The Perfect Pantry®

Recipe for white bean dip (or sandwich spread) with goat cheese and herbes de Provence

On any given holiday weekend, an unexpected guest might appear out of nowhere to fill an empty chair at my table. Unexpected does not mean unwelcome, but sometimes it means a few rabbits need to be pulled from hats to stretch the food. At times like those, it's great to have some quick appetizer ideas that use ingredients from the pantry. Fancy up this quick-and-easy white bean dip with crackers, pita wedges, raw vegetables or slices of fruit. In other words, raid the fridge and raid the pantry; all the "rabbits" you need are right there.

Recipe for whole wheat macaroni and cheese with mushrooms and thyme

Not all that long ago, I had room in my brain for all the details I wanted to store there: birthdays, phone numbers, shopping lists, passwords, my car's license plate number, and the high-point three-letter Scrabble words. I also remembered who among my family and friends didn't eat strawberries, black olives, fish, dairy, stinky cheese, or green vegetables (bet you can guess that last one). Someone doesn't love mushrooms. I can't remember who, but I feel sorry for that person, because he (I'm certain it's a he) will miss out on this irresistible whole wheat mushroom mac and cheese when it appears on my Thanksgiving buffet this year. Whole wheat pasta isn't my favorite, but paired with woodsy cremini mushrooms and thyme from my garden, along with Gruyere or Danish fontina cheese, the more dense pasta seems so right. Serve this mac and cheese as a hearty vegetarian main course, or a side dish for any holiday meal.

Recipe for green chile cheeseburgers

Folks in Hatch, New Mexico, home of the famous Hatch green chile peppers and the annual festival that celebrates them, might not give first prize to my New Englander's version of a green chile cheeseburger, but the rest of you will swoon. For my husband Ted, and for Chelsea, my summer intern, and for me, it was love at first bite -- love at every juicy bite. I mix two pantry staples, canned fire-roasted chiles (from the supermarket) and shredded cheese, in with the beef, which keeps it moist. Then, I kick things up with a slightly-spicy slather on the bun, and a slice of melted pepper jack cheese on top. If any of my friends who've recently moved to New Mexico are reading this, how about a trade: this amazing recipe for a few cans of Hatch chiles? You know where I live.

Watermelon, feta and arugula salad with orange vinaigrette recipe

When I first started cooking with Chelsea, my summer intern, I asked her what she'd like to learn to make, and what ideas of her own she'd like to test. This watermelon, feta and arugula salad was the first dish she mentioned; the taste of a sample at a grocery store had stayed with her, and she wanted to recreate it. While it was easy to remember the salad components, the dressing posed a mystery, so we decided to create our own using a navel orange, a mint leaf, and pantry staples. The counterplay of the tart orange dressing against the sweet watermelon made us happy, and though I'm not a huge fan of arugula, I loved its peppery contribution to this salad. If this is what college students are cooking, I'm going back to school.