Even the best magician can’t produce something out of thin air. That’s an illusion. You need “something up you sleeve”, or in your hat. For a good cook (especially one with a busy life) you need a good back up of “basics” in your fridge and pantry, so when you decide on a recipe, or something just pops up, you have the foundations to make it.
I learned this in restaurants, even more so in off-premise catering, and exponentially so when working as a personal chef on private yachts. Like the Boy Scouts said: “Be prepared.”
Here’s a partial list of my staples:
Crucial supplies:
- Minced garlic in olive oil, roasted garlic and roasted garlic butter – yeah, you know those recipes that say “two garlic cloves diced”….I always read eight
- Good butter (for me I have unsalted, for the family I stock salted)
- Condiments: Ketchup, at least three mustards, mayo (I use olive oil based), BBQ sauce (usually one commercial a and jar of home-made), salsa, guacamole, a couple of pestos, diced hot pepper relish, fig jam (a great add onto a onto an on the fly charcuterie platter, or alongside a great blue cheese with French bread or on top of brie)
- Hot sauces – I list these separate from condiments because for me they take up a substantial space in my fridge. I have Tabasco (of course), but also Chipotle Tabasco, some super-hot Habanero sauces, a green pepper sauce, Frank’s Buffalo Wing Sauce, and probably a few more just for fun
- Lemon and lime juices, red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, distilled vinegar, balsamic vinegar, white balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, rice wine vinegar, champagne vinegar – OMG, just typing this I realize I am a vinegar freak!
- Chicken and beef bone broth, vegetable broth – plus chicken, beef and vegetable base pastes
- Arborio rice, brown rice and basmati rice, plus usually a couple rice mixes (I know, it’s a cheat, but when you commute you need a few cheats)
- Pastas – a couple long thins, a thick rigatoni and a smaller noodle for pasta salads and mac & cheese type meals, gnocchi (there are some good pre-mades now that will do in a pinch, but some good home-made in the freezer helps)
- Cheese – I have a couple different freshly grated cheeses, feta, Colby or some medium sharp cheddar and mozzarella. I don’t generally buy shredded cheese, but prefer to shred them myself as I don’t like the coatings they add to keep them from clumping.
- I always have red onions and Vidalia onions
- I usually have some small potatoes and a couple baking Idahos or Yukon golds
- White and red wines, Marsala wine, Madeira wine, brandy, port – okay so I don’t use these only for marinating foods, but sometimes for marinating the chef
- EVOO, an olive oil/canola blend, canola oil
- Truffle oil – I know, it’s an oil, but deserves its own line
- I also like to keep fig syrup and a balsamic glazing syrup
- Thai sweet chili sauce – a quick toss for grilled shrimp or chicken appetizer among other hacks
- Breadcrumbs – plain (I’ll add my own herbs and spices, thank you), and Panko
- Bottled pasta and pizza sauces – I am a big fan of Rao’s – no preservatives, no sugars, plain and simple
- Baking soda, baking powder, corn starch, active dry yeast
- Salt (table salt, kosher salt, sea salts, smelling salts (okay, I don’t really have smelling salts), pepper (I have coarse grind and table grind and peppercorns for grinding), white pepper, crushed red pepper flakes
- Fresh spinach and broccoli and asparagus and one or two types of tomatoes – always on hand
- Capers, artichoke hearts, black beans, tomato paste
- Anchovies
- Fresh jalapeños and pickled jalapeños (I know I’m a ‘hots’ freak)
- Herbs – I have an herb garden, and have fresh herbs all season. I keep a coffee cup with fresh parsley standing upright in water in my fridge covered by plastic – keeps about two weeks. I take the abundance of herbs in the summer and puree with olive oil and freeze in ice cube trays for fresh herb flavor all year
- Peanut butter
- Unbleached AP flour, bread flour, whole wheat flour, cake flour
- Confectioners sugar, granulated sugar, light and dark brown sugar
- Molasses and honey and real maple syrup
- Chocolate chips – milk, white, bittersweet and unsweetened
- Nuts – pistachios, pecans, almonds and walnuts (also shredded coconut) – okay, I don’t always have all of these, but a good selection still
- Powdered milk
- Pure vanilla extract (I found one from Mexico I buy in a quart bottle for less than the grocery store 3 ounce bottle), pure lemon extract, pure almond extract
- Soy sauce (low sodium), Worcestershire sauce (wow! I spelled that without spellcheck), liquid smoke
- Herbs and spices: I always have lots of granulated garlic and onion – I prefer the granulated to ground or salts. My spice cabinet is chock a block full. Chili powders (three), paprikas (two), cumin, dry rubbed sage, leaf sage, oregano, thyme, parsley, rosemary, basil, tarragon, ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, ground saffron, bay leaf, bay seasoning, ground mustard, fennel seeds and a bunch of add ins that I got for specific recipes
Okay, so I’m maybe overstocked a bit. No, I’m overstocked a lot! But, I can whip up a recipe, or try a new recipe without the fear that I have to run out for those pesky items. It gives me the ability to experiment and to “play” with a recipe