If you’re doing Penzey’s, get some Aleppo Pepper.
Y’know those red pepper flakes that you put on pizza? Kind of like that but not as hot and with a really interesting deep, smokey taste. I use the stuff so much it’s got it’s own shaker along with salt and pepper.
Also, for pepper? The “Extra Bold Pepper” they have will make you think you’ve never had pepper before–the taste is as different as dried basil is from fresh.
I have a Braun coffee grinder that I use only for grinding spices.
Oddly, we find our best spice prices in the bulk section of Whole Foods market. This may be partially because the only “little ethnic store” that was around our old house actually did not sell anything terribly fresh and/or amazing. Just larger bins of spices.
But the Whole Foods bulk section is great because you can measure out as much or as little as you need, and the per ounce price is a great deal better than your average grocery store containers (this includes their containers, as you can imagine). We got enough bay leaves for several soups for pennies, because it was so light. We got some paprika for not much more money, same reasons. Best of all? It’s not likely to go bad, because we purchased so little. If, for some reason, we don’t use paprika as often as we expect and end up tossing it, we’re tossing very little spice or money.
I have not tried any online stores, admittedly, so I can’t speak to that.
In the category of herbs & spices you may wish you had on hand, I don’t have a number of suggestions, but I’ve got a few. I love having a few bay leaves on hand, and paprika, as I mentioned above. Some curry powder can be fun, even for dishes that aren’t typically curries. Cinnamon, cloves, alspice, and nutmeg get constant rotation in my kitchen, though I possibly bake more than you do. Mace is occasionally nice to have around, but I would DEFINITELY get it from some sort of bulk container, as it’s not the most common spice in dishes.
My partner & I also use a lot of powdered New Mexican chiles, but that might be harder to get your hands on. If you want some, feel free to PM me, and I’d be happy to arrange for you to get some.
ETA: Oh, and it may be worth it to you to go to a place like Container Store or something and get an empty spice rack if you’re buying from online sellers or bulk sections. Old mason jars & other canning jars also work fairly nicely for storing things like this.
Oh, yeah. Aleppo Pepper is great. We do the same thing: shaker jar of the stuff on the table.
One of the best all around chili spice blends is Penzey’s Chili 9000. Very good stuff. I would not use dried basil or dried parsley, as they’re pretty grim. Somebody must have mentioned thyme, but I’ll put in a plug for it anyway. Great for fish, eggs, pasta salad and chicken. Also sage for both pork and poultry. Buy small quantities and get rid of anything that’s over a year old in your pantry.
Our pepper mill (Peugot, it’s fine) is filled with Tellicherry black peppercorns, which we like more than the regular.
Smoked paprika (aka pimenton) is wonderful on basically everything.
Zatarain’s Creole Seasoning and Grill Mates Montreal Steak. That last bit of stuff is good on just about anything and terrific to use with Bloody Marys.
Seconded. The difference between grating your own nutmeg and using the stuff in a can is frankly amazing. And the nuts themselves will store well without the loss of flavor inherent in the already ground stuff, even if you don’t use very much nutmeg.
As for using it, nutmeg goes in alfredo sauce as well as eggnog or hot chocolate or chai, in custards, maybe in egg bakes or homemade macaroni and cheese. And probably tons that I’m not remembering, as well.
I still have some whole nutmeg that I bought ten years ago. I store it in a plastic ziploc inside of a glass jar in a dark cupboard. Lasts forever.
If you can’t keep basil alive because of the heat, and you decide that you like rosemary, take a shot at planting a rosemary bush or two. Once established, they thrive in areas where the heat and dryness will kill other plants. Make sure you’re getting a culinary variety, though. There are some spreading varieties that are used mostly for ground cover.
One warning, if you plant a tall growing variety near your house, the bush will lean in and rub against the paint. Not good for the house. Oh, and they can take cold, too. My Mom took a cutting from one of my bushes here in the Central Vally and transplanted it up north, where she got occasional snow. It’s hardy stuff.
Of course, that’s true of fresh vs. powdered garlic as well.
I’m nthing Penzey’s. There is no other comparison, it is a spice mecca, and you should see if you can make it out to one in the LA area. Short of that, order from them online. I’m thirding Aleppo for shake-on-a-pizza-or-sammich, but also Medium Crushed Red Pepper. This stuff is the shit in a pasta sauce. I used to use cayenne but that would just overpower everything else.
Also awesome: Pasta sprinkle. It’s got yer dried basil and other stuff that’s delicious in a pasta sauce. Got this as a freebie almost a year ago and have gone through a whole new bottle. Oh yeah, sign up for Penzey’s catalog ASAP - you get a free spice/herb coupon (and a coupon code for online purchasing) every other month or so. It is the BEST THING EVER. And the catalog gives you descriptions of every single spice they sell, in a nice color layout with some recipe ideas.
