The Book of Appetizers

Very good recipes, excellent pictures (one for each recipe!), easy to follow instructions. You know I also have for these series of books, the books Cheesecakes, Chocolate, Light Desserts, Afternoon tea, and all of them are excellent.

Seven years ago my husband Dub and I sailed into Whangarai Harbour in New Zealand. On our way in I spied some friends or ours, Gayle and John, who we'd met in Tahiti. They were Kiwis and they were ending their five year circumnavigation, home at last. We anchored close to their boat and later dinghied over for sundowners (usually Coke and Rum). That evening, as usual, we told tall tales of our adventures at sea and we congratulated ourselves on being in this wonderful place at this wonderful time. Later, as we were saying our goodbyes, Gayle gave me her set of the Salamandar Book of Series Cookbooks. They are sold by HP Books in the States as paperbacks. Gayle carried these books around the planet and now she was giving them to me, complete with her notes (written in the books) on the recipes, how well she and John liked certain dishes, which were their favorites, how hard they were to prepare. She knew I was a cook and she thought I'd appreciate them. She was right. Like all the books in the series "The Book of Appetizers" is about five inches wide and about a foot tall, making them kind of unique among cookbooks. But one should not be put off because of the odd shape, these are real books and you can find mighty darned good recipes in them. Some really darned good ones in this book, some that some folks might find a bit strange or weird even, but if you give them a try, you just might find something different that is very tasty, something you might like, for example, the Herb and Garlic Mussels on Page 15. Mussels are hard to get used to, but they are good if done right and this recipe does them right. The potted Herb Cheese and the Ricotta Cheese Balls seem a little different too, but they are very good. Prunes with Walnut Filling. A bit off putting sounding to me at first, but I saw that Gayle and John liked them so I whipped `em up and delicious they were. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of good traditional appetizers in this book, but it's the out of the ordinary ones that make an appetizer the talk of the evening. Review Submitted by Captain Katie Osborne

In its roughly 50 parts, all written by experienced cooks and cook book writers, HP Books' "The Book of ... Cooking" series takes you to the cuisines of various regions of the U.S. and around the world; all in easy to follow, well-explained recipes. This installment, the Book of Appetizers presents recipe suggestions for all major types of starters, from seafood appetizers to dips and finger food. Special chapters are dedicated to pork, chicken, beef, cheese and egg appetizers. Classics such as assorted canapes and sandwiches, cheese bites, chicken satay, deep-fried camembert, dolmades, guacamole, hummus bi tahini, marinated mushrooms and artichokes, mini-pizzas, mushrooms and blue cheese, oysters Rockefeller, piroshki, quiche and spring rolls appear next to unique recipes such as anchovy beignets, bacon rolls, caviar croutons, chicken and leek rolls, chicken pistachio pate, gingered fruit kebabs, salmon and avocado mousse and crispy almond squid. From aioli and crudites to pickled vegetables and yakitori, this collection of recipes, while not all-encompassing, is a great introduction to the endless possibilities of starting a meal - and at a relative bargain price, to boot. Also recommended: This series' installments on antipasti and finger foods. Also recommended: Around the World Cookbook Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home: Fast and Easy Recipes for Any Day Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant: Ethnic and Regional Recipes from the Cooks at the Legendary Restaurant (Cookery) Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian: More Than 650 Meatless Recipes from Around the World On Cooking: A Textbook of Culinary Fundamentals (4th Edition) Textbook only Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition - 2006

I bought this book because I borrowed it from a friend, and I WORE IT OUT. Now I need to replace hers! I used many of the appetizers for my daughter's wedding reception. The presentation of the food is beautiful, and the ingredients are economical and easy to find. I catered the reception myself and my father said that he has been in some of the finest hotels in the world and they had nothing on the buffet I did myself. The recepies are simple to do. Each comes with full instructions and photo directions. I priced several caterers for close to the same type of buffet I did for my daughter. The cost would have been anywhere from $1000.00 to 1350.00. I did the whole thing for under $200.00 THANKS June Budgeon -- you made me a star!