Potluck emergency!

May 5, 2013 1:12 PM

I have a Cinco de Mayo potluck to go to in 3 hours. What festive dish can I make to bring with the following ingredients I already have on hand?

Mayonnaise
3 avocados
3 cans of tuna
Pasta (tri-colored rotini and lasagna noodles)
Broccoli
Rice checks cereal
Honey
Cheese (cheddar+jack and parmesan)
2 bananas
5 lbs of mandarins
Loaf of bread
Coconut oil
Rum
Milk
Ranch dressing
21 Eggs
Butter

I've just described to you the contents of my pantry and fridge. Can you tell I don't cook much? I'm going to my friend's Cinco de Mayo party this afternoon and told her I'd contribute something. She will already have chips and salsa and a bean dip, as well as dessert.

I'm thinking I could whip up a cold pasta salad? I'm definitely bringing the 5 lbs of mandarins. Also the rum.

Suggestions?

posted by E3 to Food & Drink (13 answers total)

If you have time to buy a couple of tomatoes and an onion you can make a batch of guacamole.
posted by bunderful at 1:15 PM on May 5, 2013

Best answer: Do you have any spices on hand, like paprika? I say turn the 21 eggs into deviled eggs. It isn't particularly on theme, but everyone loves deviled eggs.
posted by telegraph at 1:21 PM on May 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

You could make a strata with the bread, eggs, cheese, milk and maybe avocados. Something like this. You don't really have to let it sit overnight.
posted by payoto at 1:21 PM on May 5, 2013

Best answer: Fried bananas? You could definitely skip the sauce and just use your bananas and the coconut oil, though if you could get your hands on a little powdered sugar to top it off that would go a long way for presentation.
posted by superfluousm at 1:21 PM on May 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

You've got most of the ingredients for bread pudding (banana rum honey bread pudding?), if you can wrangle up some cinnamon and/or vanilla or pumpkin pie spice or something.
posted by thirteenkiller at 1:26 PM on May 5, 2013

Use the bread, butter or mayo, and cheeses to make grilled cheese sandwiches, cut into quarters or smaller to make them mini.
posted by The Biggest Dreamer at 1:27 PM on May 5, 2013

Use the rum, oranges and bananas to make a rum soaked fruit dish, kind of like this: linky.

Or maybe avacado grilled cheese sandwiches.
posted by Michele in California at 1:29 PM on May 5, 2013

She will already have chips and salsa and a bean dip, as well as dessert.

Sounds like you need a main dishey sort of dish. I like the pasta salad idea, maybe garnished with hard boiled eggs (protein!) and avocado (more... fat!). Grilled cheese is a good idea too, if you have enough bread and cheese, but it's best right off the skillet so that might have you cooking at the party.
posted by jon1270 at 1:39 PM on May 5, 2013

Best answer: Deviled eggs with some sort of avocado filling! They have a ton of recipes online, maybe you could find one that you can make with your ingredients!
posted by lydhre at 1:41 PM on May 5, 2013

Avocado frittata? Top with sliced avocado!
posted by southern_sky at 1:50 PM on May 5, 2013

Use the bread, butter or mayo, and cheeses to make grilled cheese sandwiches, cut into quarters or smaller to make them mini.

If you choose grilled cheese sandwiches, I suggest making some of them with thin-sliced avocado, too. Great dipped into salsa!
posted by Elsa at 2:08 PM on May 5, 2013

Make the pasta salad with broccoli and tuna, and some of the ranch dressing. Bring the avocados with you, and if there is a lime or lemon in the house, mash them up there into some guac (add a T of the salsa that's already there, if you like.) Probably someone else will have brought guacamole, but you can't have too much at a cinco de mayo ... If no one has an extra lime or lemon, just slice up the avocados around your pasta salad.
posted by third rail at 2:13 PM on May 5, 2013

Response by poster: Thanks to telegraph and lydhre! I've got eggs hard boiling right now and I found this Avocado Deviled Eggs recipe by Martha Stewart. Great idea.

I wish I had enough bananas for the fried bananas recipe. Sounds delicious! I just might make a quick run to the store and pick up a few more.

Thanks for such quick responses, everybody! Please keep them coming! Just in case I over cook the eggs...
posted by E3 at 2:15 PM on May 5, 2013