| Digital List Price: | $33.00 |
| Kindle Price: | $17.82 Save $15.18 (46%) |
| Sold by: | Amazon.com Services LLC |
Your Memberships & Subscriptions
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Cooking for Crowds: 40th Anniversary Edition Kindle Edition
A new edition of the classic cookbook for groups of six to fifty guests
When Cooking for Crowds was first published in 1974, home cooks in America were just waking up to the great foods the rest of the world was eating, from pesto and curries to Ukrainian pork and baklava. Now Merry White's indispensable classic is back in print for a new generation of readers to savor, and her international recipes are as crowd-pleasing as ever—whether you are hosting a large party numbering in the dozens, or a more intimate gathering of family and friends.
In this delightful cookbook, White shares all the ingenious tricks she learned as a young Harvard graduate student earning her way through school as a caterer to European scholars, heads of state, and cosmopolitans like Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. With the help of her friend Julia Child, the cook just down the block in Cambridge, White surmounted unforeseen obstacles and epic-sized crises in the kitchen, along the way developing the surefire strategies described here. All of these recipes can be prepared in your kitchen using ordinary pots, pans, and utensils. For each tantalizing recipe, White gives portions for serving groups of six, twelve, twenty, and fifty.
Featuring a lively new introduction by White and Edward Koren's charming illustrations, Cooking for Crowds offers simple, step-by-step instructions for easy cooking and entertaining on a grand scale—from hors d'oeuvres to desserts.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherPrinceton University Press
- Publication dateNovember 28, 2013
- File size4443 KB
Customers who bought this item also bought


Taste of Home Church Supper Recipes: All New 359 Crowd Pleasing Favorites (Taste of Home Entertaining & Potluck)Editors at Taste of HomeKindle Edition
Editorial Reviews
Review
"[T]his is a thoroughly delightful and accessible source of food inspiration for catering creatively for large groups. Cookery clubs and caterers, no matter the size, should definitely bear this one in mind."---Lois Henderson, Bookpleasures.com
"Not just enormously charming but useful, full of sturdy recipes that can still seem mildly exotic no matter how much we flatter ourselves at the sophistication of our palates. . . . This is more, that is, than an artifact of Brooklyn avant la lettre. It's full of practical dishes and tricks you'll call your own, like tossing fresh-roasted almonds in maple syrup to serve on ice cream."---Corby Kummer, The Atlantic
"[Merry White's] book, made up of recipes she collected as the caterer for the Harvard Center for European Studies, suggested a new way of entertaining, with self-serve spanakopita, petite shrimp quiche and that savior of the anxious cook, the casserole that can be made a day ahead. Edward Koren's woolly illustrations set the tone: vegetables are our friends, and food tastes best in groups. Even though pesto and vindaloo are no longer exotic, during the holidays her attitude (and her meatballs) may be what every stressed-out host needs."---Alexandra Lange, New York Times
"A genius book that makes cooking for large numbers easy." ― Choice Magazine
"[I]t ticks all the boxes. The recipes look great, but mostly the author sounds like somebody I'd love to have dinner with. There are no photos, which is more than fine, as it has lots of sweet black and white drawings by Edward Koren." ― Lobster Squad
"If you're looking for a cookbook that will help you serve a crowd this holiday season, this is a great book for you with plenty of variety. If you're wanting an interesting read about food culture changes, this is also interesting, seeing how commonplace some 'exotic' ingredients from the 70s are now."---Amy Phelps, News and Sentinel
"Recipes ahead of the curve 40 years ago--dirty rice, pork vindaloo--remain au courant; others--Swedish meatballs, Charlotte Malakoff au chocolat--exude a retro '70s vibe that's also au courant. Prep details for six, 12, 20 and 50 servings of each recipe are provided. Practical advice abounds, including not to multiply powerful spices like other ingredients. . . . [Cooking for Crowds] remains a boffo resource for those hankering to make chicken Bengal for 12 or baklava for 50."---Anne Kingston, Maclean's
"Cooking for Crowds by Merry White . . . brings friendly exuberance to the subject of cooking for large numbers that has made me think that, actually, it might be kind of cool to feed a crowd-pleasing lasagne to 50."---Bee Wilson, Telegraph
"Charmingly illustrated with impish anthropomorphized vegetables and critters by cartoonist Edward Koren. No-nonsense, unusually useful recipes with amounts for 6, 12, 20, or--unlucky you--50 portions."---Heller McAlpin, Barnes and Noble Review
"Simply stated, no community library cookbook collection can be considered complete without the inclusion of a copy of Merry White's Cooking For Crowds."---James A. Cox, Midwest Book Review
Review
"Corky White has been persuaded to reissue the cookbook that was so much a part of our youthful gatherings. These diverse (and feasible) recipes for large tables are ideal for any occasion, whatever your group passions. Edward Koren's illustrations capture the unbuttoned hirsute fellowship of ingredients and diners."―Charles Maier, Harvard University
