Italian; Chicken Cannelloni-Chicken Marbella-Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo with broccoli-Chicken Cacciatore.

Kinda Chinese Springfield Style Cashew chicken-Egg drop soup-Chicken fried rice

If you want a recipe for any of the above, just ask.

Italian. Would you call it cheating to do a large antipasto salad? Just cheeses, no meat. Lots of pickled veggies, mushroom along with cherry tomatoes and cucumbers. Display on a large round tray.

Think salads. Pear and gorgonzola with raspberry vinaigrette dressing. Again, displayed on a platter rather than a bowl.

We can all share other elaborate things, but you shouldn't have to be stressed over this, trying something new would not be a good idea, in my honest opinion.

This pot luck is so Indian inspired, I can't imagine what wouldn't clash? But, I am sure your co workers would appreciate something different than what they are used to.

I think a dessert like a 9 by 13 pan of brownies would be the easiest. Or, again, a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting in a 9 by 13. Both can be made the night before.

If you think a specialty salad could be the way to go, or a dessert, then that can be the direction we can go in. At this point you do not want complicated but easy.

Or,if you have a specialty, can it be made easier? A co worker once brought mini empanadas and gourmet cook that she is, admitted that for this time she used ready made dough rather than her home made.

A large basket of naan.

To me, Italian does no play nice at all with those, so I would not do that. I would do a salad, for sure --- it is missing.

Maybe something from this site. Hybrid homemade recipes.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cookinglight.com/food/recipe-finder/easy-fast-meals-made-from-prepared-and-fresh-ingredients-supermarket

Skip the Chinese, Indian, and Italian and go for the dessert. Dessert goes with anything. Chocolate, lemon,ect.

OOOOOHH, those lemon squares dusted with powdered sugar that were always popular. Are they still?

Somewhere on here was a gluten free lemon dessert that everyone was raving over????

thank you for validating what I was thinking about Italian. I know they all love it but it was making my stomach turn at the thought. Potluck shouldn't have to "match" flavors but you don't want them to curdle in your stomach!

I would not at all consider it cheating to make a nice antipasto platter -- but we're still with flavors that won't meld nicely.

One of the women is bringing homemade roti-- so much as naan would be a good idea, it would be redundant.

I have promised for a million months to make my baklava.. but I was concerned about stepping on the toes of the guy bringing gulab jamun -- he's so proud of himself! It's a different dessert but it has the same honey/spice flavor profile. (Also, I was thinking about making this for each of them for Christmas-- not a holiday they celebrate but a nice personal gesture to go with the obligatory gift card)

Mtn the oranges dusted with cinnamon sounds Moroccan to me but this crew loves fruit.

Eld, I loooooove lemon bars and you know what? Wegman's makes a lemon bar so much better than I could! Maybe I just order a bunch of them and cut them down to bite size! Yes, it's cheating but they are sooo good.

Another team favorite is ice cream-- I like this even more because I can't eat it so no temptations! I could get really good cookies and make little ice cream sandwiches?

I will mull these ideas around-- thank you so much for helping out. Every last bit of creativity and motivation has been sucked outta me this last month!

Oh I love those lemon squares! I need to find a good recipe.

An Indian salad would fit the bill for your desire to add some vegetables. And it’s easy to make. Purple onions diced, heirloom or good quality cherry or grape tomatoes halved, bell peppers of all colors diced, carrots and cucumbers diced, cilantro finely chopped. Salt, black pepper, lemon juice to taste. Mix it all up and you’re in business. You can also add some canned kidney beans or garbanzo beans if you like. (I’m Indian and this is one of my favorite salads to make.)

The lemon ice cream sandwiches that Cindymac makes, rolled in chopped pistachio iirc, are not that hard and delish! I made up a pumpkin version and rolled them in chopped heath bars... but spicy candied TJ pecans were also a thought

https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a2569/frozen-lemon-cream-sandwiches-recipe-7844/

Maybe one of these? I hate the new search on Garden Web, it doesn't bring up anything you want.

https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=JAzqW9DOJuOHggfxkKvYDg&q=lemon+squares&btnK=Google+Search&oq=lemon+squares&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i67j0l5j0i67j0l3.3995.8806..9925...1.0..0.199.1505.7j7......0....1..gws-wiz.....6..35i39j0i131j0i131i67.QL8luNZmfRw

I agree -- dessert and no crock pot to lug! Or a salad -- I make two that are favorites --

Plan B Salad -- broccoli florets, halved cherry tomatoes and your choice of Italian dressing. Can be made ahead. It's quick and easy and except for messing with a few vegetables, relatively easy. And it's festive red and green. If you want to do you own oil and vinegar dressing great! It's not a last minute put together salad either -- it does need some time to meld.

Donna's Broccoli Cauliflower Salad. Equal amounts of cauliflower and broccoli florets, some chopped green onion and some sliced pimento stuffed olives. Mix together equal amounts Mayo and a red (not orange) French type dressing (here we use Ott's but not sure it's available everywhere). It needs to set overnight. Everyone loves it and it's different than the "everyone brings" broccoli cauliflower salad with sunflower seeds and bacon.

