Susan Wyler - Cooking for a Crowd: Menus, Recipes, and Strategies for Entertaining 10 to 50

2005 by Susan Wyler

Portions of this book were originally published as Cooking for a Crowd by Harmony Books 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any other information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher.

Cover photo by Ben Fink

Author photo by Michael Downend

Book design by Carol Angstadt

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Wyler, Susan.

Cooking for a crowd : menus, recipes, and strategies for entertaining 10 to 50 / Susan Wyler.[Rev. ed.]

p. cm.

Portions of this book were originally published as Cooking for a Crowd (Harmony Books (c) 1988).ECIP galley.

Includes index.

ISBN-13 9781594860119 paperback

eISBN-9781609612139

ISBN-10 1594860114 paperback

1. Quantity cookery. 2. Menus. I. Title.

TX820.W95 2005

641.5'7dc22 2005019534

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M y very sincere thanks and grateful appreciation to all those who made this new edition possible:

My great agent, Jane Dystel.

Margot Schupf, executive editor of Rodale Books, who acquired the project.

Miriam Backes, senior editor of Rodale Books, who shepherded the book through every stage with grace, humor, and attention to detail.

Carol Angstadt, art director, who created such a handsome design.

Roy Finamore, freelance editor, who is simply the best at what he does.

Kimberly Tweed, assistant editor, who was so helpful at every stage.

Photographer Ben Fink, who created such a beautiful cover.

Prop stylist Marina Malchin, whose taste is impeccable.

Food stylist Alison Attenborough, an artist in the kitchen and under camera.

To Max and Marilyn DeLaure and my darling goddaughter Naiya Claire, who help me test Thanksgiving dinner every year.

And to my wonderful friends in the Endless Mountains, who shared so many crowded parties. I love you all: Pam and Paul Kelly; Pat and Larry Robertson; Katherine Ashe and Peter Wynne; Kevin Huffman and Allan Duncan and Maddie and Isabel; Mickey and Helene Campbell; Melanie Urdang and Joe and Haley Rosado; Ed Chaplin and Susan Ensley; Bob Stark; Alison Armstrong; Jeanette Robertson and Ron Coyan; Billee and Maria Pileggi; Ken Goody and Todd Moffett; Allan Hochberg; Barbara Remington; Karen Blomain and Michael Downend; Jan and Ginny Quackenbush; Jill Smolowe and Becky and Joe Treen; Anuraj, Ann, and Kaie Bismal; Michael Young and Randall Sobocinski. And to Greg Mowery, and especially Richard and Emily Buckingham, who made the trek.

I ts hard to believe it has been more than 15 years since I wrote the article for Food & Wine that launched this book. I had been food editor at the magazine for some time and had written any number of pieces. But the feature with recipes called Cooking for a Crowd, designed for entertaining 10 or more guests, was an immediate success, garnering more fan mail than any article I had ever written. It was clear the subject warranted a book.

Many of us at that time were excellent cooks and quite sophisticated about foodhaving been raised on Julia Child, James Beard, and Jacques Ppinbut our dinner parties almost always maxed out at six or eight. With families growing and moving into larger homes, the number of people we began to entertain and the way we cooked for them was in the process of changing radically. New cuisinesregional as well as exoticentered the repertoire, and many ingredients once rare became standard stock on supermarket shelves. From such lifestyle changes and culinary development, the first edition of this book evolved.

In the intervening years, the trend toward large-scale entertaining has done nothing but expand. Children appear ever more often at the adult dinner table, and sizable gatherings of friends and family call for casual parties that do not involve hours of last-minute preparation and are, in fact, frequently potluck affairs. Often Saturday night at a country house or the beach grows into big numbers, as people drop by and the telephone rings... and as more and more babies are born. Baby showers, wedding showers, family reunions, the celebration of holidays, and birthday parties, all involving larger groups, fill our busy calendars. For those who entertain rarely, large parties offer an occasion to repay social obligations built up over the year. And for some people, like me and many of my friends, who groove on cooking and entertaining, the challenge and excitement of a large theme party provide a delightful opportunity to show off.

Whatever your situationwhether you are a serious cook, an eager novice, a home caterer, or simply someone who wants to throw a fabulous large partythe collection of recipes and the game plan for do-ahead preparations that accompany each menu in this book will lead you through the process with guaranteed success. Whether youre in the mood for a Flavorful Dinner for Good Friends, a rollicking Mexican Grillfest, a Black and Orange Halloween Party, or an old-fashioned Italian Abbondanza, whether you are catering your own wedding or throwing a shower for a good friend, Cooking for a Crowd offers a tempting menu for every occasion.

While many of the original recipes have stood up over time, wherever possible I have simplified both ingredients and instructions. Theres nothing like practice and repetition to point up what is essential and what can be pared away. When feasible, Ive removed extraneous ingredients. Like a well-written sentence, a good recipe should contain just the essentials; extras, like too many adjectives, simply confuse matters and can be expensive. Rarely are three herbs necessary where one will do. Many times, repeated preparation of a dish has shown me an easier technique, and Ive passed that along as well. But for fans of the first book, youll notice that many of these menus are new, and some existing plans have been significantly revised.

As recipes and articles in the best food magazines evidence, trends in dining change over the years. Thats why there is always room for new cookbooks. I am acutely aware that during the past decade, tastes have changed. Just as many children we know are better traveled at the age of 2 than we were at 20, so their parents have amazingly sophisticated palates, dining out regularly on regional Italian food, as well as French bistro cooking, Mexican, Thai, sushi, Greek, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Scandinavian food. Part of the fun of cooking and eating encompasses this sort of armchair travel.

In this revised and updated edition of Cooking for a Crowd, youll find different international cuisines represented as well as many of the basicslike baked beans, barbecued chicken, and potato saladweve reclaimed and learned to love. In a nod to current nutritional guidelines, there is less butter and more olive oil. Some recipes, such as the seafood medallions once featured in the Elegant Dinner Party in the first edition of this book, have been supplanted by trendier dishes, in this case Tuna Tartare with Avocado and Ruby Grapefruit Vinaigrette. And given the hectic pace and nutritional concerns of so many peoples modern lifestyles, I have approached many of the parties with a lighter, more casual touch.