Ours Go to Eleven

In getting further acquainted with my little treehouse kitchen, I have been doing my best to not over-buy pantry items as, well, we don’t actually have a pantry, but rather a very small built-in cabinet (half filled with glassware) and a small wire rack. With minimal space, and half of it being in plain sight, I have done my best to be conscious of my dry goods and non-perishables and what I really “need” to have in order to be able to throw together a quick meal in a pinch. In this thought, I have come up with the eleven pantry (seven in the dry goods category, and four in the long shelf life realm) items that I almost always have on hand that have saved my neck when time is of the essence. In no particular order:

 1) Pepper Creek Farms French Grey Sea Salt: I had first encountered this French salt when I purchased it as part of a holiday gift basket for my mother. As I have mentioned before, I would install a salt lick in my apartment if I could, I am a huge salt fan (occasionally to my husband’s dismay). Pepper Creek has produced a wonderful, earthy salt that is perfect in just about any dish. This salt has a high moisture content, which helps to retain nutrients.

2) Pastene Kitchen Ready tinned tomatoes: I advocated the versatility of Pastene in my tomato sauce recipe and with due reason- in a cross comparison of fresh taste, value and shelf life, this brand is a winner. Some other brands seem to have a more metallic taste, but something about Pastene’s crushed tomatoes always taste a bit fresher to me, perhaps for nostalgia’s sake. One tin can make plenty of sauce for four, and are also great when employed in stews.

3) Carr’s Water Crackers: Although more of an entertaining staple, these water crackers can always be found in my cabinet, thanks in no small part to discovering the 5 sleeve variety pack available at wholesale markets. Kyle and I are both huge cheese aficionados, and anytime guests are in the house, or we just don’t feel like really cooking, a plate full of cheeses, fruits, and cured meats is bound to be on our coffee table. I’ve tried other varieties of water crackers, and I hate to say it, but they all pale in comparison. They are light, airy and the perfect vessel for presenting a good cheese. The toasted sesame and cracked black pepper are my favorites.

4) Penfold’s Koonunga Hill Shiraz-Cabernet (2006): I first came across this blend about 3 years ago back in Maine when it was discovered by both my family and Kyle’s at about the same time. Upon discovery, I think we all bought up as much of the ’06 as we could find, as it seemed to have a better, more well rounded flavor and mouth feel than the ’07. Sadly, we have drank the rest of our stash of the ’06, which is still available in some areas, but the ’07 is still a good find. It retails for around $10/bottle so it’s a guiltless wine that is not only drinkable but great for cooking with, making it a double whammy. Not strictly a pantry item, but since I use a lot of wine in my cooking I figured it was a good addition!

5) Barilla Fettuccine Rigate: A bit more difficult to find than regular fettuccine, but worth the hunt. Like it’s close relative, penne rigate, this fettuccine has small ridges, which make it ideal for being paired with light sauces, and given that it has the classic flat shape of a fettuccine noodle, it doesn’t buckle under more robust sauces to boot. It holds any sauce beautifully, gives you a full even bite of flavor and cooks to al dente quickly and evenly.

6) Goya Cannellini Beans: When I have the time, I prefer to soak my cannellini beans overnight for cooking. However, when time is of the essence, I go for the Goya. With a quick drain and rinse, these beans are extremely versatile- they can be added to soups, cooked with tomatoes, served with any meats and have a beautiful texture when blended with fresh herbs, garlic and olive oil for a quick cocktail spread. They are also great tossed in a salad for an easy protein boost. At around $1.50/can, you really can’t go wrong.

7) Panko Bread Crumbs: This probably stems from my days as an actual restaurant chef some years ago, but I do have to agree that I like the texture of panko so much better than the standard bread crumb. They are a little coarser, very light, and take on any seasonings very well. I use them predominantly in fish breading, as they let the flavor of the fish really shine, and maintain a crispy coating. They also work well as a binder for anything from meatloaf to crabcakes.

8 Garlic: I always have at least one head of garlic on my “island” (I use that term loosely, as you can tell by the photo of my galley that it’s really just a re-purposed leaf table) at the ready. There really isn’t any dish that I won’t throw garlic into, as it is such an easy way to get a lot of fresh flavor into a dish for very little money. In addition to classic sauté and sauce application, it becomes wonderfully sweet and soft when roasted as a whole clove with olive oil for a spread, or it can be ground down raw and salted to add to fresh vinaigrettes to perk up simple greens. For a perfect add on to fresh wilted greens, I am a fan of crisping up thin slices in a little olive oil to make garlic chips.

9) Lemon Zest: Kyle has been poking fun at me for my recent obsession with lemon zest. Like garlic, there really isn’t anything I won’t add it to. When I finally got the chance to unpack my four sided Microplane greater, there wasn’t any dish that was safe from a zesting! I love the bright, subtle lemon flavor the zest adds, especially in the winter time when produce can be a bit bland. Added to cannellini beans, sautéed garlic and a little wilted spinach, you’ve got yourself a great side dish, all out of the aforementioned staples! The dexterity of lemon zest can range from the sweet to the savory, and with a good fresh lemon, you can get pretty good shelf time out of it.

10) Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese: A good turn of the grater over any dish can perk up just about any simple dish. I prefer this variety over straight Parmesan, as it has a little bit more of a nutty flavor. It is much more worthwhile to spend a little extra on this cheese, as the payout will be in the flavor. Regular pre-grated cheese in a can has a lot of additives to give it unrefrigerated shelf life, and has a flavor likeness of unseasoned bread crumbs in my opinion. Freshly grated cheese incorporates well into sauces, melts evenly over pasta and lends itself well to crusting under the broiler. As an added bonus, rinds can be added to soups and stocks for extra flavor.

11) Flat Leaf Italian Parsley: For most of this winter, I was buying bunches of fresh Italian parsley at the market, and storing it in damp paper towels with a little water in a pint glass on my kitchen windowsill. Most of the time I’d end up losing half of the bunch as I couldn’t get to all of it before it started to turn. Now that I am the proud grower of a beautiful herb container garden (check out The Humble Home for tips), I never worry about it going to waste. It is extremely easy to grow, even in a small pot in a window, and well worth the 10 minutes to sow, as there is minimal upkeep, just a little watering. Once you have gotten your herb plant started, it’s so easy to maintain, there’s really no reason not to keep a few pots around to jazz up pantry meals. I find the flat leaf has much more flavor than the curly and is a ridiculously easy way to add a little color and fresh crunch to absolutely any dish. It’s an old trick employed by pretty much every restaurant out there, but there is something I find really appealing about a fresh spray of chopped herbs across a plate of food. The same theory goes for cilantro, chives, baby arugula or any other fresh varieties.

So those are the staples for my kitchen- what are your go to pieces that have bailed you out in an emergency, or the items that are standby for those weeknights when your energy is low?