Fans of Cindy Pawlcyn'¬?s Mustards Grill have been making meals out of her sampler-size starters for years. In BIG SMALL PLATES, Cindy brings home the biggest trend in eating out, with generously scaled recipes that promise less fuss and more flavors than traditional appetizers. The wide-ranging collection of universally appealing recipes spans soups, finger foods, salads, scoopables, and even sweets designed to satisfy big appetites as well as grazers. An alternative to conventional, varietyless main-course cooking, Cindy's small plate recipes deliver the inspiration and reliability that make this new way of eating-and entertaining-practical at home. A cookbook of 150 sampler-size recipes from Mustards Grill, Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen, and Pawlcyn's home repertoire, in her signature all-American style with Californian and global influences. Includes 150 gorgeous food, ingredient, and location photos. Pawlcyn's previous book MUSTARDS has sold more than 60,000 copies. MUSTARDS won the James Beard award for Best American Cookbook in 2002 and was nominated for the IACP Cookbook of the Year Award. Reviews "Cindy Pawlcyn is all about big fun and big flavors."-San Jose Mercury News "Cindy Pawlcyn's rollicking Big Small Plates has a cornucopia of brightly flavored small dishes." -Boston Globe "As a basic guide to the wonderful fare served at Mustards and Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen, Big Small Plates has more than enough to go around." -Wine News "The kind of cookbook I just can't resist." -Oakland Tribune "[A]n ample selection of some of the more delicious tidbits you'll ever taste." -Sacramento Bee "Pawlcyn's new book focuses on small plates-tapas-in a grand way." -Baltimore Sun "Buy this book because the recipes are flavorful, diverse, and conducive to infinite applications." -ChefTalk.com "The Napa Valley super chef and entrepreneur's praiseworthy-and successful-attempt to bring the small-plates trend into the home kitchen."-San Francisco Chronicle"Anyone looking for first courses or cocktail party food recipes will find no lack of inspiration here."-Booklist"An enormously appealing book full of heart, and food that's refreshingly real and often adventurous."-Portland Oregonian

The executive chef for Table 8 restaurants in Los Angeles and Miami introduces a selection of innovative recipes for sophisticated small plates and cocktails that are perfect for occasions of all sizes.

Trained pastry chef, blogger, and mother of two Aran Goyoaga turned to gluten-free cooking when she and her children were diagnosed with gluten intolerance. Combining the flavors of her childhood in Bilbao, Spain, with unique artistry and the informal elegance of small-plate dining, Aran has sacrificed nothing. Dishes range from soups and salads to savory tarts and stews to her signature desserts. With delicate, flavorful, and naturally gluten-free recipes arranged by season, and the author's gorgeously sun-filled food photography throughout, Small Plates and Sweet Treats will bring the magic of Aran's home to yours. Fans of Cannelle et Vanille, those with gluten allergies, and cookbook enthusiasts looking for something new and special will all be attracted to this breathtaking book.

Discover the tastes of New Jersey childhood alongside the refined flavors that come from decades in the culinary world. Whether you know Mike Isabella as the tough-talking Top Chef competitor or as the -- chef behind hot DC restaurants Graffiato and Bandolero, you'll now be able to recreate his recipes: one part old-world inspired Italian, one part old-school Jersey, one part modern Mediterranean -- all parts delicious. Inspired by the food his Italian-American grandmother prepared, Isabella serves up 200 recipes for everyday meals that appeal to the heart and the appetite, with a modern twist. These "small plates" versions of Mediterranean classics are food that's original and accessible, authentic without being fussy. Isabella shares his secret family recipes, the dishes that made him famous on Top Chef, and signature meals from his restaurant, from Ricotta with Charred Scallion and Harissa to Grandma's Potato Gnocchi, Chicken Wings with Pepperoni Sauce to Carnival-Style Zeppoles. Whether you're a seasoned home cook or just starting out in the kitchen, you'll taste the pure joy these meals can bring. Delive ring lip-smacking food (and talking some smack while he's at it), Isabella makes Italian fun to cook again.

A collection of tried-and-true recipes and inventive new selections for bite-sized dishes, tapas, appetizers, and hors d'oeuvres for every occasion highlights flavors from Greece, Italy, Spain, Mexico, India, and beyond, and focuses on fresh ingredients, ease of preparation, and visual appeal. Original.

Small plates. Appetizers are the new entrees. . . . Call it the age of the do-it-yourself tasting menu." --New York Magazine * Imagine any-occasion entertaining made easy. Replace the tired entree with refreshing small-plate options and wine pairings. Small plates in the form of Middle Eastern mezze, Spanish tapas, Mexican antojitos, and Venetian cicchetti are usurping traditional entree-driven meals by offering greater selection and gastronomic fulfillment. To satisfy this growing niche, cookbook author Lori Lyn Narlock presents 50 delicious small-plate recipes and complementary wine pairings from the culinary experts at the Kendall-Jackson Wine Center, including celebrated chef Justin Wangler and winemaster Randy Ullom. * In addition to specific chapters on salads, vegetables, meat, seafood, and desserts, Narlock includes sample party menus accompanied by preparation plans, as well as tips on buying and serving wine, planning and executing entire menus, sample table settings and presentation ideas, and more. More than 50 appetite-inspiring four-color photographs illustrate Small Plates, Perfect Wines: Creating Little Dishes with Big Flavors. * Instead of languishing in a culinary quandary this holiday, consider flavorful pairings like Asparagus with Melted Brie served with sauvignon blanc or Duck and Spinach Empanadas with Persimmon Chutney complemented by a glass of pinot noir.

A Greek native shares the wonders of meze, its rituals, and traditions, introducing eighty recipes that can be used as appetizers or to create a complete meal.