Tips to banish boring pantry
Try these five easy essentials to accentuate your cooking arsenal
When I was growing up in 1970s upstate New York suburbia, my mother was renowned for her spaghetti and meatballs. The well-used recipe page, in her impeccable handwriting, was splattered from its proximity to one of her signature methods: She would fry onions in hot oil until golden, remove them and build flavor by frying meatballs in the same oil. This was my initiation to the world of cooking.
It expanded significantly when I got to college in New York City, where my foray into the expanse of global cuisine began with chicken vindaloo in an Indian restaurant. I really did feel like I’d gone to heaven, as much for the deliciousness as for a heat level so extreme that I thought I was going to pass out.
After more than 30 years, my romance with food has become as sweet as that vindaloo was spicy. I cook often for my husband, daughter, her boyfriend and friends at our home in Saratoga Springs. Their approving comments and requests for recipes inspired me in 2019 to launch my Ordinary Cook blog (ordinary-cook.com), with a vision of helping people gain confidence in the kitchen. In addition to blog posts with recipes, I also enjoy sharing some of my favorite products, which I call Pantry Essentials. Here are five that I always have on hand to help elevate an everyday meal into something special with little extra effort.
Tajin Clasico Seasoning
$5.99 for a 14-ounce bottle, available at Hannaford stores and online
I was introduced to this magical blend of chile, lime and sea salt during a trip to Mexico. What makes Tajin so versatile is its combination of limey tang and bright piquant notes. I use it in nearly everything I make:
gon and sparkling wine, though I always say Champagne because it sounds classier; and, for a red version, zinfandel with watermelon, berries, mint and black pepper. I’m working on one with sake, ginger and chile pepper, but it’s not yet ready for public consumption.
For me, the ideal balance involves wine, fruit and herbs. I added black pepper to the zinfandel variation to offer a bite that echoes the spice of a rich zin and offsets the forward sweetness of watermelon and the berries, which in this case was a mix of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. (The white granité, in contrast, calls for more sugar to tone down the lemons’ acidity.)
It’d be a waste to use a wine that costs more than $10 a bottle, but pick something you like to drink because after making the granité you’ll still have half a bottle left. And contrary to my colleagues’ jokes about being too tipsy to go back to work after trying Steve’s Boozy Snow Cones, the alcohol content of a few spoonfuls is essentially nonexistent.