You're
invited for dinner at a foodie friend's home. Sounds like fun, but there's
a catch. You have to contribute to the evening's cuisine.
That's when potluck panic sets in.
You're swamped at work and you're not a cook. Not a caterer. Not even a
hard core food snob.
You simply like to eat.
What do you take that will a) get eaten and b) impress everyone?
Maybe you'll opt for a plastic tub of macaroni salad or spinach dip from
your local grocery store.
Perhaps you prefer to hand your host a bag of Doritos and some salsa.
But there are other, more elegant options. Preparing a home cooked dish
for a potluck dinner doesn't have to be tough or time consuming.
The only rule? To prepare something simple, stylish and delicious in 30
minutes or less. A few more simple rules for holding a successful potluck.
First of all, set a theme or tone for the evening. A theme may sound "a
bit cheesy," but it helps people focus on what to contribute.
For instance, if you decide to hold a potluck, tell everyone you are making
a Mediterranean-style barbecued lamb dish for the main course. Then ask
a couple of people to bring vegetable dishes, and one or two other friends
to bring appetizers or salads.
And because of the choice of the lamb, everyone will know that the theme
is Mediterranean.
You have to give people direction. You have to say what they should make,
then you're giving people an anchor.
Ethnic themes such as French,
Asian, British,
Italian and Mexican
dinners are always popular for pot lucks.
But so are cookbook themes.
Find a really great cookbook and give everyone something to make from it.
Say you'll make the main dish. Someone will make a vegetable dish and so
on.
Choosing a cookbook theme doesn't mean you'll end up with an easy-to-prepare
dish.
The point of a potluck, is to eat, and that ultimately means coming up with
a mix of carefully chosen dishes.
A good rule is to include at least one meat dish, three vegetable dishes
and two farinaceous dishes such as pasta or bread
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