Company is coming! What do you stock in your pantry or freezer for quick fix deliciousness?

T

traca

Well-known member
Friends are stopping by. What do you serve? I have a few things that are in my "emergency" stash. I'm wondering, what's yours?

A few of mine:

Yesterday I gave a silent prayer of thanks for the chicken livers stashed in my freezer...and whipped up a quick batch of chicken liver pate.

Then, while rooting in my freezer, I found homemade black bean and goat cheese tamales. I readied a pot of boiling water, loaded up the steam basket with tamales and took a shower. They were ready when I was finished getting ready. (Super easy. For appetizers, next time I'll dedicate a batch for this purpose specifically, making them half the usual size.)

I found a terrific source for canned smoked salmon. Mix that up with a bit of cream cheese and butter, maybe some chopped herbs, a squirt of lemon (if I have it) and good to go.

And the Spanish Table has these amazing shrimp stuffed olives. I love to pop open a jar of those. The olives are buttery, not super briney. Honestly, I could eat a jar myself! I buy them in person here in Seattle, but they're available online too.

 
Naan, goat or mozzeral cheese, onions (carmelized if possible) for great , quick pizzas

great with pizza sauce too but not a must. Good with fresh figs too.

 
slice and bake cookies; slice and bake cheddar rolls "coins",

cashews, boursin, frozen coffee cake.
I too am stocking up for an upcoming family get together.
Good luck
Betty

 
I keep puff pastry around as well...for all kinds of instant snacks, hors d'oeuvres, desserts. They

always seem to look impressive without any effort. And whatever is lurking in the fridge seems to fit well as a filling or spread.

 
Life is slow around here, so it stays in the freezer. I agree that it is better if it has an

overnight to thaw, but sometimes 2 hours is the best I can get.

 
We usually have lots of notice when people come over (since the default here is to go out, it seems)

so I usually thaw it overnight--barring that, 90 minutes at room temp often works.

I've also been known to heat up nuts and cheese straws in the oven.

 
mixed nuts, wasabi almonds, pub cheese with horseradish, rice crackers, cream cheese, pepper jelly

or candied jalapenos. Costco guacamole, chips, salsa, smoked salmon

 
Curried Cheeseball. I like this stuff

CURRIED CHEESEBALL
1 pkg Imperial cheese (red container)
4 oz. cream cheese
1 teas. curry ( I use 'medium')
1 jar PATAK's mango chutney(mild)- cut up mango pieces
1/2+c. sliced green onions
1/2-1 c. blanched sliced almonds (not toasted)

Mix together soft cheeses with curry. Form into 2-3 balls, indent one side with thumb (holds more sauce). This is messy, sticks to hands. Wrap each in plastic and put in fridge (or freezer for future use).
Put ball on medium plate to soften. Spoon enough chutney (chop up the mango!) over to run over, depending on size of ball (more is better than less).
Sprinkle over onions; then almonds.
Serve with plain or sesame rice crackers.
Make balls according to number of people. I divide into two when I serve 14, with other hors d'oeuvres. Can divide into 4 balls for 4 evenings. Keeps in fridge for long time!!

 
I've made them with leftover scraps of dough--puff pastry or pie dough.

Wedge them together into some sort of rectangle. Roll out thin. Top the lower two thirds of the piece with grated cheese and a sprinkling of cayenne. Fold the untopped part over the topping, then fold the bottom up to make three layers, like a business letter.

Roll out and fold two more times. Let it rest (or freeze) then roll out and cut into strips. Twist the strips and place them on a baking sheet. Brush with egg, or not, and bake in a hot over-- about 425* They burn easily.

You can do the same with a sheet of store-bought pastry. Puff pastry is ready to go. If it's cheap pie crust, spread on some soft butter before the cheese. It's hard to go wrong as long as you don't burn them in baking.

 
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