Staples + 5: 100 Simple Recipes to Make the Most of Your Pantry

by Tanorria Askew

Turn your pantry staples into something delicious.Nothing provides peace of mind like a well-stocked kitchen. Learn how to maximize your stores of beans, flour, and pasta with easy recipes that rely on a simple set of nonperishable ingredients supplemented by up to five additional items. Get dinner on the table without extra trips to the store, throw together a casserole for a neighbor in need, or entertain unexpected guests without added stress. You'll be ready for anything with 100 recipes for craveable comfort food to feed yourself, your family, and your community.Former MasterChef contestant Tanorria Askew shares recipes from her family's Midwestern table, drawing on a tradition of cooking she learned from her make the most of what you have, and share it with those you love. Stock your Learn how to thoughtfully stock your pantry and fridge with everyday essentials and emergency rations.Make last-minute Need to get dinner on the table quickly? You already have all you need.Perfect for Get a solid foundation in kitchen essentials and learn basic techniques with easy-to-execute recipes.Recipes Chicken, Mushroom, & Rice Skillet; Turkey, Black Bean & Sweet Potato Soup; Browned Butter Couscous Salad; Blackberry Cobbler

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction

161 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 23, 2021

About the author

Tanorria Askew is a chef, podcast host, and cookbook author. Her credentials are simple: she comes from the “Culinary Institute of Her Parents & Grandparents.” Born in Chattanooga, Tn., and raised in Indianapolis, Tanorria traveled often to be with loved ones. Growing up there was always entertaining and cooking, sharing and telling stories along the way. She got to witness, first hand, how food can build tradition and show love, compassion, unity, and fun.

Tanorria spent 15 years at Teachers Credit Union (TCU) before leaving to follow her culinary dreams. While at TCU Tanorria was the champion and practitioner for the institution’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Initiative, leading the charge in winning the Indianapolis Mayor’s Celebration of Diversity Award. She blended her passions for cooking and DEI to create Unity Tables, a safe space for women of different races, cultures, and backgrounds to sit around a dinner table and share their hearts as a way to create unity.

An avid home cook turned chef, she launched Tanorria’s Table right before a 2016 appearance as a contestant on MasterChef season 7, where she walked away as the fourth-best home cook in America and a true “master” of shrimp & grits in the eyes of Gordon Ramsey. While she won over producers, judges, and the country with raw talent and a sassy personality, she credits family traditions and Black foodways for fueling her success.

Since her appearance on MasterChef, Tanorria has built a thriving business and loyal client base in the greater Indianapolis and Chicago areas. Her personal chef services at Tanorria’s Table are highly sought after for dinner parties, celebrations, and other private events. As an expert instructor, her work also extends to engaging cooking demonstrations and classes for corporate and social events. She has had the privilege of speaking to audiences as a keynote speaker, emcee, and panelist about her significant career shift, anti-racism and social justice work, and the courage it takes to chase dreams. She also serves as the DEI Chairperson of the board for a non-profit called Slow Food Indy.

In January 2021 she launched a podcast, Black Girls Eating, with co-host Candace Boyd where they celebrate sisterhood, food, and Black culture. Later that year she was honored on the Indianapolis Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 List. Her first cookbook, Staples +5: 100 Simple Recipes to Make the Most of Your Pantry, published by Penguin Random House and DK, will be released in November 2021.

A seat at Tanorria’s Table will nourish your body with food and your soul with justice.

Reviews

[Denver Public Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

What could be better during supply chain woes than a cookbook that insists you cook from what you have?! Broken into five categories, Askew, a private chef and former MasterChef contestant, offers familiar and new recipes that take full advantage of your pantry. The Juiciest Turkey Burger You've Ever Had has roasted garlic aioli as a secret ingredient, while just a touch of honey sneaks into the Bacon Balsamic Brussels Sprouts. And I can't wait to make up a batch of Lillie's Sweet Potato Pie Bars which is based on Askew's grandmother's own sweet potato pie filling recipe. With just 35 pantry staples, you'll find yourself cooking up a storm. Full index included.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Staples + 5 is an intriguing and well written cookbook written by Tanorria Askew. Due out 2nd Nov 2021 from Penguin Random House on their DK imprint, it's 160 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.

This is a really upbeat and useful cookbook. The idea is to have a well and simply stocked pantry with a range of staples which can form the basis of a good meal with the addition of 5 ingredients (or fewer). The first section of the book gives a good overview of pantry and staple building with specific ingredients and dried items to keep on hand. The list includes expected food items such as dried pasta, beans, baking products, oils, spices and condiments, canned goods, proteins, and dairy. She covers tools and supplies as well.

