Holiday Potluck Lunch At Work

[bushey]

Our potluck is next week and the big sign-up sheet has been in the kitchen for a few days. I work in a pretty large department and lots of folks here love good food, so our pot-lucks are generally high quality. Some ethnic stuff, lots of crock pot dishes, breakfast items, several salads and lots of desserts.

I took the easy route and signed up for peppermint brownies. Make a double batch of whatever brownie mix is on sale, then about 5 minutes before they're done cover with little york peppermint patty candies and return the pan to the oven. The candy melts, but retains its shape, so spread it all over the brownies with a butter knife, as if its frosting.

Not haute, but easy and cheap and delicious.

[tryska]

hot dogs in the grape jelly & chili sauce(these lasted about 1/2 hour and at least three guys asked for the recipe to give to their wives)

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wow i never heard of this version.

i usually do lil smokies with currant jelly and spicy mustard sauce.

[bushey]

Whole berry cranberry sauce and chili sauce works as well -- great with little meatballs, served over rice. Also, whole berry cranberry sauce and a can of coke is delicious for brisket, but would probably be great for meatballs as well. Cook 'em overnight or all day in a crock pot.

[CharityCase]

I am in the same pot luck boat. This year I'm making a meat pizza and a veggie pizza and cutting it into squares to serve as appetizers. Everyone I know loves pizza so it's hard to go wrong with that.

Last year I brought curry wraps. Basically make your favorite curry recipe (using smaller chunks of veggies as it will be wrapped). Buy a melange of spinach, whole wheat, white and tomato tortillas, spread with either cream cheese or sour cream. Then spread a thin layer of curry, roll and cut into pinwheels.

It was a smash hit, perhaps because it tasted good but most likely because there's a lot of chip n' poppers in our office.

[Gastro888]

hot dogs in the grape jelly & chili sauce(these lasted about 1/2 hour and at least three guys asked for the recipe to give to their wives)

←

wow i never heard of this version.

i usually do lil smokies with currant jelly and spicy mustard sauce.

←

Interesting. So do you just cut up the hot dogs and cook them in jelly? Sounds tasty. That salty sweet combo thing going on there. Never heard of it before now!

Hmm...please provide details! (I work with Ally McBeal types...I'd get my jollies bringing this in!!!)

[Curlz]

Ah, one more reminder of why I love eG...it never occured to me to post with the same issue! That's why we're here, though, isn't it?

Having been the subject of a rather large article in the regional paper's food section this year, I'm constantly being hounded by my boss and co-workers. "Gee, Curlz...when are you going to make some of that for US???" I suspect that this year's pot luck-themed holiday party is supposed to excite and entice me. So far, not so much.

[Gastro888]

All kinds of goodies for using mayo here.

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Thanks for the link, but you could please repost it? The link's a lil' funky - keeps crashing my browser! Thank you!!!

[petite tête de chou]

Lets try again...

[suzilightning]

hot dogs in the grape jelly & chili sauce(these lasted about 1/2 hour and at least three guys asked for the recipe to give to their wives)

←

wow i never heard of this version.

i usually do lil smokies with currant jelly and spicy mustard sauce.

←

Interesting. So do you just cut up the hot dogs and cook them in jelly? Sounds tasty. That salty sweet combo thing going on there. Never heard of it before now!

Hmm...please provide details! (I work with Ally McBeal types...I'd get my jollies bringing this in!!!)

←

here's a link. the first time i ever had these was at my going away party at texarkana public library - in 1983!!

http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,191,159190-233201,00.html

[judiu]

Cool, thanks for the puff pastry and brie hint!  Sounds good.  Yeah, tryska, these would be the people who would appreciate Sandra Lee.  Caught her show last night as I was working out and she made this cresent rolls ring thing.  I wonder if I could fudge the brie and puff pastry receipe with the cresent rolls. 

Yes, these people would not appreciate puff pastry.  I'm pretty sure of it. 

(OK, I must fess up...I have a full, unopened jar of Trader Joe's Mayo that I'd like to use for this potluck.  Suggestions?  Oh yes, I love my company, oh yes, yes I do!)

