Sweet Spice Rub

Sweet Spice Rub

Ingredients:

1/2 cup red chili powder
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons coarse salt


Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, mixing thoroughly.  Press spice rub onto each side of the steaks, then grill immediately.  Store left over rub in an air tight container in a cool, dry place for up to six months.

Chinese Five Spice Powder

Chinese Five Spice Powder

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns*
6 star anise
1 1/2 teaspoons whole cloves
One 3 inch stick cinnamon or cassia
2 Tablespoons fennel seeds

Directions:

Put in a dry skillet over medium heat, dry roast until fragrant, do not burn them. Crush in a mortar and pestle or grind together in a spice/coffee grinder or food processor until a fine powder. You can sift through a sieve to remove any large chunks that weren’t fully ground. Store in air tight container in a cool place, use as needed.
Feel free to add other spices such as cardamom, ginger, mustard, fenugreek, or cumin. Try different spices for different dishes and tastes.
* I used black peppercorns because I didn’t have sichuan peppercorns easily available. Using black peppercorns will give it a different taste, but it still works fine.
Here are a few recipes that use five spice powder and sound delicious, although many of the recipes you already use might be enhanced with a little added. If you do add it to existing recipes add it a pinch at a time as the powder can be powerful if too much is added.
Mix the powder with some sea salt to make a rub for meats, poultry and fish, or with oil for a marinade or add to a vinaigrette, stir fry, soup, or vegetable dish.

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Homemade Vanilla Extract


Ingredients:

3 medium vanilla beans, or 1 1/2 fat ones
1 cup rum or vodka

Directions:

Have ready a 1-cup glass jar or bottle with a tight-fitting lid; I used an empty (and clean, obviously) jar of jam. Pour boiling water into it, let rest for 10 minutes to sterilize, and pour out the water.

Using a sharp knife, slice the beans open lengthwise to expose the seeds. Tuck the beans in the jar and fill with liquor. Close the jar, shake it a few times, and place it in a cool, dark cabinet; you may have to whisper a few words of reassurance if the jar is, understandably, a little frightened.

Let the jar rest in there for 8 weeks, shaking it again once or twice a week, or whenever you remember to. The mixture will get darker and darker over time.

You can start using your extract by the end of the eighth week. Use however much you need, and when you notice that you're running a little low -- that you've used, say, 20% of the extract -- top it off with more liquor (preferably of the same type) and shake again.

And every once in a while, when you're using a fresh bean in a recipe, you can add the empty pod (rinsed off and dried if it's been steeped in milk or cream) to the jar**.

If you continue to "feed" it this way, the extract will keep forever; just remove some of the older beans if the jar becomes too crowded.

** Remember that those empty pods can also be placed in your sugar jar, olive oil bottle, or tea tin to flavor them, too.

**Buy pods in bulk on Amazon or Ebay!

Vanilla Sugar

Vanilla Sugar

Ingredients:

2 vanilla beans
2 cups sugar

Directions:

Place vanilla beans in a jar and cover completely with sugar.
Cover jar; store for 2 weeks in a cool place.