Pot luck Dinners have you tried them?
By winterose
@winterose (39887)
Canada
April 18, 2007 7:52pm CST
When I was younger I used to go to quite a few potluck dinners. A potluck dinner is a dinner where everyone brings something different to eat and everyone eats from all the offerings.
There were people there who would not eat from certain people saying they were too dirty, or they couldn't cook
If you were invited to one of these dinners, would you cook or back your own,
what kind of dish would you bring?
are you better at the main meal, salads, or desserts?
would you buy the food and pretend you made it like some people do,
or would you get somebody else to make something for you and still pretend you made it?
I have to admit once I was asked to bring dessert and I am not a dessert maker. I got my friend to make some apple crisp and never said it was made by a friend and of course everyone thought I made it.
Normally I bring the main meal, like meat balls or spaghetti, or a vegetable dish.
How about you?
11 people like this
23 responses
@CollectingMyThoughts (304)
• United States
19 Apr 07
Sounds like a great time. Tell me... how would you go about putting one of them together? Does everyone just bring whatever or does the host assign so that not everyone brings a chocolate cake? LOL
4 people like this
@tess1960 (2385)
• United States
19 Apr 07
In my family we e-mail around who's going to bring what. Each person hits forward and fills in what they will bring. After the last person is hit then that person forwards to the hostess. Now she knows who is bringing what. Ususally the hostess will supply the main meat dish. This works good for my family and for those that do not have e-mail they tell someone to add in what they want to bring.
Another is everyone is to bring one main dish and one side dish. A side dish can be a dessert also. It's a pot luck, you eat what you get.
I've been to a pot supper too. Everyone brings something to throw into the pot, a really good chili or beef stew can be made this way.
3 people like this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
19 Apr 07
at a big organization usually they get lots of people so it doesn't matter that there are five different kinds of salad,
but for smaller affairs usually the hostess will ask someone what they are bringing
and as she goes through the list towards the end she might ask certain people to bring things for example she might say I am low on desserts, or can you bring some kind of vegetable dish.
2 people like this
@massageeh (965)
• Taiwan
19 Apr 07
I love pot luck dinners. We had them all the time as a kid. At church and at home. I especially like the people who can't cook or don't have the time to cook, because they'll buy pizza or KFC. I miss those days. We, the kids would be in one room and the adults would be in another room. We always compete to see who spoke the loudest.
4 people like this
@joey_matthews (8354)
•
19 Apr 07
Nope.
I actually thought you meant something along the lines of this. (a dinner/raffle kinda thing) ignore me carol, I'm a strange mood but I have seen the above done. (the raffle for a cooked meal) pot luck indeed.
To tell the truth I'd find it hard to eat if it was from a wide range and lots of people around. (I'm a personal kinda person when it comes to eating)
I'm making no sense here...
(gives up)
~Joey
3 people like this
@Grandmaof2 (7579)
• Canada
19 Apr 07
I'm a main meal person and I learnt to hate pot luck meals. I had never got involved in this till I moved to this little gossip small town living. I went to three and all three times I could hear busy bodies cherping so you know darn well after your back is turned they're saying something negative about what you've brought. I hate gossip in the first place so after the third time I said no when asked and I don't get asked anymore because I flat out told one of the busy bodies why, and how ironic I never got asked again. If everyone participated like grown adults I think it's a lovely idea and a great way to get together at a small cost to everyone. Of yes and as long as I don't get asked to make pie. I am not a pie maker LOL I don't like pie much period.
@mdarma (868)
• Singapore
19 Apr 07
Pot Luck! That is my wife’s favorite. She really enjoy going to these potluck dinners. She is quite gamed in cooking the main dish. She does it well and I do realize that her dish is one of those finishes early. (Mind you, she does bring a large quantity of the dish). Sometimes, there are request for her to do certain dish and she happily does it. Usually I am the one who is left to do the marketing. Poor me.
If she knows one of the participants is dirty in the preparation of their dish, she will avoid that dish. This is quite natural of her.
3 people like this
@Mamaof2 (574)
• Canada
19 Apr 07
I love Pot Luck Dinners. Just a chance to come together and help work as a team to provide an aray of food for the guest. I also love that you get to try new things that you normally dont make!!! I always bring either the salad or desert. My husband and I have a salad and desert that we are always asked to bring no matter where we go for dinner. Nothing to special but everyone loves it! Maybe it isnt special in our eyes as we make it for the family all the time. People must enjoy it because they dont have it as often as we do!!!
