Potluck for easy, delicious entertaining

Back then, a meal where everyone contributed a dish was known as a “covered dish” supper. Popularized at churches and schools and often used as fundraisers, covered dish suppers offered cooks a chance to show off their specialties and made feeding a crowd affordable.

These days, the covered dish supper has become the potluck, still a staple of office celebrations and church lunches, but becoming more and more popular as a way to entertain at home. If you invite someone to a potluck, they know they’re expected to bring a dish to share. The host provides the place and maybe a main dish and the guests contribute the remainder of the meal.

Potlucks come in all shapes and sizes. Some hosts assign each guest to bring a particular dish, complete with recipe. Other hosts suggest a theme: bring food named after people (crepes Suzette, anyone?) or food from the '70s (a chance to get out that fondue pot).

Still other hosts make no pretense at organizing the meal, just opening their doors to whatever comes in. Three pans of macaroni and cheese, two potato salads and no green vegetables? You got a problem with that?

While planning this story, I conducted an informal survey of people’s potluck preferences. While I ran into some who purely enjoy a helping of mystery casserole, plenty of people said they try only dishes where they can identify the ingredients.

Many people said potlucks tend to bring out the dessert bakers, so they welcomed the contribution of simple green salads, particularly those where they could choose to add just the ingredients they liked.

With a little organization, your potluck can satisfy everyone no matter what their preference.

As host

To save your guests from macaroni and cheese overload, ask them to let you know what they’re planning to bring. When you start to get duplicates, you can gently steer them to a different category of food.

Let guests know ahead of time what equipment will be available for heating or cooling their dishes.

Someone needs to provide beverages. You can supply them, you can assign them to those who don’t cook, or you can ask everyone to bring something that would go well with their dish.

Not everyone will bring their contribution in a serving dish. Get out your extra platters, bowls and serving utensils before your guests arrive. You don’t want to be climbing to the top of the pantry in the middle of the party.

Provide paper and pens for labeling dishes. These can be as simple as small pieces of paper folded into tent cards. This will save so much guesswork on the part of your guests and can head off problems for those with serious food issues.

As guest

Be mindful of guests with allergies. You don’t have to cut nuts, shellfish or dairy from your contribution, but be sure they are clearly labeled. If the problem ingredient can be served on the side as a garnish, then make that accommodation for your friends.

While you’re thinking about labels, consider the spiciness of your dish as well. Not everyone enjoys a helping of four-alarm chicken wings.

A meal with so many different cooks might not be the place to bring out your fanciest party dish. Your friends might not be able to do justice to it. Simple preparations without too many sauces make a great foil for the richer dishes that are sure to make an appearance, and they help everyone leave room for a bite or two from the tempting dessert spread.

Whenever you can, bring your own serving dish and utensils. There’s nothing sillier than watching folks try to dish out salad with a pancake turner because there weren’t enough serving spoons.

Label your serving pieces. Ideally, you’ll carry them home after the party, but if you leave them behind, don’t make your host spend days trying to track down the owner of each piece.

Don’t assume that you can arrive with a bag of groceries and assemble the dish on the spot. Your host may not have oven, counter or refrigerator space to spare for your contribution. Unless you’ve already talked it over with the host, bring the dish ready to be put out for serving.

To transport your dish

If your serving dish comes with a lid, stretch a rubber band around the whole thing to keep the lid secure.

Use ice or cold packs to keep cold food cold. A cooler can also keep hot food hot, but the heat may buckle the sides of a plastic cooler.

A thoroughly cooked casserole straight from the oven will stay hot for a short trip if it’s well-insulated. Wrap the covered dish in foil and insulate with clean towels. Place in a box or basket for transporting.

Remember food safety

If you’re planning a dish that has lots of perishable ingredients such as seafood or a dairy-based salad, be sure you can keep it at a safe temperature for serving.

Keep cold dishes in your cooler or the host’s refrigerator, and your hot dishes in the oven or in your well-insulated box until time to serve.

Cold food should be served at 40 degrees or below. Can you place your serving dish in a larger container filled with ice? That will extend its life on the serving table.

Warm food should be kept at 140 degrees or above. Do you have a warming tray you can bring to keep your contribution hot enough to be safe? A slow cooker can also keep food hot.

Use clean utensils and don’t mix them from dish to dish.

Once food has been at room temperature for two hours, you should consider it trash.

Recipes

Consider starting a potluck ritual. Invite your friends, enjoy the variety of food and the company and before everyone leaves, set a date for your next get-together. Here are three ideas to get you started, covering the bases from a small nibble to a hearty main dish and a fresh green side dish.

Turkey Meatballs with Chipotle Barbecue Sauce

Hands on: 15 minutes

Total time: 30 minutes

Makes 50 meatballs

Who can resist meatballs? This combination of corn chips and seasonings is a definite winner. If you’re using ground turkey, it’s very important that you not overcook the meatballs when you bake them. Turkey breast, because it’s low in fat, will dry out quickly. Cook just enough so the meatballs are firm. They’ll cook more when heated in their sauce. You can also substitute ground beef or pork here.

