From Tapas to Meze: First Courses from the Mediterranean Shores of Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, and North Africa

I never would have picked this book up on my own, but it was recommended by a friend and I love it. The recipes are easy, delicious, and even though it says appetizers many are excellent as a main course. This is one of the books that stays on my kitchen counter because I use it so often.

This book offers something for all tastes. Most recipes are basic enough to allow for creativity, yet if followed, will yield excellent results. Also an excellent informational resource.

I got this book as a gift, in advance of a party I was planning (with a Mediterranean tapas theme). I tried three of the dishes and found the cookbook not only was easy to follow, but had some great culinary information in the start of each section. It is divided into regions (Spain, Southern France, etc). While some of the ingredients (like saffron threads) may be too expensive or difficult to obtain for a last-minute meal, most of the dishes are easy to prepare. I made the shrimp-stuff phyllo and, despite having never worked with the pastry before, was able to turn out attractive and tasty results. Two of the other dishes I tried had recipes for flatbread and pizza from scratch--but in the interest of time, I used prepared pizza dough. I found that the results were just fine, although I may go back and try the bread recipes when I have more hours to spend. All in all, this book has some great recipes, easy to follow instructions, and the foods are easily amended based on what you have in your kitchen. I recommend it for anyone who wants to learn how to cook Mediterranean food. Once I've cooked through these recipes, I have a hunch that I'll be able to go off on my own and create dishes loosely based on the ones in the book. It's not just a "how-to" book, but it is an education as well.