Moosewood Restaurant Cooks for a Crowd: Recipes with a Vegetarian Emphasis for 24 or More [Hardcover]

The Moosewood Collective (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 3, 1996

Since 1973 Moosewood Restaurant, in Ithaca, New York, has been famous for its innovative vegetarian cooking. Throughout the years, the restaurant has been at the forefront of a movement that has had a profound impact on the American diet. Gone are the days when the phrase "I don't eat meat" brought a grimace from host or hostess and quizzical stares from fellow guests--vegetarian cooking is no longer a novelty.

Vegetarian dishes are now a must at large social gatherings and catered events, and often a mainstay of menus at restaurants and institutions. Vegetarian cooks are increasingly called upon to produce favorite vegetarian fare in quantity. But the cooks at Moosewood Restaurant know that you can't always expand a recipe simply by multiplying the amount of each ingredient by six.

Moosewood Restaurant Cooks for a Crowd is the first vegetarian cookbook and menu-planning guide designed exclusively for quantity cooking. Each of its 250 recipes has been prepared in the Moosewood kitchen and savored in the Moosewood dining room.

Whether you're entertaining in your home, planning a catered affair, or developing the menu for a large-scale restaurant, this groundbreaking cookbook will inspire anyone who enjoys cooking imaginative vegetarian meals for a crowd.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

So your daughter's coming home from college and bringing the entire crew team?and they're all vegetarians. What you need are 24 11-oz. servings of Rumpledethumps. This casserole of potato, cabbage, broccoli and leek (spiced with nutmeg and horseradish) is just one of the dishes?okay, vats?offered by members of Ithaca, N.Y.'s, Moosewood Collective (Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant, etc.) in a book they hope will be "useful to foodservices of all sizes-from a small catering firm to a large, institutional facility." While a large, institutional refrigerator may be needed by home cooks looking to store, for example, the six quarts of cubed eggplant for Eggplant-Spinach Curry, the 300-plus recipes are mainly vintage Moosewood: clear, easy (at least when converted to smaller amounts) and tasty. Additional offerings include tips for purchasing in volume, an ingredient glossary and conversion charts following each recipe giving nutritional information per serving. With chapters on Soups, Legumes, Pasta, Sauces and Salsas, Stuffed Vegetables and more, the Collective is ready for even the hungriest herd of vegans. For larger schools of less tightly defined vegetarians, there's also a section on fish.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Here are more than 300 new, mostly vegetarian recipes from the much-loved restaurant in Ithaca, New York (previous books featuring the restaurant include Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant, LJ 9/15/90, as well as Mollie Katzen's two Moosewood cookbooks). Most are simple and appealing, but the book is really directed to chefs and other food service professionals, with the "crowd" of the title more likely to be restaurant patrons than a big gathering at home. Entrees serve at least 24; the soup recipes make 50 portions; sauces and dressings often yield two to five quarts-and converting these to smaller quantities is not always easy. The recipe instructions are abbreviated, assuming a cooking background on the part of the reader. Dedicated Moosewood fans will be interested, but the book's usefulness for home cooks is limited.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 500 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (April 3, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471120170
• ISBN-13: 978-0471120179
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #815,495 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile Investment, January 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Moosewood Restaurant Cooks for a Crowd: Recipes with a Vegetarian Emphasis for 24 or More (Paperback)

I originally bought this book for the kitchen at our organic farm, where we regularly feed >15 people a day. After reading it myself, I wanted a copy for home too. Anyone who's vegetarian will need to cook in quantity at some point (dinner parties, etc.), and this book makes it easy to do so. No more multiplying like crazy and ending up with haphazard results. I also liked that the ingredients were given by weight, which makes it much easier to measure out.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, February 25, 2006

By 

Cooker Girl (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moosewood Restaurant Cooks for a Crowd: Recipes with a Vegetarian Emphasis for 24 or More (Paperback)

The best thing about this cookbook is that the quantities of ingredients are all set. You don't need to double or triple the recipe. I bought this cookbook especially for today b/c I was in charge of preparing a lunch for 20 people as part of an all day workshop at work. I made the cream of broccoli soup, the black bean soup, and the greek salad pitas. The only recipe I would make again would be the greek salad - which was wonderful. The cream of broccoli soup was so bland that I was desparately tried to fix it. What saved me was that I created a red pepper pesto type paste to add to each bowl. Without it, I didn't even want to serve the soup. The black bean soup lacked luster as well. I was not proud to serve either soup. Like I mentioned earlier the large quantitiy recipes made grocery shopping and preparation easy. But who cares if it is easy to make mediocre soups - no thanx. I am disappointed in Moosewood. Also I specifically chose two soup recipes that the cookbook raved about as 'a time-honored favorite' and 'one of the most poplular'.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Healthy Cooking Vegetarian Style!, May 1, 2000

By 

Scott Anderson "Sharpsburg" (Shepherdstown, WV) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Moosewood Restaurant Cooks for a Crowd: Recipes with a Vegetarian Emphasis for 24 or More (Hardcover)

This is the ultimate book on cooking vegeterian entrees. It's based on volume but don't let that scare you away. With a few simple reductions you are on your way to preapring some of the most mouth watering, vegetarian items from the tried and true recipes of the Moosewood Restaurant.

The recipes are easy to follow and will come in handy in large scale kitchens. The new trends are involving clients that not only know their food but demand quality and consistency while maintaining a healthy diet. This book will help you meet those demands, and set new standards for your vegetarian items.

Pick it up and give it a whirl. It's a great book for home or your production kitchen.