July 02, 2009

Frozen chicken breasts (Recipe: chicken with mango barbecue sauce)

Adapted, in part, from an archived post, with new recipe, photos and links.

Mangochicken2

Today I'm planning to bare my breasts.

Fear not, my breasts are absolutely G-rated, and they are an essential part of my culinary arsenal. More than any other food product, boneless, skinless frozen chicken breasts are the save-my-bacon ingredient I turn to week in and week out, whether I need to create a meal in a hurry or I'm cooking for a crowd.

Continue reading "Frozen chicken breasts (Recipe: chicken with mango barbecue sauce)" »

June 21, 2009

The not-yet-perfect pantry: What's missing? (Recipe: white bean garlic dip)

Whitebeandip

My friend Bob sent me an email last week:

So...... what's going to be the 250th ingredient in your pantry?

I know what you're thinking.

Continue reading "The not-yet-perfect pantry: What's missing? (Recipe: white bean garlic dip)" »

June 18, 2009

The Perfect Pantry's fridge, freezer and fresh: 73 essential ingredients

Pantryfridgeitems
Three ingredients in my refrigerator door.

As part of the celebration of the three-year anniversary of The Perfect Pantry, I've been sharing the inventory of all of the ingredients in my pantry.

We've had a good prowl through the spice rack and cupboards.

Finally, here are the pantry items I keep in my refrigerator and freezer, plus a few fresh items you'll always find sitting in bowls on the counter.

Continue reading "The Perfect Pantry's fridge, freezer and fresh: 73 essential ingredients" »

June 09, 2009

Frozen fruit (Recipe: pink yink ink drink)

A week of ingredients featured in kid-friendly recipes from the Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook by Georgeanne Brennan. Welcome to Dr. Seuss Week, Day Two.

Pinkinkyinkdrink

In our neck of the woods, berry season lasts for six or eight weeks a year.

Even if you don't have your own strawberry fields or raspberry brambles, you know when it's berry time, because PYO (pick your own) or U-Pik signs appear on electrical poles all over town.

For the other forty-four weeks of the year, our best option is frozen fruit.

I'd never choose frozen fruit over in-season ripe fresh fruit, but individually quick frozen (IQF) fruits, prepared commercially or in your own kitchen, frozen at the peak of ripeness, retain almost all of their nutrient value. IQF fruit is 100% natural, with no added sugar or preservatives. It's trimmed and washed, and economical to use. Take what you need, and leave the rest in the freezer.

Continue reading "Frozen fruit (Recipe: pink yink ink drink)" »

May 28, 2009

Frozen puff pastry (Recipe: asparagus and cheese tart)

I'm having fun updating some favorite posts from the archives, like this one, from the days when I didn't photograph the food I cooked. If you missed these posts the first time around, please enjoy them now. With photos and new links, too.

Asparagustart1

Pâte feuilletée.

POT FEH-YOU-TAY.

Just the thought of making something with such an elegant name scares the bedoodles out of me. If I hadn't watched Julia Child on television, smearing the butter and folding and turning and folding and turning again, making it all seem so utterly doable, I never would have tried to make puff pastry from scratch.

I did make it.

One time.

Then I discovered frozen puff pastry. Someone else does the smearing and folding and turning for you. Imagine that! Puff pastry any time, without devoting an entire day to making it.

Continue reading "Frozen puff pastry (Recipe: asparagus and cheese tart)" »

March 10, 2009

Frozen shrimp (Recipe: Blazing hot shrimp)

Chilishrimp

No matter where or how hard you look, you will not find a fresh shrimp anywhere in Rhode Island.

Lobster? Yes. Scallops? Of course. Clams? Dig them yourself, on the beach.

Shrimp? Nope, not a one.

New England may be famous for its shellfish, but our waters are too cold for shrimp (oh, you lucky, lucky folks who live in California or near the Gulf of Mexico!), so whether I buy shrimp at the best fishmonger in town or at the local supermarket, I'm buying frozen shrimp.

And because that local market is ten miles from my house, I keep a few bags of shrimp of different sizes in my freezer.

Continue reading "Frozen shrimp (Recipe: Blazing hot shrimp)" »

February 26, 2009

Phyllo dough (Recipe: phyllo nests topped with sorbet)

Baked Desserts Week, Day Three. 

Phyllonest1

Phyllophobia.

Fee low PHO bee yah.

Do you have it, the fear of phyllo dough, the fear of poking your finger through the paper-thin pastry and making a hole that cannot be repaired, the fear of letting the flaky dough dry out and crack, the fear of shredding the dough with a paintbrush as you add melted butter to each layer?

You are not alone. I used to be phyllophobic, too.

It's irrational, of course, like my fear of heights, or of mice, or of ham. But, unlike those fears, I've overcome my fear of phyllo.

And I'm so glad I did.

Continue reading "Phyllo dough (Recipe: phyllo nests topped with sorbet)" »

February 19, 2009

Walnuts (Recipe: walnut squares)

Walnutsquares

When I was growing up, my parents hosted lots of bridge parties. 

In the 1950s and '60s, card-playing evenings were all the rage. My parents invited one couple, or sometimes three couples, for bridge, cocktails and snacks. As these parties never started before 8:00, my brother and I were allowed -- no, commanded -- to appear in our pajamas to greet the guests ("Hi, Mr. and Mrs. So-and-So. Yes, it's fun to stay up late. Yes, I'm being good in school.") before we toddled off to bed.

On a tray table, within easy reach of the players, my mother set out bowls of Chex mix that she'd made herself. And whole walnuts, too, with a heavy nutcracker and a dish for the shells.

In the morning, my brother and I descended upon the leftover nuts. We didn't eat them; we looked for wrinkly faces in the wrinkly shells. Sometimes we'd find one that looked like my grandfather, or one of our teachers, or Richard Nixon.

Continue reading "Walnuts (Recipe: walnut squares)" »

February 10, 2009

Aphrodisiacs in the Pantry (Recipe: beef stew)

Beefrutabagastew

Two years ago, in February, I discovered bookworms in my pantry.

This year, the pantry is filled with aphrodisiac foods.

What's a girl to do when she finds foods of love hiding on her spice rack, in the cupboards, even in the fridge and freezer? 

Continue reading "Aphrodisiacs in the Pantry (Recipe: beef stew)" »

January 27, 2009

Pine nuts (Recipe: penne with roasted red pepper pesto)

Redpepperpestopasta

When I look out the window in front of my desk, I see pine trees.

And out the kitchen window? Pine trees.

And from the windows in the living room, bedroom, porch? Pines, pines, pines.

Pine trees everywhere, but not a single pine nut to eat.

How is that possible?

Continue reading "Pine nuts (Recipe: penne with roasted red pepper pesto)" »

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