JoJo Potatoes - and a Giveaway!!

Time's up!! Check back tomorrow (10/09/2008) for the winners!!

I've only been married for almost 3 years, but I have already forgotten most of the gifts we received as wedding gifts. But if you were to ask my husband or I what our favorite gift was, and the most used gift, it would be our salt and pepper shakers. Call us crazy, but I know that would be the answer. They are nothing special - in fact, they are just clear, plastic salt and pepper shakers. But the thing that makes the set so special in our minds is that the pepper shaker is not just a shaker, but a grinder.

Growing up, I don't think I ever knew there was such thing as freshly ground pepper. And when I moved out on my own, the regular pepper shaker was always so cheap that I didn't give a second thought about it. But then, after the wedding, this pepper grinder entered our lives. And my life, especially my food - has never been the same.

Ok, I know I'm being a little over-dramatic, but if you've never experienced freshly ground pepper, you really don't know what you are missing. It's a whole 'nother ballgame!! And I can't go back to the regular flake pepper now, even though I have half of a big bottle from Costco hanging out in the pantry for the past 3+ years.

So what's just as good as - or even better than - freshly ground pepper? Other freshly ground spices!! The folks over at The Spice Depot have come out with something I'm surprised hasn't been done a hundred times over - spice blends that come in their own little grinders, so you always have freshly ground spices! I'm a spice blend addict to begin with - I can't leave any type of specialty food store without buying at least one spice blend - but now I can have them freshly ground!

The folks at The Spice Depot were kind enough to send me two bottles of their spices - the JoJo Potato Seasoning and the Salad Seasoning. I was immediately drawn to the JoJo Potato Seasoning. Maybe it was the fun name, but when I opened the bottle and smelled the spices, I knew I would like it. I wanted to try it with something simple, so I went to their website and found the recipe for JoJo Potatoes - simply roasted potatoes with the spice blend and Parmesan cheese. I will gladly admit that I ate just these potatoes for dinner because I liked them so much!

And now the fun part - you can try their spices, too!! The Spice Depot has gladly agreed to give out some of thier spices to two of my readers! Because of shipping and availability, the giveaway will be limited to US and Canadian residents. All you need to do is leave a comment on this post and answer the following question -

What is your favorite spice and why?

We'll give you a week to enter - so the winner will be chosen next Wednesday, October 8th at 7pm Mountain time. Make sure you leave a way for me to contact you if you are one of the winners! In the meantime, check here to find where you can find these spices!

JoJo Potatoes
from The Spice Depot

4 potatoes, unpeeled, chopped into 3/4" squares
olive oil
JoJo Potato Seasoning
grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 325F.

Put potatoes in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil to coat. Grind a generous amount of JoJo Potato seasoning over the potatoes. Toss mixture to evenly coat potatoes.

Lay potatoes in a single layer on an oiled baking sheet. Sprinkle potatoes with grated Parmesan.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.