Alex Guarnaschelli invites home cooks to discover this versatile kitchen essential
While many people are riveted by her culinary expertise and impeccable execution on her various Food Network shows, Alex Guarnaschelli is not always cooking in the professional landscape. At home with her daughter, the celebrated chef understands that a versatile kitchen essential can make a different in those everyday meals. With a few Ziploc Endurables in the pantry, the dinner time dilemma can be less of a struggle.
The constant question of “what is there to eat” can sometimes feel overwhelming. While there was a time when people had opportunities to spend hours prepping and cooking meal after meal, those moments have become fleeting. Even with the time block permits, there needs to be some thought seasoning the concept.
During a recent conversation with Alex Guarnaschelli, she spoke about how Ziploc Endurables have changed her approach to cooking at home. While she referenced how her mother decided what she would cook each day and was committed to the whole process, today’s family is a little different. From school to activities to just life in general, the reality is that convenience can be prioritized over that longer mealtime process.
Specifically, Guarnaschelli appreciates that some people might have that luxury time, but others need something a little more adaptable. In her household, the versatile kitchen essential is the Ziploc Endurables.
Whether it is a substantial amount of food prepped on a day, divided and frozen or portioned into individual meals, that container becomes both a storage and cooking vessel. When anyone in the house can grab a bag, heat it up, and enjoy a home cooked meal, it is a win every time.
In some ways, this type of versatile kitchen essential takes the pressure off. Guarnaschelli encourages people to think about the communal experience of cooking. While her daughter might be drawn to cook on one day but prefer something easy another day, that balance is part of life. By taking the pressure off the whole cooking experience, it can be more of a conversation about the hows, whats, and whys. Even though food is sustenance, it is more than just ingredients on a plate. There can be a purpose woven into the experience.
Removing that “need” or “have to” label is a concept that Guarnaschelli wants people to remember. Even though she does not wait around for her daughter’s organic desire to cook, she offers the tools to allow her to take that initiative when she wants. There can be moments when they join together to make that meal but there are also moments when her daughter can be self-sufficient, creative, and make something on her own. It all goes back to that idea that cooking should be a positive experience.
Guarnaschelli recounted how there are moments with her daughter where that home cooked meal just feels differently, it hits home in a special way. It can be as simple as making a cup of tea. There is a type of emotional sharing that happens over food.
While Guarnaschelli created some recipes for Ziploc Endurables, her upcoming cookbook with her daughter Ava is something that everyone will want to explore. Although the celebrated chef never pushed her daughter to cook, she is naturally finding food on her own.
The cookbook will allow cooks of all ages to build their repertoire recipes. From learning to build a pantry to how to create a recipe, it is the foundational components that can help anyone become stronger in the kitchen. With that basis, anyone can keep being curious about food and cultivate a desire to appreciate that time in the kitchen.
From the experienced chef to the novice cook, a versatile kitchen essential, like Ziploc Endurables, a willingness to be curious, and a desire to appreciate the communal experience can make the food and cooking even more fulfilling. While practice makes progress, it is the journey that flavors those precious memories.