Something odd about Penzey’s I never really noticed until I started really cooking and buying everything from them: 2/3rds or more of the spices are actually cheaper than the grocery store. So you don’t have to feel too guilty for splurging. I find the more I buy spices the less I go out (and the more satisfied I am overall with the food I make).
Also love the Chip Dip - throw it with some light sour cream in a bowl and you have a healthy veggie dip. I don’t like the Fox Point seasoning, so if anyone wants it ($7.50 large jar with 2 tsp missing!) PM me your address.
Just letting everyone know that I am most certainly following along with all the advice 
First: I most certainly can’t grow anything. It would have to be potted and I would forget to water it. Seriously. No growing. None. I can (and do) pick up fresh cilantro and basil from the farmer’s market every so often, but I shant be growing anything any time soon.
Secondly: I have no concept of what quantity of a spice is a reasonably quantity. Granted, when I get home, I can look at my spice containers from the grocery store and estimate thussly, but I’m not home right now. So, what are reasonable amounts of herbs/spices to get?
Thirdly: we do not have a Whole Foods here, but there is one in Vegas, so I might check that out while I’m there. If I get down to LA any time soon, I’ll check out the Penzey’s, but I do hate going to LA, so I doubt that’ll happen. Oh, we also do not have an Ikea or Container Store here, but I did notice that World Market had those nifty little magnetic spice container things.
If you are ordering from Penzeys, start with the 1/4 cup jar. That’s enough for quite a few dishes, and it won’t go stale while you’re experimenting. It’s also the size they send out as freebies when you order online. Sneaky. They got us hooked on several seasonings that way. They also have some killer recipes in their catalog.
On the salt question, if it’s going to dissolve, there’s no difference besides price between the ordinary Morton’s stuff and kosher. The advantage of kosher salt is when you add it to something on the table, so you still have the crystals as you’re eating it. You can use normal salt for cooking and kosher for the table to save a little money, or just use kosher for everything if you’d prefer the convenience of only keeping one kind of salt around.
Many, many herbs will grow in a backyard garden, or even an indoor planter, if you really want them fresh. You’ll probably only need one plant of each, so they won’t take up much space.
And there’s never any reason whatsoever for garlic powder, in my opinion. Just keep a bulb in the fridge and break off a clove or three whenever you need it. Garlic will stay good pretty much indefinitely in the fridge, far longer than it’ll take you to go through it. My personal view of garlic is that if it ever makes sense to ask the question “should I put garlic in this?”, the answer is always “yes”.
I do appreciate the suggestion I grow my own herbs, but I cannot emphasize enough that such a thing wont be happening. Aside from all of the previously mentioned points, I also travel a lot for work, so its impractical for me to have things that need regular watering.
I use a metric shit ton of real garlic on the day to day, no worries. Garlic powder is just an added spiciness to certain things certain times.
Ditto for powdered onion, onion salt, garlic salt, bacon salt and other such abominations. For spice mixes, such as the aforementioned Chili 9000, look for mixes that are salt-free. Penzey’s has gone pretty much salt free, and it’s a good idea. Did anybody mention curry powder? Penzey’s has a very nice sweet curry powder (Maharajah?).
Bulk spices are the way to go. I get them at co-op groceries, and a few supermarkets. It’s really amazing how much cheaper they are, when you get them that way.
One spice I don’t think has been mentioned yet is fennel seed. Especially since you said you like to cook Italian. Some fennel seeds in your meatballs, or lasagna meat - they’ll take notice, want more, and remember fondly.
It’s a little more complicated than that. Kosher salt has two attributes:[ol]
[li]It is pure, no additives,[/li][li]It has larger crystals.[/li][/ol]The former lets you avoid any flavor from iodide or the anti-caking agents. This is why chefs like it. The larger crystals do give more “crunch” when used at the table, but because of this kosher salt measures out different than ordinary table salt. An equal volume of kosher salt weighs about half as much as Morton’s, so you may need to adjust your recipes accordingly.
For the record, World Market has a much more limited selection of dried herbs & spices, but they are also often cheaper than your local supermarket. Frankly, I’ve become convinced that EVERYONE is cheaper than your local supermarket.
As for a reasonable amount, from a bulk shop, it depends on how much you think you’d use the spice (used here to include herbs as well), and how much you like it. For example, someone up-thread suggested fennel seed. I might buy a tiny amount of that if I were experimenting with a recipe, but since I tend to loathe licorice/anise/fennel flavors, I’d only buy a tiny amount. I’d do my best to eyeball in the store the amount I needed for the recipe. Dried thyme, OTOH, I’d just buy a ton of, because we use it all the time. Paprika, recently, was in the middle. We both like it, but weren’t sure how much it’d actually get used (answer, not as much as we might have expected).
Whole Foods, if you do make it down there, will allow you to bring in your own containers to weigh the bulk spice into. For shopping from far away (as it sounds Vegas sorta is for you), that would be convenient and lessen the chances of spice baggie puncture in your car.