Love and Olive Oil

Spice Islands Flavor Explorer Recipe Round-Up and a Giveaway

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Spice Islands Flavor Explorer

It’s been a flavorful few months ’round these parts, and Taylor and I are proud to call ourselves official Flavor Explorers. We developed the 12 recipes pictured above using Spice Islands’ fabulous products, and they’ve been posting to the Flavor Explorer blog all quarter, along with some other enticing recipes from Gaby Dalkin of What’s Gaby Cooking.

Pictured: (1) Spiced Cranberry Spritzers / (2) Mini Chicken-Ricotta Phyllo Pies / (3) Panna Cotta with Meyer Lemon Black-Pepper Marmalade / (4) Homemade Taco Seasoning / (5) Gingerbread Ice Cream Floats / (6) Sicilian Pan Pizza with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto / (7) Double Chocolate Chipotle Cookies / (8) Asian Niçoise Salad with Seared Black Sesame Tuna / (9) Creamy Eggnog Pudding / (10) Spaghetti Squash Bruschetta / (11) Coconut Beef Stir-Fry Rice Bowls / (12) Chorizo Frittata

Spice Islands Flavor Explorer Giveaway

And for our fellow spice-fiends, we’ve got a special giveaway just for you, courtesy of Spice Islands®!

One lucky winner will receive a set of 15 of our favorite Spice Islands® products, including Vanilla Extract, Cinnamon, Whole Nutmeg, Ground Chipotle, Ground Ginger, Fine Sea Salt, Fennel Seed, Thyme, Sweet Basil, Italian Herb Seasoning Blend, Thai Seasoning Blend, Bay Leaves, Beau Monde Seasoning, Dill, and Poppy Seed. Some of these, such as the Ground Chipotle (featured in the Double Chocolate Chipotle Cookies, above) can be hard to find but so worth it. Others, like the Fine Sea Salt, are pretty much used every day in our kitchen (we use this interchangeably with kosher salt in both cooking and baking). While we love creating our own spice combinations, we find ourselves drawn to the perfect seasoning blends (such as the Italian and Thai blends) for quick weeknight meals. Along with kitchen staples like Cinnamon, Bay Leaves, and Vanilla Extract, this would be a great starter set for someone new to cooking, or quality replacements for those old and dried-out spices you’ve got in your cupboard.

So, what are you waiting for?

Giveaway is now closed. Thanks for entering!

The fine print: No purchase necessary. Giveaway open to US residents only. Void where prohibited. Giveaway sponsored by Spice Islands®. We are proud to have partnered with Spice Islands for this project. All opinions expressed are our own.

There may be affiliate links in this post. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

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469 Comments

  1. Most used spice in our kitchen is probably oregano, followed closely by garlic and rosemary.

  2. Allspice! I put it in roasts, stews and soups and in some cookies and chutnies.

  3. Tony’s Creole Seasoning is my favorite thing ever. It’s like home wherever I go!

  4. I would have to say cinnamon and garlic powder…not together though :)

  5. I like you both on Facebook (FB name: Madeline Brubaker).

  6. I follow you on Twitter (@shala_darkstone). Here’s my tweet – https://twitter.com/shala_darkstone/status/285859691098144768

  7. Our most-used spice is cinnamon.

  8. I always use garlic powder and cayenne pepper!

  9. Cinnamon…everyday! Then Chili Powder.

  10. Dill, Basil, oregano and cinnamon. I have liked both Love and Olive Oil and Spice Islands on facebook.

  11. Most used spice is definitely cinnamon. My roommate and I both use it in oatmeal every morning, and I always add cloves to mine!

  12. I like Love & Olive Oil and Spice Island on facebook

  13. Cinnamon is my most used spice

  14. Has to be cumin!

  15. As a baker definitely cinnamon!

  16. I would have to say Rosemary!

  17. Already a fan on facebook

  18. Cayenne pepper!!!

  19. Like both Love & Olive Oil and Spice Islands on Facebook
    erin neu

  20. I think I used smoked paprika most of all!

  21. Garlic pepper grinder – it sits by my stove and I use it for all my savory dishes.

  22. Cinnamon without a doubt! I also always seem to find a reason to use celery salt.

  23. Hard one: cinnamon or black pepper:) thank you

  24. The most use spice in my kitchen is sea salt.

  25. Salt is the spice I use the most. Seems like most recipes call for salt, baking and cooking. Im going with salt.

  26. Cinnamon is probably our most used.

  27. followed you on twitter (@cmariemelnik) and tweeted!

  28. garlic powder for sure is what i use most! and omg what an amazing giveaway…

  29. Like Spice Islands and Love and Olive oil on facebook: carolyn gonzalez

  30. I would say garlic powder and then onion powder

  31. Hmm, besides S&P, probably cinnamon, five-spice, or coriander- it’s a workhorse! I like L&OO on FB, and will tweet about the contest too- cheers for the new year, Lindsay and Taylor- many more successes to come!

  32. the most common used spices in my kitchen are cumin and any variation of masala that I have! ginger and garlic are a close 2nd!

