Your Personal Spice Mixes

 Spices are a home chef's best friends. They add zing and oomph , giving any dish from dinner to dessert flavor. Imagine creating your own blends to be used as much as you like . You can. even the most complex blends can easily be replicated. 

Melissa Clark write the article and how to on them in today's New York Times Food section. She hits on some of the most popular such as za'atar and Chinese Five spice. There are a multitude of different recipes that are vital to flavorful cooking and baking. Best of all even a novice home chef can create these at home without any problems. Why make them at home? Because you get better flavors when you mix them yourself.  Also spice blends can be pricey, especially if you go for the organic ones.Once you've mastered the blends you can experiment with variations. Those that hate licorice can nix fennel seeds while those who love a good heat can amp up the chilis and peppers.Once made, keep the blends away from light and heat because they'll lose their flavor. Don't store them by the stove. Think a cool pantry or even your basement.As far as buying the spices, get them from a reputable spice purveyor. Ms. Clark has found out that spices tend to be passed from the distributor to the middleman , then stashed in stores for years before they finally get to the consumer. Try a company like the online Spice House for your basic blends (although they also sell blends too).

The blends are amazing and easily made. For those who make a lot of Chinese dishes, especially duck and goose along with pork belly there is the famed Five Spice. This is a mix of cinnamon stick or cassia bark, fennel seeds, star anise pods and Szechuan peppercorns. Cloves are added for a numbing sweetness.  Of course, there is garam masala, the must have for those who love Indian cooking. This is a marriage of black and green cardamon pods with mace blades, cloves and cinnamon sticks,Indian bay leaves are also added.One of the best spice blends out there is za'atar. This is flavorful mix of sesame seeds, marjoram, thyme and oregano, all dried. Sea salt is added to bring out these flavors. Then there's the lesser known Baharat blend. Cumin, coriander and peppercorns are ground with cinnamon sticks,cardamon, and allspice. Whole cloves, nutmeg and cloves are also put into the blend. This is an Egyptian blend that's great in meatballs and pilafs.  For bakers there's  sweet baking spice. This is a mixing of broken cinnamon sticks, cardamon, nutmeg allspice berries and white peppercorns. The last is for a jolt of heat that adds definite zing to anything you make with it. Try it in a shortbread recipe or to zing up hot cocoa and cappucino.

Mixing your own spices is a rewarding and flavorful way to flavor up recipes. Try these or create your own once you;ve mastered the basic recipes. They're a way to excite any type of dish , whether sweet or savory.

The Perfect Pantry

What makes a pantry perfect? By having   the necessary ingredients on hand. Surprisingly stocking one seems to be a lost art. Luckily there is a how to for both the novice and experienced home chef.

Julia Moskin tackled my favorite subject in today's New York Times Food section. A well stocked pantry is a must.As Ms Moskin writes a truly functional pantry is the key to more and better cooking. The contents have to fit the home chef's real world cooking style and skills.A traditional English and American pantry just had dry ingredients like flour, sugar and bread. These were stored well away from the heat of the stove or ovens. There was always a larder for cured meats and the foods preserved in it and a buttery for cider, beer and wine barrels called butts. Now all of these - even the alcohol can be stored in a pantry.The list has been expanded to include such modern samples like lemons and yogurt which can be stored in a modern pantry - the refrigerator. Keep in mind what Ms Moskin has is not a prescription but a proposal. What goes into your pantry is up to you but it is good to have a jumping off point.

The list is divided into three categories :essential, expanded and expert. It is definitely a keeper guide, especially for those just starting out in the kitchen. The essential list contains simple oils like olive and canola and the three vinegars. For produce make sure there is garlic, onions and potatoes. The freezer should be filled with veggies, meat and berries. The expanded list has more complex oils like coconut and sesame. Sherry is added too.The sauces run the gamut from hoisin sauce to anchovy paste and harissa. The spices have become more exotic, growing from peppercorns and red pepper flakes to garam masala and Chinese five spice. The grains and starches include panko crumbs and rice noodles. The expert is for the worldlier chef. The oil variety has been expanded to walnut and avocado along with fancier vinegars like tarragon. The dairy selection includes ghee, creme fraiche and aged cheeses such as Gruyere and blue cheese. Lamb sausages,merguez and edamame are for the freezer and baking has everything from bread flour to sparkling sugars.

A well stocked pantry is a chef's best friend. No matter where you stand experience wise you should have ingredients at hand. It makes for better cooking and eating.