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Gastro, try this: Using "tubed" crescent roll dough, rather than puff pastry, cubed cream cheese instead of brie, and mix the mayo with whole fruit cranberry sauce. Do a stripe of cranberry stuff, a couple of chunks of cream cheese, and more cranberry stuff. Roll up and bake. I'll bet they lap 'em up!

[Gastro888]

Lets try again... 

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Merci! Those mayo biscuits sound right up their alley.

judiu, thanks so much. Yeah, these folks would lap that up and then all afternoon there would be grousings of how "Oh my god, i ate so much, how will I ever fit into my bebe jeans?"

That hot dog and jelly w/ chile sauce is really ringing my bell. I wonder if I could cube up some SPAM instead of the hot dogs...or I could be really bad and make a cresent roll with Spam, mayo and whole fruit cranberry sauce...muwahahaha!

NOTE: Really, I'm a nice person!

[sequim]

One thing to do with alot of mayo is to make that ubiquitous hot artichoke dip. Bring that (counting on a microwave to heat it up in after you browned it at home) and serve with crusty baguettes.

I've been to good and bad potlucks. This current one is shaping up to be bad, lots of store bought things on the list. The list is by food categories so you can see who's bringing what which is helpful. We're the city gov and have lots of ethnic/minorities which usually makes for a good assortment of food. I think this year people are disgruntled with management so aren't in the mood for doing much. I'm bringing Marigold Rice out of Cooking Around the World by Sheila Lukins. It tastes good without needing to be really hot and is easy to bring in a large tupperware.

[suzilightning]

That hot dog and jelly w/ chile sauce is really ringing my bell. I wonder if I could cube up some SPAM instead of the hot dogs...or I could be really bad and make a cresent roll with Spam, mayo and whole fruit cranberry sauce...muwahahaha!

why not make both?

the hot dogs and the spam roll.

sounds like the people you work with deserve them. of course you are nice - just have almost a perverted sense of food fun as we do.

[Bernaise]

the hot dog with grape jelly and chili sauce thing is beyond intriguing...I'm thinking of making it with bits of tofu dogs for the next vegie potluck I'm invited to. But for clarification what is chili sauce? Here in Canada we have something called chili sauce but it is chunky and also sweet and not spicey at all...any tips?

[Rachel Perlow]

It's like ketchup, but a little spicier. Hold on I'll look for a link & edit this...

Well, I can't find a picture of the Heinz Chili Sauce bottle, but here's a link to the Heinz Chili Sauce Holiday Meatballs recipe. You can substitute hot dogs for the meatballs.

I think Heinz is ashamed of their Chili Sauce. I can't find anything about it on their site except for a few recipes that call for it.

[marie-louise]

My [multi-ethnic] department recently had an ethnic potluck. You were supposed to "bring something from your culture to share." Now, I wasn't there, so I can't personally vouch for the quality of the food, but people are still talking about how much fun and interesting it was, so I guess the food was pretty good. I mean, it does cut down on the chips-and-dips or diet soda offering-kinda embarrassing to say that is representative of your family's cultural heritage.

[suzilightning]

ok-

do you know how many fourth graders i have had to steer to an "ethnic food" from their heritage for the last 20+ years?

do they care?

do they actually cook/bake it?

do they give a rat's ass?

sorry the december cynicism is creeping- er flowing in.

rachel is spot on on the chili sauce. the dish is fun, interesting flavors and relatively inexpensive. for some reason it appeals to all. another collegue does hers with jack daniels bbq sauce, grape jelly and cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.

it freakin' disappears.

Edited December 9, 2004 by suzilightning (log)

[Gastro888]

It's like ketchup, but a little spicier. Hold on I'll look for a link & edit this...

Well, I can't find a picture of the Heinz Chili Sauce bottle, but here's a link to the Heinz Chili Sauce Holiday Meatballs recipe. You can substitute hot dogs for the meatballs.

I think Heinz is ashamed of their Chili Sauce. I can't find anything about it on their site except for a few recipes that call for it.

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Oh, THAT'S what chili sauce is? Neato! The chili sauce I use is from Maggi, and it's this sweet and spicy gooey chili sauce that's great on your blah leftovers. I think it's imported from Thailand or Malaysia.

