Kitchen Cornerstone - The Pantry

What is a pantry?

In a perfect world it's a small room off the kitchen where you can store anything from dry food goods to plates and glassware to kitchen odds and ends.

Some of us know it as a cupboard above the kitchen counter. I've seen even a few spartan kitchens where it's a shelf over the stove with two items: salt and pepper.

Home cooks all over the country have some incarnation of a place they keep the items they need to make a meal. And if you don't my advice would be to get one.

The initial cost starting a pantry can be a little steep, but you will see a return on your investment and many of the items only need to be replaced or replenished every few months or in some cases once a year. And once you have all your base items, you can watch for great sales and take advantage of the special prices to stock up.

A start up pantry will mostly contain herbs, spices, canned and dry goods.

Some cookbooks, food websites and magazines will give sample lists of what the home cook should always have on hand to whip up a meal. I've gone through and put together a list of my own, things that I find helpful to have around and that as just a regular everyday home cook I actually use.

Martha Stewart may go through a lot of French green lentils and dried porchini mushrooms to warrant them making her pantry list, but I don't.

William-Sonoma recommends always keeping stone-ground polenta in house, but for me unless I'm making a specialty polenta dish, plain corn meal works for me.

So here's a quick list of things I like to keep around.

Canned Goods
Chicken Stock
Beef Stock
Vegetable Stock
Tomato Paste
Tomato Sauce
Diced Tomatoes
Black Beans

Bottles & Jars
Ketchup
Mustard
Worchestershire Sauce
Tabasco or Louisiana Hot Sauce
Mayonnaise
Spaghetti Sauce
Steak Sauce
Pickles

Oils & Vinegars
Olive Oil
Canola or Vegetable Oil
Grape Seed Oil
Red Wine Vinegar
Balsamic Vinegar

Dry Goods
Pasta
Bread Crumbs
Flour
Yellow Onions
Garlic
Shallots
Potatoes
Rice
Baking Soda
Granulated Sugar

Herbs & Spices
Salt
Pepper
Red Pepper Flakes
Cayenne Pepper
Thyme
Oregano
Basil
Sage
Bay Leaves
Rosemary
Paprika
Chili Powder
Taco Seasoning
Montreal Steak Seasoning

Baking Pantry
Flour
Sugar, granulated
Sugar, powdered
Sugar, brown
Baking Soda
Baking Powder
Vanilla Extract
Chocolate Chips
Cinnamon, ground
Cloves, ground
Nutmeg, whole or ground
Ginger, ground
Cream of Tartar
Food Coloring
Oatmeal, old fashioned or quick

Spices can be some of the most expensive ingredients when shopping for your pantry. A couple of tips I find helpful:

1. WAIT FOR SALES. A lot of times around Thanksgiving and Christmas stores will have good deals on spices because everyone is getting ready to do their holiday baking. Use that time to stock up for the rest of the year.

2. BUY IN BULK. If you know you go through a lot of pepper, look for discount pricing at Sam's or Costco or even your own supermarket for buying larger quantities. Sometimes it's cheaper to buy more.

3. KNOW WHERE TO LOOK. Some stores have more inexpensive spice selections than others. Hy-Vee has a section in the spice aisle of smaller discount priced items. Baker's has their own Kroeger brand that can be cheaper than a name brand like McCormick's. Bag and Save and Jewel have large plastic bottles of discount spices, but they are usually just common types like Black Pepper and Paprika. Even World Market can be a good place to find deals, a bag of whole nutmeg can go for a little over a dollar.

If there is anything I've forgotten or something that you like to keep in your pantry, drop me a comment and let me know.

Booze on a Budget

One of the major expenses when entertaining, alcohol.

It has a way of becoming a forgotten and sometimes hefty expense when planning a meal.

Recently I bought $111.95 worth of alcohol and wine at Jewel-Osco, but paid only $68.45.

How did I save $43.50?

By doing three things.

1. Watching Sales - Unless you absolutely have to have a certain type of wine or liquor, buy the sale item. In this case I had a very specific type of gin I need to buy, Hendrick's, which is usually rather expensive, but I waited for it to go on sale to buy it.
2. Use Coupons - Many times alcohol distributors offer in store coupons for their products. Keep an eye out for the specially marked bottles, sometimes the coupons are offered in addition to the store. For example the Hendrick's gin I purchased was not only on sale, but the manufacturer was offering a $5 off coupon with the purchase of ice and limes, which I needed for my dinner party anyway.
3. Buy in Bulk - At Jewel-Osco if you purchase 6 or more bottles of 750ml wine or liquor you receive 10% off your purchase. That is 10 percent off the TOTAL wine and liquor purchase. So not only did I get the Hendrick's gin on sale and get to use the $5 off coupon I also got 10% taken off the price.

I learned about the bulk savings from Susan, a Consumer Educator with Southern Wine and Spirits. Susan does tastings on weekends in the wine section of my local Jewel. Her company usually has people out educating shoppers like me at Jewels all around the Chicago area.

Susan is the lady that informed me that not only does Jewel offer a 10% savings on 6 or more bottles of 750ml wine, but that discount would also include any purchase of 750ml bottles of liquor.

Good to know for stocking up for parties or just an empty liquor cabinet.

