Many of the recipes in this chapter are based on the snacks and suppers that I loved to eat growing up, the foods that mean familia and friends to me.

At some of my restaurants, I have called the first section of my menu abrebocas, meaning small bites and cocktail nibbles. In some Spanish-speaking countries, abrebocas is slang for appetizers, but not so much in Peru. To me, the word is similar to the phrase abre tú boca, “open your mouth.” When you grow up with twelve siblings packed around the dinner table, you quickly learn to sit down, stop talking, and focus on the task ahead: Abre tú boca, or you’re going to miss out.

Here is a solid sampler of Peruvian dishes to get started with: quick snacks like cancha—toasted and seasoned dried corn kernels—that you can dig your fingers into all day, elegant-looking appetizers that you find in restaurants all over Peru, and the simple sandwiches that moms usually serve for a late breakfast or lunch (you might serve them for brunch), but that I eat any time. I usually serve these abrebocas in little portions, as small bites, but you can also serve most picnic-style or turn them into main courses for family suppers.