Books about Appetizers from Amazon.com

"'I can't cook,' I hear that all the time. And it's not that you can't—it's that you don't. It's that we've been wrecked by cooking shows with their millions of complicated steps and crazy-ass ingredients. Ingredients you can't find, let alone pronounce. That's not how I want to cook. I want to eat well, but I don't want it to take a year. Who's making stuff like 'Truffled Peruvian Mountain Squab with Chilled Framboise Foam' anyway?

"So this book is about food that's big in taste and small in effort. Just great-tasting stuff with no fancy techniques and definitely no over-the-top ingredients, as in everything-comes-from-a-regular-supermarket—cool concept, huh? It's just a bunch of recipes you'll easily be able to make and enjoy."
—From Sam the Cooking Guy

Look inside for great recipes like these:

• Cinnamon Pull-Apart

• French Toast Mountain

• One Dank Tomato Pie

• "Whatever" Spring Rolls

• Five-Minute Stir-Fry Noodles

• O.F.R.B.P.J.G.O.

• Awww Nuts!

• BBQ Chicken Pizza

• Halloween Chicken Chili

• Fridge Fried Rice

• Sam's Sticky Sweet BBQ Ribs

• Stuffed Burgers

• Pesto BBQ Shrimp

• Chili Salmon

• Motor Home Meatballs

• Spicy-ish Sausage Pasta

• The Great Potato Cake

• Brussels Sprouts You'll Actually Eat

• (Fake) Crème Brûlée

• Chocolate Toffee Matzoh

• Peanut Butter Ice-Cream Cup Things

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Price: $10.58 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Many of the best restaurants tantalize diners' palates with charming, intensely flavored tastes that tickle the tongue and delight the eye. A tiny serving to whet the palate, an amuse-bouche (literally, "mouth amusement") sets diners up for what is to come. Rick Tramonto, executive chef of Chicago's widely acclaimed Tru restaurant, is well known for his passion for and commitment to these bite-size treats. In Amuse-Bouche: Little Bites That Delight Before the Meal Begins, he shares the art of creating these miniature delights. While most people won't find many occasions to serve amuse-bouche at home, the recipes are easily adapted to become passed hors d'oeuvres, first courses, or even main courses. From Chilled Fava Bean Soup with Seared Scallops, to Blue Cheese Foam with Port Wine Reduction, to Charred Lamb with Truffled Vinaigrette and Oven-Dried Tomatoes, this book offers something for every taste. Surprisingly, most of the dishes are exceedingly simple to prepare, often consisting of just four or five ingredients. As might be expected, the success of the recipes is dependent not so much on involved cooking techniques or complicated combinations of flavors but rather on the selection of a few high-quality ingredients. Creamy Corn Grits with Butternut Squash and Sweet Corn, for instance, starts with ever-so-humble beginnings to ultimately showcase the bright flavor of corn and the hearty sweetness of butternut squash. With more than a hundred clever and inspiring recipes, Amuse-Bouche will surely not fail to amuse. --Robin Donovan.
Price: $20.10 [Notify me when price goes down.]

After the workday, in places like Seville, Milan, Barcelona, and other cities that dot the Mediterranean, people gravitate to wine bars to relax, meet friends, savor small dishes of flavorful food, and, of course, enjoy the local wines that perfectly complement the moment.

In Wine Bar Food, acclaimed restaurateurs Cathy and Tony Mantuano show you how to re-create this irresistibly appealing part of the Mediterranean lifestyle at home. Organized by city, from Lisbon to Rome, and paired with accessible wines from each region, the delightfully unpretentious, simply prepared dishes can be shared as small plates by many or make a sit-down dinner for two or more. The 100 recipes emphasize flavor and ease of preparation over strict authenticity, so you’ll be able to round up the ingredients effortlessly to create delicious meals any night of the week, including:

Flaming Ouzo Shrimp (from Athens)
Pork Ribs with Garlic, Chilies, and Tomato (from Naples)
Pea, Bacon, and Pecorino Salad (from Nice)
Amaretto Polenta Pound Cake (from Venice)

Rich with great advice on affordable wine gems and recipes for some killer wine cocktails, Wine Bar Food has everything you need to make weeknight dinners and gatherings with friends simple, fun, and flavorful affairs..
Price: $16.48 [Notify me when price goes down.]

In Tapas, a collection of 100-plus recipes for Spain's savory small dishes, chef José Andrés writes of journeying during his military service to Cádiz, in southern Spain, where he was "able to see the wonders of frying first hand." The passion that would lead an on-leave soldier to investigate a cooking technique infuses the book, which is something new under the sun. In chapters based on characteristic ingredients, such as fish, rice, and eggs, readers are introduced to authentic yet reproducible tapas of great and flavorful immediacy; these simple dishes, which include the likes of Tomato Toast with Spanish Ham, Pan-Fried Angel Hair Pasta with Shrimp, Slow-Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Cabrales Cheese, and Spring Leeks with Mushrooms, are instantly inviting. They'll also fit into a wide range of menu slots, as hors d'oeuvres, brunch and supper fare, or as side dishes. In well-written notes, Andrés provides context and something more--a sense of a living culinary tradition, which he loves, deftly presented to best advantage. Writing, for example, of the poor quality of most stuffed olives, a favorite tapa, he exhorts readers to make their own. "Simple ingredients prepared in a simple way--that's the best way to take your everyday cooking to a higher level," he says. Amen, and an invitation to cook--and understand--wonderful food. --Arthur Boehm.
Price: $21.35 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The leading guide to the professional kitchen's cold food station, now fully revised and updated

Garde Manger is one of the most important courses culinary students take—and it's often the first kitchen station that a new chef will encounter. This definitive guide has been thoroughly revised to reflect the latest garde manger trends, techniques, and flavors, including new information on topics such as brining ratios, fermented sausages, micro greens, artisanal American cheeses, tapas menus, "action" buffet stations, and ice carving. With over 540 recipes, including 100 created new for this edition, and more than 340 all-new photographs illustrating step-by-step techniques and finished dishes, this new edition of Garde Manger is an indispensable reference for culinary students and working chefs everywhere.