Here's the breakdown for the gin:

$33.79 (original price)

- $4.80 (sale discount)

- $5.00 (coupon)

- $2.90 (bulk discount)

= $21.09 Total

Dining Out in Chicago on a Budget

Between the risings costs of gas and food and the uncertain housing market a lot of Americans are cutting back on their spending.

Expenses deemed as extras or treats are being replaced by items like necessities and savings. Just this week Starbuck’s announced that they will be closing 600 of their stores and cutting 17% of their work force.

Instead of picking it up on the road people are bringing it from home. And instead of going out people are staying in.

According to a recent study done by the research consulting firm Mintel,

“Seventy percent of those trying to cut back are saving money by going out to eat less”

Mintel goes on to report that people are opting not to go out to eat all together rather than order cheaper entrees or eat at more affordable restaurants.

“Over half (54%) of people who dine out regularly are
cutting back on restaurant spending”

Maybe this is an acceptable change in dining for other cities, but this is Chicago. A city rich with culinary options that are finally now getting the national attention they deserve.

We are home to some of the best culinary minds in the United States, some even say the world. Charlie Trotter, Rick Bayless, Gail Gand and Rick Tramonto.

And there are bright new stars coming up behind them. In its latest issue, Food and Wine magazine named two of our own as part of their “Best New Chefs” class.

Bravo’s critically acclaimed reality competition show “Top Chef” was based here and the woman that won the title of Top Chef, a Chicago girl.

So, even though the consultants and trend specialists are telling you to stay in, if smartly done you can still go out. And what meal doesn’t taste just that much better than one gotten for a deal.

Go on off nights – A lot of restaurants offer specials on nights earlier in the week. Half price wine night or specially priced entrees. Keep an eye out for restaurants that offer these off night values and take them up on it.

Eat in the bar – Sometimes a smaller more inexpensive menu is offered in a restaurant’s bar. It could be during their Happy Hour.

Prie Fixe – Chef’s will choose a specific menu and the price is set. It usually includes 3 courses, an appetizer, entrée and dessert and is priced about $25/person. It’s a great way to try out a restaurant that ordinarily could be out of your price range.

BYOB – No sweeter words were written than Bring Your Own Booze. There are a number of Chicago restaurants that don’t have liquor licenses, but are happy to serve you the wine or beer you brought in. Many establishments will open your bottles for free; some charge a nominal fee either per person, bottle or table. Great for weekend dining on a budget.

Steak Dinner for Two for $20

There's no reason you can't live large on a budget. It's all about picking and choosing the moments to indulge yourself.

With the help of some savvy shopping you can have
a Friday night steak dinner for two with all the fixings for $20.

Twenty dollars and only two stores.

Here's the menu:

Grilled New York Strip Steak

Sauteed Potatoes with Carmelized Onions

Steamed Broccoli Florettes with Garlic Butter

Fresh Corn on the Cob

Toasted Garlic Bread with Parsley

.

2007 Pepperwood Grove Pinot Noir

How do you bring all that in for 20 dollars.

Here's how:

Follow the deals and know where to look. Once the Wednesday grocery circulars come out start your menu planning.

First stop was Stanley's Fruit Market at 1558 N. Elston (the SW corner of North & Elston).

Stanley's is an amazing resource for produce. Their prices are beyond reasonable, I would highly recommend a weekly visit to their store for all your veggie and fruit needs.

They also have a great bread selection. Several local bakeries sell their goods there and Stanley's gets fresh deliveries from Cuisine de France. If you show up at the right time you can get bagettes hot off the truck.

In addition to fruits, veggies and bread, Stanley's has a small grocery selection with among other things, dried herbs and spices, their own brand of olive oil, chips, nuts and organic coffee.

Coffee isn't the only organic item. Stanley's has a large area set aside for organic produce.


The next stop is Jewel-Osco for the meat and wine.

My recommendation for shopping at Jewel would be to watch the sales.

If you see they are having a killer deal on something, get it. Get two if storage and expiration dates aren't an issue.

Some things can be kept for a later date, either in dry storage, the refridgerator or freezer, i.e. steaks and olive oil.

While some things are best not to load up on unless you can use them sooner than later, i.e. eggs and lettuce.

In this case Jewel was offering a deal on New York Strip steaks. I picked up two for just under 10 dollars. The wine was also on sale and with the purchase of two bottles there was an in-store coupon for 3 dollars off, bringing the cost to just $5.50 per bottle.


The rest of the herbs, spices and dairy come from home, don't worry they are all included in the final price. No sneaky hidden extras. It's all accounted for in the twenty dollars.

Here's the price break down:

2 New York Strip Steaks - $10
1 lb. small white potatoes - $ .70
1/2 lb. broccoli - $ .45
2 ears of corn - $ .40
onion/garlic - $.15
1/2 stick of butter - $.25
1 loaf of sourdough bread - $1.95
oil/herbs/spices - $.60
1 bottle of pinot noir - $5.50

Throw some nice linens on the table. Dust off the good plates and glasses. Light a couple of candles. Heck, put on your going out clothes for a swank night in.

Pull out all the stops. Just because it only cost twenty dollars doesn't mean it has to feel like it.

Do it up, even on a buttoned down budget, we can all live it up.