Potluck disasters

[I_call_the_duck]

I'd question the spoon in the dip. One of my best double dipping stories happened when I was visiting my husband's family. His cousin brought out a nice crudite platter, which included a big bowl of guacamole. His cousin, like ruthcooks, put a spoon in each dip. His uncle, who was sitting next to the guac, took a nice spoonful of guacamole, put it in his mouth, and put the spoon back into the bowl! I think he actually did this a couple of times before someone noticed.

This happened a couple of years ago, but we still get a good laugh out of it.

[I_call_the_duck]

I've been reading this forum with much amusement and some horror. Our holiday parties at my current place of employment have been pot-luck. People that don't or can't cook have enough sense not to bring in any food. People have also been careful about storing and reheating the food. So I've been lucky--the food has been pretty good as far as pot-lucks goes. This year, they decided to have the party catered. Looking at the menu, I'm uninspired, as it's not very exciting--seafood, salads, pasta, devilled eggs, meatballs, hot wings, cold cuts, and assorted pastries.

A sampling of last year's menu:

tortilla roll-ups, crab dip, apple/cheddar bread

mac & cheese, Kielbasa & sauerkraut, tofu/pork, chili, Jambalaya, meatballs & sausage, mesquite chicken, chicken stir-fry, sesame noodles, Swedish meatballs, Spinach & lentil soup, cous cous, pasta salad, lasagne

German chocolate bars, eggnog cupcakes, pound cake

So I'm a little disappointed. Instead of getting a nice Smorgasbord, we're getting this. OK, someone knock some sense into me. Why am I sad that I'm missing this pot-luck party?

[racheld]

It's just like Shelby said to M'Lynn in Steel Magnolias---"I'd rather have thirty minutes of Wonderful than a lifetime of Nothin' Special."

We'd all prefer iffy Interesting, with all those POSSIBLITIES for scrumptious or delicious or scrumdiddlyumptious, with just the MAYBE of pleasant surprise, over BLAH anything.

Just speaking for myself, not Miles Standish.

[Diner Girl]

I just think it's amazing that with the geographic diversity in this thread, as well as the timespan during which all these potlucks took place, that Sandra Lee seemed to be at all of them.

[annanstee]

I know what carob tastes like:  chocolate with the chocolate left out.  Think this:  make vanilla pudding, put a teaspoon of cocoa in it and call it chocolate pudding. 

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You forgot to add the melted crayons!

[lesfen]

Is it BAD for me to actually be hoping for a holiday potluck, this year? I just want to acually be able to photograph some evidence.

[snowangel]

MPR Morning Show fans are very familiar with the song "Lime Jello Cottage Cheese Marshmallow Suprise." Those not in the know can check out the lyrics by clicking on the link here. A horror, which more of us have seen than will admit to.

[cathrynapple]

tonight i attended a christmas musical at my parents' church, followed by a dessert.

it was mentioned just before the musical that a "team of volunteer bakers" had been working hard all day on the desserts, and we should all look forward to it. i was so excited. when the performance finished, we all shuffled across the icy parking lot to the hall where i expected to find cakes, brownies, cookies, pies, puddings, mousses....

but alas:

there were plates and plates and plates of jello cherry cheesecake, made in aluminum foil roasting pans, cut into LARGE (like five by five inches here) squares. was this the only choice? no. there was a hgue bowl of chex mix at the end of the table.

i refrained from making comments, although i wanted SO BADLY to ask SOMEONE how i "team of bakers" "working all day" could have come up with somethign so gross. i ate a few mouthfuls of the stuff. no flavor, just SWEET PASTE with a dyed red gel on top. disgusting and sad.

[ruthcooks]

I know what carob tastes like:  chocolate with the chocolate left out.  Think this:  make vanilla pudding, put a teaspoon of cocoa in it and call it chocolate pudding. 

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You forgot to add the melted crayons!

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How silly of me! But not too many, and only the sort of tannish colored ones.

[racheld]

what does it taste like?

pink oil hair sheen.

