Chef blends own spice

I must have a sign that reads "foodie" on my forehead. Why else would I end up meeting a Winston-Salem spice man on the train ride from Raleigh to Washington, D.C.?

I was sitting in the snack car, reading a manuscript, when Barry Moody introduced himself and asked what I did. Of course, I mentioned I wrote a food column.

It turns out Moody, a sous chef at Winston-Salem State University, carries his spices in his luggage. You see, years before, when he was the banquet chef at the Hawthorne Inn in Winston-Salem, a woman ate some of the fried chicken he prepared. She was so taken by the spice blend she asked to buy it.

He thought if she was willing to pay money for it, he should manufacture it himself.

Moody, a New York native, says the spice blend is what he remembered his mother mixing when she cooked fried chicken. His mother, born in Savannah, Ga., seasoned her gospel bird with garlic, paprika, salt and black pepper. Those are the main ingredients in Moody's Spice Delight, an all-purpose food essence. He also makes a Spice Delight BBQ rub, a mixture of brown sugar, salt, garlic, paprika and cayenne pepper.

The spice blends are subtle, not overpowering or dominating. "It brings out the true essence without masking the flavors of the dish," he says.

What I love about the products is that they are low-sodium and have no MSG or preservatives.

I seasoned some butterfly pork chops with the all-purpose blend, baked them and then poured barbecue sauce on them. I could tell this would be great for fried pork chops as well. Moody uses the all-purpose seasoning on salmon, fish, boneless skinless baked chicken and oven-roasted asparagus.

The BBQ rub has more of a Southwestern flavor. It's like a Texas or Memphis dry rub flavor, as opposed to the traditional North Carolina flavors.

But try them for yourself. Spice Delight is available at area Fresh Markets. They sell for $2.79, which is a bargain for an 8.5 ounce bottle.

Pass the butter

It's all about the butter. But this is not just plain old butter. This is butter with wine and herbs.

David Stemmie, the owner of Headstart Gourmet based in Durham, has created three compound butter sauces that add a flavor burst to any dish.

Stemmie, who worked his way through fast food and high-end restaurant kitchens, came up with the idea when his mother-in-law asked him to create a sauce to finish a salmon dinner. He thought about making a compound butter with citrus and herbs. Then he thought about how many people would love to make something fancy really fast without a lot of extra time or effort.

Hence, the butter sauces were created. According to Stemmie, the butters are flavored by intense reductions of wine -- half a bottle of wine in each 4-ounce container -- then he adds another layer of flavor on top of that. The red wine compound butter is flavored with raspberry, honey and mustard; the white wine compound butter is flavored with lemon, thyme and garlic; and the orange creole compound butter features an intense reduction of orange juice, and a creole spice blend.

You could use them as a spread, a finishing sauce or just add a dollop to the dish at the end.

But the real question is do they taste good? I tried the white wine compound on a baked chicken, red potato and squash dish. I chose the dollop-at-the-end approach. The flavor was very subtle but good, so good I found myself sucking on the bone. Eventually, I used the last of my baguette to soak up the reduction sauce.

I also asked Chapel Hill cooking instructor and food writer Sheri Castle her opinion. "I think overall it was pretty good," she said. "I was pleased and impressed with how natural the ingredients are."