Foodie-Girl’s Pantry Essentials

I discovered my love for cooking during a long search for a stress outlet.  I’d come home from work, completely spent and emotionally drained.  I would find myself zoning out in the front of the television, trying to put the challenges of the day (or week, or month…) behind me and to simply ‘check-out.’  Flipping through the channels, I kept pausing on, and returning to, the cooking shows.  Talk about mesmerizing.  This was the beginning of my long, happy fall into the abyss of food TV.  I inadvertently picked up on lots of tips, techniques and culinary concepts.  Finally, I pulled my lazy-self up off the couch and decided to give things a try with my own two hands.  Aha!  I had found my niche.  I started going to the grocery nightly, picking up new ingredients for new dishes, staying up later and later, working through many missteps and celebrating my successes.  When I was in the kitchen, I could leave everything else behind but still be active and use my mind.  I could step back at the end of the night and look at one good thing I had done that day – at least one confidence I could have in myself that was 100% attributable to me.  Confidence grew and, along with it, the need for convenience.  Going to the grocery nightly was no longer exciting… it was plain annoying.  I began to note trends in the dishes I made and items that seemed to appear nightly, lending their hand and their essence to a variety of dishes.  And, for the most part, they were shelf-stable.  Inconvenient no longer, it is now easy for me to come home and throw something together that has my own touch… even if is just sautéed onion, garlic, tomatoes and red pepper flakes as a quick sauce for pasta.  So in this post I have noted the top ten food stuff ‘categories’ that I can’t live without.  I say ‘categories’ because each section has several options – you can pick/choose/substitute as you please, with the items having the same overall effect.  It will make walking in the door after work that much easier.  And getting dinner on the table should be a relaxing part of your day.  A time when you turn the rest of the world off and refocus on your home and yourself.  The perfect end to any day and custom made for you, by you!

#3 Pasta, Rice and Grains Oh My!
I’m obsessed with pasta.  It’s my number one favorite food, hands down.  If you’re up for an adventure, try your hand at making your own – my favorite recipe can be found here – but the dried variety is perfectly wonderful in every way.  And it will wait patiently on your shelf until you come calling.  I always have fresh-made pasta in my freezer along with dried angle hair, basmati rice, arborio rice (perfect for risotto), couscous and quinoa on hand as the base for an entree or a simple side dish.  When in doubt, clean out the vegetable drawer, dice everything, add garlic, and saute until tender.  Add you pasta/rice/quinoa and season.  Dinner is served!

#4 Bring Out The Smile in Your Food with Citrus and Herbs
When I taste my food and I feel like something is missing the problem can be solved 95% of the time with a squeeze of lemon or a sprinkling of freshly chopped herbs.  I buy a few lemons and limes every time I’m at the grocery, even if I know I already have some at home.  I will always use them.  The same goes for herbs.  I always have basil, Italian parsley and cilantro on hand.  My other favorites are rosemary and thyme.  Each herb has a very distinct personality and all will add a wonderful sense of earthiness that can’t be matched.  And don’t forget – there are more to lemons and limes than their juice.  The zest from the skin actually offers the most intense lemon/lime essence, as the rich oils are released when cut.  It will go a long way, and so will your dishes!

#5 Head to the Sea Whenever You Please
I make it a habit to keep chicken breasts, fish and steaks in my freezer.  I try to be diligent and remember to put whatever I am craving in the fridge at least 24 hours in advance of cooking it.  But I am rarely this prepared and have found myself coming home many a night, ready for a hearty dinner but without any defrosted meat to speak of.  Yes, there is a defrost setting on most microwaves and this will do fine.  But I really hate the uneven manner that the meat is defrosted, cooking the edges of chicken to an unappetizing white while the center is still cold.  Blah.  Frozen shrimp though, they are much easier to work with.  Just grab as many as you want from the freezer, toss in a colander, and rinse with lightly-running cold water for five to ten minutes.  Peal, pat dry and you are ready for dinner!  Additionally, canned clams and clam juice are inexpensive and welcome additions to your pantry, allowing you to whip up my pasta with clam sauce on a whim, no quick stop at the grocery required.

#6 Get Saucy 
Saute fish/chicken/steak in butter and olive oil.  Once cooked, remove from the heat and set aside.  Keep the heat on the pan high and carefully add your deglazing agent – chicken stock, vegetable stock, red wine or white wine.  Stir and watch those beautiful remaining bits of flavor lift up and meld into the base of a delicious sauce.  From here, add mustard or garlic or herbs or cream… the options are endless, the end result the same.  A wonderfully flavorful sauce to take your simply seared meat to the next level.  Still not a believer?  Try pork with camembert sauce or ribeye with red wine sauce.  You’ll come around!

#7 Add a Dollop… 

I love to dress up sour cream, mayonnaise, whipping cream and mustard.  I can’t think of an simpler way to take an everyday ingredient and enhance it, adding a creative twist to your fajitas, salmon and salads.  The sky’s the limit with this one so have fun and try different combos – I can’t wait to hear what you come up with!

#8 Add Some Crunch!
I can get really tired of the same old chicken breasts, pork chops and fish.  The most satisfying solution?  Breading!  You will always find panko breadcrumbs, all-purpose flour and eggs in my kitchen.  As you can see in my recipe for parmesan crusted chicken breasts, my foodie-girl fish fry and my panko crusted ahi tuna, the simple texture of the meat is now encased in a beautifully crunchy crust that, while not free of fat or calories, is exponentially better than running to Long John Silvers for a basket of grease with a side of fries.  Dress the panko up with spices from item #2 and you have a flavorful dinner to be proud of!

#9 Cheese Just Makes Everything Better

My cheese drawer contains mozzarella balls, bleu cheese, goat cheese and a huge chunk of parmigiano reggiano.  In the mood for a sandwich?  Caprese panini it is!  Homemade creamy dressing for your salad?  How about a wedge salad with bleu cheese dressing?  Need a light kick and a touch of tanginess for your rice or couscous?  Try some goat cheese – it should do the trick.  Oh… and don’t forget pizza.  Four cheese perhaps?  Two of my favorite versions can be found here and here.

#10 Don’t Forget to Eat Your Vegetables
Vegetables are tricky.  They are best fresh but freshness does not translate to a long shelf-life.  And I hate being wasteful.  So while I always load my grocery cart with an abundance of items straight off the farm, I makes sure to keep cans of crushed red tomatoes, jars of olives (kalamata are my favorite – and yes I know, this is technically a fruit) and bags of frozen peas and corn available at home for those nights when I am not lucky enough to have a farmer’s market bounty at my disposal.  I love the briny kick olives give to pastas and a can of tomatoes can prove to invaluable when making sauces or salsas.  Both take on a large role in pasta puttanesca and frozen peas added the perfect pop to red wine risotto with peas.  So stock up – you’ll be glad you did!

The Real #1
I highly recommend a sous chef.  Someone as focused as mine, Nicholas Wayne McClave.  He goes by Chef Nick in the kitchen and is always at my feet, ready to assist with any mess I create, happily (i.e. insanely) dashing for a misplaced pepper or piece of cheese.  They won’t sit idly by while Chef Nick is on the clock.  He doesn’t like a messy kitchen.  And when it comes time to load the dishes, he is the first to volunteer for the prewash, jumping onto the opened door of the dishwasher and efficiently (i.e. frantically) wiping every piece of silverware clean, making sure there isn’t a drop left on a plate.  It’s awfully fun to have a best friend both in the kitchen and out.  He is my #1 kitchen must-have.  Cooking just wouldn’t be the same without him!