Jump-Start Spring with an Inspired Easter

McCormick^® Brings Creativity to Seasonal Celebrations with Fresh Ideas and Eye-Catching Online Inspiration Hubs

SPARKS, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar. 20, 2012-- Easter is a landmark spring celebration, the perfect opportunity to highlight the vibrant tastes and bright colors of the season. It’s that refreshing time of the year when we start seeking new inspiration for enjoying festive seasonal gatherings with family and friends. Now, home cooks are seeing spring in a whole new way, thanks to popular photo-sharing platforms and eye-catching spring Look Books brought to you by McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC), a global leader in flavor.

“This spring, the McCormick Kitchens are offering flavorful inspiration that can be personalized to suit the tastes of each spring host,” says Chef Mark Garcia of the McCormick Kitchens. “From the first spark of inspiration to the finished spread, we are a go-to resource for fresh ideas this season — whether you’re creating a Look Book filled with appetizing photos and delicious recipes on McCormick.com or trying new twists to classic recipes shared by our kitchens.”

On McCormick.com, you can bring spring inspiration to life through the “My Look Book” Easter feature. These personalized digital scrapbooks are a hub for flavorful ideas, featuring a collage of dazzling images and mouthwatering spring recipes. Select recipes to add them to your own Look Book, pin them to Pinterest boards or browse the Look Books of McCormick Kitchen experts like Mark, Mary Beth, Leslie and Amanda. Playful elements like the embedded “Easter Egg Hunt” — which could unlock a McCormick coupon — add the promise of spring savings to the colorful Look Books.

McCormick is also launching its own Pinterest page and giving baking and cooking enthusiasts the opportunity to win spring-inspired prizes for sharing their “Pin-spiration.” To enter, users create their own “McCormick Pin-spiration” board showcasing which McCormick recipes they’d like to create this season, as well as a photo of a creation they’ve made themselves. Pinners will be entered to win one of 25 spring baking packages, and the chance to have their original photo featured on McCormick.com.

In addition to these ways to look, cook and enjoy, members of the kitchens are sharing their passion for flavor — including delectable flavor twists on McCormick classic recipes:

• Spiced Springtime Sugar Cookies: For spring, Mark Garcia and his baking-enthusiast daughter whip up a few batches of these craveable cookies. They’ve also developed sweetly simple twists — like adding hints of orange, almond and lemon extracts — that make this versatile recipe a staple to be enjoyed throughout the season. For decorating, Mark makes glazes in multiple colors, and creates designs with them using a resealable plastic bag: he just snips off a tiny piece from the corner for an easy, disposable pastry bag!
• Bunny Cupcakes: When Leslie Speckart developed the Bunny Cupcake recipe for McCormick, she had already tried dozens of colorful variations at home with her kids. This spring, she’s passing on her test kitchen secrets. To achieve perfect pastel frosting, she simply adds four drops of McCormick Food Color to a 16-ounce tin of vanilla frosting. Those loveable faces? Use a gum drop or jelly bean for the nose and chocolate sprinkles for the eyes and whiskers.
• Lemon Cheesecake Bars: To please both picky eaters and discerning gourmands at her spring celebrations, flavor expert Mary Beth Harrington chooses simple recipes with tasty twists that will please the palate for everyone’s favorite course – dessert! As a special garnish to Lemon Cheesecake Bars, she uses a fresh berry topping, which can be customized with different blends of seasonal berries. She also substitutes the lemon extract with other flavors, like orange or raspberry extract, for a whole new take.
• Cheesy Bacon and Egg Brunch Casserole: A brunch diva, Amanda Dansereau, likes to host festive Easter potlucks with her friends — and they insist no potluck is complete without her mouth-watering brunch casseroles. To please both meat-eaters and vegetarians, Amanda makes two versions of this classic recipe. The original, chock full of savory bacon, gets a kick from ground mustard and nutmeg. Her vegetarian take, inspired by Southwest flavors like cumin, oregano and chili powder, bursts with fresh diced peppers and hearty black beans.

For full recipes and tips on how to make spring as flavorful and colorful as possible, visit www.mccormick.com/Easter, www.Facebook.com/McCormickSpice or http://www.pinterest.com/McCormickSpices. Look for McCormick Food Colors and Extracts in the spice aisle of stores nationwide.

To download food photography, visit the digital press room at www.mccormick.com/foodmedia.

About McCormick

McCormick & Company, Incorporated is a global leader in flavor. With more than $3 billion in annual sales, the Company manufactures, markets and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments and other flavorful products to the entire food industry – retail outlets, food manufacturers and foodservice businesses. Every day, no matter where or what you eat, you can enjoy food flavored by McCormick. McCormick Brings Passion to Flavor™! Visit mccormick.com and Facebook.com/McCormickSpice for more information.

Source: McCormick & Company, Incorporated

McCormick
Laurie Harrsen, 410-527-8753
laurie_harrsen@mccormick.com
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Sara Ballard, 312-988-2406
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