The oil you use to cook with will be the foundation flavor upon which you’ll build. Even though heat destroys some of the oil’s character, it will still play an important role in the final flavor profile of what you’re cooking.

Categories: condiments, ingredients, pantry
Tagged: condiments, pantry, vegan, vegetarian

I had just finished breaking down a chicken for a photo session when I realized that it was time to eat. Fortunately, I had some chicken on the cutting board. A quick trip to the pantry for inspiration yielded sweet Marsala wine and veal demiglace.

Categories: chicken, entrée, lunch, mother recipe, mushroom, pantry, skillet, supper
Tagged: chicken, lunch, main course, mother recipe, mushroom, pantry, supper

There was a time when every home cook knew how to break down whole poultry into parts, because they didn’t have a choice. Then we learned to pay exorbitant amounts of money for other people to do it for us. Well that’s just silly. It only takes a small amount of instruction and one chicken to learn how to break down poultry, and you get to eat the chicken because YOU CAN’T FAIL.

Categories: chicken, pantry, poultry, stock, technique
Tagged: chicken, pantry, poultry, stock, technique

When sweet onions are on special I set aside half a day to make caramelized onions because they add an incredible amount of flavor to any dish. Most recipes call for several minutes of cooking. I take at least four hours.

Categories: condiments, dairy-free, gluten-free, pantry, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: condiments, dairy-free, gluten-free, pantry, vegan, vegetarian

Grenadine is used in many drinks, but the grenadine you can buy in grocery and liquor stores is, well, nasty. And it might not even have any pomegranate in it, but it may contain some “tasty” corn syrup and bright red dye. Unfortunately, pomegranate juice really isn’t bright red, and grenadine shouldn’t set your teeth on edge with sweetness.

Categories: beverage, condiments, dairy-free, dessert, entertaining, gluten-free, ingredients, pantry, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: condiments, dairy-free, dessert, entertaining, gluten-free, ingredients, pantry, vegan, vegetarian

Salt and pepper. The most ubiquitous pantry items in Western Civilization, they’re on virtually every table. And we always say “salt and pepper” as though there were just one of each. I don’t know about you, but I typically have six or more salts and at least four peppers. Let’s explore my pantry.

Categories: ingredients, pantry
Tagged: ingredients, pantry

Flavored oils are excellent additions to the home pantry–they’re a quick way to add flavor to any dish. They are also quite simple to make. All you need is a good extra virgin olive oil, the flavor components you want to include, and a clean bottle to age them in.

Categories: condiments, dairy-free, gluten-free, pantry, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: condiments, dairy-free, gluten-free, pantry, vegan, vegetarian

Yogurt is an important component of a healthful diet, providing lots of calcium and friendly bacteria. Many people who are lactose intolerant can tolerate yogurt, because the bacteria cultures that cause it to be tangy and thick convert the lactose into lactic acid. Yogurt can be made from milk quite easily, and from soy or other non-dairy [...]

Categories: gluten-free, home creamery, pantry, yogurt
Tagged: gluten-free, home creamery, pantry, yogurt

What’s pantry soup? That’s when you make a soup out of what you have in your pantry and freezer. The trick is to make sure you have a ready supply of the sorts of things you almost always need.

Categories: dairy-free, gluten-free, lunch, pantry, soup, stock
Tagged: dairy-free, gluten-free, lunch, pantry, soup

Setting up a home creamery to make your own dairy foods is really very simple and one of the best things you can do to economize. You’ll also end up with better dairy foods as a result. I’ll start this series by revisiting crème fraîche.

Categories: gluten-free, home creamery, pantry
Tagged: creme fraiche, gluten-free, home creamery, pantry