Bob, would you care to post your mushroom recipe? Many years ago we were visiting relatives and my s-i-l brought some stuffed mushrooms out to the pool that she had bought at a store and baked. Perhaps I was rather hungry, but I remember how good those suckers tasted, like it was yesterday! They were similar to what you describe.

I love potlucks!! I have never had issues with sanitation concerns with other folks' contributions, as that is not a major concern of mine and foods were always stored at appropriate temps until ready to serve, so I tend not to worry about that either :-)

Employee potlucks with various employers have been most of my experience, aside from family situations. And they have uniformly been great events, with the employer providing the meat or main dish (ham, bbq'd salmon, Costco rotisserie chickens, etc.) and the employees providing all the sides. There has always been a good range of various dishes, as we usually signed up and noted what we were bringing well ahead of time and those who signed up first got the biggest range to pick from.

At one place, we had contests for the best sides - vegetable or potato dishes, salads, appetizers, desserts, etc., and that stimulated some great and creative contributions.

I dislike store bought contributions but understand that some folks just do not have the skills nor the desire (or sometimes the budget) to get more involved with the food prep.

I never had a standby potluck item to bring but instead brought whatever seemed to be lacking in the spread or what I felt like creating. Family potlucks are very different and various family members are routinely asked to bring specific dishes that they are known for - with my sister, it is guacamole or a cheese tray or a salad. With me it is usually lemon bars, English trifle (at Christmas), deviled eggs or other appetizers.

Back when I was doing work potlucks, one of the teachers always brought frozen orange chicken from Costco's frozen foods section. All that had to be done with it was to heat it up and everyone liked that dish. There was never any left at the end of the event.

I'm definitely the baker/dessert-bringer. Probably the most requested are the salted brown butter rice krispy treats from Smitten Kitchen (which I love because they are so easy). And the caramel apple cheesecake pie, which is sort of a mix of apple pie, pecan pie and cheesecake.

Where I used to work, I had an unofficial baking company and would take custom orders. One Thanksgiving I baked about 50 pies and different desserts!

I bake from scratch for almost everything, but I will say that I get far more rave reviews for my Ghiradelli boxed brownies than the super intricate and decadent homemade brownies I've made!

I stopped cooking for the one potluck I attend annually because I noticed that a lot of the people would only eat the items that were store-bought.

The only potlucks I've ever been to were either family, a church women's group, or boy scout 'banquets', first for sons, then for grandsons. It was only at the boy scout functions that I didn't pretty well know everyone. I have never been concerned about about how/where the food was prepared, after all, the person who brought it was alive and healthy, and I assumed they ate their own cooking regularly, so why would one serving have adverse affects on me? I have never gotten sick, or even mildly upset from potluck offerings.

I understand not everyone will bring homemade dishes for whatever reason, and that's fine. Personally, I pass up the obviously store-bought offerings if possible. Why would I want to eat something I can go buy myself whenever I want to? I'd a whole lot rather sample new-to-me dishes. Even the common, everyday type offerings can have quite different twists on them, and I enjoy that.

For my contributions, I usually make either pea salad, 'Penny' salad (sliced partially cooked and marinated carrots, etc.) or a pasta salad with salmon. And whichever it is, there is never any left to take home. I finally got smart and leave a serving home for myself to have later.

Rusty

I have a pea salad recipe that I call "pea salad for those who don't like pea salad". That would be me. It travels well. It is 2 bags of frozen petite peas. You don't cook them. Add chopped celery, purple onion, and bacon. Dress with mayo thinned with Zesty Italian dressing. Stir in a handful of peanuts. When I make it for myself at home, I use walnuts, because I don't like peanuts.

I also have taken shrimp cole slaw. It is just cabbage, carrots and purple onions, shrimp, and dressing from mayo, Italian dressing, and I add garlic powder, white pepper, onion powder, and a little Tony Chachere's cajun seasoning. I don't like sweet cole slaw and this is really good and easy.

Have been, for many years, the coordinator for monthly luncheon, for a social group I belong to.

