How To Make The Most Of Your Pantry-Based Easter Dinner, From An Iron Chef

For those of us who aren't professional chefs, Forgione also gave us a few useful pieces of advice for making the most of your pantry and getting inspired to work with what you have. Here are his four tips:

"Dust off a cookbook that you haven't read in a while," he said. "You can always substitute stuff." While substitutions may seem daunting at first, he assures they don't need to be: "If a recipe calls for maybe chopped parsley and you don’t have parsley but you have dried oregano in your pantry—use the dried oregano; have fun with it."

Don't have a stack of aesthetically pleasing but oft-ignored cookbooks available? This is a time social media can help. "In today's new normal, if you go on my Instagram or other chefs' Instagrams," explained Forgione, "right now people are kind of showing people how to do it." There's no better place to find inspiration than from the experts.

It's easy to get attached to the idea of a big holiday dinner, but while we're all trying to make our resources last, it's important to remember that you're just cooking for who's there. "Maybe you're only cooking for two...it's almost like you make everything mini," said Forgione. "Instead of making a giant side dish like ramps or carrots, you do one roasted carrot and a small bowl filled with spring greens."

"Celebrate with the people you love. Because at the end of the day, that's what it's about," he said. "Food is what brings us together, but it's about getting together with the people that you can. Do what you have to do with Zoom, and if you're lucky enough to live with somebody you love, set up the table."