Potluck Dinner Party Menu Ideas

November 29, 2006 5:06 PM

It's time, once again, for a menu idea for an annual potluck at my house. Past successes have included veggie lasagne, rice noodles w/ peanut sauce, chicken/spinach curry, potroast, chicken wings, potatoes au gratin, corn pudding. Health conscious, veggie friendly, no red meat (the potroast was popular, but I made a nonmeat alternative, and that's a lot of extra work). Preferably not incredibly untidy to eat, as it's buffet and laps. No Canned "Cream of" Soups. Money is not unlimited, so no lobster or caviar. I like to cook, but nothing terribly complicated. @ 15 people.

Considering: Pad Thai or Thai Spring Rolls. White Bean, Green Chili & Chicken Soup. Chicken pot pie (biscuit top crust).

posted by theora55 to Food & Drink (7 answers total)

Best answer: I made mushroom lasagna from Cook's Illustrated for my most recent potluck, and it was incredibly well-received. The recipe is involved but not complex. There are a fair few steps, but nothing about them that you could conceivably screw up.

It's a nice twist on the usual lasagna, since it's a white sauce dish, rather than tomato based, and very fork food friendly. Email me if you'd like an actual recipe.
posted by jacquilynne at 5:12 PM on November 29, 2006

Does it have to be a main dish? I've been recently tinkering with a recipe for a great pot-luck dessert, which, while rich, is memorable and tasty.
posted by crunchland at 6:07 PM on November 29, 2006

Response by poster: Yeah, main dish is necessary, but the cookies look killer. Jacquilynne, wanna post the recipe here? and/or, send to me at gmail. Thanks!
posted by theora55 at 8:08 PM on November 29, 2006

Roasted Veggies. Hack up stuff like squash, potatos, yams, carrots, onions, etc. (make sure the peices are small enough on the non-squash items). Toss with olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper. Stick it in a pan in a 425F oven for a half hour. Shake the pan a couple times during cooking. Add some whole garlic cloves, stir, and let it go another half hour. Delicious, healthy, vegan. (I serve this as dinner over quinoa).
posted by ilsa at 8:29 PM on November 29, 2006

Recipe sent - assuming I correctly interpreted your address as your MeFi username at gmail, you should have it.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:07 PM on November 29, 2006

I have made a strata loaded with spinach and cheese for two of the last potlucks I have been to and they have been a huge hit. They are cheap, easy, vegetarian, and can feed a lot of people with little effort. In case you have never had strata, they are like savory bread puddings. Cook's Illustrated has a kickbutt recipe.
posted by Foam Pants at 9:59 PM on November 29, 2006

Response by poster: The mushroom lasagna was a big hit. Thanks for all the answers.
posted by theora55 at 5:11 PM on December 19, 2006