Nonny - I absolutely believe too many an too much of any spice can
ruin food.

Barbecue/smoked/grilled is probably my favorite, but I cook all manner
of different foods.

To me, you need to either accent one flavor, say as in a "basil"
marinara, or meld the flavors so that you almost taste a spice or two
but nothing stands out.

I cook a lot as it is kind of a hobby of mine. There are days I will
spend the whole day in the kitchen (don't worry - as a general
contractor I get all the outside time I want!) cooking. After serving
thousands of meals to family and friends I really believe it is all
(like a themed dish) or nothing ("hey- what's in this?) when you are
on your game.

My conclusion is this: many people put more spices in simply because
they think more is better. After watching me cook for the last 30
years, my father cooks a meal about 2 - 3 times a month now. But he
stands at the stove and shakes in anything that sounds good, and if it
is a favorite flavor of his he will add tons of it. He is really
heavy handed with granulated garlic.

I learned this in an Asian cooking class I took many years ago, and
have had it confirmed later by real chefs. None of your spices
(that's right - none) stand up to heat really well. What saves most
people is they make a certain dish, and load all the spices up when
the dish starts cooking.

This may be OK depending on what you are shooting for, but for most
dishes you kill the actual flavor of the spices. Don't believe me?
Winter is coming up; make that big vat of soup like you always do, but
leave out the spices. Add in all the veggies (including garlic if you
want and cook to the desired tenderness of your veggies and meat.
20 minutes before serving, bring the heat down to "just simmering" and
add your spices. Take the soup off the burner nd allow it to sit for
10 minutes before serving. You won't believe the difference in your
soup compared to having spices that have had all their essential oils
boiled right out of them.

As for too many spices, try this and you will have your answer.

Take one of these recipes that has 15 different spices and leave one
out. Unless it is salt or hot chilis, you probably won't notice it's
gone. You have my word you won't when you take one of these recipes
and it has the same exact measured amount of every spice you have in
your cabinet.

Robert