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Published on Wednesday, April 21, 2010
By LA Daily News Staff Writer
If you're invited to a potluck party this season and want to cook, don't fret about what to bring. There are more than 100 classic and heirloom favorites in the recently released "Cook's Country Best Potluck Recipes," from the Editors of America's Test Kitchen. Chapters revolve around brunch, salads, slaws, hot sides, casseroles, game-day favorites, slower-cooker dishes, centerpieces and desserts.
"Potluck is an old-fashioned way of cooking for a bunch of people," says Christopher Kimball, founder and editor of Cook's Country and Cook's Illustrated, who was instrumental in assembling the cookbook.
"I think potlucks are more prevalent when people have
less time, not less money." In the last five or 10 years, people often have a potluck when they just have dinner with another couple, he adds.
Potlucks are a good way to entertain or gather friends or co-workers, not only easing the shopping and cooking for the host, but the food costs and stress as well.
If you're the host or coordinator, you can let contributors bring whatever they like, suggest what's needed or assign a specific dish. Potlucks can be built around a specific or ethnic theme or a special occasion like a holiday, birthday, reunion, graduation or tailgate party or picnic. A host can even supply a recipe, if participants don't have a good one. Be sure to suggest the number of servings to bring.
Kimball has been involved with potlucks at all types of town events for more than 20 years in Vermont, where he resides, including an annual Ox Roast in August and his own family's Pig Roast a couple of weeks later.
"Much like 19th-century barbecue, a potluck dinner is the ultimate social leveler, a glue of sorts, that brings people together from all walks and then sets them down at the same long table where they discover common ground. A potluck supper has one other great bonus - it is much like attending an auction preview; one finds treasures one didn't expect, gems among the more pedestrian offerings. I suppose this is why someone once married the term `pot' with `luck.' "
The food in the book is meant to be shared. "The goal was to take the `luck' out of potluck to make sure that every recipe was either exceptional or at the very least, pretty darn good."
With potluck fare high on the list of Cook's Country magazine readers' favorites, lots of familiar creations have been tested, revamped and updated to make sure they deliver great taste, he adds. Among them are Ultimate Seven-Layer Dip, Southern Corn Pudding, Zesty Smoked Salmon Cheese Ball, Spicy Spaghetti Pie, Barbecued Shredded Beef Sandwiches and St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake, to name a few.
"Make something that is totally different than anyone else is going to bring," suggests Kimball. "Stick with a familiar category - pasta salad or casserole - but do it differently or a variation on the theme."
For instance, "barbecue macaroni salad sounds awful but is actually very good." Or try the Tex Mex Enchilada Casserole, using homemade enchilada sauce, or Broccoli Chicken Ziti with a creamy cheese sauce.
"In my opinion, the best kind of food to take is always the dessert, hands down. It is hard to go wrong with dessert." His current favorite is the Strawberry Poke Cake, a tender from-scatch white cake streaked with strawberry gelatin, followed by the Apple Slab Pie, an easily prepared double-crust apple pie made in a baking sheet with store-bought pie dough. The Texas Sheet Cake, with much more chocolate flavor than in the original recipe that's been passed around for years, is another good choice, but it's very rich, he notes.
"It used to be cooking was very competitive so at a potluck people would bring their best dish. Today I think a lot of people don't know how to cook or have lost the pride of cooking so they don't care about the food."
As far as potluck etiquette goes, "bring the bloody dish finished, not in progress," emphasizes Kimball. Also, be sure to take utensils for serving the dish. And don't forget to take your plate or dish and utensils home.
24-HOUR PICNIC SALAD
SALAD:
1 medium head iceberg lettuce, cored and chopped rough (about 6 cups)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 medium red onion, sliced thin
6 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
4 celery ribs, sliced thin
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped
1 cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded and sliced thin
1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 1/2 cups crumbled blue cheese
DRESSING:
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons hot sauce (Frank's Redhot Original preferred)
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
For Salad: Place 1/2 of lettuce in a large clear glass serving bowl and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Rinse sliced onion under cold water; pat dry with paper towels. Layer onion, eggs, peas, celery, bell pepper and cucumber over lettuce. Add remaining lettuce to bowl, sprinkle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and top with bacon and cheese.
