Use those pantry items to make a meal, don't lose them

We asked chef John Bubala to make a meal from what was in our pantry. His approach . . .

I dream of the Barefoot Contessa. Or, more specifically, her pantry. If you've ever watched Ina Garten -- the Food Network's kinder, gentler, more genuinely nurturing answer to Martha Stewart -- you understand my lust.

Hers is everything a pantry should be (not to mention about three times larger than mine, which is actually just a closet) -- shelves neatly stocked with all sorts of dry, canned and jarred goods.

My pantry envy isn't debilitating. I function fine most days.

But it did kick in a few weeks ago, after I had asked chef John Bubala to come to my house and do a sort of pantry critique.

I also wanted to put him to work, to make a dish or two out of what I had on hand.

We all know that a well-stocked pantry is the key to making satisfying, often cheap meals.

In my Supermom mode, I cook all weekend, putting my pantry, fridge and freezer into heavy rotation. Or, I plan three or four days' worth of meals in advance based on what I know I already have. That way, I'll pick up only what I need at the store.

But in my weak moments -- and there are many -- I order takeout, skip leftovers for days at a time, rendering them obsolete, and ignore my pantry altogether.

Bubala, I figured, could inspire me to think more like him, more often.

Chefs don't waste. They use what they have. They use what the rest of us might throw away.

Bubala ran the restaurants Thyme (later Timo) and Baccala for 10 years. Now, he teaches students at Kendall College.

He also is dad to three kids, ages 14, 11 and 9.

Cooking from the pantry is "what I do every day," Bubala says. "I have between five and six o'clock every day, so I just go through the cupboards and say, 'OK, what've we got.' "

I tidy up my shelves and fridge in anticipation of Bubala's visit.

I'm tempted to toss out some items that are past their expiration date, but in the interest of keeping it real, I resist the urge.

A shelf full of dried mushrooms, rice noodles and other Asian ingredients -- I've dubbed it the Mom shelf, as it's become the repository for edibles my mother brings with her to cook whenever she visits -- goes untouched.

Bubala shows up with his 11-year-old daughter, Caleigh, one of his toughest critics. He keeps commentary to a minimum as he scans the shelves.

"Oohhh," he murmurs, picking up a jar of giardiniera. "Baked potatoes. This way, you don't have to put a lot of butter on it."

We talk about the key to any pantry: keeping ingredients on hand that make sense for you and your lifestyle.

Both Bubala and I are big on frozen peas and corn, dried pasta, peanut butter and low-sodium chicken stock (yes, I know I've argued previously for making your own stock, and I stand by my words, but still ... ready-to-use stock is a godsend).

Bubala also likes to keep frozen four-cheese ravioli (the Dominick's brand) and a wedge of Parmigiano-Reggiano on hand.

His kids never have been known to turn down the ravioli, and Bubala likes to grate the cheese over a range of dishes, including, as it turns out, one of the two he was about to cook in my kitchen.

"I'm a big one-pot guy," Bubala says. "I think of what I can use with one pan or two at the most."

Again, we're in sync. Frittatas and ragouts are high on my list of standbys that satisfy my two girls and my husband.

Bubala takes a partial bag of brown rice from the pantry. I tell him about the leftover Easter ham in the fridge. He's thinking fried rice.

Canned salmon, bread crumbs and an opened bag of lentils also catch his eye. He's thinking salmon cakes.

In my fridge, he takes some roasted potatoes and cauliflower puree from the previous night's dinner; scrambled eggs from that morning's breakfast; a block of tofu; half an onion, and some limp celery, three or four stalks at the most, that in my hands were destined for the trash.

"Sad celery is the best," Bubala says triumphantly.

He also finds a lone hot dog, part of my husband's take during a trip to our favorite butcher shop a few days prior. I'd already forgotten about that hot dog.

Bubala will use the hot dog to flavor the lentils ("Usually, it's ham bone with lentils," he reasons), which he'll pair with the cauliflower puree and salmon cakes.

In my freezer, he removes opened bags of corn and edamame.

The frozen vegetables, Bubala decides, will go into the fried rice, along with the scrambled eggs, roasted potatoes, leftover ham and tofu.

"Potatoes in fried rice?" I wonder aloud.

"Starch is starch," Bubala shrugs. "The biggest key for me at home is how to give [the kids] as balanced a meal as possible without them knowing it. If I cut the ham really small, I know every spoonful will have a pea, a bit of ham, tofu, potato."

The finishing touch on the rice? Bubala's favorite grated Parmesan.

"Kids love cheese, and it's salty, so you don't have to add a lot," he says.

As Bubala gets cooking, he tells me more about the inner workings of his home kitchen.

He shops at the same chain supermarkets as you and I ("I don't buy anything that doesn't get discounted on my [frequent buyer] card"), and at Stanley's on Elston Avenue.

He uses three knives (cleaver, offset serrated and 10-inch fillet knife) and three pots (3-quart All-Clad, 1-gallon WearEver and 10-inch nonstick).

When he buys a big piece of meat, a pork loin, for example, he'll cut it into 5-ounce portions and freeze them.

"People really have to buy less," he says.

I watch as he takes the tops of some of that sad celery and dices it for the salmon cakes. I know I would have tossed those celery tops in the trash.

"Times have changed," he says. "It's OK to be a saver."

Because it isn't actually 5 o'clock and there aren't any hungry tykes waiting impatiently at the table, and because I'm chatting at his side, Bubala takes his time cooking.

That said, the fried rice takes all of five minutes to throw together, with all the ingredients at the ready.

The salmon cakes could be made in the morning and fried up after work -- or done in the 20 or so minutes it takes to cook the lentils.

"There are no rules," Bubala says. "Just make sure you're touching the food pyramid.

"I think people try to do too much. Spend some time with your children. Introduce them to different flavors, different foods -- and I'm not talking Alaskan king crab and farmed venison. I'm talking basic food groups. Broccoli, zucchini, squash. Let your kids see you cut the niblets off the corn and cook it with some olive oil or butter. Let them see the flavors of the season."

When Bubala is done, he, Caleigh and I sit down to the meal. She's intimately familiar with her dad's fried rice. This version pleases her immediately.

"I like the potatoes," she says.

I do, too.

And I wonder: Maybe next time, Bubala will invite me over to his kitchen.