The Perfect Pantry

First light, first pantry, first soup, part one

Ted and I celebrate the dawn of the New Year with friends who live nearby. We light a bonfire out in the middle of their field at sun-up, and greet the First Light with warmth, good wishes, occasional poems and abundantly hot coffee. Most important, though, are the friends, old and new, with whom we welcome each new year.

This year, I'm so pleased to start the year with Arlo, a Pantry reader who sent the following to me in November. Since then, we have shared many thoughts and memories, and a new friendship. With her kind permission, I'm happy to share her letter with you. (The photo is of my own spice rack, which Ted built from an old door we found in our barn.)

Greetings from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. I just wanted to tell you how much The Perfect Pantry helped me through a bad time during these past few weeks and to thank you. I will not go through any of the soapy details, but it was not blissful domesticity here for a period of time. I am a mother and wife, with four of my five children still living at home. Every morning, after they all go to school or work, I faithfully look for a job as living in our nation's capital is expensive. After these devotions, I reward myself with exactly one hour of e-mails, visiting my favourite websites and blogs, etc.

Earlier this month, after a particularly depressing morning, I stayed on longer than my 60 minutes. I did not want to do the recycling, find homes for the kittens or ever become employed again. Ottawa can go for days without sunshine in the autumn and this always affects me. So I putzed around following links into many food sites, and not sure exactly how I came across the Perfect Pantry but I stopped surfing after that. Your site made me abandon my morning routine (yikes) and made me smile while doing so.

A more perfect pantry?

In addition to the many obsessions I've confessed over the past year (noodle-holism, a collection of two hundred wooden spoons, and an unhealthy relationship with a product that can only, by law, be called salad dressing), I am also a compulsive list maker.

At this time of year, my list-making obsession kicks into high gear.

I keep lists of things to do, of things to sort, of things to buy, of things to cook. I make lists for me, and lists for Ted. The joke in my house: "my lists have lists."

So when Nupur of One Hot Stove, my favorite blog about Indian cuisine, suggested sharing a Best of 2007 list, I was way ahead; I have lots of lists in The Perfect Pantry, and those lists have lists, too.

Beef broth (Recipe: hot and sour soup)

Whenever Kim and Nick and Sabina and Ramona, my favorite vegetarians, come for a visit, I run to the pantry to purge all of the carnivorous contraband.

(Well, okay, not everything. Not the stuff in the freezer, the meat sauce and beef stew and turkey hot dogs and the fish my friend Bob caught last summer, hiding in the back behind the veggie-friendly organic pizza and tofu pups.)

This time, the only no-no items I found on the pantry shelves were "stock" items: chicken and beef broth.

Sambar powder (Recipe: pan-seared ahi with mango)

I have an overprotective spam filter.

Most of the time, I'm grateful; it insulates me from people who want to enhance (or reduce) my maleness, sell me fake watches or software, or do things in Russian that I'm glad I can't understand.

Sometimes -- like my dad, who used to wait at the door in his bathrobe, hoping to scare away the high school boys who wanted to kiss me goodnight after a date -- my spam filter goes too far.

It almost "protected" me from Venkat Balasubramani and his wonderful sambar powder.

One of the promises I've made for the new year is to learn more about the complexity and rich variety of Indian cooking, so when Venkat, an attorney in Seattle, wrote to offer a free sample of the product he and his mother market, I was eager to try it. First, though, I had to read up about sambar.

New Mexico chili powder (Recipe: black bean soup)

What's better than wandering the aisles of a small local market, finding new foods and imagining new possibilities, filling your shopping cart with herbs and spices, pickles and produce, discovering that something you brought home from the market is so good that you want to give it a permanent home in your pantry?

What's better than that?

Having those wonderful pantry items come right to your door. With recipes!

Twice in the past week, glorious spices -- spicy spices -- with recipes included arrived via US Mail.

Pie crust (Recipe: empanaditas)

When I was born, my parents took inventory.

Ten fingers. Ten toes. Eyes, ears, nose.

DNA. RNA. PIE.

Wait a second. PIE?

Right away, my parents sensed that something was missing -- the PIE gene, the one that governs the ability to bake fruit pies, cream pies, sweet or savory lattice-covered perfectly-crimped-edges pies.