We mainly eat out as people prefer due to the amt of prep they do before our potlucks.

Range in attendance to 15-40.

We have a huge potluck Christmas. Last year, we had 47. Plus a spring and fall picnic.

I enjoy taking a farmers casserole. Picnics everyone likes my homemade pimento cheese and crackers. Sometimes I will make grape salad, that everyone loves. PLUS times I take green and red grapes, with cubes of sharp cheddar cheese and pepper jack cubes. Toothpicks included :o)

Gardengal, we have some of those "non cooks" too. We always know that they will bring soft drinks or chips or contribute to the plates and plastic ware. It's all good and especially if there are children they love things like potato or tortilla chips.

We had one employee who would bring sushi, he lived in a large town and commuted here. He didn't make it, he ordered ahead and had it made, then picked it up the morning of the potluck. I always looked for it and it was good, and he brought extra wasabi just for me.

Annie

I need the cream cheese/olive dip recipe, please. And thank you!

2- 8oz packages cream cheese

1-small can chopped black olives (i think its 4 oz, but i am not sure. the small one. and for sure get the chopped, not sliced)

-oh...i don't know....about 1/8-1/4 cup roughly - the brine from a jar of pimento stuffed green olives

a couple tablespoons of grated onion with the juice. I use the smallest grater and grate directly into the bowl. This is to taste.

Put all the ingredients into a mixer bowl and mix until blended.

Thats it.

Sorry its not more exact, this is one of those family recipes that everyone just knows the correct amounts for. I will caution that if you use too much green olive brine, it may get a little grainy.

This recipe is for one batch. I will usually triple it and the bowl gets cleaned out. Its good on chips(get the ruffly kind, not the thin ones,) pretzels, crackers, and even as a sandwich spread or veggie dip. It is a bit thick, and its okay to leave it out to soften for a few minutes before serving.

It sounds odd, i know, but it really is a big hit. Even kids like it. I always make individual bowls of it for my nieces and nephews. I do that because it makes them feel special, and honestly to prevent the double dipping in the larger bowl. ew. They know that they can come and refill their bowl however many times they want.

Usually I ask what category they are lacking dishes for and make something in that category. But if it is what ever I found out deviled eggs are always a big hit. For some reason people think they are hard to make. They are sooo easy. I sometimes make that hot meatballs in the grape jelly sauce. I forget the name of it. Hobo baked beans or a pineapple upside down cake. It depends on the weather and if there is electric available.

amy, your recipe sounds good. I'd describe that as olive-flavored cream cheese, more cream cheese than olives. A variation to try would be to morph that into cream cheese flavored tapinade, more tapinade than cream cheese. .

Tapinade is a dish you may know of finely chopped olives but with other flavors, including some garlic and anchovy. The flavor is better (in my opinion) when several different types of olives are used, black and green ones. I think a dip having a proportion with more tapinade and less cream cheese would be interesting. With or without onions, I think I'll try it myself next time we have people over. Thanks for the inspiration.

Sure Elmer! Sometimes i will chop up some of those green olives too and throw them in there. This is just the standard recipe that is required, it seems, at every event, family or otherwise, that i attend. If i do make a variation, i had better still have some of the original recipe to go with it! If you do make it please let me know how you like it. (or not, tastes are personal and someone not liking my recipe will not hurt my feelings in the least.)

And the best way to eat it IMO, is still on some ruffled potato chips. It IS chip dip after all!!!!!

My oldest sisters kids call this "dibs dip" because they like to call dibs on it, and pretend that it makes a difference. :)

That's a sample of what I made for the get together. There were lots of other dishes that I made and i had to invade my sisters fridge to store it all! And there were a few I made the day of at my parents house. (My hot spinach artichoke dip, shrimp, buffalo chicken dip,stuff like that that needs to be made the day of...But these are what i took pictures of. Mainly to send to my sister to taunt her kids with. ;) None of them like Mac and Cheese, so there was no use trying to taunt them with a picture if it.....

Amy, your potato salad looks very different. Would you share what's in it?

