The Impromptu Host’s Pantry: 20 ingredients for Last-Minute Gatherings
This week I am sharing what I keep in the cupboard to make last minute hosting stress free.
A hosting pantry should let you do a few things things:
Feed someone who drops in
Make something ordinary feel a little bit special
Help you relax when the doorbell rings and you weren’t expecting anyone.
If nothing else, it gives you peace of mind that you can pull together a grazing plate or a cake at a moment’s notice.
With only a few pantry staples you can whip up a grazing platter, or a simple, tasty dinner.
For Instant Drinks & Nibbles
Good crackers — at least one plain, one slightly fancy. I like the gourmet type crackers such as sunflower seed and date, or pumpkin seed and cranberry.
Add cheese and you have drinks-and-nibbles sorted.
Nuts — almonds, cashews or mixed nuts. Popped into a bowl, or on a cheese platter; instant snack. Nuts are also great in salads for the extra texture.
Dried fruit - apricots, peaches, apples, pears. Also great to add to a cheese platter, or served separately. For something delicious to serve with coffee, try dipping dried apricots and peaches into melted dark chocolate.
Olives — need precisely no culinary talent. If you want to give them an absolutely delicious lift, heat them in the oven with orange zest and fennel seeds.
Tinned fish — good tuna, sardines or smoked fish are excellent with crackers, lemon and something pickled. A dab of cream cheese and a sprinkling of chives is an excellent way to serve tinned smoked oysters.
A tin of tuna can also be the base of a good Salad Nicoise or Tuna and lemony cannellini bean salad for easy summer entertaining, or a hearty, nostalgic tuna pasta bake for a winter warmer.
Capers, cornichons or other pickles — little sharp things make platters and salads far more interesting.Capers are particularly useful for the last-minute pasta dish.See the pasta puttanesca suggestion below.
Jarred antipasto — artichokes, roasted capsicum, semi-dried tomatoes. A couple of jars can turn cheese and bread into an actual spread, or can be used on a pre-made pizza base for an impromptu pizza party.
Cheese; not really pantry as such, but having a couple of decent cheeses in the fridge will never go astray. A good pecorino can be served alongside bread and a glass of red wine for a delicious pre-dinner morsel, but it is equally as good grated over that pasta dish you’ve whipped up with the pasta and tinned tomatoes in your pantry.
For turning it into dinner
Passata - a good passata will keep for ages and pays for the storage by helping you whip up a delicious casserole or pasta puttanesca on a moment’s notice.
Tinned tomatoes — pasta, soup and casseroles..
Pasta — one long shape and one short. Pasta is the patron saint of I hadn't actually planned to feed six people yet here you all are.
Rice, couscous or orzo — something that can become a substantial side or salad.
Stock — cartons, concentrate or cubes. My favourite right now is the Vegeta brand of gourmet chicken stock powder. It adds a real savoury boost to many dishes, including a tuna pasta casserole recipe that I’ve found.
Good olive oil + a couple of vinegars — I'd choose balsamic vinegar every time.
Lemons - these are always in hot demand in our household. Useful for adding that essential acidity to many dishes, as well as a garnish to water glasses.
For producing something sweet
Honey and a good jam — cheeseboards, scones, toast, desserts.
I love looking for interesting jams at local markets. My favourite new find is rhubarb and strawberry jam, found at a Saturday morning market in the Clare Valley recently.
Flour, cocoa, sugar and brown sugar — because cake needs to happen. Happily these are also the ingredients for a chocolate self-saucing pudding recipe that’s been in the family for decades.
Baking powder, bicarb and vanilla — the unexciting things whose absence you discover only after you've started baking.
Chocolate. Served as is, or have chocolate chips on hand to help magic up a batch of brownies. Also useful to keep in case you want to dip dried fruit into it as an alternative to dessert to serve with coffee.
And let’s be honest, a handful of chocolate chips can rescue a flagging mood in a flash too. Paired with a spoonful of peanut butter you have something that can instantly transform the blues.
Dried fruit and chocolate never go astray.
For something to drink.
Tea — black, English Breakfast seems universally popular, as does Earl Grey. A couple of alternatives such as peppermint or camomile are thoughtful touches.
Hot chocolate sachets - not everyone enjoys tea and coffee, so having hot chocolate sachets on hand caters for them too.
Coffee — No further explanation is required. I keep decaffeinated coffee on hand too, for friends who avoid caffeine or simply don't want it later in the day.
Sparkling water — many people prefer it to still tap water.
A couple of shelf-stable juices or alcohol free wines or beers. Many people choose not to drink alcohol, so it is a nice touch to be able to provide a mocktail, or a non-alcholic wine or beer.
Mixers — tonic, soda water, ginger beer or whatever actually gets drunk in your house.
A selection of tea, coffee and cool drinks makes for easy entertaining.
None of this is about maintaining a perfectly stocked pantry just in case someone appears on your doorstep without warning. These are simply things we use anyway, and I keep them on hand because they give me options.
Crackers, cheese and olives can become drinks and nibbles. Pasta, tomatoes and capers can become dinner. Chocolate-dipped apricots and coffee can become dessert.
The aim isn't to have everything. It's to have a few things that can become hospitality.
Over to you:
What is the one item that has saved an unexpected gathering? Tell me in the contents below1
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