Story and photos by Patricia Reese

Tapas, small bites of succulent appetizers served on small plates, are an integral part of Spanish cuisine. This tradition began about 200 years ago in Spain when smart bar owners began to serve small amounts of free food with each drink ordered. The word tapas, (plural for tapa, which means cover) came to refer to a thin crust of bread that was used to cover a wine glass in order to keep pesky insects out of the glass. Soon, small bits of meats, cheeses or vegetables were added to the bread and thus, tapas as appetizers were born.

The trend of dining on numerous small-portion offerings spread all around the Mediterranean and today in France one enjoys hors d’oeuvres, while in Italy these small nibbles are referred to as antipasti. The Greeks indulge in meze, while in Morocco one partakes in mukabalatt. Whatever you call it, it’s fun to eat these tantalizing morsels and, in my opinion, the greater the selection the better.

I was thrilled to discover a tapas restaurant a few years ago in Hilton Head, S.C. The menu was about six pages and was conveniently divided into categories such as seafood, meat, vegetarian, cheese, omelet and desserts. Our waitress explained the tapas concept to us, advising that we order only two offerings at a time along with the taste of wine that she recommended to accompany each dish.

The food prices were very reasonable, ranging from about $3.99 for something like the crab cakes to about $10.99 for the lobster medallions. However, remember we were eating tapas, so the crab cake order consisted of two very small crab cakes and the lobster order amounted to four thin pieces of lobster. We had a grand time, dining on smoky bites of filet mignon, delicate porcini mushroom ravioli, sizzling garlic shrimp, crusty, cheesy, tomato basil bruchetta and more. We ordered about five times, even including dessert bites at the end. My husband sampled from my tapas, and I sampled from his. Everything was absolutely delicious, and we had the tastes of various wines to go with each offering. We started to dine at 7 p.m., and it was 10 p.m. by the time we had finished testing and tasting every delectable morsel. How shocked we were to discover that we had run the bill up to well over $100, including the wine tasters. Oh, but it was well worth it! We talk about that meal to this day, and we have never had anything as good as that porcini mushroom ravioli.

To serve tapas at home, think small bites, small plates, big, rich flavors, and foods that don’t necessarily go together, but instead, are meant to be savored and enjoyed one by one.

I think that it’s fun to serve each tapas, one at a time, as we were served at the tapas restaurant. However, a tapas buffet can also be a small feast for the palette as well as for the eyes. Consider some of the following recipes, whether preparing tapas ... or just plain old appetizers. P