After extensive testing, the diagnosis was confirmed; indeed, I lacked the pie gene. Oh, I could make a tasty enough filling, but when it came to marrying filling to pastry, I couldn't quite pull it together. I'd always forget an ingredient, or my pie would look great, but the bottom disintegrated. Or the filling escaped from a hole I didn't create.

For years I suffered the indignity of never being asked to bring dessert to a party or potluck. And when I entertained, I would pooh-pooh pie, telling my guests that I just wasn't in the mood to bake, or that I really preferred ice cream or a fruit salad.

And then, in the refrigerator aisle of my local market, right next to Paul Newman's lemonade, I found help for my affliction. Pie crust, ready to unroll and bake!

Could it be that simple? Yes, it could.

Drop in, decorate, donate more cookies

Last weekend, 85 people passed through my kitchen during the 6th Annual Drop In & Decorate Cookies for Donation.

The cookies we donated -- to two food pantries, one family emergency shelter, and six shelters for victims of domestic abuse -- were made with a whole lot of ingredients from The Perfect Pantry: 40 pounds of all-purpose flour, 17 pounds of sugar, 30 pounds of confectioners sugar, 45 ounces of meringue powder, 24 pounds of unsalted butter, pure vanilla extract, baking powder and salt, more than 3 dozen eggs and a bit of milk.

Martha Stewart, eat your heart out.

Kasha/buckwheat groats (Recipe: kasha varnishkes)

The house is almost back in order after last weekend's Drop In & Decorate Cookies for Donation. I'm gathering some photos to share with you this weekend, so please enjoy one more post, and a slightly updated seasonal recipe, from The Perfect Pantry archives.

The Ninecooks World Cuisines Cooking Group gathers in my kitchen every six weeks or so, to explore the cuisine of a different country or region.

This week, we were off to western Russia, with recipes from Moldavia, Byelorussia (aka "White Russia"), and Georgia. And, though most of the recipes were new to me, I included one from my own family's heritage: kasha varnishkes.

Beef hot links (Recipe: jambalaya)

In my kitchen, it's Drop In & Decorate Cookies for Donation time, when friends and family stop by to decorate beautiful sugar cookies for distribution to shelters and food pantries around Rhode Island. While I'm putting the kitchen back together after delivering our cookies, please enjoy this updated post, and my all-time favorite spicy comfort food recipe, from The Perfect Pantry archives.

Folks in Gonzales, Louisiana, take jambalaya seriously.

For nearly 40 years, their annual Jambalaya Festival has celebrated the local Cajun chicken-and-rice specialty, with cooking contests to crown the World Champion, Mini-Pot Champion, the champion team of firefighter jambalaya makers, and even the Champ of Champions. Hundreds of teams and individuals compete each year, and more than 50,000 people come to taste and test. The contest rules specify these ingredients:

Preliminary round: 30 lbs. chicken; 10 lbs rice
Semi-Finals: 45 lbs. chicken; 15 lbs rice
Finals: 60 lbs. chicken; 20 lbs. rice

Other ingredients and seasonings to be chosen from the following: Yellow Onions, Garlic (Fresh & Granulated), Green Onions, Red Pepper, Red Hot Sauce, Bell Peppers, Celery, Salt, Black Pepper, Cooking Oil

NO OTHER PERSONAL SEASONING ALLOWED IN THE COOKING AREA.

Wait a minute....no Beef Hot Links? Are they kidding????

The word jambalaya (pronounced jum-bo-LIE -ah) derives from jambon, from the French meaning ham, and aya, an African word for rice. Jambon. Ham. Sausage. So where's the meat???

Now, believe me when I tell you that I am a girl who takes my jambalaya seriously. Now. But until I visited Louisiana, I'd never even tasted jambalaya. I didn't keep more than one hot sauce in the pantry. I never ate spicy food.

And I don't eat pork.

In New Orleans, it was the age of Paul Prud'homme, and I fell in love with the food: fresh Gulf shrimp, etoufee, dirty rice, blackened everything. And me-oh-my-ah, jambalaya. I'd pick around the andouille sausage, but I couldn't stop eating the spicy rice. And I started collecting recipes, trying to figure out how to make jambalaya without the sausage.

