Spice and Everything Nice blog.

I've decided to create this blog to replace the e-mail newsletter. This is where to come to learn more about spices and unusual ingredients, find new recipes, find out when we're having tastings and special events, and learn what's new at Herbs & Spice and Everything Nice or Findlay Market.

I highly recommend you subscribe to our blog. You can subscribe in a reader or it can be sent to you via e-mail whenever it's updated (just click one of the icons in the upper right corner above my smiling photo). I'll be offering coupons and specials that will only be posted on the blog. All you'll have to do is print out the page with the coupon on it and bring it in to redeem it.

So as a thank you to all of our loyal customers, print out this first blog and bring it in before August 15, 2008 for 10% off your order of $10.00 or more. Herbs & Spice and Everything Nice Stall #135 513 421 4800

Colonel De Stewart

Herbs & Spice Blog is Almost Here!

Keep checking back - the new Herbs & Spice and Everything Nice blog is almost ready and will be full of recipes, coupons and news about Herbs & Spice and Findlay Market.

Colonel De Stewart