Over the next few days we'll be taking a look at a number of dishes that fall into the 'Cajun', 'Creole', and 'Southern' food categories. Though there are distinct differences between each style of cooking, for ease of posting I'm going to lump them into the single category of "Mardi Gras food". I use a basic Creole spice in most of my dishes which I'll be referencing back to over the next couple of days. This is very similar to Emeril's "essence", though each recipe varies slightly. You can adjust the amounts to suit your own personal taste, though the mixture below will produce a nice blend of seasonings and spice that will accent and flavor your food without adding too much heat. If three-alarm is what you are looking for, by all means add more cayenne!
The recipe can be found after the jump.
Basic Creole Seasoning
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried thyme
1.5 tsp. white pepper
1.5 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
3 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. paprika
Mix all the ingredients together and store in a jar or spice container for up to 6 months. Other than using this in recipes, I also like to mix it (amount, to your own personal taste) with equal parts sour cream and mayonnaise for a chip dip - absolutely delicious!
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