Showing off your gustatory prowess...

Assume the following situation:

Over time, you have gained the reputation among your circle of friends as being the "food" person among the group. Whenever you all decide to meet up for dinner, there's always this assumption that you're somehow "in the know" about the restaurant scene--hidden gems, unique back-stories, best bang for our buck, etc.--and therefore should be the primary decider of where you all should eat. This is all fine and good. You've accepted this designation and have therefore always done your best to meet their expectations. Not only is it fun for you to share your excitement, it's also a rewarding way to expose your friends to otherwise unknown food experiences.

Anyways...the point of all this is that, since then, this reputation has begun to trickle into your less formal get-togethers. You're invited to dinners where everyone brings an entree or simply the requisite bottle of wine or store-bought dessert. Before, you toting along a bottle of whatever or a pie from Whole Foods sufficed...but now, the same standards of your culinary connoisseur-ship apply to your potluck contributions: cannolis from Pasticceria Natalina, Capogiro gelato, a sack of tamales from Tamales Lo Mejor de Guerrero, etc. Heck, even the stuff you make yourself has an expectation of having a tinge of adventure to it ("What do you mean you made your own ricotta cheese?")...

So, you're like the Santa Claus of edible tidings, and you don't want to disappoint. What do you bring?

Sliders.

(Gotta keep 'em on their toes.)

homemade baguettes.

You and I sound like the same-ish person of the group. Ideas:
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A tray of homemade maki.
Spicy tuna,
california,
spicy california
Avocado
kappa
Inside out ones too.
MUCH easier than you think if you've never done it. Once you get the rice correct (GET A RICE COOKER!!!) It's pretty damn easy.
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If you have access to a warming tray - an indian or thai curry dish.
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Tandoori wings with a dipping raita bumped up with chile, and extra masala
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ANY kind of "side" salad revved up with sesame oil, cilantro and keffir lime leaf. I.e. Cold sesame noodles. (peanut/sesame/chile/garlic/soy/ginger/keffir/cilantro over wide rice noodles)
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samosa
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Paratha wraps with raita for dipping
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Wings with a mexican-ish rub, and a sour cream/mayo/cilantro/canned chipotle pepper based dipping sauce on the side.
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A couple of tip/link combos from Uncle John's. (Again - keep em on their toes!)
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Ceviche
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If any of these sound good, I'd be happy to throw you the dipping sauce "recipes." - made a bunch (above raita, and the chipotle one, and also a sesame oil/keffir leaf flavored one) last night for sauces for a fondue party. People lost their minds trying them. They even wound up drizzled on the appetizers as well. It's rare that I'll toot my own horn, but they were pretty darned good. Good Luck!

Definitely something in the sliders vein. Make fluffer nutter sandwiches, cut off the crusts, cut into 1/4ths and arrange attractively... Or my favorite sandwich, cream cheese and jelly!

leek wrote:Or my favorite sandwich, cream cheese and jelly!

Hallelujah, praise the Lord! And all these years I was convinced that I was the only person on earth who ever had that sandwich. It was my favorite growing up and every time I mention it to someone, they look at me a little funny.... (Although that may be for other reasons entirely )
So nice to know that others enjoyed the same wonderful sandwich growing up. Even if there were only two of us!

cream cheese, jelly and potato chips!

Gypsy Boy wrote:So nice to know that others enjoyed the same wonderful sandwich growing up. Even if there were only two of us!

Only two?? No, no, no. My mom would make these for us - (less "fattening" than peanut butter)

I distinctly remember how, in 1st grade, we had a reading unit on Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and our teacher would bring in snacks that had to do with the book....one of those being "fifteen-inch drifts of cream cheese and jelly sandwiches."

Let's just say I was obsessed for a good month following. It's the only way I like raspberry jam.

Even better on matzoh. This saved many a dreary passover lunch for me growing up.

Cream cheese and jelly was a staple in my house, as well. And I still pack it during Passover for school and work lunches, although I find the whipped cream cheese is easier to spread without breaking the matzah.

I'm also partial to an occasional cream cheese omelette, although that wouldn't work well as party food.

Suzy

How about Banh Mi sandwiches cut into small portions? Six of them would feed a decent crowd and only set you back about $20.

BaLe
5018 N. Broadway
773.561.4424

kuhdo wrote:Even better on matzoh. This saved many a dreary passover lunch for me growing up.

Chiming in...Me Too!

I think it's a Chicago Jewish thing. My NY cousins like cream cheese and olives.

Usually either
* A pan of homemade bar cookies/brownies, often weighing more than could be expected for such pan (like fruit, you want brownies "heavy for their size")
* Good old fashioned artichoke dip:

1 can artichoke hearts, coarsely chopped
1 Cup mayo
1 Cup grated parmesan (freshly, please
2 cloves garlic, minced or microplane-grated
1/4 C bread crumbs
paprika and/or cayenne pepper
Sliced baguette

Mix the chokes, mayo, garlic and parmesan together in a shallow baking dish. Top with bread crumbs, paprika/cayenne and maybe a little more parm. Place in oven under low broiler, or if in a hurry, microwave on high for a minute or so, then put under high broiler. Remove from broiler when bubbling a bit and the topping starts to brown.

