Buddy's Pantry Basics

Aired on: August 1, 2012, March 19, 2012

When it comes to keeping your pantry stocked with the basics, Rachael shares her tip: "You should base your pantry on the type of cuisine you enjoy eating most often," she says. "I cook lots of Mediterranean food, so I keep lots of canned fish — anchovies, sardines — and I want olive oil and tomatoes, pastas — those are my basics." But, if you're an avid baker (which Rachael admits she's not!), you'll want Buddy's list of essentials. "A lot of these things you probably have in your pantry," he says. "It's just that you don't know that you can use it."

For the fridge
Unsalted butter
Eggs
Milk

For the pantry
All-purpose flour
Vegetable oil
Vanilla extract
Cake flour
Sugar
Powdered sugar
Unsalted baker's chocolate
Cocoa powder

Buddy says that with the staples above you can make vanilla or chocolate cakes, brownies, ice box cookies or pound cake.

To spice things up
Shredded coconut
Butterscotch chips
Chocolate chips
Sweetened condensed milk
Chocolate syrup
Mini bottles of alcohol or liqueur

Buddy uses these bonus items to create "Magic Brownies" — get the recipe here!