How to Entertain at a Potluck

Group similar foods together on your potluck buffet.

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When guests help with cooking, entertaining is much more relaxing. After all, a less-frazzled host is more able to enjoy the party. In addition, the informal atmosphere and variety of dishes help make any shortcomings less noticeable. One meaning of "potluck" is taking your chance with the food. However, you and your guests get maximum enjoyment when you plan and prepare for your potluck.

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The most successful potluck dinners have an organizational theme. Picking a theme helps the various dishes complement each other and creates synergy. Some party-givers pick a simple national theme, such as Mexican food. However, a more specific theme helps create a more interesting menu. For example, choose a type of food, such as pizza, or a vegetable in season.

Menu Planning

Plan a general menu to follow your theme. Include the main elements of the meal, such as starters, salad or soup, main dishes and dessert. Depending on the size of the potluck, plan to ask two guests to bring each menu item to avoid shortfalls. Decide what food you will provide as hostess and what guests should bring. For example, supply all beverages and an extra main dish. Alternately, plan to supply all of the main dish -- a roast turkey or barbecued chicken, for example. In this case, plan to ask the guests to bring side dishes, drinks, appetizers and dessert.

Inviting Guests

Invite your guests to the potluck, and ask them to contribute to the meal. However, avoid asking them to make a specific recipe that may be beyond their skills or budget. Instead, describe your needs, for example for a vegetable, appetizer or dessert in line with your theme. Ask them which item they would like to contribute. Let them know how many people their green salad or brownies should serve. Also ask them to complete most of the preparation at home to prevent overcrowding your kitchen. For example, ask them to bring salads fully assembled and casseroles already cooked and hot. Make notes of what each guest has agreed to bring.

Setting Up

As hostess, prepare the serving and eating areas, starting the day before. Prepare tables, chairs, tablecloths or place mats, plates, silverware, glassware and napkins. Take the time to choose tablecloths and centerpieces in line with your theme. Borrow extra plates or serving dishes as necessary. If you don't mind washing dishes, real pottery and silverware are much easier to use. The day of the potluck, arrange the buffet attractively, with extra bowls for chips or snacks. Stack the plates at the beginning of the line and the flatware at the end. Don't forget serving spoons and forks, ice, salt, pepper and other condiments.

Arranging Food

When guests arrive, arrange the food attractively and logically, grouping items by type, such as salad, main dish or dessert. If guests bring salads in plastic containers, transfer them to serving bowls. Position serving spoons and forks. Add parsley or other garnishes to make dishes more eye-catching.

Cleaning Up

Provide bins or tubs to make cleaning up easier. Mark separate tubs for disposable items, washable items and food scraps. Alternately, ask guests to put everything in one big bin for you to separate out later.

Leftovers

Provide disposable containers, plastic wrap, foil and zipper plastic bags for guests to take their own leftovers home. They may also want to share, swapping samples of the special dishes they have enjoyed. In any case, remind guests to take home their serving dishes and utensils.

ReferencesFood & Wine: How to Host a Potluck Dinner PartyHobbyFarms.com: Plan a PotluckPost-Gazette.com: Invite Your Pals to Pitch in for a PotluckFood Timeline: Meals & Holiday EntertainingResourcesFood & Wine: Potluck PartiesFood & Wine: Perfect Potluck RecipesSunset: Crowd-Pleasing Potluck DessertsPhoto Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty ImagesRead Next:

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Themes for Potluck Dinners

A potluck with all Asian food is an example of an ethnic-themed meal.

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Unlike traditional dinner parties, potlucks require each guest to bring at least one dish, which means that the menu is always new and unexpected. These meals can be a good way to share the work and your favorite recipes with others, however, without structure, they can become a hodgepodge of unrelated dishes. Introduce a theme to your dinner to give your potluck a common purpose. Common ideas to spark your imagination include ethnic, historical, seasonal and literary potluck dinners.

Related Searches: Ethnic

Choose a country, continent or ethnic group and ask your guests to bring a cultural dish. This kind of potluck works well if you have regularly scheduled meals with the same group, allowing you to pick a different culture each meal. Broaden your menu to include American-style ethnic cuisine, such as chop suey and frozen burritos, or narrow it to include only foods made with traditional ingredients and styles of preparation. For an added touch, modify your dining style to match that of the represented culture, including table service and manners. Another alternative is to ask each guest to bring a dish representing a cultural heritage and enjoy the mix of ethnic flavors.

Historical

Choose a time period, such as the Civil War era or the 1920s and assign each of your guests the task of researching and preparing a period dish. Try unusual foods, such as roasted hog's head and pheasant from the Medieval period, or appreciating your grandparents' sacrifices in a new way as you eat food with ingredients rationed during World War II. Host a potluck that centers around a historical event, such as the first Thanksgiving or the founding of your city.

