Stocking the perfect pantry

At our house, dinner is frequently a culinary puzzle, solved by looking at the items in the pantry and finding ways to put them together.

Here are three staples you might not have thought of that we regularly pop in the dish du jour:

Tinned anchovies: "You can melt them to add richness to a sauce or a kick to salad dressing -- plus it has a shelf life of 'forever,'" says Dale, who is a great cook, in addition to being a wonderful husband.

Herbs de Provence: A blend of dried thyme, majoram, fennel, rosemary, basil. sage and lavender. The French cousin of Italian seasoning, except you can't quite tell what's in it. Way more sophisticated than oregano and super in omelets.

Prepared gnocchi, straight off the shelf at Trader Joe's: Cook in boiling water for two minutes, toss with butter and a handful of fresh sage leaves, torn in thumbnail-size pieces. Sprinkle with freshly grated romano cheese and a twist of black pepper. Serve to thunderous applause.