Sure Ava!

This particular time i was provided with a giant bag of baby potatoes, both red and yukon gold. I cut them in half or quarters, skin on. Boiled in heavily salted water.

Celery, onion (red this time, i usually prefer scallions but ya gotta work with what you've got!)-finely chopped

Hard boiled eggs, chopped, as many or as little as you like.

Mayo, enough to coat to your taste

Fresh dill. Its not in the picture. I didn't add it until the day of, because i forgot to ask for it and was not going to go to the store just for dill. But it is important. Fresh not dried.

Pepper and more salt if needed.

Add a cup of love. Mix until combined. Serve in a pink bowl, not optional. :)

It is not a typical potato salad i know. No pickle relish, no sugar, no mustard. It really has NO place here in the south, but we like it!

Dawn, I make a stuffed tomato for nibbles too! I hollow them out and stuff them with a mix of crumbled bacon, mayo, green onion and Parmesan cheese. They are SOOOOO fiddly so i don't make them often but they are well loved! I usually use small Romas, cut in half and hollowed out, to make a more substantial bite than the little cherry ones. (not to mention that they are not as maddening to prep)

Function, I don't like making deviled eggs myself, even though i end up doing it all the time. They are easy,but like my little stuffed tomatoes, i consider them "fiddly" The peeling, the scooping, the mixing, and then re-filling those tiny little holes. Whew. When I am in a cooking marathon like i was a week ago , i always make the deviled eggs first, to get them out of the way. If i wait until later, I may not have the patience after 5 hours or so of cooking!!!

If bob c_ville doesn’t come back with his recipe, try this one. I entered it as written, but I don’t use large mushroom caps. I try to get the ones that are one or two bites at most.

Taco Salad - Vegetarian

1 head iceberg lettuce, chopped into bite sized pieces

3 Roma tomatoes diced

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1 bag tortilla chips, crumbled

4 oz can diced mild green chilies

18 oz can chili beans with sauce/use the whole thing

1 bottle Green Goddess dressing

Mix.serve chilled

I love tapenade and I love cream cheese with olives (green olives). They each have a different place in my life.

I used to take a block of cream cheese and then chop up green olives with pimento. The amount used varied - just kept putting them in and mixing until the proportions pleased me.

I love it spread on crackers, but my favorite is to make a sandwich. As a child, I mother made these for me on good white bread - delicious to take with me in my lunch bucket. Later, I discovered how delicious these were grilled - all gooey and divine.

Tapenade? I love it on crusty french bread or crackers. I would not want an entire sandwich - flavor is a bit too intense for that.

Well, I have an olive bread recipe that is a big hit. Kind of tapenade-y.

Mayo

Shredded mozzerella cheese(twice as much as mayo)

Chopped black olives

Chopped up pimento stuffed green olives

Fresh garlic(well, I use the preminced stuff in a jar because I hate how garlic stink lingers on my hands)

Dried oregano

Mix together and refrigerate overnight.

You can add some seeded and diced tomatoes if you want, I don't.

Spread a generous amount on slices of baguette and bake at 400 until bubbly on top and crispy on the bottom.

This is a simple and exceptional tapenade if anyone is looking for a recipe. I think it's better the next day, or at least sitting a few hours for the flavors to meld. I think cream cheese would be a nice addition - I'll try that next time as I always make this at Thanksgiving.

Artichoke-Olive Crostini
Adapted from Mario Batali

1 garlic clove, peeled and smashed
1 cup large green pitted olives
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and drained
1 15-ounce can of artichoke hearts, drained
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
8 large slices of crusty bread

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a food processor, process the garlic, olives, capers, artichoke hearts and olive oil to a coarse paste.

2. Toast the bread on the oven rack for 6 minutes, or until crisp and browned. Spread the olive paste thickly over the toasts and serve.

Do ahead: The olive paste can be refrigerated for 2 days. Let it return to room temperature before using.

