Recently it seems I’ve been going to more and more potlucks (is this something that comes with age?). Bringing the right dish to a potluck dinner is not always an easy task. I’m still learning the ins and outs. I struggle because I want people to like what I make. I don’t need rave reviews, but I do like bringing home an empty plate.
A year ago, the group I work with at the firm held a holiday potluck. I suspected they would hand out some superlative award for the best dishes, and my competitiveness got the best of me. I went all out and made one of my favorite Chinese dishes (one of the few I can make from scratch without referring to a recipe): Won tons. I generally make won tons and mix them in soup. In this case I fried them. They were tasty, but because I was at work I was forced to reheat them in the kitchen microwave which most definitely affected my hopes in coming away with a prize. My dish was mentioned, but no award (alas, Moira’s Cuban Black Bean Lasagna, which arrived in a Crock Pot, received all the accolades).
The lesson I learned there was to know the environment. If all you have is an office fridge, then bring a cold dish. Makes sense, eh. I am not even close to mastering the potluck dinner; I have yet to discover the perfect dish to bring. I do learn something each time, and try to hone the next dish based on this learning process. Here are some of the lessons I’ve learned:
Lesson 1: If you bring something that requires cutting, present it already cut. At the very least, start the cutting and leave a knife available so people can cut for themselves. My attempts at bringing anything from banana bread, to fresh-baked bread (courtesy of my fancy bread machine), to a bundt cake ended up futile because of my failure to make that first cut.
Lesson 2: If you bring a salad, dress it first. Perhaps I’m the only person in the world who uses dressing sparingly (I’m one of those who likes it on the side). Don’t bring a bottle of dressing. Just take that decision out of the process. There will likely be plenty of other salads to choose from, and then the dinner guest doesn’t have to fuss with putting dressing on themselves, or wondering if the salad is dressed.
Lesson 3: If you know people are going to bring home-baked pies, shy away from the store-bought. If you can’t bake, then bring something you can do. Even if it’s simple, like a salad (if you bring a salad, definitely refer to Lesson 2). If you have no choice but to bring something from the store, bring something that you know someone won’t be making from scratch. I don’t want a pie I bought from the store sitting next to a home-baked one. I’m just too insecure for that. Purchase fresh, good baguettes with a fun spread, like tapanade. Or a decent bottle of wine. Or a couple of boxes of satsumas.
The funniest thing about this … there are several amazing dishes I could bring that would win all sorts of praise. That bourbon pumpkin cheesecake, for example. For potlucks, though, I don’t want to spend 8 hours in the kitchen (the won tons actually took quite a bit of time). I want to spend no more than one hour working on it. Maybe that’s my problem. I’ll have to experiment for the next potluck (which I already know will be coming in January).
Anyway … all this talk about potlucks is because, of course, I went to one tonight. Marcie’s annual Hanukkah/Latke party. She provides the kugel and potato pancakes, and the guests provide everything else. Tonight I brought salad (refer to the lesson I learned tonight). I originally meant to ask Aunt Claire what she had in the salad served at Thanksgiving, but I didn’t get a chance, so instead I winged it (Lesson 4 should be don’t wing it). I loved the latkes. I had promised the husband I would bring one home for him but they were gone within minutes. Marcie sent me home with some tasty noodle kugel instead.
More pics from the potluck can be found on Flickr.