Recipe: Homemade Creole Spice Mix

HOMEMADE CREOLE SPICE MIX

"I developed this recipe as a way of glorifying the Blackened Fish in my first cookbook. Usually, I am not a fan of onion and garlic powder--nine and a half times out of ten I'll reach for the fresh--but we're talking about a dry spice mix here, and these powders meld in just fine. Use this spice mix to season fish, meat, or fowl before you cook them. You might even make up a big batch of Creole Spice Mix and parcel it out as gifts for the holidays."

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon hot paprika
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly milled black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme

Combine the paprika, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder, cayenne, oregano, and thyme and transfer to a small airtight container. Use within 3 months.

Makes about 1/3 cup
Excerpted from Sara's Secrets for Weeknight Meals by Sara Moulton
Copyright 2005 by Sara Moulton. Excerpted by permission of Broadway, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.