creole seasoning

If I could have only one spice blend in my kitchen, this would be it. Not only does it taste good on everything, it's so palatable that I can't imagine anyone disliking it. Conversely, there are some flavors that I really had to warm up to. For a long time both chili powder and cumin reminded me of, well, armpits. And I had only ever had curry done wrong until I tried the curried scallops at Hunan West, so until several years ago I never would have cooked with it. Fortunately, I got over it, but as my Aunt Pat quite sensibly stated, "I don't really care to eat something that I have to get over." Fair enough. I promise, you will not have to get over anything about this seasoning. It just tastes awesome.




Creole Seasoning
Adapted from The Gumbo Pages

• 3 tablespoons paprika
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano leaves or 1 teaspoon ground oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried sweet basil
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1.5 teaspoons black pepper
• 1.5 teaspoons white pepper
• 1.5 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
  

Stir it until well blended, or (my favorite method) seal in a jar and shake it up for a minute. Just let the dust settle before opening it. This doubles very well, and FYI 3 teaspoons equals 1 tablespoon.

Use this as a rub for grilling meats, roasted or pan fried chicken, shrimp, fish, fried potatoes, cream sauces for pasta, whatever. You'll see it in future recipes here. A bonus to making your own seasoning is that it doesn't include salt. Most commercial Creole seasonings are mostly salt, which completely limits the amount of seasoning you can use. Just add your salt separately.

A note to Sarah: Remember when we went to dinner after homecoming in Old Town Alexandria and I suggested you order jambalaya? And then your face almost melted off and you drank all four of the glasses of water on the table within seconds? This is NOT that seasoning. In fact, I've come to realize that the jambalaya was probably made with hot Andouille sausage and then super spiced up to match assumptions of what Creole and Cajun cooking are. In reality they are very flavorful and perfectly spicy, but never painfully hot.