Simple Italian Snacks

The authors of Simple Italian Sandwiches return in Simple Italian Snacks with delicious, elegant, easy-to-prepare bites for entertaining, lite dining, and more.

The European culinary tradition of small plates have become a staple of American dining and have helped usher in a new way to eat, a relaxed way of socializing and a chic way of entertaining. Lively, fun, sophisticated, Simple Italian Snacks by Jason Denton and Kathryn Kellinger includes recipes and tasting combinations perfect for this style of dining.

Here are easy, do-ahead recipes for any event—an afternoon by the pool, a fireside grill with friends, dinner for two, a meal for a crowd—all that can start as hors d’oeuvres or be built into a meal. Versatility, variety and great taste are the essential ingredients of such dishes as:

• Artichoke Gratin with Pecorino
• Sweet Fennel Sausage Panini
• Rice Balls
• Chocolate Biscotti
• Shallow Fried Soft Shell Crab with Red Pepper Mayonnaise and Arugula
• Porotobello and Pancetta Bruschetta
• and Shrimp, Celery, and Sweet Onions Spiedini

Fun, simple, and wonderfully delicious, the dishes in Simple Italian Snacks are sure to inspire and delight every palate.

Jason Denton is involved in some of New York City's most successful restaurants. First on the panini scene was 'ino. Broadening the 'ino concept of bruschetta, tramezzini, and panini, 'inoteca added the authentic Italian small plates for which it has been critically praised. Along with Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich, Denton is a partner in Lupa Osteria Romano, one of New York City's best Italian restaurants, as well as the newly opened Bar Milano. Food & Wine, in their annual tastemaker awards, dubbed Denton an "Italian food emissary." He lives with his wife, Jennifer, and sons, Jack and Finn, in New York City.

Kathryn Kellinger is the coauthor of the James Beard—and IACP-nominated The Balthazar Cookbook and George Foreman's Indoor Grilling Made Easy. She lives with her husband, Lee Hanson, and two daughters, Maya and Reid, and one Labrador retriever in New York City.