I've also heard good things about Pioneer Woman's olive cheese bread, but I haven't tried it. Sounds similar to Amy's.

https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/olive_cheese_br/

I just looked at your link. Yup, hers is similar to mine. The base is pretty much the same: mayo,olives and cheese. (I dont use butter in mine.....i SHOULD) But hers has scallions and no herbs or spices and mine has garlic and oregano. We use different cheeses but I think they are pretty much interchangeable. (I use mozzerella and she uses Monterey jack) Hers looks just as delicious!!!!! I serve mine as individual crostini type things. Hers is more like a big loaf that you cut into chunks. Mmmmmmm.

I usually bring some type of appetizer to a pot luck. Lately I've been bringing a crock pot of meat balls and a warmer tray full of Jalapeno popper wonton cups that everyone raves about.

I used to cook up a big batch of buffalo wings when chicken wings were still relatively cheap but I don't do that very often now that wing prices have gotten stupid. Every now and then my grocer will have 3 lb. bags of frozen wings on sale for $5 (normal price is $9-10/bag) and I buy 4 or 5 bags. Hopefully they will have them on sale again before the football season starts so I can take buffalo wings to the Chiefs watch parties.

LoneJack, I hear you about the wings, lol. They used to be 39 cents per pound on sale and 99 cents was expensive. The last I saw were $4.99 a pound! Forget that. I buy boneless chicken bsts on sale, cut into small oblongs and go from there.

I found my recipe in a previous gardenweb post along with several other stuffed mushroom recipes:

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/2519425/stuffed-mushrooms#n=10

-----------------------------------

One of my oldest T&T recipes is for
stuffed-mushroom caps. They are relatively easy to make a day or so
ahead, and then you merely pop them in the oven for 10 minutes or so and
serve them.

Bob's Magical Mushrooms
1 lb white mushrooms
12 oz cream cheese
3 Tbsp butter
1 tsp minced garlic
4 slices of provolone cheese
3 green onions (chopped fine)

Remove stem and cut away the lower half of the mushroom exposing the gills
Soften cream cheese in microwave, mix garlic and green onions into cream cheese.
Melt butter in small dish, mix in garlic
For each mushroom, spoon the cream cheese mixture into the mushroom, then
dip the top into the butter, and place in a glass baking pan. Then cover the top of the cream cheese with provolone cheese.
The above amount should fill a 13x9 baking pan.

At this point you can refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 deg F
Bake for 10-12 minutes until the provolone is melted and the mushrooms are cooked.
Serve immediately.

I like to bring creamed cucumbers, it is always a hit, never any leftover. Cold and creamy. Or a cornbread casserole.

Yep, Amy, those stuffed tomatoes are fiddly, but they sure taste good! If I made them more often, I'd get some sort of syringe or cake decorating tube to stuff the guacamole/bacon bits in to speed up filling the tomatoes. Hmmmm...I may be onto something there!

Dawn, I got a Wilton cake decorating press for filling deviled eggs. It's fantastic! Much easier to control than a pastry bag, easier to fill, and easier to compress the air out of, less wasted stuck to the sides (close to none), has the right sized tips (big enough for egg, though if it's not big enough for bacon bits, you can get a bigger tip), plus there's a longer narrower one for putting jam in pastries etc., a translucent body so you can still see what you have, and the whole shebang goes in the dishwasher. Check it out. It's inexpensive too.

I work from home, so pot lucks don’t happen for me anymore. However, years ago, I’d make a rice dish that everyone really liked and was always gone by the end of the day. It’s something I threw together one night when I didn’t really feel like cooking and quickly became a family favorite.

1 large box of Rice A Roni, chicken flavor,

1 medium size jar of Pace Salsa. I use mild, but anything similar would work.

1 package of pork chops.

Dice the pork chops and brown in a fry pan with a little bit of oil until the pieces are cooked.

Remove the pork and brown the rice in the same pan and oil.

Once the rice is browned, add the pork, salsa, a about 3/4 of the water recommended and the chicken boullion.

Stir and simmer until rice is done, about 20 minutes. It’s soooo yummy.

