Best pot luck recipes

[Darienne]

This June, per usual, I have about four Pot Luck luncheons to attend, bringing a suitable dish to share, etc, etc.

Thanks to cathyeats, I have this wonderful new Quinoa salad which I can take as my contribution to at least two of the four.

I'd love to have some really terrific new recipes to bring to the others also. Salads and desserts, breads and nibbles...preferably all in the cool range...please.

You can find Cathy's Tangy Quinoa Salad recipe on What Would Cathy Eat

[kayb]

One that I did for a good-sized group for a brunch was an asparagus/cantaloupe salad. Roast however much asparagus you need (with just olive oil and s&p, and arrange it on a platter. Dice up a half a medium cantaloupe and 4 oz of fresh mozzarella for each pound of asparagus, and sprinkle that over the top. Top that with a lemon viniagrette, a sprinkle of salt, and a few grinds of black pepper, and some grated parmesan. Nice, easy salad you can make in advance, which is always a Good Thing, but doesn't have to be refrigerated once you get it where it's going, which is another good thing.

[cathyeats]

Thanks for the shout-out, Darienne. Glad you like my recipe! It's become a big favorite among my friends, too.

[judiu]

I do a rediculously simple bean salad that the group that I cook for all seem to really enjoy.It's more "semi homemade" than fancy foodie, but it's tasty, quick and cheap; also vegan and darn near fat free. I'm sort of embarresed to post it, it's so easy, but here goes: Drain a can of black eyed peas, one of garbanzos and one of white beans (canallini). Rinse well, and pour into a big bowl. Partially drain a can of diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning (save about half the juice )and add juice and tomatoes to beans. Chop a large onion medium fine, to mimic the size of the beans and add to the bowl.(I like red onion for this)Clean and chop a head of celery (no leaves)and add this to the bowl, too. Dump in about half a bottle of Newman's Own Original salad dressing and a bunch of dry basil and dry thyme. Stir well, taste for salt and acidity (you made need a shot of vinegar or lemon juice to brighten it up) Chill and serve; checking for seasoning again before serving. Takes longer to post than to make!

Edited to correct typos.

Edited June 8, 2010 by judiu (log)

[cathyeats]

I bet it tastes really good, but a half bottle of salad dressing sounds like an awful lot of fat, and not necessarily the best kind of fat - I think they use soybean oil in their dressings. I might try it with some extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar instead.

[judiu]

I haven't check the type of oil used in the Original, and it's a sorry mess when I don't even take time to make my own dressing, but it tastes so darn good with the seasonings that are inherent to the bottled stuff ! FWIW, Newman's is the only bottled salad dressing that I really like. Hidden Valley Ranch is OK, but every thing else I've tried is majorly nasty. Have no clue why, just NOT to my taste. Again, that's half a small bottle for almost 3 pounds of beans, a BIG onion and a head of celery. Given that the bowl will serve a BUNCH of people at a pot luck, it doesn't seem like a lot of oil to me!

[emilyr]

Broccoli salad is big around here. I end up making it most years for church picnics at the end of the summer when I just plain run out of ideas from potlucks. It's 6-8 heads of broccoli cut into small florets, green onions and almonds mixed with a dressing of mayo, vinegar and sugar. Kind of like broccoli slaw. Some people around here add raisins or grapes, but I hate that flavor - it's overly sweet with the dressing.

I also do a Caprese salad with grape tomatoes and the pearl mozzarella, and sometimes put this on top of roasted asparagus.

ETA: Oh, and my girlfriends often ask for a couscous salad with dried apricots, green onions, feta cheese and pecans. Yum!

Edited June 14, 2010 by emilyr (log)

[Jaymes]

We have several other "Pot Lucks" threads, and they are absolutely full of great ideas and recipes. Actually, I refer to them quite often. You might do a search for other threads with "Pot Luck" in the title.

____________________

Edited June 14, 2010 by Jaymes (log)

[judiu]

Broccoli salad is big around here. I end up making it most years for church picnics at the end of the summer when I just plain run out of ideas from potlucks. It's 6-8 heads of broccoli cut into small florets, green onions and almonds mixed with a dressing of mayo, vinegar and sugar. Kind of like broccoli slaw. Some people around here add raisins or grapes, but I hate that flavor - it's overly sweet with the dressing.

I also do a Caprese salad with grape tomatoes and the pearl mozzarella, and sometimes put this on top of roasted asparagus.

ETA: Oh, and my girlfriends often ask for a couscous salad with dried apricots, green onions, feta cheese and pecans. Yum!

Emilyr, what kind of dressing do you use for the couscous salad? Also, when you make the couscous, do you rehydrate it with just water, or do you add fruit juice or chicken broth or something else? Sounds wonderful!Ever make it with a different type of cheese?

[kayb]

Bumping this thread up because I'm headed to my high school reunion (No. 45!) next weekend and one of the events is a pot-luck picnic on Sunday. As I am planning to go up on Thursday, and really don't much want to cook a lot while I'm there, I'll be preparing things that'll hold several days.

 

I have a half a pork loin in the freezer. It occurs to me to smoke that, then either SV it or steam in the IP, a la pastrami, to tenderize, then chill and slice. Simple enough. I also have a couple of corned beef briskets in the freezer and could do one of those as pastrami, but I'm leaning toward the loin as those are easier to replace in the freezer and I tend to be parsimonious with my pastrami.

 

What's the best suggestion -- SV first, then smoke, or the other way around?

