Comments on: Potluck Dinner Party Menu Ideas

Question: Potluck Dinner Party Menu Ideas

theora55 — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 17:06:01 -0800

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).

By: jacquilynne

jacquilynne — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 17:12:30 -0800

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.

By: crunchland

crunchland — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 18:07:37 -0800

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.

By: theora55

theora55 — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 20:08:13 -0800

Yeah, main dish is necessary, but the cookies look killer. Jacquilynne, wanna post the recipe here? and/or, send to me at gmail. Thanks!

By: ilsa

ilsa — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 20:29:31 -0800

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).

By: jacquilynne

jacquilynne — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 21:07:16 -0800

Recipe sent - assuming I correctly interpreted your address as your MeFi username at gmail, you should have it.

By: Foam Pants

Foam Pants — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 21:59:32 -0800

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.

By: theora55

theora55 — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 17:11:00 -0800

The mushroom lasagna was a big hit. Thanks for all the answers.