No comments about The New Appetizer - The Best Recipes for Today's Party Starters (Taste of Home, Retail price $24.95).

5 comments about The Appetizer Atlas: A World of Small Bites.

1. Everything about this book is impressive. The recipies are exhaustively researched and every region begins with a several page very entertaining description of the factors affecting the area's cuizine. Here and in the recipies themselves you will learn the spirit and letter of enjoying food in different parts of the world.

   Flipping the book open to any page, here's what you see: first, the name of region and sub-region you are in, a very interesting synopsis of the dish and what makes it special. Right below this, is a very helpful section called "Chef's Notes", which tells you the secrets of proper preparation and what pitfalls to avoid.

   The format of the recipies is elegant and easy to follow. Advance preparation directions are especially helpful. Optional ingredients are clearly marked and possible substitutions are noted. The preparation directions are very clear, giving you confidence that the author's have actually prepared the dishes and know exactly what to do and when.

   Nevertheless, what really shines about this book is the actual appetizers chosen and the helpful way the world is subdivided. Reading over the names of the dishes alone will be enough to get you excited. As you dig deeper you will be drawn into the style and flavor of the region. The detailed and complete recipies found in this book which are packed with real information about the area and how to cook it is infinitely superior to the glib and hodge-podge collection that often passes for a cookbook. Buy this one and you will not be disappointed!




2. I bought this book to express my appreciation for Arthur Meyer's organic chemistry class. Oddly enough, I discovered that he had an entirely different life outside teaching.

   The Appetizer Atlas is not only a comprehensize cookbook, but a good reference to the cutural aspects of cooking. Each section begins with a brief history of the geography and the culture of the region and how these contributed to the local cuisine.

   Extensively researched and elegently concieved, this book is a smart buy.




3. This 600+ page tome has a wonderful cosmopolitan approach and organisation to it's wonderful recipes for appetizers from around the world. The background information is very helpful and educational. The ingredients are generally readily available, prep time is reasonable, and instructions are clearly written. Although not necessary, I wouldn't mind if it had more photos in the book or on a website, as some of the appetizers are such appetizing eye candy!
   
   These recipes are perfect for serving at more formal "theme" dinners, and also for serving casual as "comfort food".
   
   The recipes, with simple to complex flavors, are a a great complement to such books as "Hors D'Oeuvres by Eric Treuille, which has even simpler recipes, more pictures, with more of an emphasis on bite-sized portions, ideal for fast and good appetizers. Enjoy both books!



4. I requested this book as a Christmas gift because of all the glowing reviews and I love appetizers for entertaining. My husband and I are always looking for new appetizer recipes and especially like ethnic recipes. This book seemed perfect.
   
   Well, it's not. I do not doubt that the recipes taste good. They are probably also not very hard to make, but many, many of the recipes require ingredients that are not easy to find. Some of the meats used are venison, quail, dove, and baby goat. Many spices are also hard to find. I know that almost anything can be ordered over the internet, but I need recipes that I can go to the grocery store to get the ingredients.
   
   If you have access to ethnic markets, you may enjoy this book, otherwise
   beware that you may have trouble making a large number of the recipes in this book.
   
   One other comment, there are photos in the book, but some of them are placed nowhere near the recipe they are for.
   
   On a positive note: the descriptions of the different areas where the food comes from are very interesting and really add to the book. All in all though, I wish I had not asked for this book.



5. I found very few recipes I was actually interested in making. We have "Appetizer" parties twice a year and I am always looking for good recipes. I could not find anything to add from this cookbook.

No comments about Cooking Chinese Style (100 Recipes).

1 comments about The Appetizer Bible.

1. Not my favorite, just not what I was looking for, but don't have a really concrete reason for being displeased. I have numerous appetizer cookbooks and sent this one back. Just not my kind of book.

2 comments about Beachbum Berry's Taboo Table.

1. Beachbum Berry's Taboo Table: Tiki Cuisine From Polynesian Restaurants Of Yore is a unique collection of South Sea themed vintage recipes that is enhanced with an informed and informative history of tiki cuisine from the first Polynesian setters to the last remaining Polynesian restaurants. From Crab Rangoon; Shrimp Luau; Chicken of the Gods; and Javanese Lamb Sate; to Shellfish Polynesian; Pitcairn Salad; Mai Tai Pie; and Molokai Mule, this compendium of dishes and drinks is a welcome and recommended, spiral bound and celebratory addition to any multi-cultural kitchen cookbook collection.



2. This book is a nice cross section of the Tikis of yore, with a focus on the food rather than the drinks (though there's a few). My only disappointment with this book is that the its fabrication is less than spectacular. Other than that, the content is great. When I cook with it, I'll probably just copy the receipes as to not risk damaging it.

No comments about Dine With Europe's Master Chefs: Appetizers, Main Dishes, Desserts (Eurodelices).

5 comments about The Diabetes Snack Munch Nibble Nosh Book.

1. This book had a lot of fun and easy ways to stay healthy and still be able to enjoy certain foods we crave!



2. A great book. Lots of healthy alternative snack choices for all occasions. I love it.



3. This book has made it easier to find tasty recipes that I can eat. I am loosing weight but not feeling deprived because I can snack and even eat desserts and the recipes that I have tried from this book have been tasty and easy to make.



4. It had some good recipes to try but for the most part not anything great. A lot of it is time consuming and not a "ready" snack.



5. Lots of great quick recipes for the diabetic.
   
   The volume I got has been evidently used by a 'heavy' smoker and still carries the scent. Nothing against this book, but the particular seller. This means I will buy more new and less used books in the future.

No comments about Cindy Pawlcyn's Appetizers.

1 comments about The Hors D'Oeuvre Bible.

1. Larousse is a classicist and presents classic Western cuisine in this book.
   
   The book is geared towards the professional in several ways. Firstly, it provides recipes for just about every type of hor d'oeuvre you could possibly imagine from the Western classical tradition. Larousse even includes a recipes for puff pastry. Secondly, Larousse assumes that you have mastered certain standard sauces like Mornay or Hollandaise. I think this is acceptable since the book already provides so much information on hors d'oeuvres that it would be unmanageable if Larousse tried to cover classic sauces. I recognized the names of all the sauces and the reader shouldn't have a hard time getting recipes for them.

1 comments about The World in Bite Size: Tapas, Mezze And Other Tasty Morsels.

1. I came across this book when I was looking for a book with recipes that would be more elegant and unique than a spinach artichoke dip or mozzarella sticks, in little parties with close friends. This book is exactly what I was looking for as the recipes are very impressing, elegant and delicious. The recipes in the book are very conveniently categorized according to the region they come from and being raised by the Mediterranean I can testify that at least the recipes pertaining to that part of the world are a good, even though small, representation of the type of food. Many recipes involve many ingredients which are not always the easiest to find and most recipes are time consuming , however almost all recipes on small bite size foods that are meant to impress and tease the senses in one bite (as they have only one shot to do so) are elaborative and require a lot of mincing and mixing and pureeing and all that. The result however, is SO much worth it. This is a book for whoever loves cooking and understands the dedication that good food that amuses and impresses takes, even when it is not a full meal. There is a recipe for every taste or international food preference in the book as unlike most other bite size books I have seen are more confined to the cooking traditions of one part of the world. My only complain of the book is that it has very few recipes, but after all its absolutely worth (and more) what you pay for it.