Cooking For Crowds For Dummies

by Dawn Simmons, Curt Simmons

Overview

Over 100 recipes, plus time-saving planning tips and sanity-saving suggestions

Serve terrific food confidently and calmly, and wow your crowd!

Panicky about cooking for a casual church dinner, a posh graduation party, or a holiday feast for 50? With terrific recipes plus tips for everything from planning menus to preparation and presentation, you can serve a hungry crowd without getting all steamed up about it. You'll quickly grasp the basics you need to know to cook like an experienced pro.

Discover how to

• Serve great dishes, from appetizers through desserts
• Determine food quantities when cooking for groups
• Handle food safely
• Add ambience with easy decorations

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780764584695
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	06/10/2005
Series:	For Dummies Books
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Dawn Simmons is a professional caterer and teaches online catering courses.

Curt Simmons is the author of more than 50 books, including iPhoto For Dummies.

Read an Excerpt

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Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part I: So, You Need to Cook for a Crowd . . . 7

Chapter 1: A Crowd by Any Other Name 9

Chapter 2: Planning Your Menu 17

Chapter 3: Estimating Food Quantities, Serving Dishes, and More 39

Part II: Tried-and-True Recipes for Crowds 51

Chapter 4: Creating Tasty Appetizers 53

Chapter 5: Main Dishes Everyone Will Love 69

Chapter 6: Delicious Side Dishes 95

Chapter 7: Satisfying Slurps: Soups and Stews 109

Chapter 8: Stirring It Up: Punches and Drinks 125

Chapter 9: Decadent Desserts 137

Part III: Special Events and Holidays 163

Chapter 10: Special Dishes for Summer Get-Togethers 165

Chapter 11: Special Dishes for Holidays 183

Chapter 12: Special Dishes for Weddings 201

Part IV: Bringing It All Together 215

Chapter 13: Getting Ready for the Event 217

Chapter 14: Getting Ready on the Day of the Event 231

Part V: The Part of Tens 247

Chapter 15: Ten Ways to Avoid Common Food Preparation Problems 249

Chapter 16: More Than Ten Decorating Tips for Crowds 253

Chapter 17: Ten Ways to Keep from Pulling Out Your Hair 265

Chapter 18: More Than Ten Things You Need to Know about Food Safety 269

Appendix A: Metric Conversion Guide 277

Appendix B: Helpful Web Sites 281

Appendix C: Fun and Easy Garnishes 293

Appendix D: Special Cooking Tricks 309

Index 313