Luckily, it also was the age of Amy's, a line of gourmet chicken sausages made by third-generation sausage maker Amy Kurzawski. Soon, many varieties of non-pork spicy smoked sausage appeared in local shops and online sources.

Easy to find at my local supermarket, Hillshire Farms Beef Hot Links are a pantry mainstay for bean soups, jambalaya, pie-ella, pasta concoctions, and kabobs cooked on the grill. They're not marketed as "Cajun style", but they contain chile peppers (an essential ingredient) and give a mild kick. Beef Hot Links do have pork casings, and I'm okay with that, but be sure to check labels if this is an issue for you. Chicken andouille (which occasionally comes in pork casings, too) adds a wonderful flavor, but gives up less fat into the dish; you may need to add a few teaspoons of butter and olive oil to compensate.

With many wonderful spicy smoked sausages on the market these days, you're sure to find a favorite. Stash some in your freezer. And by all means add it to your jambalaya, where it belongs — no matter what those folks in Gonzales say.

LYDIA’S VERY FAMOUS JAMBALAYA
This is a rustic dish, so proportions are not terribly important. The level of heat is entirely up to you. You can make this with regular (pork) hot links, or andouille, or chicken andouille, or any spicy smoked sausage you like. Serve with sauteed dark greens (kale is good), and pecan cookies for dessert. Serves 6.

3 Tbsp butter
1 lb hot smoked sausage , sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
2 onions, chopped (3/4-inch – fairly large)
1 large green bell pepper, chopped (same as onion)
3 stalks celery, chopped (same as onion)
1-1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
4-6 cloves garlic, minced, or a large dollop of crushed garlic in a jar
1 handful dried oregano (approx 1-1/2 Tbsp)
1/2 handful dried thyme leaf (approx 3/4 Tbsp)
4 large dried bay leaves
1 Tbsp black pepper
Hot sauce, to taste (from 4 drops to 4 ounces)
8 oz tomato sauce (1 small can)
1 lb chopped or diced canned tomatoes
2 cups chicken stock (homemade or low-sodium store-bought)
2 cups long grain white rice
1 lb peeled, deveined large shrimp, 26-30 size (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a 6-quart or 8-quart stock pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add sausage, and cook, stirring occasionally, until quite brown and sticking to the bottom of the pot, aprox. 10 minutes. Add onion, green pepper and celery, and cook, stirring, 5 minutes or until onion is translucent. Turn heat to high, and add chicken. Stir frequently, 2-3 minutes, until chicken is “seized” (no longer pink on the outside). Reduce heat to medium-low, stir in garlic, oregano, thyme, bay leaves and black pepper, and stir 1-2 minutes. Add hot sauce, and cook for 1 minute. Add tomato sauce and tomatoes. Stir to combine, and cover. Cook 8-10 minutes, stirring once. Uncover, add chicken stock, and bring to the boil. Turn off heat, and stir in the rice. Cover the pot, and place in the oven. Bake for 1 hour. (Add shrimp after the jambalaya has been baking for 50 minutes.) Turn off oven, and let pot sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Lydia's pie-ella
Paella a la Valenciana
Chicken paella with slow-roasted tomatoes
Farfalle with spinach and sausage

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This just in: In Seattle, personal chef Lesa, who also writes The Pink Hobart, has invited friends to a Drop In & Decorate party this weekend. Their cookies will be donated to the Ballard Food Bank. 

Planning a Drop In & Decorate event? Please let me know (lydia AT ninecooks DOT com) so we can share the fun.

To learn more about Drop In & Decorate Cookies for Donation, including how to host your own party, visit www.ninecooks.com; then stop in at A Veggie Venture, 37 Days, Culinary Types, Nikas Culinaria, Homesick Texan, Food Blogga, The Inadvertent Gardener, Jaden's Steamy Kitchen, La Mia Cucina, One Hot Stove, The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz, French Kitchen in America, Veronica's Test Kitchen, Kelly the Culinarian, shawnkenney.com, Thyme for Cooking: The Blog, Chew on That, Nook & Pantry, Cookthink, Tea & Cookies, Mele Cotte, Cream Puffs in Venice, startcooking.com, Shazam in the Kitchen, The Family Quilt, The Daily Tiffin, Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy, The Budget Bambino, Baking and Books, What's for Lunch, Honey? and The Pink Hobart.