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I'm not familiar with the product, but is it possible that she made the pudding with one of those instant/quick-cook BANANA-flavored mixes? They seem to go right down the assembly line beside the bottles of Cutex Nail Polish Remover, chatting and dipping into each others' ingredients.

I've tasted that foul pudding a couple of times, made by well-meaning, kitchen-proud cooks whose dishes simply shine at Church Suppers and funeral feasts, but whose pantry arsenal leans toward the Lee and Stovetop persuasion.

A mouthful of that stuff is like a day at Nails-R-Us.

[Kris]

I've been to many a potluck over the years and have encountered some truly yucky food and situations:

At an office holiday party, a male co-worker who is mentally challenged and has a hygiene/odor problem, brought two pans of baked ziti that no one touched. Perhaps it's because it smelled like he used limburger cheese instead of mozzarella. He ate ziti for lunch for a week after that.

My cousin's going away party featured a yucky looking, brownish dip made of eggplant. No one touched it and the woman who made it looked kind of dissapointed that no one ate it. I bravely tried it and was sorry that I did.

At another holiday office party potluck, an Indian (from India) co-worker made a rice pudding that no one touched. A lot of my co-workers were scornful of her because she was vegetarian who ate all sorts of "exotic" Indian dishes for her daily lunch that they weren't familiar with. I tried the rice pudding and it wasn't bad, just a little sweet and too much cardamom for my taste.

There are always office potlucks and if I know that a specific person made a dish, I'll avoid it. Some people are just nasty and don't wash their hands when going to the bathroom or in the case of one guy who fancies himself a gourmet chef - he's always digging in his nose or scratching his backside. I always avoid his food at the office potluck, but one year he cornered me. He made sausage and peppers (using a variety of chicken and turkey sausages) and stood right near me to ensure that I had some on my plate. Instead of me being able to discreetly tuck it into my napkin once he was out of my sight, I was forced to taste some as he hovered over me. I wasn't too happy about that.

Edited December 9, 2005 by Kris (log)

[divalasvegas]

I've been to many a potluck over the years and have encountered some truly yucky food and situations:

At an office holiday party, a male co-worker who is mentally challenged and has a hygiene/odor problem, brought two pans of baked ziti that no one touched.  Perhaps it's because it smelled like he used limburger cheese instead of mozzarella.  He ate ziti for lunch for a week after that.

My cousin's going away party featured a yucky looking, brownish dip made of eggplant.  No one touched it and the woman who made it looked kind of dissapointed that no one ate it.  I bravely tried it and was sorry that I did. 

At another holiday office party potluck, an Indian (from India) co-worker made a rice pudding that no one touched.  A lot of my co-workers were scornful of her because she was vegetarian who ate all sorts of "exotic" Indian dishes for her daily lunch that they weren't familiar with.  I tried the rice pudding and it wasn't bad, just a little sweet and too much cardamom for my taste. 

There are always office potlucks and if I know that a specific person made a dish, I'll avoid it.  Some people are just nasty and don't wash their hands when going to the bathroom or in the case of one guy who fancies himself a gourmet chef - he's always digging in his nose or scratching his backside.  I always avoid his food at the office potluck, but one year he cornered me.  He made sausage and peppers (using a variety of chicken and turkey sausages) and stood right near me to ensure that I had some on my plate.  Instead of me being able to discreetly tuck it into my napkin once he was out of my sight, I was forced to taste some as he hovered over me.  I wasn't too happy about that.

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Oh Dear God Kris I don't know what to say except that I hope that you have a strong constitution and had taken all of your shots! I have to say also that I have no patience for people who won't try stuff because it falls into a category as being too whatever: weird, foreign, "ewwwwwww, what's that, etc.

But, back to scratchy/diggy, I must ask: what did it taste like?

[Kris]

It was alright I suppose. I prefer pork Italian sausage for my sausage and peppers and I also like mine in sauce. His was dry with just sauteed onions and peppers.

But the thought of him scratching and digging was enough for me NOT to enjoy it.

