Food Friends: Home Cooking Made Easy What's in Our Kitchen? 8 Must-Have Ingredients We Always Have on Hand
You know that feeling when you open your fridge at 5pm and think: Okay, what am I actually making tonight?
We’ve all been there. That's why today we're each sharing our top eight essential ingredients and the recipes that go with them. These kitchen essentials live in our pantry, fridge, or freezer at all times, no matter what. They’re the real workhorses that pull double and triple duty across breakfast, dinner, weeknight meals, and entertaining.
By the end of this episode, you'll:
- Discover why a simple jar of whole grain dijon belongs in every fridge, and how it transforms everything from egg salad to a creamy pan sauce for salmon
- Learn how two humble ingredients — shelf-stable milk and yogurt — unlock a surprising range of recipes, from a stack of perfect pancakes to a gorgeous 4-ingredient yogurt cake
- Find out why hoisin deserves a permanent spot in the pantry, and how it can become the star of a weeknight noodle dish that will become your new go-to
Press play now for inspo on how to stock your kitchen and make home cooking feel a whole lot easier!
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Links:
Yogurt for…
Green Goddess dressing from Love & Lemons
4 Ingredient Yogurt Cake by Dels Cooking Twist
And for ranch dressing, yogurt bowls, to make labneh, and more
Shelf Stable Milk…
Marcella Hazan’s bolognese sauce from NYT Cooking (unlocked)
Sonya’s rice pudding
Everyday pancakes by Mark Bittman from NYT Cooking (unlocked)
Jordan Marsh’s Blueberry Muffins adapted by Marian Burros for NYT Cooking
Mac and cheese (box or homemade), guests who need milk in their coffee or tea, for smoothies and overnight oats
Ground turkey or chicken for…
Sheetpan turkey meatballs with chickpeas from Smitten Kitchen
Or for Keema Shimla Mirch (Ground chicken with bell peppers) by Zainab Shah for NYT Cooking (unlocked), or Sonya’s turkey kotleti (small turkey patties), or taco filling similar to what Kari and Sonya make from Feel Good Foodie,
Mirepoix — aka carrots, celery, and onion…
Many great soups start with carrots, celery, onion: like classic chicken soup and Clean-out-your-fridge veggie soup from our Substack
Big pot of beans or beans on toast from NYT Cooking
Beef Stew from Spend with Pennies
Whole grain dijon mustard…
For classic vinaigrette like this one by Samin Nosrat from NYT Cooking
Sonya’s golden egg salad
Creamy mustard pan sauce from Serious Eats for salmon
Sonya’s herby potato salad from our Substack
Hoisin…
Soy-Basted Chicken Thighs with Spicy Cashews by Sam Sifton for NYT Cooking
Hoisin Garlic Noodles by Hetty Lui McKinnon for NYT Cooking
Slow-Cooker Pork Tacos with Hoisin & Ginger by Sam Sifton for NYT Cooking
Kimchi Chicken Lettuce Wraps by Alexa Weibel for NYT Cooking
White beans…
Spicy white bean stew with broccoli rabe by Alison Roman for NYT Cooking
Mediterranean white beans and greens from Grateful Grazer
Big bars of chocolate and bags of mini chocolate chips…
Bars of chocolate for any chocolate chip cookie recipe and Kari’s family’s favorite flourless chocolate cake by Tyler Florence via Food Network
Mini chips to make Zoe Francois’ Breakfast Cookies & homemade granola bars
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