This is the one I was thinking of!

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/gluten-free-lemon-bars-thanks-to-nancyinnc-dsvw-vd~5528022?n=4

Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone has a great recipe for a mango chutney, yogurt, curry dip. Whenever I have served it, people rave.

Oh thank you, Nuts! I just looked up Indian salads and saw a similar recipe! It is perfect... so colorful and some of my favorite flavors! In fact, I make this very salad throughout the summer-- I just didn't have a name for it! It will fit perfectly with the other dishes, it's easy and it's "me".

You all have empowered me-- I will make the indian salad and a platter of desserts and fruit. I called my local bakery and ordered some of their amazing raspberry thumbprint cookies made with coconut flour, I also ordered some Wegman's lemon bars to be delivered.... and don't judge, but I have a box of ghiradelli's brownie mix in the pantry too! They will love it-- as they all love fruit and chocolate.

Thank you all!

So many suggestions came in while I was typing!

Mtn, I thought of those ice cream/crème fraiche sandwiches with the tate's ginger cookies but it's so cold out this week!

Love broccoli and cauliflower salad too! Yum! I used to make a cauliflower and pea salad with cashews but I'd forgotten about it until now!

Localeater, I think I have that cookbook! I'll have to look it up for next time.

Thank you for looking it up, Sherry.. I am buying this time around but I will try the recipe next time.

Love all the ideas-- I think I am set but please keep them coming. We do this every 2 months (and go out for lunch the months in between) so I'll surely be able to use them in the months to come!

I was going to vote for Wegman’s lemon bars, but now I’ll advocate for adding a good quality caramel topping drizzled over the Ghiradelli brownies (bonus points if it’s double chocolate Ghiradelli mix).

I would vote for anything from Wegmans Bakery.

If you don't want to do a lot of cooking, a fresh fruit salad or platter is easy, healthy and usually well liked. I do a platter of fruit everyone likes: strawberries, melon, pineapple, grapes, in bite-size pieces, and serve w/ toothpicks

I think your decision is perfect. Remember they probably want to impress you with their food more than they want to impressed by your food! Your choices round things out nicely.

I was going to say those ginger chicken meatballs sounded like a good idea to me but it sounds like you've already decided.

Mtn.. you are right. They do like to share their dishes.. and they appreciate my enthusiastic reviews!

I just let my stress get ahead of me. There's no reason amid all the financials/reports Ive been working on for a LUNCH to stress me out. I am heading into to a critical meeting at 8am... no stress for that.. but throw an empty menu at me and I crumble lol.

Thank you all again! So many great ideas!

Here's something I did once for a potluck: I bought a couple of bags of shredded cabbage for coleslaw. Used Newman's Own Poppyseed dressing. Add some scallions if you like but not necessary. Can add some other colorful crunchy things like purple cabbage, red or yellow pepper, radishes, but not necessary. Top with roasted sunflower seeds right before serving. Voila!

Well.. the plan changed completely!

I got the rest of the potluck plans today-- and someone is making a chopped salad and my tomatoes didn't look so great so I went to plan B (or C? or D?). I surveyed what I had on hand and threw together a curried wild rice salad-- 2 boxes of Near East wild rice blend + blanched green beans + raisins + carrots + red onion + cilantro in a homemade curry dressing and roasted cashews. I like it and that's good enough for me!

I bought 6 lemon bars that I cut diagonally to make 12 and some amazing raspberry coconut cookies-- the strawberries are meh but I got the most amazing huge seedless grapes. I don't even like grapes and I think they are great. If I am up early enough in the am, I'll make brownies for the platter too. They are absolutely not necessary-- so I am not going to sweat it. I'll assemble the platter at work.. and we'll be good to go!

Again, thank you all for your help. I ended up winging it -- but I am happy that it's done!

Sounds yummy!

Sounds wonderful. I’m sure the event is going to be a blast.

I have to say-- I tasted the curried wild rice salad this morning just to be sure it's "serve worthy" (it was a little vinegary last night) and it is really, really good!

The potlucks were their idea-- I take them out to lunch every few months but lamented that they never wanted to go for indian food when we go out -- it's what they have every day! They proposed a pot luck and it was so much fun that we've continued it. There are usually only 10-12 of us.

Raita -- very easy.

I have made raita for a potluck and a Malaysian Indian really liked it and thought it was very very original tasting. I used the New York Times International Cookbook recipe for a cucumber raita with cumin.

That's another potluck attended by mostly Indians and some Chinese, somebody brought a delicious Thai chili raita with lime and other seasonings – perhaps cumin and coriander. I didn't get the recipe but the next day produced a close duplicate. It was so delicious, that I ate nearly two cups.

At that same potluck the guest really enjoyed my Vietnamese cellophane noodle salad with a -- cellophane noodles, fresh lime juice, fish sauce (nam pla), optional cilantro, scallions, and optional shrimp.

I hope you have a lot of fun with your friends and relax and get a lot of sleep prior so that you will enjoy the delicious food and their company.

