Potluck Recipes?

Hey LTH!

I've got a potluck at work this week -- and I suspect a lot of you have the same thing coming up this month. I've been racking my brain for an idea for it because my usual suspects have already been taken by other contributors -- so I thought I'd poll you all to see if you've any hot ideas.

I will have no access to oven or heating device (other than a crockpot) so I'm primarily looking for ideas in the tasty arena that could be served room temp or cold. I'd love to do something a little different -- right now I"m sitting on 18 eggs to do deviled eggs -- love 'em of course but something more intriguing would be fun.

Throw those ideas our way if you got 'em!

Shannon

HI,

You might want to read and contribute to this thread on potluck at the office ideas.

My Mom and most of my family are pretty much deviled egg fans. Southern Foodways had their members submit deviled eggs for a good natured competition. The anecdotes and recipes are here. This index alone will keep your deviled eggs a fresh contribution for many, many occasions.

Regards,

My guess is that Cathy2 was intending to link you to this thread.

And you're right. The potluck season is upon us. Time to update it.

Thanks Ann ... I thought it and forgot about it!

Regards,

earthlydesire wrote:I"m sitting on 18 eggs to do deviled eggs -- love 'em of course but something more intriguing would be fun.

Wasabi deviled eggs -- add wasabi powder and some blue food coloring (added to the yellows to make green) to your usual recipe.

Chipotle deviled eggs -- add some canned chipotles in adobo and maybe some garlic powder. I actually use Bayless' essential chipotle paste, which I call "The Black Oil" but it's a fair amount of work (and I'm out of it, damnit, and can't make more til my range hood fan is installed. seriously, you don't want to try this without a range hood fan)

I've tried to come up with other deviled egg varieties, my avgolemono last year wasn't a hit... I need a new one, maybe curry.

Sorry about the lack of search for a previous thread -- it was late and I was annoyed that I couldn't think beyond my deviled eggs!

My bad!

Cathy -- that link to the deviled eggs history is just fascinating -- I can't wait to delve into it a bit more.

I appreciate the deviled eggs variations -- my problem with those is that I tend to be a classicist when it comes to the deviled egg -- richer and creamier is good with a nice bite of mustard or a bit of cayenne but too much variation and I don't think you have a deviled egg anymore. The recipe I'm using right now is from Sheila Lukins' Celebrate! cookbook -- they're pretty standard but add tarragon.

I was also contemplating a couple of quiches -- which is a dish I seldom make but love when I have it. I love the idea of using an electric griddle at a potluck, which would be fine in another venue but in my stuffy office -- I doubt it would be allowed.

Have you thought about making a strata with all of those eggs? It might be a little less time intensive (no crust to make) and maybe a bit more compact to carry than several quiches.

There are several on Epicurious that you might want to check out. I made one with artichokes and roasted peppers for a potluck. It was like a very eggy, savory bread pudding. All raved. Here's a link to what turned up in a search for "strata":



http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/find/results?search=strata&x=16&y=10

Strata! What a good idea. I love the Cook's Illustrated recipes.

Ann Fisher wrote:Strata! What a good idea. I love the Cook's Illustrated recipes.

stratas require heating up dont they? i've never had one at room temp. plus, you have to worry about it sitting out for several hours. i know many people ignore the 2 hours- at -room- temperature-no more- rule, but they do it at their own peril. justjoan

Yep -- couldn't do the strata because of the heating issue. I ended up doing two quiches -- one with chive and cheeses and one with bacon and cheese. For a first attempt they were pretty tasty although I wish I'd put a bit more seasoning in the eggs and some more salt in the non bacon quiche. I ended up doing them in cake pans because I only have one pie plate (horrors!). They were eaten pretty quickly -- so i guess I did well.

I was bummed though because the a woman I work near at work and I had been talking about our contributions and I had mentioned that I was going to do deviled eggs and she begged me not to because she wanted to do them. So I deferred. And of course...she didn't do them.

And there were none there!!! Sadness descended. For about 1 minute.

<grin>

Cheers!

Shannon

I made deviled eggs a while back with some dijon and Miracle Whip, then decided to add a tiny blob of cilantro chutney on top (I bought a jar of it at an indian grocery, but most chains have it now as well). It's very strong so it doesn't take much, but sooo delicious and simple! I put a tiny sprinkle of smoked paprika on top first to have the red/green look for the holidays.