PENELOPE CASAS
Tapas are more than savory appetizers. "They represent a style of eating and way of life," says Penelope Casas, whose
Tapas: the Little Dishes of Spain presents more than 300 recipes for the mouth-watering morsels. "So very Spanish, yet adaptable to America," she says, "they cross the line into what we think of as first course or main course dishes."
In chapters such as Tapas in Sauce; Marinades, Patés, Salads, and Other Cold Tapas; and Tapas with Bread or Pastry, Casas provides a definitive selection of the traditional Spanish bar food--dishes to pass out at a gathering, to serve on a buffet, or to make a party of. Readers wishing an introduction to this versatile food, and the culinary culture in which it thrives, will want this bestselling book.
The recipe array is vast. Sauce or ragout-like tapas include Shrimp and Mushrooms in Almond Sauce, Scallops with Cured Ham and Saffron, and Veal Meatballs in Spicy Chorizo Sauce. Endives Filled with Salmon and Shrimp Melon and Apple Salad are two examples of the many tantalizing cold tapas. Prawns Grilled with Garlic Mayonnaise, Lamb Brochettes, and the Three-Layer Omelet, a mixed-egg and vegetable tortilla, are hot-from-the-stove, show-stopping tapas. Including eight pages of color photos, a glossary of ingredients, menus, and a list of recommended Spanish tapas bars, the book is a complete tapas tour. Cooks at all skill levels will find dozens of these tasty little morsels to make and enjoy. --Arthur Boehm
1 Some good recipes but not for everyone
I love tapas and became hooked on them while living in various cities. There are some good recipes in the book and it is authentic, however there are lots of recipes that call for head cheese, pigs feet, lamb brains (I kid you not). Frankly, I am not interested in experimenting with food that consists of pig feet, etc. I ordered this book based on previous reviews, however I wish they gave me the total picture as knowing what I know now and the small # of recipes I actually would try I would not have bought this book.
2 Leading Title of both Spanish and Little Bite Recipes
`Tapas, the Little Dishes of Spain' by noted Spanish cookbook specialist Penelope Casas is one of my very favorite types of books which Ms. Casas has brought off with great success. It is part of his great influence on American culinary writing that even this recent book written after the death of Craig Claiborne, still shows his fingerprints as a major influence on Ms. Casas actually producing the book.
This is only the second book on Spanish cuisine I have reviewed, and it is clearly more valuable than the first, `My Kitchen in Spain' by Janet Mendel. While both Casas and Mendel know Spanish cuisine as well as anyone writing in English, Casas is a bit more of the scholar which shows in her deeper background information on the nature and origins of `Tapas' and the great variety of Spanish tapas bars in Spain. This variety should be no surprise to someone familiar with the Italian food scene, as it closely parallels the variety of `restaurante', `trattoria', `osteria', and `enoteca' in Italy. The book also benefits, I'm sure, from the firm hand of the `El Suprimo' of cookbook editors, Janet Jones.
A quick look at the book gives one the sense that it is a no nonsense collection of recipes with few frills and an emphasis on number of recipes rather than on the quality of recipe writing. This is a mistaken impression. The very first thing I did was to compare Ms. Casas' recipe for the tapas poster child, `Tortilla a la Espanola' with that in Ms. Mendel's book (which I have just finished making) and find that Ms. Casas' description is virtually identical to Ms. Mendel's with the added touch of suggesting to interleave sliced onions with the potatoes rather than just sprinkling in chopped onions. This simple change is eminently in keeping with the consistency you want, where you don't want the potato slices to stick together to create an undifferentiated mass of potato. Ms. Casas also adds a mini-recipe for a tomato sauce to the Tortilla, something I have seen with no other recipe for this dish. But then, I give credit back to Ms. Mendel for largely duplicating a recipe from a book that specializes in Tapas recipes.