LoneJack, I never thought I'd see the day when boneless, skinless chicken breasts were almost always priced lower than chicken wings. But it is the norm now. It seems like wings are mostly just carriers for assorted sauces. I like tigereyes suggestion of cutting the breast meat into winglike shapes. No need to deal with bones. I can see a crock pot full of BBQ breast-wings being a new potluck dish for me.

For spring and summer potlucks I like to make something with garden fresh produce that non-gardeners don't get to enjoy often. Early in the year it may be a rhubarb crisp, later a 3 bean salad or kale salad. I've had people tell me that they love desserts with rhubarb but either can not find it for sale or will not pay $4 a pound or more. Sometimes they get a bundle of stalks from my next harvest.

I made this the other night and it was great. However, why I am posting is because this is how I was talking about cutting the boneless white meat for any wing recipe.

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/firecracker_chicken/

I had to delete my original post, because I used the flagged word to refer to the boneless white meat chicken. It would show for me, but would not post so everyone could see it.

Yep, the one above posted, but the one an hour ago with the b word didn't.

tigereye - that boneless wing recipe looks so good. I'll have to give it a try sometime. I usually don't bread true buffalo wings and just cook on the grill and then baste with wing sauce a few times after they have cooked on both sides. I also season with Szeded's chicken rub before grilling.

Sometimes if the weather doesn't allow for grilling I will use a knock off recipe for Hooter's wings that are breaded and also very good.

Naturegirl - sometimes I can get boneless chicken breasts as low as $0.99/lb. here. They are obviously not the best quality. I don't think I've seen fresh wings for much under $2.99/lb. for a long time.

pillog, I think I need one of those...no, I'm SURE that I need one!

Maybe it's just me, but I think it's funny, in a sad sort of pathetic way, that the filters won't allow the B word.

Your post in cooking with the B word will show up eventually. It is just held until the mods can read the post and who knows how long that will take. Yes, it is kinda sick. I guess we might overexcite some people if we mention b's. (Even if it is a chicken b.) They do have pretty big b's now!

Chi, I’m making that tapenade. But, using a blend of olives as I love kalamata! Thx for the recipe. I can’t imagine what cream cheese would add to the recipe?

Maddie, I don't think it needs it but I was considering it after Elmer and amylou's posts about olive tapenade and cream cheese.

Let me know if you like it! It definitely improves with a little time. I love kalamata olives too.

Coleslaw if I'm pressed, which is a bag of the shredded cabbage with Newman's Own Poppyseed dressing over it. I have gotten raves and requests for the recipe, which I say is a secret. Veggie cream cheese roll ups/pinwheels if I have to bring an appetizer. My mains vary, but I try to do something veggie, usually some kind of bean dish in the crockpot. Dessert is often pie, made with store bought crust and sometimes frozen fruit, my famous one is raspberry peach. Not something you see too often in the stores so evokes a home made vibe. Just call me Sandra Lee!

My mom would make a cream cheese/olive spread when we were kids. We'd have it on sandwiches and crackers. One of my favorites was spreading it on thin slices of deli meat and rolling it up. I still love that stuff...even if I just add the olives and chopped red onion to the cream cheese.

pinkmountain, I'll have to try that Newman's Poppyseed Dressing. ;-)

This is another coleslaw that I'm often asked to bring.

Cole Slaw with Horseradish Dressing (Serves 6-8)

1 small head cabbage (about 1 pound), shredded
Optional: chopped green onion (about 1/2 cup)

Dressing:
3 T. white wine vinegar or cider vinegar
2 T. sugar
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup mayo
2 T. prepared horseradish (or to taste)
1 tsp. celery seed

Pinch each of salt and pepper

Mix vinegar with sugar until it dissolves. Mix in remaining ingredients and taste for seasoning. Toss with cabbage and green onion about 30 minutes before serving. Cover bowl and chill until ready to serve.

I am another lover of potlucks. So many flavors and a variety of stuff I don't usually bake/make and some I've never heard of. Love it! Love it!