Serve with baguette slices

I almost always bring wine. We have a 1/2 case of Jacquesson Cuvee 731 sitting right now that is all for gifts, we've got a couple of cases of Patty Green Reserve 05 that I give a lot, and a few special bottles of Corrison that I give to those with a special place in my heart They all have unique stories and I can usually rotate through them and never double up.

Years ago, I read somebody's story of his pilgrimage to lunch with the great M.F.K. Fisher. He wrote emotionally about the wonderful culinary insightfulness of the lunch, in which she served him two kinds of soup (and nothing else).

My interpretation was that Fisher was really more of a writer and an eater than a cook and she just threw together whatever she had on hand and presented it with verve.

I think Peg Bracken once wrote about a great cook of her acquaintance who brought packaged chocolate marshmallow cookies to a potluck, exclaiming, "I just love these, don't you?" as she handed them out.

Bring something you like, whether homemade or not, and serve it with confidence.

This thread provides some more ideas.

I figure since I started this, I should contribute some ideas:

Once, for a "cultural potluck" at my office, I brought in Bubble Tea (I'm Taiwanese). I've never made it but had always wondered how hard it was really to make it on my own. I ended up making way too many bubbles for the amount of tea I'd prepared, but people liked it and had fun. Good response.

Alternatively, we had another potluck which I took as an opportunity to make pulled sourthwestern pork, which I had never done and would have never done so since I rarely cook meat. Again, good response.

Similarly, I had friends over one time and prepared lamb chops with a basil-pea puree. Again, this let me practice my meat prep skills and also do a little mad-sciencing to figure out how they made the similar puree at Boka. It was delicious and looked beautiful. My friends were very pleaseed.

And, only last week, I brought in a cake to a dinner that I got from the bakery at City Fresh. It was filled with hazelnuts and pastry cream and had an unpronouncable name. I never had had it, so took a gamble given the other things I've tried from their bakery. It was delicious and I'd get it again in a heartbeat.

So, I suppose, I use these opportunities to not only surprise my friends, but also to surprise myself. Fun for everyone!

Dear Shoes Xiansheng or Xiaojie, as the case may be,

I have two suggestions. The first is to bring some kind of northern Chinese lengpan, loaded with tasty hongshao pork hearts, tripe, beef shank, etc. I suspect there wouldn't be another one like it at the party.

On the other hand--here's my second suggestion--maybe you should consider bringing a bunch of stuff from Trader Joe's, with the TJ's brand clearly in evidence, just to get these people off your back. Come to think of it, the lengpan may well get some of the guests off your back too.

I wouldn't say I want to get them "off my back" per se. Really, it's self-inflicted, if anything. Never do my friends expect-expect me to bring anything crazy, nor would they turn me away at the door if all I showed up with was a box of Little Debbies.

No, I do it out of love and, again, it's fun for everyone involved.

Diannie wrote:I think it's a Chicago Jewish thing. My NY cousins like cream cheese and olives.

Nah, my folks are originally from Philadelphia.

Invited to a potluck on Sunday I was planing on making something, not sure what but the theme was comfort food. After the LTHForum ChanuKwanzaChristadan or, more specifically, the De Koninck at the Skylark after the party, I decided to pick-up as opposed to prepare.

Great Sea chicken wings, (pump, crispy drumettes, oily chili sauce, subtle note of sweet) might not be everyone's idea of comfort food, but they were well received, went fairly quick, with a number of people asking where to purchase. Best of all, they cleared the last little vestiges of hangover right from my head.

Great Sea chicken wing picture

Enjoy,
Gary

Great Sea
3254 W. Lawrence Ave
Chicago, IL
773-478-9129

Gary,

If they had to ask where to get them, then clearly this was not an LTHforum crowd.

Regards,

G Wiv wrote:Invited to a potluck on Sunday I was planing on making something, not sure what but the theme was comfort food. After the LTHForum ChanuKwanzaChristadan or, more specifically, the De Koninck at the Skylark after the party, I decided to pick-up as opposed to prepare.

Was the De Konick on tap? I'm eagerly searching for places with that on tap as it's my go to beer.

jpschust wrote:

G Wiv wrote:Invited to a potluck on Sunday I was planing on making something, not sure what but the theme was comfort food. After the LTHForum ChanuKwanzaChristadan or, more specifically, the De Koninck at the Skylark after the party, I decided to pick-up as opposed to prepare.

Was the De Konick on tap? I'm eagerly searching for places with that on tap as it's my go to beer.

Not only was it on tap, it was yummy.