Pantry shakedown!
After spending years in the kitchen, I find
myself spoiled with the myriad of ingredients just a phone call away
or a quick trip to the market... the chance to write specials and
cook them every night is a luxury for me as the kitchen churns out
the regular menu night after night through the seasons. Which brings
me to my point and your kitchen tip from me.... it's time to change
out your pantry. With this kind of variety in my pantry, I have
plenty of room to wiggle as I plan my menus and meals for my family.
By rotating in and out different brands of the same product, you
have a chance to try different levels of quality. You also have the
ability to keep your menus rotating, interesting and your family
excited to try new things.....
canned goods....
a variety of tomatoes, i.e., whole plum
tomatoes in juice, fire roasted crushed and pureed;
canned beans: black beans, white beans, kidney
beans. Canned clams and clam juice;
canned soups are essential....
canned Latin ingredients are great as well,
like enchilada sauces, canned chilies and other fun condiments to
spark up the meal.
oils.....
every style of cuisine has its specific oil....
peanut oil for Asian stir-fried dishes
olive oil for Western and Euro flavors
canola (vegetable oils) everyday
need-a-touch-of-oil-in-the-pan stuff
extra virgin oil for finishing dishes and
dressing foods at the last minute
fancy oils such as hazelnut and walnut are
great finishing condiments
and there are a host of other exotic fun oils
out there as well....
vinegars.....
there are so many different vinegars these
days.....like red wine, balsamic, rice wine, champagne and raspberry
and each of these have many different price points....I always go
with the middle to higher priced ones because the quality difference
is remarkable....
dry goods.....
the very basics besides salt, sugar and flour.
I like to keep....
panko bread crumbs, assorted pastas (especially
the small sizes like orzo or ditalini), assorted nuts like almonds
and walnuts, pozole and various dried beans;
a little rice.... again like the oils, every
style of cuisine has its own.... risotto for Italian, basmati for
Indian, jasmine for Chinese and short-grained calrose style rice for
Japanese and Korean dishes.
condiments.....
my fridge is filled with random condiments.....
it seems I always come home with a new one and purge another....
it's fun to keep them rotating.....
for example, at anytime in my fridge you can
find: American-style condiments like bbq sauce, ketchup, Tabasco;
Asian-style like black bean sauce, Thai curry sauces, varieties of
jams, miso paste, wasabi powder, anchovies, salted capers, kim chi;
...the essential mayonnaise and a selection of mustards and pickles
and olives.... apple sauce and other fun canned or preserved fruits
always make a pork dish shine....
lastly, just keep on hand what you need and
head to the store more often.....toss all your old boring dirty
bottles and rejuvenate your pantry.... now get cookin!
Waterfront Seafood Grill
2801 Alaskan Way, Pier 70
Seattle, WA 98121
206-956-9171
After
graduating from the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco and the
Diablo Valley College Hotel and Restaurant School in Pleasant Hill,
California, Peter went to work in San Francisco at such notable
restaurants as The Balboa Café, Harry’s Bar and American Grill and Blue
Fox before becoming the Executive Chef for Ciao Ristorante. Levine also
spent time working on the East Coast at Twenty-One Federal Restaurant,
Nantucket and in Washington D.C. apprenticing for the now-deceased,
four-star Michelin Guide chef, Jean-Louis Palladin in the Watergate
Hotel. He has made Seattle his home and has worked at Trattoria Carmine,
Isabella Ristorante, BluWater Bistro and Vivanda. In 2006, he joined
Mackay Restaurants as executive chef at Troiani Ristorante Italiano. He
moved to their Waterfront Seafood Grill in July 2008. He frequently
donates his time and culinary expertise to various local/national
non-profit organizations and events including FareStart and Cooking with
Class.