I'm telling you, it was like something out of a movie. I'm sitting there with the plate on the table and he's standing over me asking me if I tried the sausage and peppers yet. I reply that I hadn't, so he just stands there hovering over me with a piercing gaze, waiting patiently until I finally (and hesitantly) put a piece of sausage and a few pieces of onion/pepper on my fork and into my mouth. It was a very surreal moment. LOL

Funny thing is, he attended the French Culinary Institute in NYC and has taken exotic culinary trips around the world to Thailand, Italy/Tuscany, China and Brazil. He frequents gourmet shops and buys expensive cooper cookware and capers for $30 a pound.

But he just has that nasty habit.

Our 2005 holiday office party is next Friday and he's making some sort of chicken dish. Needless to say, I will NOT be partaking of it.

[divalasvegas]

It was alright I suppose.  I prefer pork Italian sausage for my sausage and peppers and I also like mine in sauce.  His was dry with just sauteed onions and peppers. 

But the thought of him scratching and digging was enough for me NOT to enjoy it.

I'm telling you, it was like something out of a movie.  I'm sitting there with the plate on the table and he's standing over me asking me if I tried the sausage and peppers yet.  I reply that I hadn't, so he just stands there hovering over me with a piercing gaze, waiting patiently until I finally (and hesitantly) put a piece of sausage and a few pieces of onion/pepper on my fork and into my mouth.  It was a very surreal moment. LOL

Funny thing is, he attended the French Culinary Institute in NYC and has taken exotic culinary trips around the world to Thailand, Italy/Tuscany, China and Brazil.  He frequents gourmet shops and buys expensive cooper cookware and capers for $30 a pound. 

But he just has that nasty habit.

Our 2005 holiday office party is next Friday and he's making some sort of chicken dish.  Needless to say, I will NOT be partaking of it.

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LOL Kris. You are a better person than me. How sneaky, he caught you off-guard and foolishly you blurted out the truth! This time when he brings in his "chicken surprise" and he asks if you've tasted it, you'll be ready and say "oh yes, I've tried it and it was [fill in the blank]." Actually he sounds rather passive-aggressive to me.

Two things stand out from your experience: That it is possible to attend culinary school, buy expensive ingredients and cookware, and dine in places that I can only dream of and not be able to put together a decent dish. Also--and I have no idea what the answer is--is hygiene just not high up on the food chain so to speak in culinary schools or are we just dealing with someone who is intractably nasty? Probably the latter.

[Kris]

Yes, in recent years I've made sure to tell him that I've sampled his dish, I tell him it was good and he leaves me alone at that point.

I don't know what type of chicken he's making for Friday's office party. But does it really matter? I know for darned sure that I won't be eating it.

I don't know what type of emphasis hygiene/sanitation is in culinary schools. But that habit is one that he hasn't stopped in all the years I've known him (14). So I doubt he's changing any time soon.

[NWKate]

Okay, there was the time I dated an attorney who shared an office with several other attorneys. One of the other lawyers was a skinflinty Germanic nightmare who micromanaged her staff into constant turnover. For their office potluck, my friend polled his staff and had the lunch catered by the local restaurant of their choice. The other attorney? She bought her staff Subway sandwiches and a soda! I kid you not!

Kate

[rooftop1000]

This week I have had the pleasure of 2 office parties because I work for a company inside a company, sort of in-sourcing?

So first was my employer who served us chicken francaise, baked ziti, steak like stuff,(not bad)rice pilaf, salad, and rolls, with cake, cookies and soda and ....door prizes.

The main employer's party was today. Other than being a zoo as families were invited also it was Awsome

Puerto Rican station - chicken, plantains, rice n peas

Cental American station - roast pork, fried yucca with pickled onions and rice n beans

Sushi station

Middle East - chickpea salad, hummus, babaganoush, Tamarand bean dip, seasoned toasted pita and olives

Cheese and cracker displays with shrimp cocktail

The Heartland with roasts and chicken fingers, cocktail weenies, bread etc

Chocolate fondue with fruit cake and cookies

and

Wine, beer, and soda

The Heartland was packed, of course, so I had some of everything else and went home

tracey

oooops this was supposed to be bad meals .....

