Who can resist a great hot or cold appetizer to start things off right? Here are some mouth-watering appetizer recipes offering delectable selections including salads and quiches.

Crab cakes, terrine, and escargots are just some of the recipes that both amateurs and gourmet cooks alike will enjoy cooking.

Looking for a simple way to start your party? Serve a cold dish which allows you to spend more time with your guests and less time in the kitchen.

Leafy greens and other salads are ever popular for their versatility and nutrition. Here we will teach you how to create and prepare healthy salads filled with fresh ingredients that include mouthwatering greens and vegetables harvested from the garden or picked up from the market.

Quiches are savory open tarts filled with a mixture of beaten eggs, fresh cream, and pieces of bacon, served hot as a first course or as hors d'oeuvres. Originating in Lorraine (the northeast section of France), quiche has become a classic in French cuisine and it is also widely enjoyed in other countries. Its origins go back to the 16th century; in Nancy, it is a specialty and its local name is "féouse." Quiche was usually made from bread dough, but nowadays short crust or puff pastry is used. In some areas of Lorraine, any pastry tart filled with eggs and cream, mixed with onions, cream cheese, or pumpkin is called quiche. Today, many people make quiche with cheese, ham, bacon, onions, mushrooms, seafood, meats, and other various ingredients.

Tapas are small snacks available in Spain. They reflect the Spanish lifestyle with its love of socializing and variety. The times before lunch and before supper are devoted to the daily ritual of the tapeo - going out to eat tapas. The Spanish tend to eat very late, particularly in the summer, so there is plenty of time-hours in fact, for the tapeo. Depending on the region, it is also known as tasqueo, ir de vinos, poteo, or chiquito.

Rather than settling down in a one restaurant, Spaniards move from one bar to the next, accompanied by friends or colleagues. They visit tascas and mesones, pubs, and simple restaurants specializing in tapas. Some are renowned for their vast choice of tapas; other depend on a single specialty such as pickled mackerel, tiny meatballs with tomato sauce, flatbread with vegetables and clams, roasted asparagus with ham, or sautéed garlic mushrooms. Some specialize in seafood, others in traditional dishes braised for hours. However, even the simplest restaurant has at the very least salted almonds, marinated olives, mussels or tinned tuna fish, or tortilla española - the Spanish potato omelette. Occasionally a restaurant's reputation is based on the quality of the drinks served there; either the Fino, the lightest and driest sherry, the vino joven, young wine, or the sidra, cider.

All Mediterranean countries have been subject to Moorish influence, which is still reflected in the inspiration of the starters. The tapas are thought to have begun around the mid 19th century in Andalusia. In the hot region of Spain, barkeepers used to protect their sherry against dust and insects by covering the slender glasses with a piece of bread, cheese, sausage, or ham that they called a tapa. Tapa literally means "lid." Customers could satisfy their hunger by eating the salted morsels, which in turn, made them want to drink more. Soon the tapas became an attraction alone with barkeepers starting to compete as to the quality of the tasty tidbits they offered. As the outstanding selections in Seville, Córboba, or Cádiz prove, Andalusia is still regarded as the tapas stronghold.

The tapas custom has long since spread throughout the whole of Spain. Particularly in cities, eating tapas has become a way of life and of socializing. Whether at the start of a lunch break or right after work, it provides an informal atmosphere in which people meet, talk, discuss, joke, debate, or just live in peace, with a drink and a few tasty nibbles. It does not matter whether the tapas consist of merely a handful of olives or a lavish mini dish itself. Eating is only one aspect of this life-enhancing custom.