By Jennie Lay

1. Seasonal mixes from Savory Spice Shop/Sourced from the world and blended in Colorado  Savory Spice Shop is the place to stock up
on premium cinnamon, whole nutmeg and gorgeous green cardamom. It also has a knack for creating incredible in-house blends.
Try the Citrus & Savory Brining Spices (perfect for brining a turkey, goose,
duck or chicken), Mt. Baker Chai Spice Seasoning (replace the spices in your pumpkin pie with classic chai flavors,
or try it on pork or roasted squash)
and the Black Onyx Chocolate Sugar
(a sugar base infused with chocolate
extract and layered with black onyx
cocoa with notes of aromatic Mexican
vanilla and mild Ceylon cinnamon that is great for coffee, tea and baking). http://www.savoryspiceshop.com/

 2. Truffle Butter /Made in Denver 
Epicurean Butter’s sweet and savory compound butters make cooking easy.
These are delicious, fancy finishings for everything from roasted vegetables to morning pancakes. No finish is more
perfect than a dollop of Black Truffle Butter or White Truffle Butter melting on a grilled steak or salmon. http://www.epicureanbutter.com/  

 3. Pressed Flower Crackers /Made in Steamboat Springs Elkstone Farm has created unusual and beautiful rustic crackers filled with edible flowers from its Strawberry Park harvest. They’re delicious – and hearty enough to enjoy with triple cream cheeses or straight out of the package. http://elkstonefarm.com/

 4. Smell That Bread 
Bakery’s Baguette /Made in Steamboat Springs
 The French baguette has landed in Steamboat. This is the loaf you want on every celebratory table all season long.

 5. Smoky Chipotle &
Thai Curry Tapenades
/Made in Denver 
Primo makes two olive tapenades that combine eclectic flavors in mouth- watering blends. Both the Smoky Chipotle and Thai Curry guarantee your hors d’oeuvre bruschettas will be simple and sincerely gourmet. (We recommend the Smoky Chipotle with a bit of Haystack’s smoked chèvre – see below.)  http://yayprimo.com

 

6. Applewood Smoked Chèvre/Made in Longmont Haystack Mountain smokes its classic soft goat cheese with applewood to give it a subtle mouth- watering brilliance that’s beautiful in pasta, with root vegetables and along side all kinds of charcuterie. It is also a four-time American Cheese Society award winner. http://www.haystackgoatcheese.com/

 7. Cowboy Bourbon Pecans/Made in Steamboat Springs
 Daniela’s Chocolate Atelier blends pecans, sugar, chilis and Breckenridge Bourbon to create an extra-decadent treat to sprinkle on top of salads made with spicy greens – extra festive with red apple slices and an easy balsamic-maple-olive oil dressing. http://www.thehomesteader.net/ 

 8. Coconut Yoghurt/Made in Bellvue When you’re cooking something savory like tandoori, stick with the Noosa’s ultra- rich and creamy plain flavor; its farmstead yoghurt will always steer your recipes right. When you to want to wow your holiday house guests for breakfast, serve Noosa’s new coconut yoghurt. Maybe some berries too. That is all.  http://www.noosayoghurt.com/

Holiday cooking with special blends from Savory Spice Shop

Brining your turkey

Buy Savory Spice Shop’s Citrus and Savory Brining Spices, (http://www.savoryspiceshop.com/blends/citrussav.html)  then follow their tried and true recipe for perfect holiday brining.

For each gallon of water or other liquid used:

1 whole turkey or other protein (see chart below), plus enough water or other liquid to cover protein

2 Tbsp. Citrus & Savory Brining Spices

1 cup kosher salt

1/2 cup white or brown sugar

Add more flavor to your brine by supplementing some or all of the water with one or more of the following: Distilled alcohols, apple juice or cider, beer, citrus juices, stocks, soy sauce, tea, flavored vinegar or wine.

 Directions:

1. Place the turkey in a large non-reactive food-safe container that is deep enough to cover the turkey with water and large enough to allow the brine to move freely.

2. Cover the turkey with water, measuring by the gallon as you add.

3. Next, for each gallon of water, put 1 cup Kosher salt, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 to 2 Tbsp. Citrus & Savory Brining Spice into a separate saucepan.

4. Add 2 to 3 cups of water to the saucepan and bring to a boil until the salt and sugar dissolve and the spices release their aroma.

5. Let cool to room temperature, then pour into the water surrounding the turkey.

6. Refrigerate according to Brine Times chart.

7. When the brining is complete, remove turkey from brine, thoroughly rinse and pat dry. Discard brine. Store the turkey in the refrigerator, until skin is completely dry. This extra drying time will help produce a nice, crispy skin when roasted.

Brine Times:

Pork Loin (whole): 2 to 4 days

Pork Tenderloin or Chops (1 to 1 1/2 lbs.): 12 hours

Turkey or Goose (12 to 14 lbs.): 12 hours

Whole Chicken (4 to 5 lbs.): 4 to 5 hours

Cornish Hens: 1 to 2 hours

Shrimp: 30 minutes

 

Bake Chai Cookies

Buy Savory Spice Shop’s Mt. Baker Chai Spice Seasoning, (http://www.savoryspiceshop.com/spice-blends/mt.-baker-chai-spice-seasoning.html)  then scoop up some more delectable baking ingredients for decadent Indian-inspired Christmas cookies.

Ingredients:

For the cookies:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup Spiced Vanilla Bean Sugar

1 tsp. Madagascar vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground black tea

1 Tbsp. Mt. Baker Chai Spice Seasoning

For the glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

2 Tbsp. water

1 tsp. black walnut extract

1 tsp. black tea leaves, for garnish

Directions:

For the cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter with sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl until well blended. Stir in flour, salt, tea and spices until just combined. Scoop and roll dough into small teaspoon-sized balls and place about an inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Press down lightly to flatten. Bake until lightly golden, about 15 min. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 min. and then transfer to cooling rack.

For the glaze: Stir powdered sugar, water and extract together in a small bowl. Spread glaze on top of completely cooled cookies, then sprinkle with tea leaves for garnish. Let glaze set for 5 to 10 min. before serving cookies.

Yields: 1 dozen