  33. The most used spice in my kitchen is Cinnamon. I use it in baking, cooking and my coffee.

  34. I’m a fan of Spice Islands on Facebook

  35. I’m a Fan of L&OO on FB.

  36. The most used spice in my kitchen is probably fresh cracked black pepper, actually. I use it in almost all of my chocolate baking items, anything strawberry, almost anywhere where I want a little spice without overwhelming the other flavors.

  37. cinnamon!

  38. woooo garam masala

  39. I like both L&OO and Spice Islands on FB!

  40. The most used spice in my kitchen is red pepper flakes & salt! It’s a tie between those two :)

  41. Cinnamon, for sure! Thanks, Lindsay!

  42. Cinnamon! I’ve added it to your granola recipe (after baking) . . And lots of it. It’s good for you. Has anyone noticed how hard it is to find store bought foods with cinnamon, lately? Now we have to bake our own. Spice Islands makes an organic cinnamon powder,too.

  43. Cinnamon and freshly ground nutmeg!

  44. Following and liked both pages.

    Actually Cinnamon.. can be used Savory or Sweet and my secret ingredient is Nutmeg in my savory dishes

  45. It’s always garlic in all forms-powdered,minced,crushed,whole…….

  46. garlic powder!

  47. Cumin by far. It is perfect all year round to add a subtle smokiness to dishes.

  48. I use dill..love its freshness. I liked spice islands on facebook and am already a fan of yours and receive your newsletter.

  49. I use cumin, coriander, and chile tepin.

  50. Besides salt, I use garlic powder and smoked paprika a lot

  51. Cinnamon and chipotle pepper get the most use in my kitchen

  52. paprika, so much paprika.

  53. We love rosemary!

  54. Those recipes look yummy! Thanks for doing this! I love to use cinnamon in baking and curry powder in cooking. They both make me feel warm and cozy!

  55. In a house of four friends, there are a lot of spices being thrown around, but I think vanilla extract is our top-used spice. Our oven is in constant use for baking – for other friends, coworkers and family – that typically mandate a dash of that vanilla! =)

  56. Cinnamon mostly for baking and Red Pepper Flakes for our main dishes.

  57. Cinnamon! Or nutmeg – and they go great together.

  58. Black pepper

  59. I tweeted and follow you on twitter

  60. The most commonly used spice for baking is definitely cinnamon. In savory dishes it wold probably be basil or cayenne.

  61. cumin:)

  62. I would say basil is used the most. So yummy!

  63. cinnamon!

  64. I think I’d have to say vanilla!

  65. I liked both Love & Olive Oil and Spice Islands on Facebook!

  66. My favorite? It’s good ole fashioned freshly ground pepper. It’s not a specialty spice: it’s good on about everything. I buy it more than any other spice.

  67. Cinnamon is definitely the most used spice in my kitchen, you could say I’m a little obsessed! I actually use Spice Islands Cinnamon and it always produces great results! I would love to try all of their other spices!

  68. I’m following you on Twitter and just left a tweet about the giveaway!

  69. The most used in my kitchen is chile powder and dried basil!

  70. Garlic powder

  71. Rosemary!

  72. The most used spice in my kitchen varies from season to season and mood to mood. This week, I’m on a nutmeg kick, adding it to everything from eggnog to chili.

  73. We use parsley most, but I think the chipotle looks pretty good too!

  74. Cumin is probably the most used spice in my kitchen

  75. Cumin gets used ad used and used some more in our kitchen!

  76. I Like both Love & Olive Oil and Spice Islands on Facebook

  77. I Follow @loveandoliveoil on twitter and tweet the following:
    Spice up your life! I just entered to win an assortment of Spice Islands products from @loveandoliveoil: http://bit.ly/TCYN1n

  78. My most-used spice in my kitchen would be Basil. But I use all of the above spices all the time and would love to win this giveaway. I am out of a few of them right now.
    cjbrick@ymail.com

  79. Besides freshly ground pepper, I probably use cumin the most frequently.

  80. Of course kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. After that…cumin!

  81. The most used spice in my kitchen is probably basil. It works with so many things besides Italian recipes. I recently put it in breakfast sausage and it gave it a little boost and made people wonder what it was.

  82. I use a lot of cinnamon for baaking and garlic powder for savory but my favorite flavor is cardamon.

  83. Probabaly oregano, I like it on almost everything!

  84. My most used spice is a toss up – I love the ground vanilla beans that I use in oatmeal most every morning, or the wonderful harissa spice that I add to baked sweet potatoes… Yum!

  85. I’m surprised at how fast I’m using my nutmegs.

  86. Definitely cinnamon. I use it when I bake and I add it to my teas to help alleviate my cold symptoms

  87. we use a TON of spices in our house. I would seriously have to say its a tie between like 5 different spices. Maybe 10. I don’t think I could pick just one. Faves are cumin, ancho chili, smoked paprika, hawaiian alae salt, cinnamon, fresh ground nutmeg I could go on and on….

  88. I use an astonishing amount of cinnamon!! It goes really well with almost everything, and, really, it’s winter and what is cocoa without some cinnamon?? ;)

  89. Cinnamon is my most used spice.

  90. I like Love and Olive Oil and Spice Islands on Facebook!

  91. My most used spice is Cinnamon!

  92. Black pepper.

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