Ideas for food to bring to a pot-luck dinner?

competitionscafe

Seems to be a couple of people having these lately, but I always struggle to think of something to take. Ideally it would be something that is served cold/room temp which is cooked or prepared in advance as it's not always possible to reheat at the party and also people tend to pick at stuff over an hour or so. Easy enough for a dessert course but less so for a main. Or perhaps something which could be quickly reheated in the microwave?

What have other people taken to potluck dinners which has been a popular success?

scotrae

I haven't got any great ideas yet but I'm going to be watching this thread with interest as I love the idea of hosting a pot luck or progressive supper. I'm on a mission to lead the return to basics revolution in our road in 2009!

PasturesNew

Is it a sit down thing? Or a standing/buffet thing?

advent1122

Why have you been thanked for this question?

competitionscafe

PasturesNew wrote: »

Is it a sit down thing? Or a standing/buffet thing?

Depends on how many people turn up, but probably more stand-up /eat off lap kind of thing, very informal.

competitionscafe

advent1122 wrote: »

Why have you been thanked for this question?

Maybe because the 'thanker' finds the question useful as they would also like to know the answer or are interested in the replies. I sometimes thank people for questions for that reason anyway.

competitionscafe

scotrae wrote: »

I love the idea of hosting a pot luck or progressive supper.

I have been to a couple of progressive dinners (but I wasn't the organiser) - great fun and also a good way to meet people /get people in a group or club to know each other. (People each cook a course and go in smaller groups to a different venue for each course starter/main/dessert/coffee) Takes a bit of organising though so you work out who goes where for which course and what course people cook etc. Also you need a group of people who live within walking distance or we did it once in a hiking club where we were all staying in adjacent chalets near Ullapool for a New Year away.

advent1122

competitionscafe wrote: »

Maybe because the 'thanker' finds the question useful as they would also like to know the answer or are interested in the replies. I sometimes thank people for questions for that reason anyway.

Well I'll go to the foot of our stairs.

beerqueen

I have these regularly with a group of friends but we always have hot main dishes - I'm not sure how you'd do it with cold, wouldn't it be more like a buffet then? We don't usually find it a problem reheating things - we usually have three or so casseroles which can be reheated either on the hobs or in the oven. The host is usually responsible for the accompaniments - usually rice and/or jacket potatoes and these can usually be squeezed in with the main dishes. Then we have salads to go with it. We've done this for up to about 25 people and can manage with a bit of juggling - for instance casseroles brought up to very hot will keep hot with lids on while the rice cooks - and jacket pots keep warm if wrapped in foil. We don't always bother with starters but puddings are nearly always cold - as you say not a problem.

Also we also all eat at the same time so we don't have to keep things warm for people to keep picking at - could you perhaps consider this?

I'm not sure if this really helps but thought it worth telling you how we manage it.

maltesers_2

I picked up a free winter cookbook from Waitrose which has what it calls a Supper Club. It has a menu for 6 where someone cooks the maincourse and guests bring the starter and pud. It has instructions on how to transport and reheat dishes.

lynzpower

What about individual pies? Then they can be eaten hot or cold? Im thinking chicken/ bacon/ham/mushroom/ onion/ courgette/ peppers leek in a white sauce ( or without met in case of veggies) you could do mini ( ish) ones with puff pastry ( make shells) or filo? you can make the shells seperately and the filling in tupperwares- again can be eaten hot or cold?

A potato salad with dill & mustard cream sauce is a good thing as this can be served warm or cold? Or pasta salad but I bet someone else beats you to it!

A much easier thing to contribute would be the cheese board