For Dressing: Mix together all of dressing ingredients and spread evenly over top of salad. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to 1 day. Remove plastic wrap and toss until the salad is evenly coated with dressing. Serve. Makes 12 servings.
From "Cook's Country Best Potluck Recipes," from the Editors at America's Test Kitchen.
CHICKEN, BROCCOLI AND ZITI CASSEROLE
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 slices high-quality white sandwich bread, torn into quarters
8 garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 cups grated Asiago cheese
Salt
1 pound ziti
1 onion, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (OR more to taste)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white wine
3 cups whole milk
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
4 (6-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices
3/4 pound broccoli florets, cut into 1-inch pieces
Pepper
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Pulse bread, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1/2 cup Asiago and melted butter in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 pulses. Transfer to a medium bowl; set aside.
Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta and cook, stirring often, until nearly tender. Drain pasta and rinse with cold water until cool. Set aside.
Wipe pot dry. Melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter in pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add remaining 6 minced garlic cloves and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in flour and cook until golden, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in wine and cook until liquid is almost evaporated, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in milk and broth and bring to a boil. Add chicken and simmer until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in remaining 2 cups Asiago until melted.
Microwave broccoli in a large bowl, covered with plastic wrap, on high power until bright green and nearly tender, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir broccoli and pasta into the chicken mixture and season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a 13x9-inch baking dish.
Sprinkle mixture evenly with reserved bread crumbs. Bake on rack in middle of a preheated 400-degree oven about 20 to 25 minutes, until sauce is bubbling around edges and topping is golden brown. Makes 8 servings.
From "Cook's Country Best Potluck Recipes," from the Editors at America's Test Kitchen.
TEX-MEX ENCHILADA CASSEROLE
20 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1 1/2 cups low-sodium beef broth
1 (10-ounce) can Ro-Tel tomatoes
2 pounds 85 percent lean ground beef
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 onions, minced
8 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
4 cups shredded Colby-Jack OR Monterey Jack cheese
3 jalape o chiles, seeded and chopped fine
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon hot sauce
Salt and pepper
Grease a 13x9-inch baking dish. Toast 3 of tortillas in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until they bubble and turn spotty brown, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining tortillas.
Tear 8 of toasted tortillas into rough pieces and transfer to a food processor. Add 3/4 cup broth and tomatoes and process until smooth; transfer tortilla mixture to a large bowl. Cook beef in the now-empty skillet over medium-high heat, breaking up meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until it is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Drain beef, discarding drippings, then add to tortilla mixture.
Add oil and onions to the now-empty skillet and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, chili powder and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomato sauce and remaining 3/4 cup broth and simmer until slightly thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add 1/2 of tomato sauce mixture, 1 1/2 cups cheese, 1 minced jalape o, cilantro and hot sauce to tortilla-beef mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Arrange 6 toasted tortillas on bottom of prepared baking dish. Spread tortilla-beef mixture evenly over tortillas. Arrange remaining 6 tortillas over tortilla-beef mixture and top with remaining tomato sauce mixture.
Bake on rack in middle of a preheated 450-degree oven about 30 minutes, until filling is bubbling around edges. Sprinkle remaining 2 1/2 cups cheese and remaining 2 minced jalape os evenly over top. Bake until the cheese is browned, 10 to 20 minutes and casserole is heated through. Let rest 15 minutes before serving (best served day it is made). Serve topped with sour cream, chopped green onions and lime wedges. Makes 10 servings.
From "Cook's Country Best Potluck Recipes," from the Editors at America's Test Kitchen
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