As for the ethnic foods, yeah, it shouldn't be a mandatory thing that people bring in ethnic food. If the spirit of the department/company calls for sharing, cool beans, that idea is great. However, when you work in a close-minded place, you're just inviting a headache. (Lord, child, don't get me started about my workplace, a'rite?)

*sigh* My dear friend gave me the "do unto others as you would have done unto you" speech last night when I was telling her about this post. So now I feel guilty for making non-foodie quality food for them. Funny, I was considering artichoke dip prior to this post, however, I was worried about the quality of the dip if I made it the night before and baked it.

Edited December 9, 2004 by Gastro888 (log)

[chow guy]

Try bringing a crock pot of a thick delicious soup like potato etc. Soup is always a hit at those things.

[Megaroo]

The thing that I always take to potlucks is my own take on Starbucks' Greek Pasta salad. It's surprisingly yummy - has pasta, chickpeas, feta, cut up peppers... all sorts of yummy things. It seems to always go over well and it's fairly simple to make.

[tryska]

hot dogs in the grape jelly & chili sauce(these lasted about 1/2 hour and at least three guys asked for the recipe to give to their wives)

←

wow i never heard of this version.

i usually do lil smokies with currant jelly and spicy mustard sauce.

←

Interesting. So do you just cut up the hot dogs and cook them in jelly? Sounds tasty. That salty sweet combo thing going on there. Never heard of it before now!

Hmm...please provide details! (I work with Ally McBeal types...I'd get my jollies bringing this in!!!)

←

the way i learned it was just dump a can of currant jelly in a saucepan, and add the spicy mustard, and then bring to a simmer.

and then done.

i'm presuming ti works the same way for grape jelly and chilli sauce.

Edited December 9, 2004 by tryska (log)

[winesonoma]

hot dogs in the grape jelly & chili sauce(these lasted about 1/2 hour and at least three guys asked for the recipe to give to their wives)

←

wow i never heard of this version.

i usually do lil smokies with currant jelly and spicy mustard sauce.

←

Interesting. So do you just cut up the hot dogs and cook them in jelly? Sounds tasty. That salty sweet combo thing going on there. Never heard of it before now!

Hmm...please provide details! (I work with Ally McBeal types...I'd get my jollies bringing this in!!!)

←

the way i learned it was just dump a can of currant jelly in a saucepan, and add the spicy mustard, and then bring to a simmer.

and then done.

i'm presuming ti works the same way for grape jelly and chilli sauce.

←

I'm so glad I don't work with you people. I did my Christmas party for the last time last year and don't miss it at all. What a different world of food those people live in. The best things were always the ethnic food that people brought.

[Gastro888]

Currant jelly with mustard? Hmmm. I wonder how that would taste as a glaze on a ham. (On a side note about currants, currant scones w/ clotted cream and jelly...they rock!)

There is one ethnic dish someone's bringing but a select one or two people are requesting that pork be taken out of it. *rolls eyes* Not for religious reasons but just 'cause people don't like pork.

For the love of bacon fat, I work with non-pork eating people. Oy lah!

[judiu]

Currant jelly with mustard?  Hmmm.  I wonder how that would taste as a glaze on a ham.  (On a side note about currants, currant scones w/ clotted cream and jelly...they rock!)

There is one ethnic dish someone's bringing but a select one or two people are requesting that pork be taken out of it.  *rolls eyes*  Not for religious reasons but just 'cause people don't like pork. 

For the love of bacon fat, I work with non-pork eating people.  Oy lah!

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Gastro, the glaze works really well! Have tried it also with apricot jam and mustard on chicken breasts. YUM! Raspberry jam is another good candidate, as is peach preserves!

[tryska]

yeah - the currant jelly and mustard all freaks people out at first, but once it simmers together it makes a very nice sweet and spicy type of thing.

I like to use a very sharp mustard - either zatarains or grey poupon, typically.

i think it would make a great ham glaze - in almost any of the iterations mentioned above.

winesonoma - there's nothing scary about lil smokies dipped in currant jelly mustard sauce. it's quite good - i promise!