Potluck sounding board

[jsolomon]

My office is having their Winter Potluck next week, and I'm thinking of nodding my head toward the two vegetarians we have in the group.

I'm thinking of making Mizducky's Beet and Beet-green Borscht. But, I'm thinking of roasting all of the mirepoix at the same time as the beets.

My question is, if I roast the mirepoix and put some color on it, will that overpower the beets or taint the flavor? Do others think it will fly with run-of-the-mill, unadventurous palates?

[SuzySushi]

Much as I love beets, I'd suggest you not bring borscht to the potluck. Beets are one of the least popular vegetables, ranking way up there with Brussels sprouts and rutabagas.

[Badiane]

Plus they have a nasty tendency to stain everything they touch...

How about a nice curried butternut squash? You could even turn it into a soup if you wanted

Helpful, aren't we?

To answer the original question, I would roast the mirepoix...but it will make for a sweeter soup, so you might want to add a little hit of vinegar or something.

[jgm]

Personally, I would love to try your borscht, but I'm known for eating things that others won't. If you brought it to the potluck at our office, I'd certainly give it a try (and almost certainly would like it), but you and I would be eating it alone.

I have to agree that something a little less adventurous would probably go over better. My hat's off to you for thinking of the vegetarians. I'm sure they will appreciate it.

If you still want to bring the borscht, do at least check with the vegetarians to see if they like beets. Just because they're vegetarian, doesn't mean they aren't picky eaters!

[daniellewiley]

OK, I have no comment on the Borsht issue (well, actually, I do - I'd eat it!).

Anyway, I need to go to a Potluck tomorrow night for my Bunco group. I'm kind of known for making the most interesting meals when I host, and for our special Christmas potluck, I'm sure they're expecting me to do something exciting.

Here's the dilemma. I can't make anything tonight, b/c I have my office Christmas party. Tomorrow, I have our sitter coming to the house at 4:30, right when I get home from work, so I will have about two hours to make the dish in its entirety. I can't cook the whole time, though, b/c I'll also have to nurse the baby, put makeup on, etc. etc.

In terms of ingredients, I can run to the store tomorrow at lunch, so ingredients aren't a major issue.

I think we are all supposed to bring hors d'oeuvres.

[jsolomon]

roasted chicken drumsticks or thighs. I usually do a riff on Barbara Kafka's 500F roasting.

20 minutes on the first side. Flip. 10 minutes on the next.

Only salt before roasting.

Delicious!

Oh, and the borscht went over well with those brave enough to try!

[little ms foodie]

I've got an office potluck next week that I'd like to contribute to but it has to be something that can hold- no ovens at work so mac n cheese, gratin, ect are out. I'm thinking chili in the crockpot but what else?? must not be too adventuresome.....what are your biggest potluck hits?

[Marlene]

Wendy, does your crock pot have a keep warm feature? I usually make honey garlic meatballs in this situtation. I make them the day before, baking them as I normally do, then chill them overnight. In the morning, dump them in the crockpot when you're leaving for work. Arrive at work and plug crock pot in on low setting. It will kick over to the keep warm feature and be perfect for serving at the time of the pot luck.

Ribs in the crock pot will work as well. Just cut them into single rib servings before putting them in the crock pot. You can brown the ribs or broil them the night before and chill them. I use a home made rib sauce, and pour that over the ribs in the morning and then plug the pot in when I get to the office.

Edited to add, the ribs should go on the high setting once you're at work.

Edited March 22, 2007 by Marlene (log)

[SeaGal]

I think chili is a great idea. Or, how about chili verde for a twist on the regular chili.

The ribs above sound good or pork shoulder, roasted or BBQ'd the night before, shred and add BBQ sauce to the crockpot for bringing to work and bring buns to make BBQ pork sandwiches. (Not culinairily PC in terms of real BBQ, but it works for a potluck).

Or how about cold sides, such as a bean or pasta salad?

[kiliki]

I just made larb for a work potluck and it was a HUGE hit-I had multiple requests for the recipe (here in Seattle, who doesn't like Thai? And most people will eat chicken). I just served it on a bed of lettuce but you could serve it in individual lettuce leaves, if you have time/prep space at work.

[maggiethecat]

My colorist is a great cook, and she told me what went over huge at the salon Christmas party: her chicken veg tortilla soup in a crockpot. Among the other offerings: cheap donuts, nasty supermarket layered dip, chip and dip, Target cupcakes -- her real soup disappeared early.

Overworked holiday-time hairdressers instinctively knew what would sustain them.

After the box of Krispy Kremes everyone appreciates real food. Apart from the ever-popular deviled eggs which are sui generis great, , the real purpose of a slow cooker is the company potluck -- I think I'll take a gallon of my minestrone next time, with fresh grated parm on the side It will taste good, even from the lunchroom styrofoam cups. Real food you can't buy from the machine in the lunchroom.

[Henry dV]

Sorry to side track, but what is a "potluck" ? I can`t find a definition.

