Stock

A well-stocked kitchen should, as the term implies, be equipped with plenty of stock. Get in the habit of making stock, even from your scraps, just to have on hand—it doesn’t have to be a big production. Other cookbooks will tell you how to make “perfect” stock, but I want to advocate making easy stocks all the time, rather than pristine stocks for special meals. Stock can be as simple as boiling your rotisserie chicken bones in a pot for a minute, turning off the heat, and covering.

Your stock will benefit from using meaty bones that are high in gelatin, as well as from the addition of vegetables or aromatics like onion, leek, carrot, fennel, bay, garlic, etc. Even if you’re making a nice stock, you don’t necessarily need to spend hours skimming and fussing over it. You can use a pressure cooker, or just throw a whole roasting pan with your components in the oven for a few hours at 300°F; strain through a chinois to remove solids.