THE APPETIZER ATLAS:

A World of Small Bites

By Arthur L. Meyer and Jon M. Vann

In Spain, appetizers are called tapas, in France canapes, in North Africa mezze and in Hong Kong, it's dim sum. These days when so many of us order a couple of appetizers to make pleasing meal, this book comes just in time.

In the Atlas, authors Meyer and Vann, each seasoned chefs and experts in global regional cooking, track the history, geography and culture of foods from North America to Southeast Asia, from the Middle East to the UK. They are as professionals appealing to chefs as well as serious home cooks.

The physical arrangement for this 624-page, 400-recipe food book is superb. Twenty-eight chapters feature separate regional cuisines. They are sequenced geographically. Historical/geographical introductions open each chapter. The book's detailed 27-page glossary plus 20-page bibliography well document this important work very well. Each researched and kitchen-tested recipe comes with step-by-step instruction, handy chef notes, pointers on advance preparation and simple guidelines for expanding number of servings. Occasional color photos stimulate a good cook's appetite.

From North America's Southwest, find their Warm Cheese Dip with Chiles which is a savory blend of blanco, jack and longhorn cheeses, Roma tomatoes, chipolte chilies, adobo sauce, heavy cream and Ancho chili.

From Mexico, they present Wild Mushroom Turnovers with Tomatillo-Mushroom Sauce highlighted with epazote leaves and Serrano chilies.

From the Dominican Republic comes Rum-Marinated Fried Chicken Drumettes with soy, orange, lime, hot paprika and other seasonings.

From Costa Rico we find Angel Hair Pasta (Fideo) and Three-Cheese Flan which combines butter with farmer's cheese, Muenster cheese and Parmesan cheese touched off with a Serrano chili tomato sauce.

From Argentina they present Beef Pie with Apricots, sirloin served with pungent spices, wine, raisins and apricots.

From Brazil, exciting Bahian-Style Mussels come with malagueta chilies, lime, wine and coconut milk.

From Hawaii, Marinated Sea Bass in Lime Juice and Coconut Milk with the thickened coconut milk Thai green chili, green papaya and crisp greens.

From Malaysia, Sweet-and-Sour Eggplant Curry with Pineapple in Lacy Pancakes, a dish with many spices, hot red chilies, tamarind paste and fresh ginger.

From Korea, Korean-Style Crab Cakes made with soy, sesame, crushed red pepper, rice and a carrot.

From China, Pan-Fried Potsticker Dumplings made with bok choy, pork, water chestnuts, Asian sauces, dipped in a soy, vinegar, ginger, garlic, sesame and chili sauce.

From Vietnam, Shrimp Pate on Sugarcane and Lemongrass, a delight made from tamarind paste, soybean sauce, chili paste, peanut butter and roasted peanuts with a pate of shrimp, roasted rice powder, salt pork, mint lettuce, cucumber and jalapeno chilies.

From Cambodia, Spicy Pork Bundles Wrapped in Lettuce, made with galangal, red chilies, peanuts Thai chilies along with lettuce, mint, basil, mung bean sprouts, cucumber and leek.

From Thailand, Beef Meatballs in Hot Peanut Sauce made with red curry paste, thick coconut cream, peanut butter, Belgian endive leaves and dry roasted peanuts.

From the Indian Subcontinent, Curried Shrimp with Tomato and Tamarind, ghee, fenugreek, fresh curry leaves and Serrano chilies.

From the Middle East, Lebanese Steak Tartare, made with tenderloin, spices, mint and pine nuts

From Tunisia, Olives Stuffed with Ground Beef in a Spice Ragout, a dish made with Tabil spices, tomato, lemon, harissa, large Sicilian olives, toasted fennel seeds and Anaheim green chilies

From North Africa, Rice-Stuffed Dates Wrapped in Sole with Sweet and Sour Sauce made with white raisins, saffron threads, wine vinegar, orange flower water, cream of rice, almonds, ginger, Medijool dates and fish fumet.

From Scandinavia and the Baltic States (Sweden), Beef, Potato, Beet and Caper Sausage (Lindstrom's Beef) made with pickling liquid and paprika.

From Switzerland, Cheese Souffles in a Tomato Shell, Gruyere cheese and spices flavor the souffles baked in hollowed, large tomatoes.

From Italy, Pumpkin-Filled Tortellini with Rabbit Sauce contains sage, mixed spices, balsamic vinegar, dry red wine, Parmesan cheese and finely crumbled amaretti biscuits.

From Spain, Garlic Shrimp with Sherry. This simple dish uses Anaheim chilies to accent the sherry flavor.

