Matthew Woolen is a master pastry chef and has worked in a variety of Seattle restaurants, including gastropub Old Sage, Zhu Dang, and a gluten-free restaurant called Capitol Cider.

Matthew Woolen

If the holidays were a spice blend, we think they would taste something like this. Warm and comforting, this savory blend hits all the right spice and herbaceous notes to season everything from Thanksgiving turkey and <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/turkey-gravy">gravy</a> to <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/smashed-potatoes">mashed potatoes</a>, <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/caramelized-carrots">caramelized carrots</a>, and even butter to top off your fresh-baked <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/dinner-rolls-leveled-up">dinner rolls</a>. A few years ago, we bottled the flavors of Thanksgiving by <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/holiday-herb-oil">infusing oil</a> with tons of aromatics. It’s perfect to use almost anywhere—drizzled in the sous vide bag before cooking, whisked into gravy or a vinaigrette, atop roasted potatoes and veggies, or even tossed with bread cubes to make incredible <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/torn-croutons">croutons</a>. This year, we wanted to capture those same flavors in an even more versatile dry spice blend. So, we started where we left off and experimented with dehydrating the aromatics in the <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/holiday-herb-oil">Holiday Herb Oil</a>.We strained the goodies from the oil, laid them on a dry towel to soak up any excess oil, and toasted them in a low temperature oven for 20 minutes. Once crispy, we blended the dehydrated ingredients with salt and spices like black pepper, cinnamon, coriander, and flavor-packed dry bouillon. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, there was still some oil left clinging to the herbs. This made it hard to grind, and the final spice blend was a bit too coarse for our liking. Since all the natural flavors of the aromatics were infused into the oil, our spice blend had a bitter and tannic flavor. Not so good. Instead of using the Holiday Herb Oil as our literal foundation, we used it as an inspirational jumping off point—we knew what flavors we were after, Since we knew the flavors that we wanted to use, we started over with fresh ingredients. We love roasting and dehydrating fresh ingredients to whirl up into spice blends (others include <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/creole-spice-blend">Creole Spice Blend</a> and <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/new-bay-seasoning">New Bay Seasoning Blend</a>). This technique yields a very fragrant and brightly flavored blend.If you don’t own a dehydrator—or simply don’t have the time to wait around while veggies dehydrate—the second version of this spice blend is for you! We swap fresh ingredients with spice rack staples that you can easily whisk together in mere minutes.

All-Purpose Holiday Seasoning Blend–Two Ways