Afternoon Snack/Late Night Munchie - Seafood Nachos

Cookbook: The Stocked Kitchen ™ by Sarah Kallio and Stacey Krastins
Recipe: Seafood Nachos, page 180

One of the things that most frustrates me about cooking for one person is the amount of stuff I have sitting in the fridge that I’ll never use again. The authors of The Stocked Kitchen call these remainders “crusty little soldiers,” and have created a system to eliminate the army of half-used containers from your life.

Based on real-life experience, the authors developed a system which suggests that—provided you stock their list of 100+ common ingredients—you can prepare hundreds of recipes. The ingredients are easy to find in almost any grocery store, and the cookbook comes with a magnetized list of ingredients to hang on your fridge door. They even advise you to purge the kitchen of items not on their ingredient list, and hint that the "system" would work for various dietary requirements. A snooty gourmand might turn his or her nose up at the list of canned ingredients and dried herbs, but a busy mom with young children and non-stop schedule would applaud. This is exactly what she’s been looking for.

Ingredient List

Is the cookbook sexy?

I bought this book about a year ago, and cooked a little from it with mixed results. I thought it was time to revisit and retest recipes. The book is hardcover and spiral bound so it’s easy to lay on the kitchen counter. The authors are non-intimidating (not a starched white chef coat or commercial kitchen in sight) and the writing is equally friendly.

Is the recipe fast & easy?

It’s nachos, right? Nachos are supposed to be easy. This recipe didn’t break that stereotype, but I did meet some challenges.

First, I didn’t have tomato, sour cream, or crab meat. I substituted salsa and chopped shrimp with no trouble at all. My four-pawed feline assistant Ivan approved of the shrimp; he’s always in the kitchen begging for samples or getting underfoot. Here's Ivan sniffing the shrimp aroma (and me in sweats.)

Here’s what the Seafood Nachos looked like before the oven. Not too impressive.

No oven temperature was given, so I was apprehensive. I have a history of burning nachos and sure didn’t want to repeat that this afternoon. Here’s what they looked like after about 6 minutes in a 400 degree oven:

Is the recipe tasty?

Yes! Although nachos don’t always make for sexy eye candy, they satisfied my afternoon need to munch on something crunchy. The dill and dried onion were particular favorites. And I surprised myself by not burning the cheese.

Your average home cook might not know or care who Thomas Keller or Grant Achatz is (it’s a pity they don’t, but that’s another subject.) They deserve to learn about this cookbook. Move over Rachel Ray and your 30-minute meals! Here come’s The Stocked Kitchen!