Seasonal

Potlucks can be a good way to celebrate the change in weather with an assortment of your favorite seasonal flavors. Ask everyone to bring a pumpkin or cranberry dish to celebrate fall, their favorite soup or cold-weather comfort food to welcome winter and a flower-themed food when spring comes again. Since many potlucks take place during the summer, ask your friends to bring a non-traditional dish to pass around during summer potlucks -- no potato salad, noodle salad, fried chicken or jellos allowed. Mix up the holidays, such as celebrating with your favorite Christmas treats in July or hot dogs and hamburgers in January.

Literary

If your guests enjoy reading, ask them to prepare a dish described in a favorite book. This is a good way to combine ethnic, historical and seasonal potlucks into one. If several people are reading the same work of literature, consider adding dishes that the author was known to enjoy or that he may have eaten regularly during his time period or in his native country. Prepare foods reflecting the book's theme or genre, such as dishes with secret ingredients for a mystery novel or a kosher meal for a story that takes place in WWII Germany.

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Tips on Hosting Potluck Dinner Parties

Everyone contributes to the meal at a potluck dinner.

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Throwing a potluck dinner takes away some of the pressure you feel preparing an entire meal in the kitchen, but such parties require more effort in their coordination. Taking charge of a potluck puts on your shoulders the responsibility of ensuring that the hodgepodge of dishes brought has a cohesiveness when served. A properly pulled-off potluck should be a fulfilling feast for a fellowship of friends and family.

Related Searches: Divide and Conquer

At least two weeks in advance of the party, assign each attendee to the potluck a dish type to bring. To have enough food for a potluck party of 10 to 12 people, Francine Halvorsen in "Crowd-Pleasing Potluck: 225 Delicious Recipes Guaranteed to Win Rave Reviews," recommends serving two or three appetizers, two side dishes, bread and butter, two desserts, one salad and one main dish to serve one dozen people. Scale the amounts up or down as needed for the event.

Pick a Theme

Establish a theme to guide the guests in choosing dishes to bring for the potluck dinner. Ideas include picnic dishes, Mexican foods, Italian foods and regional favorites. With a theme, the dishes will have a connection and the meal will not seem haphazard or ill-planned. Have recipe suggestions ready for guests who cannot think of a dish to bring.

Last-Minute Preparation

When each guest responds to the party invitation, find out the dish he is bringing and any preparation needed just before the party. Set up the table for putting potluck dishes near an electric outlet if the guest's dish must be kept warm in a slow cooker. Have plenty of ice for keeping cold dishes cold. Clean out your refrigerator to store cold dishes until serving. Have at least one serving utensil per dish for the table and plates, eating utensils and napkins for everyone coming to the party. Set aside resealable food containers for guests to take home leftovers.

Labels and Recipes

Ask each of the guests bringing a potluck dish to provide a recipe for it in case other attendees want a copy. Set stacks of the recipes on a separate table from the dishes. Label each of the potluck dishes brought to accommodate those with dietary restrictions and allergies.

References"Crowd-Pleasing Potluck: 225 Delicious Recipes Guaranteed to Win Rave Reviews"; Francine Halvorsen; 2007"How to Organize Just About Everything: More Than 500 Step-by-step Instructions for Everything from Organizing Your Closets to Planning a Wedding to Creating a Flawless Filing System"; Peter Walsh; 2004"Vegetarian Times"; A Moveable Feast; Patsy Jamieson; December 1999Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty ImagesRead Next:

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Things to Bring to a Potluck Dinner

Keep in mind the potluck's location when choosing your dish-to-pass.

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When deciding what dish to bring to a potluck, keep in mind the location of the gathering and the tastes of the people who are attending. It wouldn't do to make a pot of hot soup in the middle of summer or bring turkey meatloaf to a potluck for vegetarians. Once you have the event's details, start thinking about which one of your recipes you feel comfortable making for a large group of people.

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Dishes like lasagna, sloppy joes, chili, pulled pork sandwiches and casseroles are perfect for feeding a crowd. However, hot food can become unappetizing as it cools. Check with the potluck coordinator to find out if there are outlets available for slow cookers and electric roasters to keep your food hot. Consider using chafing dishes to keep the food warm if you are outside or in a building without outlets.

Cold Food

Salads, cold pasta dishes, fresh fruit and vegetables, dips and salsas are just a few of the many dishes you can take to a potluck. Because these dishes don't require a heat source and can be easy to make, cold food is a popular potluck option. Ask the party coordinator or other people attending what they are planning to bring to avoid making the same food. Fill large pans or bowls with ice to keep cold food from spoiling during summer parties or locations without refrigeration.

Desserts

Individually sized desserts, like cookies or cupcakes, are easy for people to grab, since they don't have to pry a piece out of the pan. Frosted sheet cakes and brownies are easy to make and can feed a lot of people. Precutting cakes and pies before the party will save time, especially if the event is outside and there isn't a knife available. Remember to bring serving utensils for pies, cakes and other desserts that need to be served from the pan.

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