No one does antojitos (Mexican small plates)like Barbara Sibley and Margaritte Malfy, chef/owners of the fabulously popular La Palapa restaurants in Greenwich Village. In Antojitos , their first cookbook, Sibley and Malfy deliver addictively authentic Mexican fare–food for people who love fresh, soulful cooking. You’ll find 75 luscious small plates, scintillating salsas, and refreshing drinks–and a few perfect desserts. Get inspired by their classic Salsa Verde; crunchy, cheesy Chalupas con Chorizo; succulent Salmon Ceviche with Fresh Mango Salsa; earthy Crepas de Huitlacoche; spicy, ruby-red Hibiscus Margaritas with Piquín Chile Salt; silky, fragrant Kahlúa and Vanilla Flan; and many more. This is ideal party food, and Antojitos follows through with sidebars on Mexican cooking and entertaining, along with five suggested menus for themed parties: Año Nuevo (New Years), Cumpleaños (Birthday), Cinco de Mayo, Día de las Madres (Mother’s Day), and Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Dozens of glorious food photographs round out the book. Authentic Mexican food has never looked so inviting, stylish, and fun. "Barbara Sibley and Margaritte Malfy introduce the uninitiated to the requisite snacks that go well with tequila. Recipes in Antojitos: Festive and Flavorful Mexican Small Plates use readily available ingredients to create vibrant flavors. Learn how to make numerous salsas, some raw, others using charred and roasted chiles, that can accentuate the taste of a simple tortilla chip or grilled or fried fish tacos." --Metro Times, 3/3/10 "Every time you turn the page in Antojitos , you stop, salivate, and ponder just stopping on the delicious idea before you. This is Mexican cooking on a level you have never seen." --Cooking by the Book, 3/3/10 * Accessible yet authentic Mexican appetizers and drinks from the chefs and owners of the popular East Village / West Village La Palapa restaurants . * The only Mexican appetizers / small plates book on the market. * Small plates and spicy foods remain popular food trends according to the American Culinary Federation's 2008 survey of chefs. Barbara Sibley and Margaritte Malfy are co-owners and co-chefs of the two critically acclaimed La Palapa restaurants in Manhattan. Barbara is a native of Mexico City, and Margaritte has traveled extensively throughout Mexico. Both worked in New York City restaurants for several years before opening La Palapa Cocina Mexicana in the East Village in 2000 and La Palapa Rockola in the West Village in 2003. Introduction As anyone who likes to cook can understand, when we sat down to write this cookbook, our first, we wanted to pack the pages with every recipe and bit of food lore we know as a way of sharing our passion for Mexican food and culture. But we quickly realized we had to rein in our eagerness–if not our enthusiasm–when choosing dishes to include. We finally decided to focus on the small bites, or antojitos , that Mexicans have been serving for centuries. At La Palapa, our two restaurants in Manhattan, our guests share our delight in genuine Mexican food and especially enjoy our antojitos . But it wasn’t until our fifth-anniversary fiesta that we realized that the most celebratory way to share our flavorful food was to create a savory meal composed solely of antojitos . We furiously cooked chalupas , quesadillas, taquitos , and more, and couldn’t get the platters out of the kitchen fast enough! Our guests raved about these small treasures, which helped set this book in motion. In Mexico, antojitos are sometimes eaten as appetizers before a meal, as they often are at La Palapa, but they are usually sold in small stalls in marketplaces or town plazas. Visit any outdoor Mexican market and you will immediately detect their heady aromas wafting through the air. Your senses will compete joyfully with one another–sight, hearing, smell, and touch–and beckon you to satisfy your fifth sense: taste. The word antojo means “craving,” which explains the name of these tasty, fresh bites. In some parts of Mexico, an antojito is called a tentempie , roughly, “a snack that keeps you standing”–in other words, a bite to tide you over until your next meal. These snacks are typically eaten out of hand or from a small paper cone or cup while standing or walking around. Although antojitos are not usually considered a full meal by Mexicans, they can be so bountiful and delectable that there is no reason not to add a margarita or a beer and declare an assortment of them a suitable supper. Every region in Mexico boasts its typical antojitos . Sometimes the same name is found in more than one region, although it refers to different foods. The opposite is also true. You may find that the antojito you sampled in Chiapas is called something quite different in Oaxaca or the Yucatán. No worries. Whatever they are called, they are invariably satisfying, and their long history, from the days of the Aztec markets to toda