When it comes to cocktails and appetizers, chef Kathy Casey is an expert at balancing flavors and textures. Sips & Apps has 100 recipes that include not only classics like the Martini and Manhattan but also creative new concoctions like the Douglas Fir Sparkletini and the Blue Thai Mojito. Appetizers include simple finger foods like Roasted Pear Crostini with Gorgonzola and ChaCha Cashews and more substantial treats like Asian Shrimp Cakes with Sweet Chili Sauce. Lots of info on stocking a home bar and plenty of techniques and extras (like a nifty double ribbon marker labeled "sips" and "apps") make it easy to match up the right sip with the right app.

Chef Kathy Casey is celebrated for her ability to dazzle the palate and is widely recognized for her role in bringing women chefs and Northwest cuisine to national prominence. She owns Kathy Casey Food Studios, a food, beverage, and restaurant consulting venue in Seattle, and Dish D'Lish, featuring fresh-made Food T' Go Go and a line of retail specialty products. Also an accomplished food writer, Kathy pens a monthly column, 'Dishing,' for the Seattle Times. A frequent TV guest and host, you can also catch Kathy on the air. This is her 7th cookbook. Her most recent cookbook was Kathy Casey's Northwest Table from Chronicle Books. A true Northwesterner, this Washington-born chef grows an urban 'parking lot' garden at the Studios and loves to fish and to hunt for wild mushrooms.