Aside from the quality of the recipes, the large number of recipes, and the very informative introduction to the subject, the next best thing about the book is the organization of recipes into chapters that most easily distinguish styles of preparation and presentation. The chapters are:
Tapas in sauce
Marinades, Pates, Salads, and Other Cold Tapas
Tapas with Bread or Pastry
Tapas with Some Last Minute Preparation
I'm tempted to say that this organization could be have been taken one or two steps further. It would not have been hard to imagine all the frittata styled dishes to be in a separate chapter. The author warns us to not serve too many similar tapas at one party. For example, don't do too many bread based tapas at one time. This (and tapas in general) remind me of Thomas Keller's rationale behind small servings. He argues that the first bite impresses, the second bite verifies that the first was not a fluke, and with the third bite, boredom starts to set in. One could easily apply the same logic to using tapas as the basis for an entire meal. Otherwise, even if tapas are served in their usual role as a supplement to sipping sherry or other afternoon drink, they should still be kept small so as to not blunt the appetite for supper.
This book is an excellent supplement to Clifford A. Wright's `Little Foods of the Mediterranean', Joyce Goldstein's book `Enoteca', Anissa Helou's `Mediterranean Street Food', Diane Kochilas' `Meze' and Carol Field's `Italy in Small Bites'.
Highly recommended.
3 A Good Introduction to Tapas
This is one of Penelopes first books and in my opinion it rates a bit higher than ok. I don't want to be too harsh as the book is 20 years old but the downside is that it is poorly assembled with all of the photos at the center of the book and brief descriptions for each dish.
Having said this there are many many recipes (about two on each of 200 pages) making this a good source of ideas and information, but if you're planning on flipping through looking for a photo of something appealing, this is not the book for you.
4 One of my "Must Have" Cookbooks
If I had to weed down my cookbook library to just 5 books this would be one of them. I have been visiting, living, working & eating in Spain for some 40 years and whenever I read this book it takes me back to tapas that I have eaten & the bars I have visited. The recipes are 100% authentic and mostly easy to make - the anecdotes about the sources of the recipes fascinating.
5 Takes me back to my time in Spain!
I received this as a present - it has a wide range of tapas recipes with some photos. I must admit I am yet to make any, but have spent some time trolling the bars of Spain, and they all seem authentic. I have her Paella cookbook, though, which I do cook from, and those make excellent meals.
6 Could have been 5 stars
The reason this work did not recieve five stars was the lack of detail in giving quanities in a few recipes. I refer to the recipe on page 11 for the first example. Shrimp and Mushrooms in Almond sauce. It calls for 2 slices of onions ..does not give the type..could be white red or yellow...does not give the size of the onion or the width of the slices.
On the plus side there are many wonderful recipes and menus.
The spinanch turnovers are superb and two of the pates that I have tried are really worth the price of the book.
7 This is the one?
I've been looking for something like this for a long time. All recipe titles are displayed in English and Spanish. Ingredients and directions are displayed in English and converted over to the U.S. standards of measure. This is very helpful. If you have ever tried to convert a full recipe from metric to U.S. you know what trouble that can be. Recipes are very authentic of the Spanish Tapas I have ever had in my short 4 years of living in Madrid. Recipes are easy to follow and to understand. Includes helpful hints to make cooking and clean up a lot easer. For Example: The correct way to turn over a tortilla with out making a mess.
8 Delicious! A must!
I have thoroughly enjoyed this book, with its sensual descriptions of ingredients and menus. Truly a taste of Spain here! I gave a chef/ friend a copy for Christmas; and for New Years' she whipped up a dreamy Tapas party that sent our whole group into the furthest reaches of epicurean bliss. Everything she served came from this book! These recipies are flawless.
9 Fantastic.. Superb.. Wonderful.. Easy and Authentic
I have been to Spain with my Girlfriend a few times. She had lived there previously. She has this in HER library. I made a few of these Tapas for her and she loved them. She thought she was back in Madrid and Sevilla. They are very easy to follow, and taste great. I am getting this copy for myself.
10 Best book for making tapas
I love this book. I bought it after I got back from Spain. It has in it our favorite thing in Spain - garlic toast with squished tomatoes. We all loved this food and it is so easy to make at home. Basically your toast peasant bread slices, then grate on it some raw garlic, then scrape (or squish) a tomato on that, then drizzle on some olive oil. OH MY GOSH - is it GOOD!
