Tapas Bar: Casual Spanish Cooking at Home (Casual Chinese Cooking at Home) [Paperback]

Sophie Brissaud (Author), Yves Bagros (Photographer), Laurence du Tilly (Designer)

Book Description

Series: Casual Chinese Cooking at Home | Publication Date: October 2003

Only 20 years ago almost nobody discussed Spanish cooking. Things have certainly changed. Iberian ham is recognized as the best (and most expensive) in the world. Olive oil, with Spain as the largest European producer, is considered the healthiest and most beneficial of all oils and fats.

And most of all, tapas, those delicious mouth-watering appetizers, originally created to accompany drinks, have made their spectacular entry onto the global food scene. Tapas bars are multiplying everywhere. Tapas comes from the Spanish word tapa, lid, as they were originally served on small plates covered by wine glasses (to keep the flies away). A few slices of Chorizo, served with some olives is how the whole craze started. Undoubtedly, today's tapas are most memorable when served with wines of Jerez. The recipes in this book make it easy to prepare an unforgettable feast for your friends. The recipes allow for variations in quantities, permitting you to adapt your menu to the number of guests. Most recipes here are for traditional tapas. But there are no hard and fast rules. Any dish can become a tapa, when served in small quantity among other delicious tidbits.

Product Details

• Paperback: 119 pages
• Publisher: Silverback Books (October 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1930603827
• ISBN-13: 978-1930603820
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,194,745 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars More style than substance, July 6, 2004

By 

L. Galen (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tapas Bar: Casual Spanish Cooking at Home (Casual Chinese Cooking at Home) (Paperback)

This is a beautiful little book of tapas recipes, with tasteful art direction and lovingly photographed food. However, while it dazzles with presentation, and I enjoyed looking at it, I found the actual selection of recipes lacking. It might be good for a few dinner parties, but after that, you've pretty much exhausted the possibilities.

Perhaps the key is in the title: "Casual Spanish Cooking" - casual being the operative word. If you have a friend who likes to dabble in cooking and appreciates eye-candy, this book would make a great gift.

On the other hand, if you're looking for a real work-horse of a cookbook for tapas and other small Mediterranean dishes, check out Little Foods of the Mediterranean by Clifford A. Wright. With over five times as many recipes as this title, plus a wealth of supplemental info, it won't leave you hungry!