[hummingbirdkiss]

a potluck is where everyone brings a dish and you eat share food together "pot luck"

some have themes but the best ones I think are those that people bring their best dishes with out a theme

I always make a home made roasted green chile and tomatillo salsa with just a tiny bit of heat so as not to overwhelm anyone ..easy on the cilantro for the same reason ...and lots of fresh tortilla chips ..

the plate is always empty afterwards

Edited March 23, 2007 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[rooftop1000]

One of my favorite crock pot party dishes is pulled pork

I usually season a pork butt with garlic powder, Frank's hot sauce, and brown sugar

then shread the meat and mix some of the drippings with BBQ sauce and serve with small rolls

You could go many directions with the initial seasoning though

tracey

[little ms foodie]

WOW!! these are all fantastic ideas!!! thank you....ok now to make some decisions!

[snowangel]

Two more suggestions, Wendy. Posole or carnitas!

[kiliki]

You can tell how many people on this thread don't have to take public transit to work! All of my potluck dishes have to be transportable in tupperware, immune to harm if jostled, and no crock-pot necessary.

[Shalmanese]

I have to say, after attending an eGullet potluck, I think I'm completely spoiled for any other.

[little ms foodie]

Two more suggestions, Wendy.  Posole or carnitas!

←

ding ding I think we have a winner!!!! mmmmmm, carnitas!! thank you!!!

[SeaGal]

Mmmmm, carnitas! (_8^(1),,,,

*edited to add drooling symbols

Edited March 26, 2007 by SeaGal (log)

[dividend]

Is soup a terrible idea for a potluck? We're having one at my office on Thursday, and the e-mail that went out about it specifically stated that I had to be there, because the boss thinks I'm a good cook. That might be true (at least, compared to the frozen-dinner-for-lunch girls I work with), but now I feel pressure to do something awesome. My favorite big-batch thing that I normally make (to stock the freezer), is roasted red pepper and tomato soup. So I was thinking I'd make a double batch of that on Wednesday, and then crock pot it in the morning. But yesterday my roommate posited that soup is not an easy thing to eat, and thus might be inapropriate for a pot luck. What do you guys think?

[wattacetti]

Is soup a terrible idea for a potluck?  We're having one at my office on Thursday, and the e-mail that went out about it specifically stated that I had to be there, because the boss thinks I'm a good cook.  That might be true (at least, compared to the frozen-dinner-for-lunch girls I work with), but now I feel pressure to do something awesome.  My favorite big-batch thing that I normally make (to stock the freezer), is roasted red pepper and tomato soup.  So I was thinking I'd make a double batch of that on Wednesday, and then crock pot it in the morning.  But yesterday my roommate posited that soup is not an easy thing to eat, and thus might be inapropriate for a pot luck.  What do you guys think?

←

I've done soup. Apart from having to supply insulated cups so that no one burns themselves, the important thing is to not have something chunky so that they can drink it from the cups. It is a difficult thing to serve if they have to manoever with spoons.

[mizducky]

Soup can be a little more challenging to manage in a potluck environment, as diners can't just sling it on their plates along with all the other solid foods, and thus have to juggle a separate bowl/cup or else make a separate soup trip. On the other hand, soups are very satisfying crowd-pleasers, and they feed a lot of people. Myself, I'd say a good soup is worth the slight extra logistical fuss. One of the groups at my church regularly does an all-soup potluck, and it's a real hit--they get about ten crock pots and several additional pots/bowls laid out on the buffet, plus a big green salad, fruit, and cookies, and people just go nuts over it. (People bring some darn good soups to this, too--it's like it becomes a friendly little contest.)

[astartenyny]

on the subject of potlucks in general, are there any tips you can share about organising them?

i had a work friend host one this past weekend. it was him, his 2 flat mates and my partner and i. he hadn't done a potluck before so i essentially told him that each guest brings a dish and it's good to spread the types of dishes around. so i volunteered a starter and a side/veggie main.

it was a lot of fun and now i want to host one at our house. i'm thinking of doing one for cinco de mayo. so what guidance can i give my guests without being too demanding? i'm going to stress the mexican theme but not hold anyone to it.

should i suggest to each guest which course to bring?

should i suggest how many portions to make?

ok to let someone bring the 'drinks' course?

i just want to make sure that there is enough food and enough variety for people to enjoy themselves. other than vegetarians i don't expect any other dietary restrictions.

[mizducky]

Hi astartenyny--one of the better ways I've seen of organizing a potluck was practiced by a group I used to belong to many years ago. They would put together a potluck sign-up list, that would include blanks for various courses--say, like four blanks for entrees, two blanks for salads/starters, etc. etc. (there were about 30 people in this group, so you'd scale the list accordingly). They were juggling a whole bunch of different special diets in that group, too, so they'd specify some of the blanks accordingly (i.e. "vegan dish", "no dairy" dish, etc.) Then they'd circulate the list and get the blanks filled accordingly. That way, they could be directive enough to avoid, say, the one evening before they put in this system when *everybody* brought a potato-based dish (yummy, but a bit heavy!), but still give people some freedom of choice.

As to getting people to stick to a theme--depending on how foodie-ish your friends are, that could be more or less of a challenge. People have gotten enough exposure to, well, at least something they might think of as Mexican food, that they might be fine to run with that if you simply say "hey, the theme is Cinco de Mayo." You could maybe help jog people's creativity by providing a list of dish suggestions, including some really simple dishes as well as a few demanding ones. But for the rest--well, there's a reason they call it pot luck, y'know? Sometimes just seeing what the luck of the pot brings you is worth it in serendipity--or at least in entertainment value.