"[T]his is a beautifully presented book with an oversized format and fab illustrations by Edward Koren."―Esther N McCarthy
From the Inside Flap
"Cooking for Crowds represents a coming-of-age moment in the cultural history of food, cooking, and taste in America. It has been one of my favorite cookbooks for more than thirty years."--Peter Gourevitch, founding dean, School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, University of California, San Diego
"Corky White has been persuaded to reissue the cookbook that was so much a part of our youthful gatherings. These diverse (and feasible) recipes for large tables are ideal for any occasion, whatever your group passions. Edward Koren's illustrations capture the unbuttoned hirsute fellowship of ingredients and diners."--Charles Maier, Harvard University
From the Back Cover
"Cooking for Crowds represents a coming-of-age moment in the cultural history of food, cooking, and taste in America. It has been one of my favorite cookbooks for more than thirty years."--Peter Gourevitch, founding dean, School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, University of California, San Diego
"Corky White has been persuaded to reissue the cookbook that was so much a part of our youthful gatherings. These diverse (and feasible) recipes for large tables are ideal for any occasion, whatever your group passions. Edward Koren's illustrations capture the unbuttoned hirsute fellowship of ingredients and diners."--Charles Maier, Harvard University
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
COOKING FOR CROWDS
By Merry WhitePRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
Copyright © 2014 Princeton University PressAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-691-16036-8
Contents
Foreword by Darra Goldstein................................................ixIntroduction to the New Edition............................................xviIntroduction to the First Edition..........................................xxiiiPots, Pans, and Utensils...................................................xxviiHerbs and Spices...........................................................xxxiConversion.................................................................xxxivAcknowledgments............................................................xxxvSoups and Starters.........................................................1Main Dishes................................................................43Vegetables and Side Dishes.................................................117Desserts...................................................................141List of Illustrations......................................................171Index......................................................................173CHAPTER 1
SOUPS AND STARTERS
New Orleans Shrimp
This is an excellent cold appetizer: shrimp marinated in a spicy vinaigrettedressing, which must be served thoroughly chilled, perhaps on a bed of greens.
Heat one-third of the oil in a heavy skillet, add the minced garlic and onion, and cook, stirringoccasionally, over a moderate flame for 10 minutes. Do not let brown. Add the shrimpand sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, still stirring, then remove from the heat and cool.
In a large bowl, combine the remainingoil, minced scallions, lemon juice, andseasonings. Add the shrimp mixture andtoss thoroughly. Let marinate in the refrigeratorfor 6 to 24 hours, stirring occasionally.Serve quite cold, over ice ifpossible, with toothpicks.
Shrimp in Dill Pesto
Pesto is that green spaghetti sauce that gets its flavor and color from fresh basil. This freshdill version is delicious on shrimp. Served cold on a lettuce "boat," this is an excellent firstcourse.
A mixture of fresh dill and parsley may be used.
Combine the wine, water, peppercorns, bay leaves, thyme, onions, and salt in a saucepan.Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and simmer only until the shrimpcurl and turn pink, about 5 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the pan, then turn up the heatand reduce the liquid by half.
Make the pesto in batches by pouring the olive oil about ½ cup at a time into the blender. Addsome of the garlic and dill to each batch and blend. Empty the blender into a large bowl as yougo. Repeat until all the oil and dill and garlic are used up. When all is thick and smooth, stirthe reduced cooking liquid into the bowl and beat hard until the pesto is creamy and smooth.
Put the shrimp in a serving bowl and pour the sauce over. Toss well and chill before serving.
Crabmeat Pastry
After a long cocktail hour, the dinner guests to whom I served this needed an interestingappetizer. This worked. Crab makes a savory filling for flaky strudel pastry. This is bestserved hot from the oven, but is quite good reheated. Phyllo is a paper-thin pastry "leaf"that is used for baklava, spanokopita, and many other Middle Eastern dishes. It can bebought at Greek or Middle Eastern groceries or at specialty shops. It is often sold frozen,wrapped in plastic, and should be defrosted overnight, in its own wrapper, in the refrigerator.Since it becomes brittle and unworkable quickly when exposed to air, you should keepit covered with a layer of waxed paper covered with a very slightly damp cloth as you work,but don't let it get wet, or it will stick together.
