Food Epiphany: Penzey's Florida Seasoned Pepper



If I had to pick five favorite seasonings in my kitchen Penzey’s Florida Seasoned Pepper would definitely be on the list. Why is that?

First, it’s delicious. It adds a nice pepper flavor that is not overly peppery or hot. It has a citrus thing going on too which adds to the flavor and is a great choice over regular old pepper for foods that could benefit from an extra pop.

Second, it’s salt-free.  You would not expect to find salt in a seasoned pepper but sometimes you do (read labels!).  If you know someone who is trying to reduce their sodium intake, this makes a great gift.  Even if you are not particularly worried about salt, it’s nice to be able to control how much of it you are eating and cutting out secret salt that lurks in a seasoned pepper is an easy thing to do.

Third, it’s very versatile. Here are a few of my favorite ways to use it.

Vegetables: very good on asparagus and broccoli.

Beef: sprinkle your skirt steak, tri-tip or meatloaf with Florida Pepper and it will add to the flavor.

As part of a quick, easy chicken marinade: I use either boneless, skinless chicken breasts or chicken tenders. Poke the chicken with a fork a few times (this helps the marinade absorb better). Sprinkle the chicken on both sides with Kosher salt and Florida pepper. Put the chicken into a Ziploc bag or some sort of dish (I usually use a glass Pyrex pan), pour on some good olive oil and squeeze in some lemon.  Maybe add some minced garlic.  Smoosh it around a bit. Put in the fridge for up to about two hours. Remove from marinade and cook on either the barbeque or stove.

So how do you get Penzey’s Florida Seasoned Pepper? I ordered it online for a long time. Now there is a Penzey’s store in Santa Rosa so it’s easy for me to stop in. Their stores are a lot of fun – all of the spices are out and available for sniffing – so if you have a store nearby or encounter one in your travels, check it out and try the Florida Seasoned Pepper.

Baking Tips Part Two: Ingredients

Here is part two in my baking tips trilogy. In case you missed it, you can find part one here.  Stay tuned for part three.

 

A big part of success in baking is choosing the right ingredients and using them correctly. Here are some tips to help you choose the best ingredients:

Butter. No one uses margarine anymore. At least I hope not. If a recipe calls for butter, use butter, not margarine and not shortening.  You should also note whether the recipe calls for salted or unsalted butter.  Older recipes tend to just call for “butter” and in those cases I use salted butter. Newer recipes typically specify, so go with what the recipe says. Be careful when bringing butter to room temperature. The best way to do that is by leaving it out on the counter. You want it to be pliable enough to use but not melted, which is what usually happens when the microwave is involved.

Really good vanilla, usually.  I’m partial to Penzey’s double strength vanilla, you get double the flavor in the same volume of vanilla. I use it in shortbread, chocolate chip cookies or anytime that I want the vanilla flavor to shine through. For times when I don’t care as much, chocolate cake maybe, I just use Costco vanilla.  I have also been experimenting a bit with vanilla paste but don’t yet have an opinion on it.

Fine sea salt. I like good quality salt and I use kosher salt as my go-to everyday salt. However, kosher salt is a bit too coarse for baking so for that I use a finely ground sea salt such as La Baleine.

When you have a choice, go with the higher quality ingredient. If you have a choice between two versions of an ingredient, and one is a higher quality, go for the higher quality one. I notice this with cocoa powder especially.

Eggs.  Recipes are written for various sizes of eggs, some call for large eggs, others for extra large eggs. Pay attention and use the right size egg.