What’s in your pantry? Chefs share

By Laura Tonkyn, Journal staff | Thursday, May 08, 2008

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A phone call to Chris Coleman, a 30-year member of a local gourmet club who recently led a class on “Classic Ethnic Dishes” at a local kitchen store, finds her happy to open her refrigerator door and take a look around. That’s because much of her pantry is actually in her refrigerator.

“My refrigerator is full of very interesting things,” Coleman said. “I do an awful lot of ethnic cooking, so I do end up using what I buy.”

Coleman, who also teaches at Rapid City Central High School, hones in on two longtime residents of her refrigerator; yellow and red Thai curry pastes. “They will stay in my refrigerator door for years. They really last a long time, and I use them real often.”

Not necessarily in curry, however. “Last time I used it, I mixed it with some coconut milk and peanut butter, and that made a vegetable dip,” she said.

Coleman obligingly read the   curry paste label. “It’s got lemon grass, garlic, dried red chilies, coriander seeds, tumeric …” she said. “It’s made in Thailand, but I bought it at the Oriental Market on Main Street.”

But there’s more to Coleman’s refrigerator pantry (supplemented by regular kitchen space) than curry paste. Coleman likes to have olives, sundried tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, eggs and good olive oil on hand. “You can put together a quick pasta or almost anything,” she said. And then there’s garlic. “Lots of fresh garlic,” she adds. Another item always within reach – toasted sesame oil. “I keep it in my refrigerator,” she said, returning to taking inventory.

“I have a jar of chili paste that I have not used,” she said. The chili paste includes sweet basil leaves, she adds. “I used it for a recipe once and have not used it since.”

Coleman finds one more item tucked away in her refrigerator. “Here’s another one,” she reports. “Sauteed shrimp paste.” Luckily, this unusual item is not very expensive, according to Coleman. “It’s not like I made a big investment,” she said.

Teresa Ciani is an innkeeper, an outfitter and a lover of pantries. Ciani runs High Prairie Inn, a bed and breakfast establishment north of Whitewood, and also helps her husband, David, with his outfitting and guide business. Ciani also is an instructor at a local kitchen store, where she recently demonstrated recipes for “Company is Coming for Brunch.”

“I love pantries,” Ciani said as she studies the well-stocked shelves of her large edition. “I have my white and dark balsamic vinegars which I use for salads. Then there’s the “green peppercorns in a brine which I use for all kinds of wild game and pork.” There’s basil pesto, roasted raspberry chipotle sauce and “all kinds of gourmet crackers for last-second company.”

Ciani names off the chow-chow, a pickled sweet-and-sour vegetable, spicy pickled beans and asparagus and then pauses to spell out the name of one of her favorite items: Giardini. “It is wonderful,” she said. “It’s one of Chicago’s Italian specialties.” The mix of pickled peppers, carrots, celery, olives, cauliflower and more, all chopped fine, is produced by Greco. Ciani drains off the oil and sets it out for ham sandwiches made with Italian herb ciabatta bread she buys in town. “The guys just go nuts,” she said. “They love it.”

Also adding to the pantry magic is purple rice – packaged as Forbidden Rice by Lotus Foods – and available at local grocery stores, according to Ciani, who also relates the legend that it was only served to the emperor of China. “It’s really fun to cook with, tastes different and is really delicious,” she said.

But what about the must-have items in Ciani’s pantry? “Good cold-pressed virgin olive oil, fresh garlic, kosher salt or sea salt, peppercorns are the main ingredients I use for everything,” she said and then adds “really, really good Madagascar bourbon vanilla, vanilla beans, capers and lots of different nuts – pecans, walnuts, macadamias and hazelnuts.”

The list goes on – redolent of everything wonderful about food, cooking and kitchens. Talking about her pantry reminds Ciani about a series of books she loved to read when she was young – the Little House on the Prairie stories by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

“In the last one, when Alonzo and Laura get married, he builds her a pantry,” she recalls.  For Ciani, it just doesn’t get much better than a prairie pantry.