Cooking For Crowds For Dummies

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

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