2 people like this
@texasclassygal (5305)
• United States
19 Apr 07
I love potluck dinners, we have them all the time in Texas, in fact I believe I have 2 or 3 cookbooks just full of different meals to make for such dinners. I would always bring a fresh baked pie or a casserole dish, it didn't matter if it was a dessert or a main dish, I just would make what I had in the kitchen, so it was like pot luck what the people got.
2 people like this
@mssnow (9484)
• United States
19 Apr 07
I do like pot luck dinners its so cool to see what others will bring. I usually bring chips and dips or the drinks but once in a while i will make something. Usually its deviled eggs or my famous fruit salad made with whipped cream and fruit. It is very yummy. let me know when your having pot luck and ill bring mine .
2 people like this
@GuateMom (1411)
• Canada
19 Apr 07
I love potluck dinners. My family used to attend them at our church when I was small, but I have carried on the tradition with my friends here. In fact, for most Christmases a bunch of expats here in Guatemala get together to do a potluck dinner. This past year, it was just my friend´s family and mine, but it was very nice.
I usually bring a main dish and a dessert. Lemon Merengue pie is one of my specialties, also I have a great recipe for Cappuchino Triangles that makes everyone drool! My friend, who has now returned to Australia with her daughter and husband, doesn´t cook much so she just made salads and provided the drinks. :)
@tess1960 (2385)
• United States
19 Apr 07
We do potluck style dinners at family gathering all of the time. And the boyscouts do potluck dinners once in a while too. I like to take brownies, unless I know for sure someone else will. Then if it's summer I will take my brocolli salad and if it's winter I will take chicken wings. I also am famous for my cherry cholcolate cake and have been asked to bring it before. The group at my hubbies work has potlucks a lot too and they like my cherry chocolate cake.
3 people like this
@leon077 (159)
• Indonesia
19 Apr 07
yes I have, I just eat all of them, well they made them with great effort, at least what I can do is to ate them, normally I just bring a side dish, or none at all. hehehe. well they always welcome me. friend will be friend, like freddy mercury said.
@borzack (597)
• Malaysia
19 Apr 07
I've participated in pot luck parties several times. The largest was 42 people! It was for a friends birthday 3 years ago and the party was very enjoyable. Everyone bring their own food. Imagine what a fiesta we had! and that was a pool side party! oh, i brought barbecued chicken wings...easy lol
@charlestchan (1415)
• Malaysia
19 Apr 07
i can't remember having pot luck dinner.. but i do remember having pot luck during tea time.. or lunch.. can't remember the exact time.. cause it's like few years back.. my friend and i organize it because we're sitting for our final examination in high school.. erm.. well.. i guess our potluck is a little bit different.. we bought chickens and sausages.. and we cook noodles.. and then we barbeque.. but i do believe our intention is the same.. potluck is for wishing good luck or something like that right?
2 people like this
@mtdewgurl74 (18151)
• United States
20 Apr 07
Yes, I love potluck dinners and we stil have them in my family all the time it is a way for the family to get together and not have the cost just go to one person. We take turns on who is doing the main part like the meat and the others bring the side dishes and deserts. My husband won't eat certain peoples foods but that is only because he is picky. I love cooking and everyone knows that so they are always waiting for my dishes. And it would be a big disapointment to them if I bought it instead of cooked it. they'd never forgive me.lol I hope that the potlucks never end. Because then that would be the end to our get togethers.
1 person likes this
@Married2aMarine (1273)
• United States
19 Apr 07
I love pot lucks! I think it's a great way to have a party cos' it's not just one person doing all the work and you get to try and share different recipes with others. I like making salads and desserts! Sometimes I get requests for a certain dish..usually, it's something with lots of chocolate in it! LOL!!
@crackhead (1826)
• India
19 Apr 07
When i was a kid i use to attend these kind of pot luck dinners and lunches with our neighbors. My parents used to cook and bring along with other families and we use to share. I loved those days which i cannot imagine of enjoying now. My mom cooks lemon rice and potato curry very well which every one used to love a lot and eat it clean. I love some sweets which others bring and i used to a eat a lot.
2 people like this
@wachit14 (3595)
• United States
19 Apr 07
These kinds of dinners are fun and my friends and I often do this on the spur of the moment. Someone volunteers their house and everyone chips in and brings something. We try to organize it so we don't have too many of one thing so someone will bring a salad, a few other people will bring main meal items while a few others will bring dessert. The hostess usually provides drinks and paper goods. It takes the hassle out of entertaining and puts the emphasis on friendship.
@tuayon_san (299)
• Philippines
20 Apr 07
Hi Madam winterrose How are and hope that you are fine.
If thats the occassion I rather make my own dish like HUMBA!
Humba is a filipino kind of dish which is my very favorate dish. It is made of a pork meat and fats.
I need mot to pretend most the time coz I know how to cook a little dishes.
