My own potluck disaster had nothing to do with the quality of the food.   One summer during college, I hosted a picnic at my parents' house, to which I asked everyone to bring a side dish to pass (I was grilling the meat).  The first guest brought a potato salad.  As did the second ... as did the third.  From that point forward, it got very exciting - we began betting on whether each next guest would bring a potato salad. And they did.  Every single one of them.   Ellen