What spices must be on your shelves if you would like try any of Ron's recipes?
Well, I don't use a ton of spices. And I also stay away from exotic, expensive stuff like saffron. In fact, with a fond wink to M*A*S*H, I'm more of a meatball chef. But I never hear any complaints from my dinner guests!
I have a lot of irons in the fire. Besides my 40 HPW job, I also run a website business. I host sites for customers, but I also maintain four heavy-duty sites of my own that require lots of creative content.
Ergo, I have to stick with a few tried-and-true ingredients to cook with. I don't have time to experiment.
Following are the essential spices and edibles you'll need to have on hand to successfully replicate Ron's recipes.
First off, you'll need some sort of Montreal steak spice clone. Since I have a Sam's Club within a mile of my house, I prefer the Tone's seasonings they sell cheaply there.
Tone's has a Canadian Steak Seasoning that's pretty darned good for the price. But every spice manufacturer makes something similar. Look for Montreal or Canadian in the product name.
Next, you'll need Greek seasoning.
A hundred miles from my Bentonville, Arkansas home lies the city of Harrison. Cavendar's Greek Seasoning is produced there, and it's the best I've found. I buy it in the BIG containers.
You will need LOTS of olive oil. I buy it by the two-liter bottle at Sam's. A true gourmet might detect the taste difference between high-dollar brands and good basic oils, but not this meatball chef.
Tarragon is the fish spice extraordinaire. Get some.
You're going to need cumin, paprika, oregano (Italian blends of leafy spices are even better), shallots (I find them dried in jars at T.J.Maxx, fresh is obviously better), fresh garlic, coarse-ground black pepper, ground cayenne pepper, thyme, and chili powder.
In the fridge, you'll need to keep Parmesan cheese (or a better substitute is a hand-grated blend of Italian dry cheeses, most stores have it).
Some gourmets insist on ground sea salt. Personally, I use a lower-sodium blend from Morton. I can't taste the difference.
And good old generic seasoned salt can be used to enhance just about anything. Sprinkle into any recipe I post as needed.
So make sure you have those items in your spice cabinet and fridge, and hang on!