My DIL has a family reunion (100th this year) that she has invited us to attend for the last 10 years that she and DS have been married. So sweet since they are the only family I have -- while she has 87 cousins and a passel of assorted other relatives. The revolving hostess arranges to have the main dish delivered - usually from an upscale restaurant, dinner service pieces, table flowers, etc. Everyone contributes to the cost that also covers the servers, cleaner-uppers, etc. $15 ea is a really inexpensive meal for the two of us! Almost everyone brings something homemade (or sometimes purchased), or a bottle of booze, or nibbles, or who tosses in a few extra dollars for the service. My DIL is a professional cake decorator (my son is the baker - like me) so she contributes a couple gorgeous cakes that are show stoppers. Not knowing what to bring the first time, I laid out a platter of my homegrown/homemade pickled okra, maybe 150 pieces. Not one tiny speck was left! So, now it is on the hostess's list asking me to bring it every year. I feel like such a part of a welcoming family. A simple thing that makes the difference to someone. So, if you are asked/expected to bring a certain dish, you may not know how much people look forward to it.

For hot weather potlucks I make a creamy, oniony potato salad. I have nesting bowls, so always have the potato salad in an ice lined bowl.

For colder weather, i make a wild rice hot dish.

Cook wild rice in chicken broth untill just slightly underdone.

Add an additional equal amount of parboiled white rice cooked in broth.

Add several cans of mushrooms with canning liquid.

Add powdered garlic, onion to taste. Cover and bake for 1/2 hour. When nearly ready to go to the party, toss a cup or two of thawed peas on top, toss on some black pepper and 1/2 cup butter. Put foil on top and all the buttery goodness melts in.

Just stir up to serve. Holds heat well.

Timely post as we have a church picnic/potluck this weekend! And no guidelines on what to bring. Ugh. My dh wants to make macaroni salad and I told him there could be 10 dishes of that - who knows? This is a new church for us so we don't know what to expect.

Amylou have you shared your mac n cheese recipe before? I didn't see it here. All of your dishes sound delicious! I like to make mac n cheese at Thanksgiving for the "kids" (who are all adults now).

I often make a corned beef recipe that was my mother's. As you have to cook the corned beef and then let it cool, you have to plan ahead. After it is cold, slice it 1/4" thick and "re-assemble" it. You then make a glaze of brown sugar, prepared mustard and vinegar to spread over it. Then you just warm it in the oven until the glaze is sticky and meat warm throughout. People love it, warm, cool or cold and I never bring any home.

Since retiring I don’t have many potlucks to prepare for anymore. We do tailgate in the fall on occasion and have football get together where we all bring something to share. My specialty is pork tenderloin and carmelized onion sliders. I always bring some good mustards and they disappear quickly. I have also brought Texas caviar dip, a spinach/strawberry salad with homemade dressing, a broccoli salad (no mayo), a tart with carmelized onions, tomatoes and feta that is delish and gone quickly, and mini peppers stuffed with guacamole. For more substantial sides, my kids and grandkids love corn casserole and sautéed garlic green beans.

Share, I think I HAVE shared the mac and cheese recipe before on some other discussion. But here it is again.

Please remember when you read this that i am a mere home cook, not a doctor or nutritionist. ;)

1 pound elbow macaroni, cooked in salted water and drained

1 stick butter

some flour, maybe half a cup

1 quart heavy cream

18 slices american cheese (not the individually wrapped ones)

6 cups shredded cheddar(4 for the sauce,2 for the top)

Melt the butter and add and cook the flour for a few minutes, whisk in heavy cream and cook for a few minutes until it starts to thicken, melt in the american cheese then the 4 cups of shredded cheddar. Mix in noodles. Put in baking dish of your choice(i prefer my heavy pink stoneware) and top with remaining 2 cups of cheddar. Bake at 375 until bubbly and brown around the edges.

This makes a LOT. A giant pan of it.

Thanks Amy! I saved it for future reference!

Another recipe of mine that was in heavy rotation for summer potlucks a few years ago when I had a vegetable garden and a veritable plethora of cucumbers is a cold cucumber yogurt soup.