cover image The Stocked Kitchen

The Stocked Kitchen

Sarah Kallio and Stacey Krastins. Atria, $24.99 (326p) ISBN 978-1-4516-3535-5

Basing their recipes on their blog, TheStockedKitchen.com, Kallio and Krastins present a collection of 300 recipes that can be created using the ingredients from one standard grocery list; several copies of the list can be torn out from the back of the book. There are no specialty items, which the authors determined were a waste of shelf space and money; rather, the list consists of standard pantry fare like bread crumbs, chicken broth, cream cheese, peanut butter, ham, and marinated artichoke hearts, which can be found in any grocery store. Recipes veer toward throwback; appetizers consist of various things (artichoke hearts, pineapple, chicken, shrimp) wrapped in bacon, layered dips, cheese balls, and rollups. Salads are customized via homemade dressings like honey apricot, BBQ vinaigrette, and salsa ranch. Main dishes include pasta bakes, pizzas, and various meat-centric entrees like blue cheese and pear chicken, flank steak rollups, burgers, tacos, and seafood nachos. Many of the desserts rely on either boxed brownie mix or yellow cake mix. This book may be helpful for people who just want to get dinner on the table, but overall, it's a limiting cooking strategy that feels especially dated in an age when there's more access to more exciting quality ingredients than ever before. (July)