I had an incredible opportunity to go to the McCormick Gourmet Kitchens last week with some other wonderful bloggers: Jaden of Steamy Kitchen, Shauna of Gluten Free Girl and Nicole of Pinch My Salt. I am really excited to work with these talented women and McCormick Gourmet.
We all met for dinner where the Chef mixed up some drinks and prepared a gorgeous dinner. After not eating all day from traveling this was quite the treat. I snapped some photos of our time with McCormick Gourmet, take a look 🙂
When we arrived to the McCormick Kitchens we were greeted by the lovely McCormick staff. Chef Len fed us some delicious appetizers. Tale a look below 🙂
Here is our menu for the evening.
Curried Chicken and Mushroom Spring Rolls. INCREDIBLE! Will definitely be making these again.
Marinated Shrimp with Mango and Radishes. Perfect little appetizer.
Dirty Martini Steak Kabobs and Salad. What a creative recipe for kabobs, full of flavor. Loved these.
Sweet and Smoky “Pork and Beans.” I think we all had a few helpings of this one 🙂
Cheesecake Tart with Popcorn Crust and Berries. This cheesecake caused quite the uproar, not kidding. The flavor combinations here are unreal. This will be made at my house very soon.
The next morning, we met for breakfast and enjoyed: Tomato Zucchini Frittata, Cinnamon Apple Nut Muffins, Pepita Pumpkin Bread.
How good does this look?!
…and this?
This was one of my favorite parts of the trip…..along with the incredible meals, but learning about the history of the McCormick Spices was so fascinating. Made me appreciate what goes into each jar I see at the store.
We also got to sample and smell a variety of spices. The vanilla test was the most interesting. If you’ve ever doubted buying pure vanilla….don’t. It wasn’t even a comparison when sampled side by side.
Later in the day, we each whipped up 2 simple recipes that used a regular spice and then a roasted spice to sample and see the difference in taste. I had a creamy cinnamon dip that I wanted to bottle up and eat with a spoon. It was delicious!
Making my dip!
The other ladies Jaden, a sweet McCormick rep, Shauna and Nicole making their recipes 🙂
It was time for lunch and talk about a feast. This salmon was one of the best salmon I have ever had. Will be making it for my family. Smoked Paprika Roasted Salmon
Will be making these too! Harvest Vegetables with Roasted Ginger & Cumin
This was another recipe that we couldn’t stop eating, so delicious and I think it was unanimous that we will all be making these ribs! Chipotle Cinnamon Baby Back Ribs
As if we hadn’t had enough food, we ended our meal with these cute “cup” cakes with a bite. Loved the heat that came through with each bite . Mexican Hot Chocolate “Cup” Cakes
Giveaway: An assortment of McCormick Spices with Spice Rack
3 winners!
CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED, Winners have been emailed 🙂
Here’s How To Enter:
1. Leave a comment and tell us, what are your favorite McCormick Spices?
2. For extra entries, Follow Picky Palate on Twitter, RSS Feed and Like us on Facebook. Leave 3 separate comments for this.
3. Contest ends Monday January 24th 8pm PST. Winners will be chosen by random.org and will be notified by email. Giveaway provided by McCormick Gourmet.
*Spices will not be exactly as pictured in Photo 🙂
Good Luck!
*Disclaimer: I have been hired to work with McCormick Gourmet as part of their McCormick Real Gourmet Program and am being compensated however the thoughts are my very own :)
I am a HUGE onion powder fan because my husband *thinks* he’s allergic to onions and won’t eat anything that he can ‘see’ onions in–even onion flakes–so I use the onion powder equivalent in anything that needs onions in it for the great flavor~!
Montreal steak seasoning & Cinnamon. We use a lot of both around here!
Hands down it would be garlic! I use it on everything! Yummy Yummy!!!!
I subscribe to your blog on Google Reader.
I like you on Facebook.
I follow you on Twitter.
My favorite spice is cinnamon.
I love their Roasted Cumin and Saigon Cinnamon….use them all the time!
cumin adds a little something to lots of my yummiest food!
I also ‘like’ you on Facebook!
Yum! Makes me want to get out and cook. My favorite McCormick spice is actually red pepper flakes. I LOVE spicy food!
I subscribe by RSS
I love the McCormick paprika on deviled eggs! I also like using the peppermint or mint extract in double chocolate chip mint cookies yumm
I love their cinnamon 🙂
You are in my RSS Feed
I follow you on Twitter
@SoxyLady
A favorite? Oh man…all my spices are McCormick! I’ve been using Cumin and Paprika a lot lately to make dry rubs and chili!
LOVE CINNAMON!!!!
I’m a fan of Cumin. My dad used it in a ton of his cooking and I guess I picked up the taste buds for it!
I also subscribed via Google Reader! I REALLY want to win this! Spices are really expensive! 🙂
I “liked” you on Facebook, too! 🙂
I follow you on Twitter!
So inspiring..I’m excited
Just realized I forgot to say that my favorite spice is cinnamon. 🙂
Hi! I just found your site through Money Saving Mom. LOVE your recipes!
My favorite spice is Smoked Paprika – SO many uses!!
I still live at home with my Mom and when you open our spice cabinet, all you see is a sea of red caps. McCormick is a household staple. Our favorite spice is the Rotisserie Chicken. I cannot lie, we have about four bottles in case of an emergency. I would love to win this give-away so I can start a collection of kitchen items for my picky eaters one day!
I use a lot of McCormick spices, I probably use the garlic powder the most often.
We use lots of cinnamon, chili powder, and nutmeg.
I love their Chipotle Chili Powder and Saigon Cinnamon, their Five-Spice Powder and Caribbean Jerk Seasoning. Also just discovered their cocoa-chile powder…..YUM!
Two of my all time favorite McCormick spices are dill and garlic. A spice that I have recently started using more and absolutely LOVE is cumin. I am newer to your blog, but I love it and have enjoyed each and every read!!
Cinnamon (and good for you!) and I have become a new fan of cumin!
I follow on facebook
like you on facebook
I Follow RSS Feed
I follow you on twitter ( @arcamblin)
I love the garlic powder and the nutmeg and oh so many!
I am following you on Twitter (@lch2004)