The book also has lots of variety.
11 Tapas: The Little Dishes of Spain
I have been to Spain numerous times and-----This book is full of weird, hard-to-find ingredients. I did not care for it at all. However, her other book, The Foods and Wines of Spain, is great.
12 Fun and adventure in the kitchen
When I first received the book, I scanned all the recipies - so many to try. Just dive in and fix a few at a time. Most are easy and fairly quick, so preparing a selection for dinner is not a chore.
Plan your menu with dishes that sound like you will love them (shrimp with ground almonds is fantastic), and then throw in a couple you are not too sure of. Who knows, you may find your next favorite dish.
Straight forward instructions, color photos and a clear presentation make this book very "user friendly."
13 A book I would grab if my house was on fire!
Making and eating tapas is high art in Spain. The simple American 'appetizer' pales in comparison. I love the whole notion of hundreds of different delicious little morsels to be savored by friends with some sherry or why not even a glass of alberino... Such a wonderfully stimulating way to eat! -- Whether or not you have ever had tapas, you are certain to find several recipes to love in this mighty little volume. There are items to suit any occasion and number of guests, some can be served cold, some can be made ahead, and Penny Casas provides outlines of sample tapas party menus to follow if you find yourself too overcome with delight to be able to choose.
This book is the most authentic I've found and I will certainly buy future books by this author.
14 Our Most Used Cookbook!
The book is fantastic! We have tried about half the recipes in this book and haven't found bad recipe yet. Most authentic Spanish cookbooks tend to be vague but not this one. The book provides clear instructions and a little background information on where the recipe came from. Mrs. Casas tends to go a little lite on the garlic but these recipes provide a good start from which to make your own little adjustments. My only complaint is that we have worn the book out from over use! I wish there was a sequel to this very special book.
15 A treasure trove of tapas from all over Spain
A wonderful introduction to Spain's colorful and exciting "little dishes," this attractive cookbook provides the reader with an extensive range of tapas from many regions. The dishes described are as versatile as they are delicious, and although some are rather time-consuming, most are not complicated. A glossary of ingredients, shopping information, hints on techniques and utensils, tips for throwing your own tapas party, and carefully planned menus for a variety of occasions make this a very useful guide.
Also recommended: If you love tapas you will love mazzas, the "little dishes" of the eastern Mediterranean, a stunning selection of which is included in Sonia Uvezian's latest and greatest cookbook, "Recipes and Remembrances from an Eastern Mediterranean Kitchen." This extraordinary volume should be added to every food lover's "must" list!
16 "Tapas" has been a staple in our house for years!
Tapas are always a hit with guests. For parties, I usually choose a few tapas that can be make beforehand (ie, the maninated tapas) and then serve a couple of hot tapas that require last-minute preparation. Nothing could be easier! Favorite recipes include garlic shrimp, tortilla, those delicious bite-sized meatballls and marinated shrimp. I enthusiastically recommend this book!
17 Excellent book.
I am an avid cook. I have travelled to Spain, and every dish is correctly represented. I have made the Spanish omelete for Spainards who thought it was authentic.
18 Complete and easy to use.
I bought this book to do a "tapa party" for the our new years party. I have found the receipes easy to use with good results on the first attempt at dishes. The only complaint is that no recipe gives you a (starting) amount of salt and pepper. Each recipe is a guessing game and if you over salt, your dead. The book should give you a minimum to start with and then adjust as necessary.
19 Exotic but fiddly finger food
This gives about 300 recipes for Tapas ranging from the simple (marinated mushrooms) to complex (stuffed pigs feet vinaigrette), quick (5-10 minutes) to slow (5 hours). All look delicious but many are time consuming to prepare and use lots of small ammounts of ingredients. The time investment to prepare a Tapas meal is significant and requires commitment.
On the other hand, scaling up the quantities will give you great ideas for great tasting main meals.
The major criticism is that all quantities are in pounds, ounces, etc and translating these to metric units used outside the US is a pain.