Edited December 23, 2005 by rooftop1000 (log)

[jackal10]

One of my companies booked into the awfulness at Newmarket Racecourse conference centre. http://www.newmarketracecourses.co.uk/file...rtybrochure.pdf

They should have known better. The grandstand hospitality suite tricked out (badly, low budget) as a Caribbean cruise. You need more than a couple of lifebelts and a steel band to make the illusion work. Worst sort of dried up rubber turkey, with clueless wait staff ("who's having the melon"). Wine that clearly had poison (Contains Sulfites) on the generic Chilean red wine label. A compere equally clueless. A balloon animal lady. Things to throw at other tables. A gift box containing a paper hat, more balloons and party poppers. Very poor acoustics, not helped by the band and PA system which meant that conversation was impossible.

We made our excuses and left. On the way out we were asked by a member of the venue management if we had enjoyed ourselves; they had difficulty in comrehending why we wanted to leave early.

Edited December 23, 2005 by jackal10 (log)

[YWalker]

When we have office meetings during lunch hour, my boss provides pizza, a bag of mini carrots, soft drinks, and ice.

Lately, rather than delivery, he has his wife pick it up and bring it by the office. He has her order it, too.

We now get 4 Domino's pizzas, each with the same topping combo: Veggie plus pineapple.

Last time we did this, she had to be somewhere at noon. She dropped off our pizzas around 11:15.

Lunch was served at around 12:30 or so.

Yum.

[lia]

We now get 4 Domino's pizzas, each with the same topping combo:  Veggie plus pineapple.

Now that is just plain mean.

[racheld]

One of my companies booked into the awfulness at Newmarket Racecourse conference centre. http://www.newmarketracecourses.co.uk/file...rtybrochure.pdf

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I tried to read the menu---it lost me on the first microscopic line, which reads something like:

Trio of Mouthwash Mulled Spiced Winter Durian

They SHOULDA known better.

[I_call_the_duck]

Instead of the usual potluck this year, our holiday party was catered, which everyone loved. Except me. Strangely enough, I look forward to potluck, because the people that bring in dishes make pretty good stuff. The people that don't cook have enough sense not to bring anything. Anyway, on the menu was devilled eggs, overcooked buffalo wings, dry meatballs, a huge cold cut platter, a pasta-seafood salad that was drowning in mayonnaise, and a green salad made with iceberg lettuce, tomatoes (that I’m sure came in a cellophane wrapper), and cucumbers. The dressing was a choice of cheap bottled Thousand Island, Italian, or French. For dessert, we had some scary peach cobbler and an assortment of cakes. OK, the rum cake was pretty good. And really poor selection of beverages. No alcohol, save two bottles of cheap wine, and nobody remembered to bring a corkscrew. (It was actually funny seeing people hovering over those two sad bottles.) And the next day, one of the people on the party committee said that we were offered some leftover beer from another company’s party, but he declined. Doh. Would have taken the edge off the food.

[suzilightning]

it wasn't a holiday pot luck but my husband's grandmother's funeral luncheon...

my mother-in-law ordered subway sandwiches - then took out the lettuce and tomatoes

edited to say i am a librarian - we always have good potlucks since most libarians live for two things - food and sex and not necessarily in that order. this year we started with crudite and a sun-dried tomato dip, homemade pimento cheese with bread to slather it onto. then came grilled filet, ham, shrimp, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, asparagus, chocolate silk cake and a grasshopper pie.

Edited December 29, 2005 by suzilightning (log)

[highchef]

it wasn't a holiday pot luck but my husband's grandmother's funeral luncheon...

my mother-in-law ordered subway sandwiches - then took out the lettuce and tomatoes 

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Why???

I mean, is there a rampant family allergy???

[suzilightning]

it wasn't a holiday pot luck but my husband's grandmother's funeral luncheon...

my mother-in-law ordered subway sandwiches - then took out the lettuce and tomatoes 

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Why???

I mean, is there a rampant family allergy???

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this family doesn't believe in any vegetable - especially "rabbit food"