The average home cook is proficient in a few dozen dishes. Eggs for breakfast, burgers for lunch, and maybe a roast chicken for dinner. There are index card boxes of family recipes and cookbooks in the cupboards. But for the most part, the recipes contained therein are well within the cook’s comfort zone.
There’s of course nothing wrong with that.
Everyone has different skill levels, tastes, preferences and time to dedicate to learning new recipes or picking up new skills in the kitchen. But the new Phaidon Books release, "The Book of Tapas" by the mother-daughter team of Simone and Ines Ortega aims to change that.
For the uninitiated, tapas are snacks, appetizers or small side dishes and are a major part of Spanish cuisine. The philosophy behind tapas is unique in that while meals are generally regarded as an opportunity to come together and break bread, tapas are more of a chance to socialize.
Small plates of bite size food are served, merely to sustain you as you carry on a conversation with those around you. The complete opposite of formal dining, tapas can be as simple are marinated olives and cheese served on crusty bread to as complicated or high end as lobster with Romesco sauce.
The book itself is an encyclopedia. More than 250 recipes on beaming, vibrant yellow pages with nearly 150 full page stunningly defined photos of ingredients and final dishes-- so stunning, it could double as a coffee table book. This collection of recipes, never before printed in English, encourage newcomers and veterans alike to embrace this staple of one of Spain’s most enduring culinary contributions to the worlds. Divided into sections ranging from cold to hot tapas, vegetarian, meat, fish, egg, etc, the authors include recipes for chefs of every stripe, taste, skill and appetite.
Thumbing through cookbooks is bound to make you hungry, and "The Book of Tapas" is no exception. The only difference is I was reading the book as I was eating my dinner. Thoughts of chorizo sausage in simmering red wine, avocado and prawn salad, homemade meatballs and potato croquettes were floating through my head as I picked at an otherwise perfectly fine meal that I had just made myself less than an hour earlier.
The book’s introduction, graciously and delightfully written by renowned chef Jose Andres, discusses his initial uneasiness with being the first to introduce the tapas style of eating to the American dining public more than 20 years ago. Co-author Ines Ortega reminisces about the tapas’ humble beginnings in Andalusia in the south of Spain. Small tapas of meat or cheese were given to customers to use as a cover for their wine. Continuing on, the authors include a thorough glossary of terms, words and phrases used in this style of cooking… an infinitely helpful feature that will have readers thumbing back after every recipe.
The book’s stunning full page photos begin early on, with an alphabetical journey through some of the most popular ingredients in Spanish cooking, from ajo (garlic) to langostinos (jumbo shrimp) to zanahorias (carrots). If the ingredients aren’t enough of an inspiration, the simple and accessible approach to tapas is as friendly and sociable as the tradition implies.
"The Book of Tapas" by Simone and Ines Ortega is available now and book stores every where and from Amazon.com.
PRUNES WITH ROQUEFORT, RAISINS AND PINE NUTS
Makes 12
– 3½ oz Roquefort cheese
– 1 oz pine nuts
– ¼ cup raisins
– 1 tablespoon Malaga wine or sweet sherry
– 4 tablespoons light cream
– 12 ready-to-eat prunes
Crumble the Roquefort into a bowl and mash lightly with a fork. Add the pine nuts, raisins, wine or sherry and cream and mix to a paste. Remove the pits (stones) from the prunes and fill the cavities with the Roquefort paste. Close the prunes and secure with a wooden toothpick (cocktail stick). Put the prunes on a plate, cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving.
Note: To use standard prunes, soak them in warm water to rehydrate them, following the directions on the package, then remove the pits.
Shared with permission from The Book of Tapas by Simone and Inés Ortega, published by Phaidon Press, 2010, $39.95, www.phaidon.com.
Dine & Cook is the definition of a grassroots effort. Get involved, submit your articles! 
Stay tuned to Dine & Cook for the latest food and beverage book reviews.
Like beer? Well you're in luck, Dine & Cook's beer writer is also a homebrewer.