Life has taken a dangerous spin since we met Louann Zundel last February, the Des Plaines woman with the well-stocked pantry.

She is working at the Deer Park Williams-Sonoma, and that is risky business for someone who loves cookware and high-end ingredients as much as Louann.

"It's one of my favorite stores," she says. "I figured I might as well get a job there and get the 40 percent discount."

Louann's pantry is stocked with goodies like Nielsen-Massey vanilla, Scharffen Berger cocoa nibs and Penzeys spices.

"Unfortunately, my check doesn't come home too often," she says.

Best meal 2008: For my Dad's 80th birthday we had fried calamari, antipasto, chicken Vesuvio, mounds of homemade spaghetti with my homemade marinara, homemade Italian bread and incredible tiramisu. It was memorable.

Culinary goal 2009: I am not a fish eater, but I want to find ways to prepare it so I can enjoy it; I know how healthy it is.

Culinary dream: Go on a culinary excursion to Italy and France.

Best ingredient discovery 2008: Scharffen Berger chocolate; it has such depth of flavor. I even add a little chili to give a deeper, richer taste.

Favorite kitchen tool: My Breville citrus juicer. I like to reduce orange juice for salad dressings or make lemonade and Key lime pie without hurting my hands.

Funniest/worst cooking experience 2008: Making "footballs" for my husband, a recipe from his late grandmother. It calls for making "dough" from grated raw potatoes, riced cooked potatoes and an egg. The dough is wrapped around a cheese mixture in a football shape then boiled and served with browned butter and bread crumbs. They looked perfect until I boiled them; all the raw potatoes came apart and I was left with little mounds of boiled cheese. I strained everything out of the water, covered it all in butter and we ate what we could.