The recipes are arranged thematically in chapters: appetizers & snacks, main dishes, side dishes, condiments & fixin's, and desserts. Each recipe is presented with title and description, cooking times, yields, and serving sizes. Recipe ingredients are given in a bullet list sidebar. Measurements are given in American standard measures only. Ingredients will be easy to find at any moderately well stocked grocery store in North America. The recipes run the gamut from simple comfort (flaky homemade biscuits) to fancy (crème brûlée,). Many of the recipes have a southern cuisine emphasis and are simple homestyle cooking.

There is such a warm, inviting, friendly, and sharing vibe throughout the whole book. It's charming and the author's voice comes through clearly: welcoming, kind, and inclusive. I was impressed enough with the writing and style included here that I made it a point to go back and look up some of her media output on Masterchef and her podcast. She's very funny and warm (and professional) and I've become something of a fangirl since reading this book.

Lots of good ideas and techniques here. Keeping a stocked pantry and adding fresh or seasonal ingredients to the year-round staples is a logical way to cook.

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[MookNana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yum! What an appealing collection of simple, accessible recipes! This isn't twee or fancy food--it's everyday, stick-to-your ribs fare, like the kind I grew up on in the Midwest. The recipes are clear and easy to follow. This would be a great cookbook for young people just getting started in the kitchen.

I would have loved pictures of each recipe (about a third have photos) but they all definitely sounded tempting!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

MasterChef Season 7 contestant, Tanorria Askew brings her love of food and family with her debut cookbook, Staples +5: 100 Simple Recipes to Make the Most of Your Pantry.

Starting with a properly stocked pantry, Tanorria shows you how to make show stopping, family and friend pleasing meals from what you already have in your kitchen, plus 5 fresh ingredients.

But Tanorria doesn't leave you without guidance on how to set up your pantry. She sets down a comprehensive list of what you should stock and why. Any chef knows the key to a great meal is great ingredients. The key to a great meal, fast, is having well-stocked pantry. And Tanorria shows you how.

But more than that, she shares the secrets of her recipes,and that secret is love. These recipes are all captioned with a story of how they came to be, or the family member that created the original, how it was passed down from grandmother to mother to daughter. From guacamole a friend craved while pregnant, to potato salad worthy to be included in the Church Ladies hall of fame, or her mother's decadent, Mom's Mac and Cheese, each of these recipes is built on love, and now passed down to you.

This is a soup to nuts cookbook, appetizers to desserts. It's a fresh take on Southern based, home cooking. These meals are to be enjoyed, and mostly, they're to be shared with those you love.

Thank you to NetGalley and DK Publishing for an advance copy of this book.

[EJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic cookbook of “basic” homestyle recipes with delicious and readily available ingredients, and with clear steps. Beautifully minimalistic cookbook with lovely photographs—and enough of them! We all know not to trust a book with too few, yeah?—that I’ll be gifting to my newly adult friends and family members.


Thank you to NetGalley and DK Publishing for the opportunity to preview this work!

[Amber Boos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lemon Spaghetti with Garlicky Roasted Shrimp! MAKE IT!!! Okay, besides that, there many easy and tasty recipes in this book. Most have a Southern flair to them and are very family-friendly. I had never heard of this chef, but will definitely be looking her up! Would have liked a few more pics, but not a deal breaker. Can absolutely recommend this collection!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Tanorria Askew and Alpha Books for this ARC!

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read an arc and I'll be buying this one. Recipes that I actually want to make and they look easy and delicious.

[Bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have nothing but glowing things to say about this book. It is the BOMB.com and you need to purchase it now. I had pre-ordered this book and then got an ARC from Netgalley and I was stunned and excited. Getting to taste these recipes and play with them before the release, I feel very lucky. EVERYONE needs this book, no matter what level of cook you are.

Here's what I've made and loved:
- Three Cheese Souffle
-Sea Scallops with Browned Butter Wine Sauce
-Lemon Spaghetti with Garlicky Roasted Shrimp
-Apple Pie Dip

You could cook and entire Thanksgiving day/Christmas day from this book and it would be the best you've ever made. The flavors blend together with depth. The instructions are easy to follow. It doesn't require any crazy ingredients. Get this book. That is all.

[joyce w. laudon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not watched Master Chef but the author of this cookbook was a contestant on that show. I assume that means that she knows how to cook when under pressure. Maybe that it what inspired this collection of recipes, all 100 of them; she wants others to feel confident and relaxed in their kitchens.

In the introduction, readers learn that the author has been influenced by both Southern and Mid-Western cooking. From her family, she learned the joys of having people come around for a meal. This background is reflected in the book.

There are helpful beginning sections on topics like what to stock in a kitchen, a list of spices to have on hand, equipment needed and more. The recipes then go in a traditional order beginning with appetizers.

