Giving Old Spice Some Spice

One of the most needed artillery in any home chef's arsenal is a well stocked spice rack.These little bottles of flavor and fire, sweet and savory give oomph to even the simplest of dishes. Yet do you know when to toss them once they lose their spice? What do you do with all those unused bottles?

That's the question posed and answered by Jennifer Steinhauser in today's New York Times Food section. Ms. Steinhauer, who writes both about food and politics for The Times has explored a kitchen's most used area - the spice rack. We all have a plethora of them in our racks or cabinets (some of us more than others) and they can sit there for years.What she does recommend is pouring all your remaining spices into individual bottles of the same size (don't mix them). Create labels for them with painter's tape and a Sharpie.However here's a short guide  to let you know when to toss and when to keep. Ground spices such as cinnamon,curry cumin and nit meg should be thrown out after two or three years.Whole spices like cinnamon sticks and cloves can last longer between four and five years. The same goes for whole peppercorns. Dried ground herbs such as parsley, basil and oregano are only good for three to four years.

What do you do with all those spices? Ms. Sullivan suggests making a curry from Indian chef and cookbook author, Meera Sodha's Made In India: Recipes From An Indian Family Kitchen. It's a crunchy fun mix of cauliflower, cashews,peas and coconuts. The spices used are coriander , cumin and chili powder along with garam masala. There's also tomato paste and garlic along with green chile for fire.It's a great way of using these spices. The same can be said for turmeric which is also great in any curry. For sumac, the base in za'atar, she received inspiration from Cathy Barrow's latest book Pie Squared: Irresistably Easy Sweet and Savory Slab Pies. It's a sumac scented eggplant slab pie however Ms. Steinhauser nixed the dough and added the sumac to the eggplant.It's then baking it and simmering the cubes with tomatoes and chickpeas. Pomegranate molasses is used for a bit of sweetening. All spice racks have the herbes de Provence and Ms. Steinhauser used hers to season chicken breasts. along with salt and pepper. This recipe is a great way to use up rosemary, thyme and sage.

This is the perfect time to re evaluate your spice rack. Use up what you have in these recipes or others. Just don't let them sit there.

Your Holiday Drink Guide

This is the time of year to indulge in fancy drinks.Nothing beats them , especially at festive parties and dinners. Any beverage can run from the traditional to the novel. The ingredients can be as typical as rum nad whiskey or unusual as  sweet potatoes and apple slices.

Yesterday's New York Times Dining section ran its' annual holiday drinks issue.This is a keeper because it can inspire  those at home bartenders to try new. Cocktails as well as understanding old ones.Some of America's best mixologists contributed their best and most popular recipes.Not only that but Dining regulars Jennifer Steinhauer and Helene Cooper give us their fave mixed drink recipes.Theirs are actually fun and fruity.Try the slushie like Red Rooster from Ms.Steinhauser.Freeze a blend of vodka ,cranberry and tangerine juices the day before.The result is a cool on so many levels semi frozen treat with a kick.There is a classic Campari drink ,the ultimate in drinking chic.There's also a Christmas spritz made with Prosecco and pomegranate juice.Another version is one with Prosecco and fresh squeezed grapefruit juice. America's bartenders also have weighed in.Chicago's famed Blackbird restaurant gives us Sweet Potato Dream.Bartender Lynn House bases this unusual drink on her mother's holiday pie recipe.It is a mix of sweet potatoes ,rum and egg with a dash of maple syrup.The result is a custard like heady dessert.Another Chi-town eatery,Sable Kitchen And Bar gives us their version of traditional mulled wine.Mixologists ,Mike Ryan uses his mother's Bavarian heritage to create a perfect mix of Drambuie, red wine and whiskey along with bitters .It is called The Giving Tree and would be the perfect mate to a Christmas roast pork or ham.New York City gives us the Mott and Mulberry.NY bartender,Leo Robitschek of NoMad whips together Honey crisp apples, rye whiskey and the cinnamon laced liqueur Luxardo Amaro Albano.It 's a kicky version of a hot cider drink. The holidays call for fun drinks.Some are traditional,reminiscent of centuries old punches ,others are new with unusual ingredients.Save the Times Dining drinks issue and make them.They're sure toe the life of your party!

Homemade Hostess Treats

Now with the Hostess company bankrupt  there's going to be a gap in where to get these treats. Fans could swiitchc over to other brands - but they lose the taste. Another idea is to make them yourself. They, along with some other snacks, are pretty easy to recreate.In fact the taste could even be better.Another plus is that there are no preservatives.

This was the topic of an article in today's New York Times Dining section. The nostalgic piece , written by Jennifer Steinhauer, tells about how anyone can create the classic squiggle cupcake or  Twinkie. She also throws in Oreos and Fritos(don't worry, they 're not going anywhere) All the treats are relatively easy to make, maybe just the stuffing of both the Twinkies and  cupcakes could be a bit troublesome for the novice baker.People may be surprised at what the sweets actually are. Twinkies is nothing more than a  sponge cake with a marshmallow fluff  filling and the cupcakes are just regular chocolate piped with the same fluff.The tastes are more or less similar however the textures aren't quite as springy as the original.bakers have to watch how they copy  the treats.  Give Hostess credit for this,

Ms. Steinhauer also recreates the classic Oreo and Frito corn chips. Recreating the Oreos  was a bit hard to make and they had to be redone a few times. She had trouble with both the  rich brown coloring as well as the taste. Roll the dough in cocoa powder for extra color and add some coffee to it for the slightly bitter taste. For the Fritos corn chips., she just fried squares of cornmeal in veggie oil. Her Super Bowl guests liked them but preferred the original. She did get some advice from the companies kitchens on how to create all the treats. However people will always prefer the real deal.

Give Hostess, along with Nabisco and Frito Lay credit. They took easy and simple recipes and turned them into billion dollar treats. Fans,m however can recreate these fun treats on their own.