It’s been a flavorful few months ’round these parts, and Taylor and I are proud to call ourselves official Flavor Explorers. We developed the 12 recipes pictured above using Spice Islands’ fabulous products, and they’ve been posting to the Flavor Explorer blog all quarter, along with some other enticing recipes from Gaby Dalkin of What’s Gaby Cooking. Pictured: (1) Spiced Cranberry Spritzers / (2) Mini Chicken-Ricotta Phyllo Pies / (3) Panna Cotta with Meyer Lemon Black-Pepper Marmalade / (4) Homemade Taco Seasoning / (5) Gingerbread Ice Cream Floats / (6) Sicilian Pan Pizza with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto / (7) Double Chocolate Chipotle Cookies / (8) Asian Niçoise Salad with Seared Black Sesame Tuna / (9) Creamy Eggnog Pudding / (10) Spaghetti Squash Bruschetta / (11) Coconut Beef Stir-Fry Rice Bowls / (12) Chorizo Frittata

And for our fellow spice-fiends, we’ve got a special giveaway just for you, courtesy of Spice Islands®! One lucky winner will receive a set of 15 of our favorite Spice Islands® products, including Vanilla Extract, Cinnamon, Whole Nutmeg, Ground Chipotle, Ground Ginger, Fine Sea Salt, Fennel Seed, Thyme, Sweet Basil, Italian Herb Seasoning Blend, Thai Seasoning Blend, Bay Leaves, Beau Monde Seasoning, Dill, and Poppy Seed. Some of these, such as the Ground Chipotle (featured in the Double Chocolate Chipotle Cookies, above) can be hard to find but so worth it. Others, like the Fine Sea Salt, are pretty much used every day in our kitchen (we use this interchangeably with kosher salt in both cooking and baking). While we love creating our own spice combinations, we find ourselves drawn to the perfect seasoning blends (such as the Italian and Thai blends) for quick weeknight meals. Along with kitchen staples like Cinnamon, Bay Leaves, and Vanilla Extract, this would be a great starter set for someone new to cooking, or quality replacements for those old and dried-out spices you’ve got in your cupboard. So, what are you waiting for?

Giveaway is now closed. Thanks for entering!

The fine print: No purchase necessary. Giveaway open to US residents only. Void where prohibited. Giveaway sponsored by Spice Islands®. We are proud to have partnered with Spice Islands for this project. All opinions expressed are our own.