For a gathering -- not a tete-a-tete

The cookbook is displayed in typical Costco fashion, on an enormous table amid mounds of other discount books, somewhere between a pallet of men’s bathrobes and a stack of clarinets. Its title: “Entertaining the Costco Way.” The price: a mere $9.99.

That’s right -- Costco, purveyor of mega-jars of mayonnaise and super-sized steak packs that could feed entire towns -- has officially entered the fray as publisher with this, its first book. Introduced for the holidays, the 271-page glossy is currently the store’s top-selling cookbook. And no wonder. It’s chock-full of more than 300 recipes that can be whipped together using commonly purchased items from the 38-million-member bulk retailer -- all of them submitted by celebrity chefs like Sara Moulton or, more commonly, Costco suppliers, members and employees.

Among the offerings: Skippy chicken sate with peanut sauce, Ragu chili and the mildly alarming Dean Specialty Foods’ fried dill pickles. One recipe, submitted by warehouse member Nancy Stanton, is for true Costco fanatics. Simply titled Costco-Coded Supper Dish, its ingredients have been converted into item number codes, with the recipe calling for 1/3 cup of #22863, two large #67245 and a dash of #848038, among other things. What that makes, only a die-hard shopper would know, but the accompanying photo shows something with potatoes.

Like many of the book’s recipes, Stanton’s supper dish serves a modest eight -- not quite the army one would expect, given the store’s jumbo offerings.

“You can cook for less than a regiment. It doesn’t have to be brigade size,” said Jim Sinegal, Costco’s chief executive and president. “The book’s not done up for someone with a dinner party for two. It’s for entertaining.”

Separated into seasons and specific events, the book takes readers through the entire year. Whether it’s a traditional Christmas dinner or quaint afternoon tea party, rowdy tailgater or blowout birthday, Costco’s got it covered. And it isn’t just the food.

In the segment on hosting a romantic bridal luncheon, the book plugs a KitchenAid mixer, Henckels knife set and Osterizer blender -- all of which, the book suggests, would be perfect gifts for that special bride-to-be. And all of which can be conveniently purchased at Costco. Costco, it seems, isn’t just publishing but pioneering an entirely new category: the catalog cookbook.

Pushing her way past shoppers whose carts were filled with walls of toilet paper and crates of apple juice, Vaida Mikuckis of La Canada stopped to pick up a copy of the book at the Costco in Atwater Village. She and her husband were having a party the following weekend and she was “looking for fast things that are easy to do.”

She flipped through some pages, then returned it to the stack. “I’ll probably buy stuff already pre-made here. Probably some honey-baked hams and supplement them with cheese and shrimp platters,” she said, wheeling her cart toward the deli counter.

Mikuckis may not have bought the book, but she was still entertaining the Costco way.

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A dash of #848038

It’s hard to tell whether Nancy Stanton’s Costco-Coded Supper Dish is a recipe or a quiz. Calling for two large #67425, a dash of #848038 and one large bag of #5685, among other ingredients, it’s entirely written in warehouse item codes. Preparation instructions ask cooks to “heat a large skillet and add 3 tablespoons #22863 and butter.” The solution to this riddle is somewhere in “Entertaining the Costco Way,” but, as its editor warns, you’ll just have to hunt for it!

-- Susan Carpenter