Like a blank canvas but much tastier, the ubiquitous corn or flour tortilla is the perfect vehicle for every sort of food. And taco-making-the art of filling tortillas with dozens of zesty and unexpected concoctions-turns the ordinary into the irrepressible.

Victoria Wise and Susanna Hoffman, both life-long tortilla aficionados, fill them with Fiesta Ground Beef, Chicken Mole, Spicy Shrimp Salad, Green Olive Cilantro Salsa Ancho Chili Sauce, Pear Lime Salsa, and much more.

Here are over 200 recipes for well-filled tortillas. Tacos from around the world-Portuguese-style Grilled Fish Taco, Oriental Stir-Fry Beef Taco, Thai-Style Shrimp Taco, add variety to the spice of such Cal-Mex favorites as Basic Beef Fajita Taco, Black Bean Taco, Chorizo Taco, Snapper Vera Cruz Taco, and Taco de Carnitas. Dessert tacos and tostada sundaes bring the most festive food into the most festive course.

Whether store-bought or home-pressed (the recipes are here, for corn and flour), a stack of tortillas means delicious, down-home, fun food for any occasion-to eat with your fingers in messy splendor. Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club's The Good Cook Club. 250,000 copies in print.

TOPPINGS AND STUFFINGS

SALSAS

Fiesta Salsa

South American Jalapeno-Parsley Salsa

Orange-Onion Salsa

Salsa Verde

TOPPINGS

Well-Grilled Guacamole

Pan-Grilled Chili Strips

Deviled Peanuts and Coconut

FILLINGS

Carne Asada Genghis Kahn

Pork and Corn Meatballs

Zesty Ground Lamb

Thai-Style Shrimp

Scallops with Sauce Belize

Black Beans with Mangoes and Fried Lemons

FINALES

Sweet Banana Tacos

La Bamba Flautas

Coffee Ice Cream Tostada Sundae

Plus how to make your own corn tortillas, flour tortillas, and hominy tortillas. Includes side salads, menus, and tortilla party etiquette. Quesadillas, Burritos, Chimichangas, and the Big Enchilada. Tortilla passion from around the world.

Victoria Wise, alumnus of the Chez Panisse restaurant and co-founder of Oakland's Good and Plenty Caf, is a co-author of The Well-Filled Microwave Cookbook and Good and Plenty: America's New Home Cooking. Victoria also compiled and wrote the Smith and Hawken Gardeners' Community Cookbook. She lives in Oakland, CA.Susanna Hoffman, alumnus of the Chez Panisse restaurant and co-founder of Oakland's Good andamp; Plenty Cafandeacute;, is a co-author of The Well-Filled Microwave Cookbookand Good andamp; Plenty: America's New Home Cooking.She is an anthropologist and cook who has lived and worked in Greece on and off for more than thirty years, dividing her time between Telluride, Colorado and Santorini, Greece.

Why We Dote on Well-Filled Tortillas

The Larder

Equipment

TORTILLAS

Tortillas: Little Cakes Become Edible Platters

Preparing Tortillas for Filling

Tortilla Tips

Corn Tortillas

Flour Tortillas

Hominy Tortillas

Tortilla Chips

SALSAS AND TOPPINGS

Starting at the Top

Salsas

Toppings

THE FILLINGS

The Heart of the Matter

Beef

Pork

Lamb and Goat

Chicken

Turkey

Duck

Fish

Shellfish

Potatoes, Beans, and Vegetables

Eggs

Quesadillas

Tostadas

SIDE SALADS

Cool Downs

TORTILLA DESSERTS

Dessert Tacos and Tostada Sundaes

Party Menus

Index