1 cup finely crushed tortilla chips

1 cup chopped cilantro (1 small bunch, a few stems reserved for garnish)

3 thinly sliced scallions

1 egg

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon salt

2 pounds ground turkey breast

2 cups apple cider vinegar

2 cups brown sugar

3 tablespoons orange juice

3 tablespoons adobo sauce from canned chipotles

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a rimmed cookie sheet.

In a large bowl, combine crushed tortilla chips, cilantro, scallions, egg, cumin, garlic and salt. Mix with your hands until thoroughly combined. Add turkey breast and using your hands, mix together until spices are evenly distributed in the meat.

Use a 1-inch cookie or ice cream scoop to portion out the mixture. Roll lightly into balls and place side-by-side on baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes; turn meatballs and continue baking until just firm and cooked through, about 5 minutes more.

While meatballs are baking, in a medium saucepan, combine vinegar, brown sugar, orange juice, adobo sauce, soy sauce and pepper. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes or until sauce is reduced.

When ready to serve, put warm meatballs into 1-quart slow cooker and pour sauce over. Keep warm and serve with cilantro leaves alongside.

Make ahead: The meatballs and sauce can be made up to two days ahead and refrigerated separately. When ready to serve, set slow cooker on high. Heat meatballs in microwave and put into cooker, then heat sauce in microwave or saucepan and pour over meatballs. You can do this at home, or at the site of the potluck.

Per meatball: 61 calories (percent of calories from fat, 16), 5 grams protein, 8 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 1 gram fat (trace saturated fat), 15 milligrams cholesterol, 89 milligrams sodium.

Chicken Bog

Hands on: 30 minutes

Total time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Serves: 12

This old Southern dish is a nice alternative to a main course featuring pasta. The Dutch oven will keep everything warm, rice holds heat beautifully and chicken thighs won’t dry out as they sit in this well-seasoned mixture. Keeping the vegetables in large chunks makes them recognizable for folks who want to know precisely what’s in the dish.

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons peanut oil

5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut in half

Salt and pepper

2 medium onions, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

4 stalks celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

4 cups long-grain white rice

2 (28-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, with juice

4 cups low-sodium chicken stock

2 tablespoons hot sauce

4 sprigs thyme

4 bay leaves

4 garlic cloves, minced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large Dutch oven, heat butter and oil over high heat until very hot. Add thighs and brown on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Do not crowd pan. Transfer to a plate, season with salt and pepper. Continue until all thighs are browned.

Leave oil in Dutch oven. Sauté onions and celery until softened, about 3 minutes. Add rice and cook until rice is translucent, about 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, chicken stock, hot sauce, thyme, bay leaves and garlic. Return chicken to pot and nestle down into rice mixture. Cover and bake until chicken and rice are done and liquid is absorbed, 35 to 40 minutes. Discard thyme and bay leaves before serving. Check rice for seasoning.

Make ahead: You can make this dish up to the step of adding the chicken to the sautéed rice and vegetable mixture. Refrigerate for up to one day. When ready to cook, remove from refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, then bake as directed. If you need to cook it straight from the refrigerator, add 15 to 20 minutes to the cooking time and check to be sure the rice is completely cooked.

Per serving: 369 calories (percent of calories from fat, 20), 14 grams protein, 60 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 8 grams fat (3 grams saturated), 33 milligrams cholesterol, 370 milligrams sodium.

Adapted from The Southern Foodways Alliance Community Cookbook, edited by Sara Roahen and John T. Edge (The University of Georgia Press, $24.95).

Lemon Pecan Green Beans

Hands on: 10 minutes

Total time: 10 minutes

Serves: 8

No mystery casserole, these bright crisp green beans are good hot, warm or at room temperature. Leave out the pecans if you’re worried about those with nut allergies, or serve them in a little dish alongside so people can add them if they wish. Frozen green beans would also work here.

2 pounds green beans, ends removed

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup sliced green onions

Juice and zest from one lemon

Salt and pepper

Break beans into 2-inch pieces. Steam in microwave 10 minutes or until crisp tender. Drain and put into heat-proof serving dish with sides. Keep warm.

In large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add pecans and cook, stirring constantly about 3 minutes. Add scallions, cook 1 minute, then add lemon juice and stir everything together. Pour over beans and sprinkle with lemon zest. Taste for seasoning. Serve immediately or at room temperature.

Make ahead: Steam the beans and refrigerate for up to two days. Reheat in microwave and then proceed with recipe. Don’t combine everything until you’re ready to serve.

Per serving: 121 calories (percent of calories from fat, 59), 3 grams protein, 11 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams fiber, 9 grams fat (1 gram saturated), no cholesterol, 5 milligrams sodium.

Adapted from “The Best of Georgia Farms” by Fred Brown and Sherri M. L. Smith (CI Publishing, $24.95).