Pick over the crabmeat carefully for shell and cartilage. Then, in a heavy saucepan, sauté theonion in the butter until golden, then stir in the flour. Add the milk slowly as you cook, stirring,over low heat; continue to stir until thick and smooth. Remove from the heat and addall the remaining ingredients except the phyllo and the melted butter. If the mixture seemsloose, add more breadcrumbs; if thick, more milk.
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Prepare 9 × 13 × 1 ½-inch pan[s] by brushing melted butter on the bottom. [One 9 × 13 ×1 ½-inch pan will serve six very large portions, two pans, twelve large portions. For twenty,reduce portion size, use two 9 × 13 × 1 ½-inch pans, and have leftovers. For fifty, reduceportion size and use three 9 × 13 × 1 ½-inch pans and one 10-inch square pan, or four ofthe first size.] Lay one sheet of phyllo at a time in the pan, brushing each with melted butter,until you have about ten layers. Spread the crabmeat mixture over the phyllo, and thenlay ten more sheets of phyllo, brushing eachwith butter, over the crabmeat. Pour the remainingmelted butter over the top and bake for 45minutes, or until golden brown. If you are bakingthree pans at once, it may take longer. Cutinto approximately 3-inch squares to serve.
NOTE: This may be made the day before serving,and reheated for 15 to 20 minutes before cutting.
Momos
Momos are meat-filled dumplings, native to Tibet, which combine the texture and styleof Chinese dumplings with a spicy meat filling reminiscent of Indian curries. I learned tomake these in Nepal, where we used water buffalo for the ground meat filling, but a mixtureof beef and pork seems to work almost as well. These can be made in large quantitiesand frozen after they have been steamed, for later resteaming or frying in oil. They aretraditionally served with a clear broth that is garnished with chopped scallion or a spicytomato sauce with powdered red pepper to taste.
Dough
Prepare the dough first. Place the flour in a large bowl. [For the largest amount, prepare thedough in two batches.] Make a well in the middle and pour in a little cold water, stirring theflour in from the sides. Keep adding water until the dough sticks together in a ball and is soft.Place the dough on a tabletop and knead, adding more flour, if necessary, to make a springy,elastic dough. Place in a bowl and cover with a dish towel while you prepare the filling.
If you buy the meat ready ground, if possible have the butcher grind them together again,or you can grind them at home using a fine blade on the meat grinder.
Place the meat in a bowl, then add all the remaining filling ingredients. Mix it well withhands for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is smooth.
To assemble the momos, break off a piece of dough the size of a small walnut. Roll it intoa ball and then flatten, with fingers or rolling pin, on a floured surface. Be careful not tomake the dough in the center too thin; the edges should be thinner than the center. Place asmall ball of filling in the center of each round and fold, which you may do in one of thefollowing ways.
The easiest is to fold the dough over the filling, making a half-moon shape, and to pinch theedges shut in a scallop pattern. The traditional way is to make a round dumpling with theedges gathered in pleats at the top, and sealed in the center. To do this—and to avoid havingtoo much dough lumped at the top—place a small ball of filling in the center of the circleof dough. With the circle
flat on one hand, pinch a pleat in the edge of the circle with the thumb and forefinger of theother, and holding the pleat add successive pleats to it with the forefinger, turning until theedges are all gathered in pleats over the filling. Twist the top together.
Place the dumplings on a plate that has been dusted with flour. When they are all done, putthem on greased plates in a steamer so that they do not touch each other and steam themfor about 25 minutes. They may then be frozen, or cooled and fried in oil. Fried or steamed,they may be piled on a hot platter and eaten accompanied by the following sauce.
Sauce
Heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion until golden. Add the fenugreek seeds, ifused, and sauté, stirring, for 3 minutes. Chop the tomatoes and any fresh herbs you areusing. Then, add the tomatoes, fenugreek leaves if used, cayenne, coriander or parsley andcoriander, and salt and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes. If the sauce dries out, adda little water; it should have the consistency of a light spaghetti sauce (by the way, this is aTibetan noodle sauce as well). Let cool to room temperature for serving with momos.
Salad Méchouia
Far from the ordinary tuna salad, méchouia lifts that canned fish out of banality. A richcombination of tuna, peppers, and oil, to be served with Syrian bread as a first course toa Middle Eastern meal, this recipe comes from Morocco and is excellent with a couscousdinner.
Syrian bread is a flat, circular loaf that can be split into two layers. A filling may beput inside. Syrian bread (sometimes called pita) is available in some supermarkets or inspecialty shops.