From France, the simple Sauteed Duck Breasts with Apples and Calvados in Pastry Cases

From Scotland, Pheasant and Leek Pies with Port Cream Sauce, utilize juniper berries, heavy cream and crimini mushrooms.

The Appetite Atlas will make a valuable addition to any food book collection.

Marty Martindale, Largo FL, 2003


Disappointingly limited   July 12, 2003
 18 out of 32 found this review helpful

The Appetizer Atlas claims to take the chef on a world tour through hors d'oeuvres. It also claims to be useful for most professional chefs, caterers, and advanced home cooks. Neither of these claims is entirely true.

This cookbook will only really be useful if you want to serve a lot of meat. Admittedly, there are a few recipes in the book that aren't meaty, but 85 - 100% of the recipes from each region (i.e., Italy, North Africa, Central Europe) will contain *lots* of meat. And you won't just need the more traditional meats - you'll also need access to a full range of game and lots of fresh seafood to make good use of this book. While this is interesting, it isn't very practical in this time of fat-watching and calorie-counting, not to mention vegetarianism.

Also, this isn't exactly a thorough exploration of the world's appetizers. Most regions have 7 recipes. That means roughly 7 recipes from all of China, from all of Mexico, from all of Eastern Europe. This gets truly ridiculous in the "Indian Subcontinent" chapter, which claims to cover India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Bhutan, and Nepal. That's eight countries in seven recipes! It's no surprise that the book barely scratches the surface of anywhere outside of North America, which is divided up by into eight different subregions, each with its own set of recipes. The contrast between the treatments given to North America and the rest of the world only serves to heighten the skimpiness of most of the chapters.

This book may be of use to the professional chef or caterer looking for more showy, meat-intensive appetizers with a vaguely exotic flavor. Home chefs will be dismayed to discover chiefly recipes they can expect many of their guests to refuse to eat. And anyone looking for a real survey of the world's starters will be distressed by the limited content and depth of this book.


Excellent!   July 24, 2003
 17 out of 18 found this review helpful

Everything about this book is impressive. The recipies are exhaustively researched and every region begins with a several page very entertaining description of the factors affecting the area's cuizine. Here and in the recipies themselves you will learn the spirit and letter of enjoying food in different parts of the world.

Flipping the book open to any page, here's what you see: first, the name of region and sub-region you are in, a very interesting synopsis of the dish and what makes it special. Right below this, is a very helpful section called "Chef's Notes", which tells you the secrets of proper preparation and what pitfalls to avoid.

The format of the recipies is elegant and easy to follow. Advance preparation directions are especially helpful. Optional ingredients are clearly marked and possible substitutions are noted. The preparation directions are very clear, giving you confidence that the author's have actually prepared the dishes and know exactly what to do and when.

Nevertheless, what really shines about this book is the actual appetizers chosen and the helpful way the world is subdivided. Reading over the names of the dishes alone will be enough to get you excited. As you dig deeper you will be drawn into the style and flavor of the region. The detailed and complete recipies found in this book which are packed with real information about the area and how to cook it is infinitely superior to the glib and hodge-podge collection that often passes for a cookbook. Buy this one and you will not be disappointed!


Good Luck Finding the Ingredients   December 26, 2006
 13 out of 15 found this review helpful

I requested this book as a Christmas gift because of all the glowing reviews and I love appetizers for entertaining. My husband and I are always looking for new appetizer recipes and especially like ethnic recipes. This book seemed perfect.

Well, it's not. I do not doubt that the recipes taste good. They are probably also not very hard to make, but many, many of the recipes require ingredients that are not easy to find. Some of the meats used are venison, quail, dove, and baby goat. Many spices are also hard to find. I know that almost anything can be ordered over the internet, but I need recipes that I can go to the grocery store to get the ingredients.

If you have access to ethnic markets, you may enjoy this book, otherwise
beware that you may have trouble making a large number of the recipes in this book.

One other comment, there are photos in the book, but some of them are placed nowhere near the recipe they are for.

On a positive note: the descriptions of the different areas where the food comes from are very interesting and really add to the book. All in all though, I wish I had not asked for this book.


Excellent reference   June 7, 2004
 10 out of 13 found this review helpful

I bought this book to express my appreciation for Arthur Meyer's organic chemistry class. Oddly enough, I discovered that he had an entirely different life outside teaching.

The Appetizer Atlas is not only a comprehensize cookbook, but a good reference to the cutural aspects of cooking. Each section begins with a brief history of the geography and the culture of the region and how these contributed to the local cuisine.

Extensively researched and elegently concieved, this book is a smart buy.