There's a difference between Spicy, Hot and Hot & Spicy.
Spices serve several purposes in cooking and can be used to:
Add Flavor and Aroma. Spices can transform a meal by adding a range of flavors, from a hint of sweetness to a kick of heat. They also give beautiful aromas that are often our first determining factor for whether we want to eat a meal or not.
Enhance taste of food. We always think of salt as our go-to when a meal tastes too bland, but there are other spices, like cumin, that bring out the natural flavors of food.
Change or enhance color. If you’ve ever eaten at an Indian restaurant you may have noticed that many of the dishes have a deep yellow, orange or red color. That’s because the spices used in typical Indian cooking, such as turmeric and paprika, give color to the foods making them more bright and appealing.
SOURCE:
http://www.cooksmarts.com/articles/ultimate-infographic-guide-spices/
I have a wide range of spices, rubs, seasoning blends, hot sauces flavoring sauces and cooking sauces. I also have a bunch of different oils, vinegars and cooking wines. I have 8 different salts, all with their own unique flavor or purpose.
Black pepper is probably the most common spice people use without realizing it is a spice. Salt is a rock. Pepper comes from plants.
Try cooking up some pork in a spicy horseradish-mustard sauce, its wonderful. Sausage and taters is good that way too.
Add some A-1 Bold to your next pot roast.
Sprinkle some cyan pepper on your popcorn
Bake some chicken in a spice blend with just a bit of rice vinegar (I add my seasons to a bag, add some rice vinegar and a touch of zesty Italian salad dressing and add the chicken and mix it up real good. Then let it sit for a bit so it all soaks in.), fantastic!
Cut up some potatoes, put them in a ziplock bag, add some olive oil, some seasoning blend and a touch of your favorite BBQ sauce, mix well and remove from bag and bake till soft or crunchy. Yum!