We are thrilled to share with all a new cookbook making its debut this month that will make a wonderful shower gift for your favorite bride (or any kind of gift if they love good food!).

Celebrated caterer Peter Callahan (and strictlyweddings.com New York partner) is famous for his inventive and delicious miniature food creations. Now, in BITE BY BITE: 100 Stylish Little Plates You Can Make for Any Party (on sale August 30, 2011), you can re-create Peter's awe-inducing small bites at home.

In this debut cookbook, Callahan welcomes readers to share in the fun and beauty of his creations. According to Peter, being prepared is the key to pulling off a self-catered party like a professional. With that in mind, he has included a Kitchen Tools and Conveniences section, listing the key kitchen equipment that will help you create the delicious masterpieces in this book. In each recipe he also notes what can be made in advance, how best to schedule your time, and any short-cuts that will make life easier on the big day. Along the way, he divulges his secrets and inspiration, including stories of how he dreamed up dishes that he's catered for his long roster of celebrity clients.

We love a cook who shares his technique as well as tells a good story!

Some featured recipes in Bite by Bite include:

  • COMFORT FOODS: Caprese Tea Sandwiches; Mac and Cheese Canapés; Baked Beans in Bacon Cups; Twice-Baked Stuffed Potatoes; and Cheeseburgers and Frites
  • SHOTS + BITES: Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese; Caviar Spoons and Vodka; Spicy Chicken "Fortune Cookies" and Cherry Sake; and Fish Tacos and Gazpacho
  • LOLLIPOPS, CONES, + MORE: Mango-Shrimp Lollipops; Watermelon-Mint Lollipops; Tuna Tartare Plantain Cones; Crab in Potato Cones; and Chicken Nori Cigarettes
  • CLASSICS REINTERPRETED: Stuffed Mushrooms; Lobster-Potato Petit Fours; Pigs in Blankets, Two Ways; and Turkey Canapés with Stuffing and Cranberry Relish
  • DESSERT: Chocolate Ice Cream "Burgers;" Limoncello Popsicles; Cotton Candy Lollipops; Strawberry-Rhubarb Pies; Fluffernutters; and Bagel Profiteroles

Peter is the owner of New York City-based Callahan Catering and is widely credited with having created the mega trend of miniaturized savory and dessert hors d'oeuvres. He has been catering for more than twenty-five years and has created food for Martha Stewart, Vera Wang, Kate Spade, JPMorgan, Tory Burch, Valentino, Regis and Joy Philbin, Tony Bennett, and Al Gore, among other clients.