Some of the recipes included are for Butternut Squash Fritters, Classic Deviled Eggs, BBQ Pork Belly Tacos, Pasta Carbonara, Chicken n Biscuit Pot Pie, Red Beans & Rice, Dad’s Baked Beans, Blackberry Cobbler and many more. The directions seems clear and there are photos scattered throughout the book.

For those who enjoy good family food, this book is worth a look. It may make you hungry though.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

[Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a Southern cookbook that tries to use up what you have in the pantry. I'm someone who likes to empty their pantry before going out and buying more. There are simple recipes like Deviled Eggs and Fried Okra in here that I believe will be delish! People have to learn to walk before they can run, so I think a cookbook should be have delicious simple recipes before having delicious complex recipes.

[Deborah Cleaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

A much shorter cookbook than I anticipated. It could have used more photos of finished dishes. A few recipes had more than +5 ingredients added to staple ingredients. In general, many delicious sounding recipes to try. Mostly home cooking family favorites. By far the most intriguing section involved creating master sauces to increase your cooking repertoire. The author completely makes you think differently about how and when to reach in your cupboards for staple ingredient combinations. There are several recipes that rest entirely upon staple ingredients. A book to make you re-examine how you incorporate and use your staples.

[Karen Hancock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost everyone keeps ingredients they use on hand in their pantry. Tanorria Askew takes advantage of these staples and shows readers how to do it at home in her cookbook, Staples + 5: 100 Simple Recipes to Make the Most of Your Pantry. The recipes in this cookbook make good use of the staples most of us keep on hand – she lists 35 ingredients that should be on your pantry shelves and some others that are nice to have (I was pleasantly surprised to find that I have everything in my kitchen from both lists). The ingredients are ordinary things such as flour, sugar, spices, potatoes, onions, etc., so it isn’t difficult to find them in any mainstream grocery store. Then Askew presents recipes using those staples as well as up to five other ingredients to create delicious dishes that almost everyone will love. The recipes have mostly southern roots with a bit of the Midwest thrown in, and there are some unique ideas for those who are tired of same old-same old boring meals.

Askew’s cute personality comes through in the chapters and in her notes prefacing each recipe, making this a fun cookbook to peruse as well as a fun cookbook to cook from. There are beautiful photographs of some of the dishes; the only negative to this book is that there aren’t enough. There are several recipes that should have been photographed so that cooks can see what the finished product should look like. Nevertheless, this is a good cookbook; it is well organized and the recipes are written in the traditional form so they are easy to follow. The ingredients are easy to find and it’s nice to know that most of them are already in the pantry waiting to be used.

If you are a cookbook collector or just like unique cookbooks, you’ll want to pick up this book.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

[Dom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has me itching to get into the kitchen!

Let’s be real, we’ve all planned on cooking something new only to return home from the supermarket realizing you forgot that one random ingredient. We’ve also all probably had to toss that one random ingredient you bought for a recipe and never used again. And yet, this book genuinely helps prevent those pains.

I won’t say this is the healthiest cookbook on the market, but boy oh boy does everything look and sound delicious. Of course all of that pales in comparison to the best aspect that this cookbook offers: easy meals that don’t require daily trips to the supermarket to grab that one obscure food you’ll never use again!

I love that this book presents me with recipes that are unique and new to me (like fried okra, butternut squash fritters, orange cinnamon French toast, and much more), but it also features some of her most popular and perfected recipes (like her competition fried chicken). And yet, it does all this by sticking to a really reasonable list of staple foods and spices that you probably already have in your pantry.

Plus, any “non-staple” ingredients you need to buy for a recipe are clearly labeled (making shopping easier) and the instructions are both fun and clear which makes the cooking easier too. This is definitely a cookbook to look out for if you’re looking for recipes you can make without breaking the bank too since most ingredients are likely already sitting in your pantry. I have seriously high praise for this delicious cookbook that takes a lot of the hassle out cooking.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the Publishers via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, but that I’m no way affected my review.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed looking through this cookbook. I did find, however, that not a lot of the recipes were my style. I am trying to cook healthier, and that makes me a bit picky about my recipes. I do think, however, that a lot of people will find this cookbook helpful. I do like that she emphasizes that you can always make good food with what you have, and that food is a way to show others our love.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I checked this book out of my library on a whim. I’d never heard of the author and don’t watch competition reality shows but dang the recipes looked appealing. I’ve tried about 9 recipes so far. Every one has been a hit. Pan seared pork chops and skillet cornbread will make a southern cook out of me yet! The author has earned my trust. I’ll be adding this to my cookbook collection.

[Kate TerHaar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is filled with so many recipes that are especially helpful when you think you have nothing in the house to eat. Using common staple ingredients I already have in the house plus a few (5) others I can create a delicious yet simple dish.

[Brittney Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cookbook is wonderfully written! You can really get a feel for the author and her family when you read through. The recipes are delicious. I especially love her Competition Fried Chicken and Mayo recipes.