The Perfect Pantry

Other People's Pantries #18

From Annie (Undercover Cook), in Brooklyn, New York:

I somehow manage to cook and bake up a storm in my studio kitchenette. My entire apartment is just 230 square feet; my kitchenette is actually something like 2'x6'. Mini fridge, mini oven, and almost zero storage space.

Sesame oil (Recipe: squash and chicken soup)

The second of two posts about essential oils.

Sometimes you feel like a nut.

Sometimes you don't.

Sometimes you feel like a seed, which is just a nut without its hard shell.

Sometimes you feel like a seed that's been crushed and smooshed and toasted and pressed until the oil inside it dribbles out.

That's when you know how sesame oil feels.

Olive oil, and a very grand aioli (Recipe: roasted fennel with potatoes and onions)

Special thanks to Simmer Till Done, where you'll find a little interview with me today. And here is the first of two posts this week about essential oils.

Last weekend, in a cooking class in my home kitchen, ten students worked together to produce a Grand Aioli, a typical harvest feast held in villages throughout Provence.

I know what you're thinking.

A French harvest festival. In the middle of May.

In Rhode Island.

Oui, oui!

In Provence, traditionally, the farmers bring their vegetables, the bakers contribute bread, the hunters might bring rabbit, the fishermen bring... well, you know. And the women of the village make the aioli, the garlic mayonnaise that is the raison d'etre for the entire meal. And there is wine, and singing and dancing.

In northwest Rhode Island, the farm stand and supermarket provided most of the food. Bread came from a local artisan bakery, fish from the fishmonger, and herbs from my garden: beautiful chives, thyme and lemon thyme, tarragon and mint. There was music, but no dancing; it was too early in the morning for wine, and maybe for dancing, too.

The Brazil 13 (Recipe: cheese-y cornmeal cakes)

Please welcome Peter, chef and co-owner of Pousada do Capao, who with this, his first-ever blog post, joins The Perfect Pantry as guest blogger. An American living in Brazil, he will share his stories, original and local recipes, and photos, once a month or so.

Guest post by Peter in Brazil

I live in the interior of Minas Gerais, Brazil, but a peek in my pantry would never give me away. Could be New York, could be California. I have a small obsession -- I am a pantry hoarder.

I always wanted to run an inn with a focus on great comfort food. I never ever thought it would be in Brazil. How did I get here? Let's just say I was a misfit bank executive, almost empty-nester, with a knack for languages and a love for travel, who decided to celebrate his 50th birthday walking across Spain on the Camino de Santiago, and there I met a woman....

Other People's Pantries #17

From Annabelle, in London, England:

Here in London we are blessed with a superb range of ingredients on our doorstep... from all corners of the world. My store cupboard reflects this well with (among other things) Azafran Saffron from South Africa, Moderna Balsamic Vinegar from Italy, Le Saunier de Carmarge Fleur de Sel from France, Miso Soup from Japan, Tabasco from USA, etc...

Unsalted butter (Recipe: cardamom shortbread)

Here in The Perfect Pantry, I don't always set out to explore the intersection of food and art.

However, there are times when I can't overlook the obvious, when doing so would do you a disservice.

This is one of those times.

Oh, I could have passed up the butter-art connection altogether, and just gone for the culinary. I could have debunked the myth that unsalted butter is always better quality, fresher, and superior for baking.

Hoisin sauce (Recipe: grilled tofu with soba noodles)

If you heard about The Perfect Pantry on Martha Stewart Living Radio today, and this is your first visit, welcome. This blog looks at what a professional food writer (me!) keeps in her refrigerator, freezer, cupboards and spice rack -- with a recipe for each item.

Authentic Asian cooking requires a pantry-load of smelly ingredients.

Fish sauce (also called nuoc mam or nam pla).

Fermented black beans.

Shrimp paste (also known as belacan or blachan, which always makes me think of blecchhh, the sound you make when you're trying to expel a bug that flew into your mouth, which seems totally appropriate when describing the taste of shrimp paste).

Smelly, one and all, but absolutely necessary to achieve the real taste of real Asian food.

And then there's hoisin sauce.

Blissfully not smelly. Not at all.

Instant coffee (Recipe: espresso sorbet)

The nice folks at Martha Stewart Living Radio have invited me to be on the "Living Today" show, so when I saw Martha Stewart's Quick Cook at a barn sale to benefit our local library last weekend, I had to buy it.

Call it research, though the truth is that I am genetically incapable of passing up a cookbook at a barn sale. (Yes, if you must know, I bought more than one cookbook. Maybe three. Or four. And a book on origami. And an adventure board game for ages 8 and up. And some ninja turtle action figures.)

The book cover features a photo of Martha circa 1983, all pink and pearls and bows, and inside, photography that wouldn't make the cut in today's world of Photoshop and food porn. But as I leafed through, I found myself marking many recipes that really did sound quick-to-cook and drew heavily on a well-stocked pantry augmented by seasonally fresh ingredients.

Her sorbet recipe, a true pantry special (I'm sure Martha has the most perfect pantry), takes just five minutes of work and calls for instant espresso, which I always have in the cupboard. I don't use it to make drinks; I use it for making desserts, because coffee coaxes the best flavor from chocolate in dishes like truffles, triple-chocolate cookies, chocolate-espresso cake, cupcakes and little mousse cups.

Other People's Pantries #16

From Karen (Family Style Food), in St. Louis, Missouri:

I stopped by your blog again recently and became inspired to post about the awful state of my spice cabinet. After seeing your neatly arranged spice rack, I was a little pink in the face.

Allspice (Recipe: rhubarb-apricot chutney)

Next time I reorganize my spice rack, I'm abandoning my usual system.

Next time, I will not group the little jars into peppers, salts, baking spices, warm spices and leafy green herbs.

Next time, I'll sort my dried herbs and spices this way:

1. aphrodisiacs
2. miracle cures
3. brings prosperity and good fortune
4. used for embalming pharoahs in ancient Egypt

That covers just about everything on my spice rack, including allspice (a triple whammy: numbers 2, 3 and 4).