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(More customer reviews)`Cooking for a Crowd' by Susan Wyler has come out in a new, substantially larger edition, based on a volume originally published in 1988, and I, for one, am really happy to see it. Among all the various genres of cookbooks, those dedicated to cooking for large numbers of people are very difficult to find. Even many works on meals for entertaining only cover recipes for six to twelve. Of those books I have reviewed, the most notable exception is Martha Stewart's now classic original book, `Entertaining' which gives us recipes for 25 or more. As a dedicated viewer of the Food Network, I can also say with some authority that in all their programming for the last four years, I have seen but one show done on Tyler Florence's `Food 911' show which gives recipes for feeding a large crowd. Even otherwise excellent cookbooks such as David Waltuck's `Staffmeals' doesn't give us recipes for serving a large group of people, and I am sure he feeds a lot more than eight or twelve people at his restaurant's staff dinner. And, the only other book I have seen (the name escapes me, as I have not yet reviewed it) costs a whopping $60 retail for something no larger than the usual $35 Culinary Institute of America or `Cooks Illustrated' volume.
I have to believe there is no great market for this subject, although I am amazed that I can find more books on the cooking of Tuscany than I can on cooking for a church fundraising dinner. This, of course, is not true of baking, especially bread baking, as there are many books that deal seriously with professional bread baking and techniques for multiplying recipes by relatively large amounts.
Cookbook publishing executives must simply never hear of any crying need for these kinds of books, or, cookbook authors simply have little interest in writing them. Before exploring Ms. Wyler's book, lets think out loud a bit on what it takes to make four to six interesting dishes for fifty (50) people. I have some grounds for doing this, as I have been a sous chef in a church kitchen where we have done exactly this for the last several years.
First, you need dishes that can be made ahead, refrigerated for a day or two, and heated up at the last minute.
Second, you need some dishes such as salads that do not require reheating, and will also not wilt down overnight in the refrigerator, in order to not overload your ovens.
Third, dishes with relatively inexpensive and common ingredients are best. You do not want to price your macaroni salad to $5 a portion by adding 100-year-old balsamic vinegar.
Fourth, you probably want ingredients that are available the year around, and are of reasonable quality the year around. Thus, apples, white mushrooms, broccoli, dried pasta, and ground beef are excellent ingredients while asparagus, dandelion greens, peaches, and grapefruit may not be good the year around.
Fifth, you want recipes where amateurs can do the prep work, and I don't mean dedicated amateur foodies.
Sixth, you need dishes that will keep well in either heated hotel pans or large slow cookers. Dishes with gravies that may separate shortly after reheating will not do.
Seventh, you should be able to do most recipes without a lot of specialized equipment, but if a food processor will whiz up lots of slicing and dicing, it's good to have that info.
Ms. Wyler's book hits the mark on almost all these counts.
In addition to getting high marks on my points, she has done especially well to arrange her recipes by both type of occasion and by number of guests, assuming that you will have a lot more people coming to a wedding supper than you will to a family Thanksgiving dinner. And, before you complain that you can find recipes for a Thanksgiving dinner in any one of a dozen books and magazines such as Nigella Lawson's `Feast' and the November issue of `Martha Stewart Living', I should point out that Ms. Wyler does it for twelve people and a goose rather than a turkey!
And, these are not all simple recipes. This may be a violation of one or more of my criteria, but I like the fact that we get recipes for making our own lasagna noodles and brown goose stock. You don't have to make these, but having the resource to do it is a very good thing (with apologies to Martha).
I am not overly impressed with cookbooks which give extensive do ahead instructions for all their recipes, as Sara Moulton always did on her Food Network Show, `Sara's Secrets'. What good is a three day do ahead cycle, when on the first and second days, you are busy getting dinner on the table for that night, let alone getting ready for the next night's dinner. I'm much happier with Rachael Ray's few tips on fast cooking, even if I never use her recipes. Ms. Wyler also does not limit herself to one or two days advance preparations. Some pantry items can be prepared up to a few months in advance. For pickled dishes, this is great, as it allows you to gather a great crowd together and do your chow-chow or jardiniere off line.
Ms. Wyler gives us menus for thirty-five different events, with some buffets, mostly sit-down dinners, some grilling events, and some breakfasts and brunches. Every menu includes at least a salad, a main course, and a dessert. Many, especially Thanksgiving and buffets include a second main course and several side dishes.
I am a little surprised that the author does not recommend wines for each menu, but you will not miss this unless you MUST have wine at every meal.
A very nice treatment of a specialized subject.
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Cooking for a Crowd: Menus, Recipes and Strategies for Entertaining 10 to 50Susan Wyler's indispensable classic is back in print-now better than ever, with more than a dozen new menus, over 70 new recipes, and a wealth of updated strategiesThe original edition of Cooking for a Crowd won great praise all around: Florence Fabricant named it one of the New York Times best books of the season. Perla Meyers, author of How to Peel a Peach, advised, "Keep this book as a reference whenever you are entertaining." And Rose Levy Berenbaum, author of The Cake Bible, declared, "She puts together the components of a dinner with the passion, perfection, and ease of a master painter. The game plans . . . enable any cook to impress without risk."This new edition builds on the premise of the original-that many a home cook can manage the occasional dinner party for 4 to 6, but when it comes to entertaining a crowd of 10 or more, the logistics become exponentially more complicated. Wyler's ingeniously user-friendly combination of creative menus, do-ahead game plans, and crowd-pleasing recipes makes it possible for any home cook to entertain on a large scale.Wyler has expanded the volume to include over 225 recipes and 35 menus for a variety of sizes and occasions-such as Tuscan Lunch for 12 to 16, Black and Orange Halloween Party for 24, even a Wedding Supper for 50.A perfect balance of inspiring and instructive, Cooking for a Crowd is a must-have for all home cooks who want to bring large groups of family and friends together at the table.
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