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Price: $38.98 [Notify me when price goes down.]

With Martha Stewart's Hors d'Oeuvres Handbook, Stewart, along with Martha Stewart Living food editor Susan Spungen and photographer Dana Gallagher, has created not just a handbook but a dream book. The first 225 pages consist entirely of beautifully photographed, exquisite nibbles, tastes, and bites--and the following 270 pages give you the recipes and instructions to re-create them at home. Pink and orange ribbons bound into the book allow you to easily mark photos and recipes. Only Martha and her staff would come up with something so beautiful and practical.

You can browse the photos for inspiration, or dive right into one of the chapters, all organized by presentation, such as "Layered and Stacked"; "Wrapped, Rolled, Filled, Folded and Stuffed"; "Skewered and Threaded"; "Bites and Pieces"; and "Sips and Drinks," just to name a few. Having a few friends over for cocktails before the show? How about Crispy Asparagus Straws, a delicious combo of asparagus wrapped in prosciutto and phyllo and sprinkled with Parmesan? The sophisticated flavors belie the ease of preparation. Have a little more time to prepare? The Jicama and Green Papaya Summer Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce are tasty and beautiful.

As gorgeous as this cookbook is, don't dismiss it as coffee-table cooking--several helpful photos show technique as well as finished product, and Martha's tips and notes are sprinkled throughout the text. For example, a lengthy sidebar on purchasing and preparing shrimp shares how to buy shrimp (the high quality of flash-frozen shrimp these days makes it perfectly acceptable), how to cook it (use kosher salt in your cooking water), and how best to peel and devein the little treasures. Similarly, reading the note on preparing phyllo will encourage even a novice cook to try her hand at Phyllo Triangles with Feta and Spinach or Curried Walnut Chicken. If you're planning a party and need fabulous finger food, you needn't look any further than Martha Stewart's Hors d'Oeuvres Handbook. --Rebecca A. Staffel.
Price: $12.30 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The tiki volcano is erupting all over again, and now Trader Vic's, the legendary purveyor of Polynesian food, drinks, and fantasy, wants to help us bring it all home. Step behind the bar and into the kitchen at Trader Vic's and learn how to create the kind of tiki magic that made the Trader famous. It's all here: recipes for 95 of the restaurant's best-loved tropical cocktails and after-dinner drinks along with more than 35 party-friendly recipes for pupus, tidbits, finger food, entrees, and desserts all adapted from the past and present menus of Trader Vic's. Dozens of tips and ideas for inexpensive, easy tiki decorating and entertaining at home are included, as is a guide to the basics of bartending equipment and techniques. Whether it's a blowout tiki party for friends or a spontaneous occasion to dust off the shaker, this book brings favorite concoctions from Trader Vic's into your home..
Price: $10.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Tapas are more than savory appetizers "They represent a style of eating and way of life," says Penelope Casas, whose Tapas: the Little Dishes of Spain presents more than 300 recipes for the mouth-watering morsels. "So very Spanish, yet adaptable to America," she says, "they cross the line into what we think of as first course or main course dishes."

In chapters such as Tapas in Sauce; Marinades, Patés, Salads, and Other Cold Tapas; and Tapas with Bread or Pastry, Casas provides a definitive selection of the traditional Spanish bar food--dishes to pass out at a gathering, to serve on a buffet, or to make a party of. Readers wishing an introduction to this versatile food, and the culinary culture in which it thrives, will want this bestselling book.

The recipe array is vast. Sauce or ragout-like tapas include Shrimp and Mushrooms in Almond Sauce, Scallops with Cured Ham and Saffron, and Veal Meatballs in Spicy Chorizo Sauce. Endives Filled with Salmon and Shrimp Melon and Apple Salad are two examples of the many tantalizing cold tapas. Prawns Grilled with Garlic Mayonnaise, Lamb Brochettes, and the Three-Layer Omelet, a mixed-egg and vegetable tortilla, are hot-from-the-stove, show-stopping tapas. Including eight pages of color photos, a glossary of ingredients, menus, and a list of recommended Spanish tapas bars, the book is a complete tapas tour. Cooks at all skill levels will find dozens of these tasty little morsels to make and enjoy. --Arthur Boehm.
Price: $17.88 [Notify me when price goes down.]

"The Culinary Institute of America is the nation's most influentialtraining school for professional cooks."
—Time magazine

The Culinary Institute of America is the nation's premier culinary training ground—the place where many top chefs and caterers have honed their skills in the kitchen. The school's emphasis on solid technique and rigorous hands-on training is widely respected and admired by culinary insiders the world over.

Now, in Hors d'Oeuvre at Home with The Culinary Institute of America, the experts show you how to prepare an impressive selection of bite-sized creations for any gathering. From skewers and dips to desserts, they explain the various types of hors d'oeuvre and walk you step by step through the techniques you need to create each one. Featuring more than 150 stylish recipes and 40 full-color photos, the book provides all the guidance and know-how you need to cater your own parties and dazzle your guests..
Price: $17.50 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Small Bites: Tapas, sushi, mezze, antipasti and more! By Jennifer Joyce"Small Bites by Jennifer Joyce is a celebration of a variety of delights; from tapas, sushi, dim sum to antipasti and many other kinds of finger foods from around the world. This no fu.
Price: $10.74 [Notify me when price goes down.]