Harissa is a hot Moroccan pepper paste that is available in tins or tubes. It is sold inspecialty shops. For a substitute use Tabasco sauce and mashed hot chili peppers.
Toast the peppers and tomatoes together over charcoal (this can be messy, so surround thearea with foil) or char them on a gas flame. Or place under broiler (again on foil) for 20minutes, turning occasionally, until cooked and well charred. Let cool for a few minutes,then peel the peppers and tomatoes with your fingers and place all the pulp in a bowl.
Add the remaining ingredients, tasting for balance of hot and salt and acid, and cool toroom temperature before serving.
NOTE: This does not need refrigerationbut should be kept in a cool place overnight.It can be stored in the refrigeratorbut should be brought back to room temperaturebefore serving. It is traditionallyvery hot and very oily.
(Continues...)Excerpted from COOKING FOR CROWDS by Merry White. Copyright © 2014 Princeton University Press. Excerpted by permission of PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Product details
- ASIN : B00F8MIJKS
- Publisher : Princeton University Press; Revised edition (November 28, 2013)
- Publication date : November 28, 2013
- Language : English
- File size : 4443 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 204 pages
- Page numbers source ISBN : B00K1GG476
- Best Sellers Rank: #3,204,347 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,380 in International Cooking
- #2,929 in International Cooking, Food & Wine
- #3,629 in Biscuit, Muffin & Scone Baking
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Merry White (also known as Corky) was born in Washington D.C. and raised in Chicago and Minnesota. She received her degrees (A.B., A.M., and PhD) from Harvard University in Anthropology (East Asian), Comparative Literature (English, French and Italian), and Sociology (Japan). She was Director of the Project on Human Potential at the Harvard Graduate School of Education from 1980 - 1986, a multinational study of learning with case studies in Japan, India, The People's Republic of China, Egypt, West Africa and Mexico. She was also Director of International Education at the School of Education during this period, and from 1976 - 1987 was administrator of the East Asian Studies undergraduate program at Harvard College. In 1987 she began teaching at Boston University and received tenure in 1989.
Her publications include: Coffee Life in Japan, (University of California Press, 2012); Perfectly Japanese: Making Family in an Era of Upheaval (University of California Press, 2002); The Material Child: Coming of Age in Japan and America (Free Press, 1993; Dobunshoin, 1993; University of California Press, 1994); Comparing Cultures (with Sylvan Barnet, Bedford Books, 1995); The Japanese Educational Challenge, (Free Press, 1986, Princeton University Press 1992, and Shueisha, 1992); The Japanese Overseas, (Free Press, 1988); Human Conditions (with Robert LeVine, Routledge, 1987) and Challenging Tradition: Women in Japan, (Japan Society, 1992). In addition she has published two cookbooks, Cooking for Crowds (Basic Books, 1973) and Noodles Galore (Basic Books 1976) and has written many articles on food and culture.
Merry White teaches courses on urban Japanese society, on food and culture, on women in Asia and on the anthropology of travel and tourism. In addition to teaching and writing, Dr. White is also consultant to educational and media projects related to Japan and to culinary anthropology. She has studied cooking in Japan and Italy, and was a professional caterer. She has also recently worked with the Discovery Channel to create a television series on Asian foodways, appearing in a one hour segment on Japanese cuisine which won two Asian Television awards. Her next project is a book on the world history of food, written with her son Ben Wurgaft, to be followed by a research project on the natures of food work. She also works with a project to sell Cambodian coffee in Japan, in order to support local development and elementary schools in north-eastern Cambodia. She has two children: Jennifer (White) Callaghan who is a lawyer in London, and Benjamin Wurgaft, an intellectual historian in Berkeley, California, and one grandchild, Meghan Callaghan. Merry White lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, about half-way between them.
A recent interview:http://www.heartnstomach.com/post/19730573134/corky-white-on-second-winds-japan-and-the-beards#.T2t2GC0GN-k.email
>
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon-
Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
The book is also fun to read and has illustrations by New Yorker cartoonist Ed Koren. It makes a great gift, and I've already given it to several delighted friends.
This is one of my favorite cookbooks, which says something, as I've got an inordinate number of them. It was published in the 70s (even has Ed Koren drawings!), but its recipes were way ahead of their time. Lots of ethnic-but-immensely-palatable dishes, all of which are perfect for crowd-cooking - or even the smaller dinner party. Each recipe gives proportions for serving 6, 12, 20 and 50 people, so you can easily adapt them to your needs. The recipes are also easily prepared, perfect for those of us who don't have time to cook much any more.
Bottom line: If you find this book, buy it - you won't be sorry!
She did not find any recipes that she liked.

