Okay, I admit it, I am a Spice House, 1031 N. Old World 3rd St., junkie. I could quite literally spend my entire paycheck in either their 3rd Street location or their pit stop in the Milwaukee Public Market, and I swear by the Iron Spice.
You can put Milwaukee Iron Spice on the cheapest, toughest chicken in the world and in minutes you have tender, delicious poultry that would please even the pickiest of eaters.
But, I have to hand it to McCormick, because they have made my two can't-live-without seasoning items in their disposable Peppercorn Medley and Sea Salt grinders. They've had them for, I think, about 5 years now, and they have several variations, but these two make my all time bests list.
The peppercorn medley grinder features black peppercorns, coriander, pink peppercorns, white peppercorns, allspice and green peppercorns and the grain and texture this thing turns out is just perfect for seasoning anything meat to vegetables and puts our stainless peppermill to shame. In fact, I rarely cook with our regular peppermill anymore because I just don't get the same texture and beautifully consistent inconsistency out of the peppercorns.
The sea salt grinder label proudly proclaims, "This salt does not supply iodide, a necessary nutrient" so there's nothing healthy in here for you at all except a powerful, wonderful fresh salty flavor. The sea salt comes out in chunk crystals, so you need to be somewhat conservative with your turns, but in soups, over salads, or especially for grilling, all you really need is a couple sprinkles of these two disposable grinders to make simple food even more perfect in its own essences.
Amy L. Schubert is a 15-year veteran of the hospitality industry and has worked in every aspect of bar and restaurant operations. A graduate of Marquette University (B.A.-Writing Intensive English, 1997) and UW-Milwaukee (M.A.-Rhetoric, Composition, and Professional Writing, 2001), Amy still occasionally moonlights as a guest bartender and she mixes a mean martini.
The restaurant business seems to be in Amy’s blood, and she prides herself in researching and experimenting with culinary combinations and cooking techniques in her own kitchen as well as in friends’ restaurants. Both she and her husband, Scott, are avid cooks and “wine heads,” and love to entertain friends, family and neighbors as frequently as possible.
Amy and Scott live with their boys, Alex and Nick, in Bay View, where they are all very active in the community. Amy finds great pleasure in sharing her knowledge and passions for food and writing in her contributions to OnMilwaukee.com.