Thank you, Slashfood and BlogHer. Thank you, Chow.com and Goodyblog and Woman's Day.

"I love Drop In & Decorate for the gathering of the community. To see old and new friends gathered around a table of cookies with icing in hand brings a smile to my face every year!" Jennifer, volunteer

Menu for Hope, fabulous walking tour

If you don't think that one person can change the world, you don't know Pim.

After the devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia five years ago, Pim Techamuanvivit, a California food blogger who was born in Bangkok, organized an international fundraising event, Menu for Hope, uniting food bloggers — and blog readers — around the world to raise funds for the United Nations World Food Programme. In last year's third annual event, Menu for Hope raised a whopping $62,925, through $10 donations. And that, as Pim says, is a lot of tenners.

The World Food Programme is the world’s largest food aid agency, working with more than 1,000 organizations in more than 75 countries. This year, funds raised will be earmarked for a sustainable school lunch program in Lesotho, Africa, where childhood hunger is epidemic. (Read more here.)

The Perfect Pantry and Ninecooks have a longstanding commitment to hunger relief, and we're pleased to be part of Menu for Hope this year.

Now, get out your credit card, and get ready to have some fun.

Anyone — and that means you — can be part of Menu for Hope, and I hope each and every one of you will join in.

For every $10 donated, you earn one ticket to bid on a prize of your choice, and the prizes are amazing -- specialty foods, gift certificates, cooking lessons, cookbooks, special events and more!

This year, The Perfect Pantry is thrilled to partner with Rhode Island Market Tours to offer our prize for this wonderful fundraising event:

Item #UE12: Two tickets to SHOPPING FEDERAL HILL: AN INSIDER'S FOOD TOUR, a three-hour walking tour of Providence, Rhode Island's, most famous Italian food neighborhood. Taste your way through "The Hill" as Cindy Salvato, an executive pastry chef and cooking instructor, takes you behind the scenes and into market and bakery kitchens, sampling bread, cheese, antipasto and vino along the way. Good for any scheduled tour before December 31, 2008 (tours run on Saturdays and some weekdays, throughout the year); tickets are transferable but not refundable.

This $90 value can be yours for $10 (hint, hint: the more tickets you buy, the more chances you have to win).

This walking tour is great fun -- I've taken it twice, and I really do feel like an insider now. In fact, most of the people on my tour were from Rhode Island and had shopped on the Hill often. Cindy tells you which is the best pasta, which store has the best Parmigiano-Reggiano, where to buy the best pannetone, who has the prosciutto to die for. Insider stuff -- enough to fill your own perfect pantry!

If you live in or near Rhode Island, or have family here, or are looking for a fun way to explore one of Providence's most eclectic neighborhoods, Item #UE12 Shopping Federal Hill makes a perfect gift, or a treat for yourself.

Buy as many tickets as you wish between now and December 21. There are lots of prizes to choose from, so if you've already taken the walking tour, maybe you'll like a restaurant gift certificate, cooking lesson from a famous chef, autographed cookbook, or specialty food products. Bid often, bid on one prize or bid on several different prizes!

To see all of the prizes donated by East Coast USA bloggers, stop in at Serious Eats.

To Enter
If you're interested in buying into the raffle, here's what you need to do:

1. Choose a prize or prizes of your choice from our Menu for Hope at Chez Pim.

2. Go to the donation site at Firstgiving and make a donation.

3.  Please specify which prize you'd like in the 'Personal Message' section in the donation form when confirming your donation. You must write-in how many tickets per prize, and please use the prize code. Example:

Each $10 you donate will give you one raffle ticket toward a prize of your choice.  For example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for EU01 and 3 tickets for EU02. Please write 2xEU01, 3xEU02. Example:

4. If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.

5. Please check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we can contact you in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone.

Check back on Chez Pim on Wednesday, January 9  to see if you've won the items you had your eye on.

Remember, each $10 you donate earns one raffle ticket for a prize of your choice, so now's the time to make your donation. Thank you for participating in Menu for Hope.

Photo by Chris Vaccaro, courtesy of Rhode Island Market Tours