Thanks, Petalique. The potluck was yesterday and yes-- we had a lot of fun and a lot of great food! So much so that they chose doing another potluck over going out for a holiday lunch (and I have a pretty big budget for lunches-- not unlimited but there aren't too many spots that would be out of the question!)!

I am not dairy tolerant so no raita for me.. but a cellaphane noodle salad would be great for a future event-- my biggest complaint about a potluck is that everything is soooooo heavy! I feel obligated to try a little of everyone's dish so I end up feeling like I need to ROLL back to my desk!

They did tell me that I was crazy for worrying whether Italian would work well with Indian (on a plate and in the stomach). They really want to taste/learn what I eat-- like they are sharing what they eat. Our team includes people from the US (but with different backgrounds), India and China so it IS fun to share cultural traditions.

My tech lead pointed out that learning about American foods and food traditions is part of the assimilation process for them. In fact, speaking of assimilation-- he really wants to do a secret santa this year! He told me a story of how he watched American movies as a child in India and learned about putting stockings out for Santa (from The Grinch).. he said he put out a stocking every year but it was never filled. It was only when he was older that he learned that parents fill stockings. Hahaha.. I was almost in tears both laughing and crying as he told the story!

PS my thrown together curried wild rice salad was a big hit-- as were the bakery bought items (especially the coconut flour raspberry thumbprints! And good thing-- a dozen cost me over $30). There were so many good and spicy dishes-- really a great success!

aww, that is so sweet, Funky!

The rice salad sounds delish.

Why don't you propose that the next potluck is Italian, and they should also make Italian? That is even more assimilation, then! You could even set the menu, and have them pick their assigned dish out of a hat.

Mtn, that's a great idea-- though I surely don't want them to feel stressed.

I am on the fence regarding a secret santa-- I don't know that they will all like the idea. My tech lead is all over it though-- he wants to buy everyone santa hats and wants me to help him decorate our team area! He is really just the best guy-- wicked smart and yet fun and enthusiastic too. This is way outside of my comfort zone/personality … but I don't think I can tell him no!

Funky art, I'm glad you had fun. I figured I was a bit late :-)

I am somewhat lactose intolerant as well – many people as they grow older can develop this condition because their small bowel does not produce as much of the enzyme lactase. If this is the case there is usually a sort of "budget" that you can work out – different dairy items have various amount of lactose. You've probably read all of that.

We buy a special type of lactase drops from Canada and "drop" our purchased half gallons of milk.

Mnt's Italian themed potluck sounds good. You know, speaking of Christmas stockings, you can easily make some, or purchase at a discount store. There are things that aren't expensive which can be put into stockings, including a piece of anthracite. Does your friend know about that? My folks used to include things like tangerine, lip balm, chocolate or candy, barrettes, inexpensive costume jewelry, cologne, fun pens, a yummy cookie.

"Raspberry thumbprints" -- I might need more info! One spring I decided to make a dreamed up pastry I dubbed, "Rhubarb Thumb cookies." So-so results because I tried to use pie crust. The rhubarb was a tad pale (should have included a red fruit like cranberry, strawberry or raspberry).

I keep wanting to experiment with "hand pies," but my waistline is suggesting I do yoga instead.

A thumbprint cookie is literally a cookie in which you press your thumb to make a well to hold a jam. The coconut flour ones I purchased are made to be gluten free-- but I just love the texture and chewiness of them-- and the coconut flavor!

Funkyart, I use rice milk or coconut milk to substitute for daily for my grandson, who is stage 5 allergic to dairy. I like the Fleishmann's no salt stick (don't buy original or olive oil, they contain whey) margarine for baking. I use Smart Balance in the tub for everything else. All of the above really do taste good. Some margaines do not and I can taste the soy milk in most things.

Thanks, Sherry! Ive never had a problem with butter-- but I don't really eat a lot of it. I do agree that smart balance is great!

Funky, thanks for the photos of the thumbprint cookies; they are so pretty. They remind me of window cookies but compact and chunky for something so petite.

Yes, a lot of people with lactose intolerance that isn't severe can enjoy Terry with more fat content.* but even then if you consumed a lot you might end up with symptoms of the gastric irritability. I diagnosed myself when I realize that after going to doctors even a gastroenterologist, no one had asked me about milk or dairy. After months of pain, flatulence, and "other," I scratched my head and recalled that my father had had some Lactaid milk. So I did an experiment and took about 14 ounces of 1% milk. I didn't have to wait long for a full onset of while symptoms to overtake me. In those days I've read a lot about lactose intolerance that develops for adults over say 40. A person in that situation has a sort of lactase budget that will manage only so much breaking down of lactose per unit time. And for some reason certain dairy such as rich cream is better tolerated then low-fat milk. And there are other dairy food conditions such as aged cheese being more tolerated that fresher cheeses. Yogurt is usually deemed okay.

I also use better than butter. If you do want to consume butter, it's much more easily tolerate it if you separate out the whey -- like Indian steel to make ghee. It won't taste as buttery, however.