 

For sides, I think I'm going to be driven by what the farmers' market may have. I'm hoping against hope for new potatoes; if so, I'll do a big bowl of new potato salad with olive oil/lemon juice/thyme dressing, and boiled eggs, chopped olives and lots of bacon crumbled in. If they don't, I may get fingerlings at the grocery and do the same thing. Baked beans are always a potential; those, I COULD make up home and bake them Sunday morning so they'd still be warm. I have a big Le Creuset covered baker that keeps stuff warm for hours. But a bean salad would be easier.

 

Might devil eggs, if I get ambitious, particularly since I picked up the tip of packing the filling in one zip-lock, the egg halves in the other, and filling them onsite.  Could do smoked salmon deviled eggs topped with creme fraiche and caviar, just to impress. Can always make up a big bowl of jail slaw, as that keeps forever and travels well. If the Amish farmers have greenhouse tomatoes, a big plate of sliced tomatoes would not go amiss.

 

If there are strawberries still at the market, I'll grab a couple of containers and make a strawberry cheesecake.  Otherwise, something else cheesecakey, so I can stick it in the freezer  and get it out Sunday.

 

A lot of my high school classmates read and comment on my blog, and will be expecting different/unusual/a step out of the ordinary from me.

 

Any other suggestions?

 

 

 

[lindag]

If it were me, I'd do a pulled pork, I think.

[blue_dolphin]

My, that is quite the list, @kayb - are you responsible for the entire pot-luck????

 

I've been doing a black bean & roasted corn salad that can morph into a salsa with chips or a regular side salad.  Easy and tastes good at RT. 

Everyone seems to like deviled eggs and your fancy ones sound lovely. 

[kayb]

It's always been my practice, at a pot-luck, to take an entree, a couple of sides and a dessert. Don't know why. That's what Mama did, and what I do,

[scubadoo97]

@kayb  I think we went to high school together :).  Menu sounds over the top.  Have a blast 

[Kerry Beal]

On 5/18/2018 at 7:30 PM, kayb said:

It's always been my practice, at a pot-luck, to take an entree, a couple of sides and a dessert. Don't know why. That's what Mama did, and what I do,

Probably a good way to guarantee you get something to eat that you want!

[chromedome]

On 5/18/2018 at 2:40 PM, kayb said:

Bumping this thread up because I'm headed to my high school reunion (No. 45!) next weekend and one of the events is a pot-luck picnic on Sunday.

 

I realized a couple of weeks ago that next summer will mark my 40th. That was a bit of a head-turner.

[Tri2Cook]

This can't possibly be an original thought, almost everything has been done at this point, but just out of curiosity, has anybody tried making deviled eggs using pickled eggs?

[Kerry Beal]

30 minutes ago, Tri2Cook said:

This can't possibly be an original thought, almost everything has been done at this point, but just out of curiosity, has anybody tried making deviled eggs using pickled eggs?

Looks like it's been done - but I certainly haven't done it. Nor have I pickled eggs. I've eaten my fair share of them though.

Edited May 21, 2018 by Kerry Beal (log)

[TdeV]

On 2018-05-18 at 12:40 PM, kayb said:

jail slaw

 

What is Jail Slaw?

[Tri2Cook]

5 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Looks like it's been done - but I certainly haven't done it. Nor have I pickled eggs. I've eaten my fair share of them though.

 

Yeah, I've eaten a few over the years and I very rarely make deviled eggs. Just popped into my head when I saw them mentioned kayb's post for some reason. I had a good friend when I was younger who's favorite thing to do was eat pickled eggs with beer and then later that day when everybody was in the car headed wherever we were going, he'd lock the windows, turn up the heat and make his own variation on a gas chamber.

[Kerry Beal]

5 minutes ago, Tri2Cook said:

Yeah, I've eaten a few over the years and I very rarely make deviled eggs. Just popped into my head when I saw them mentioned kayb's post for some reason. I had a good friend when I was younger who's favorite thing to do was eat pickled eggs with beer and then later that day when everybody was in the car headed wherever we were going, he'd lock the windows, turn up the heat and make his own variation on a gas chamber.

Indeed - that and pony's cocks.

[Tri2Cook]

1 minute ago, Kerry Beal said:

Indeed - that and pony's cocks.

Gonna have to confess my ignorance on that one... never heard of pony's cocks. At least, not in any manner that you'd likely be referring to here. 

[Kerry Beal]

20 minutes ago, Tri2Cook said:

Gonna have to confess my ignorance on that one... never heard of pony's cocks. At least, not in any manner that you'd likely be referring to here. 

Oh dear - that was what they called the pickled sausage that was in the same container with the pickled eggs in the bar. Apologies to those who googled trying to find it - apparently it doesn't take you to pickled sausage @Anna N tells me.

[Tri2Cook]

10 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Oh dear - that was what they called the pickled sausage that was in the same container with the pickled eggs in the bar. Apologies to those who googled trying to find it - apparently it doesn't take you to pickled sausage @Anna N tells me.

No it does not!  Never heard that particular name where I lived but I was a fan of pickled sausages when I was a younger man. May be still, actually... haven't had them in a long time.

[Kerry Beal]

4 minutes ago, Tri2Cook said:

No it does not!  Never heard that particular name where I lived but I was a fan of pickled sausages when I was a younger man. May be still, actually... haven't had them in a long time.

Perhaps we could invent a new item for pot luck - a deviled egg made from a pickled quail egg, placed atop a slice of pickled kielbasa?