The Ubiquitous Potluck
Most of my friends don’t cook. I get it. I used to hate cooking too.
When you’re cooking for yourself, you end up with leftovers and a lot of dishes to do. When you cook for someone else, sometimes there’s pressure to wow them with something fantastic or provide them with an entree and three sides and bread and candles on the table and where are all the clean knives? What I’m saying is: you have to be in the mood. A potluck, however, is different. Your responsibility begins and ends with one dish, and you don’t have to figure out how to carve a chicken.
Without further ado, here are my favorite potluck recipes:
1. Scalloped Potatoes
Ingredients
4 large Yukon Gold potatoes (White Rose work well too)
1 pint of heavy cream
1/2 cup milk (if needed, depending on the size of your taters)
1 cup grated Gruyere cheese
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp thyme (fresh is best, stems removed; dry will work fine as well)
salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 375 (if you have a convection oven, this will work well. A normal oven does just dandy too). Get out a baking pan (I use a glass Pyrex, about 8x6x2) and rub it with a halved clove of garlic, then grease with butter on the bottom and sides. Wash, peel and slice your potatoes about 1/8” thick (a little thicker is fine, it’ll just mean more time on the stove) and keep them in a bowl of ice water while you work. When your potatoes are sliced, put them in a medium-sized pot and barely cover them with the cream (if the potatoes aren’t covered, add some milk — the liquid should ALMOST cover the potatoes). Add thyme, salt and pepper, and bring to a simmer. Keep cooking the potatoes over medium-low heat until the cream has thickened and the potato slices split when you pierce them with a fork, about 10 minutes. Add Gruyere and stir to incorporate, then transfer the contents of the pot into your baking dish. Pop into the oven for 25 - 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and bubbly. Allow to sit for 10 minutes at room temperature before serving.
2. Summer Tomato Salad
Ingredients
6 tomatoes, preferably Heirloom because they’re the bomb, washed
2 shallots, peeled and minced
1 tsp fresh tarragon, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and pepper
Chop your tomatoes into large chunks and dry them on a paper towel. Scoop out some of the seeds and goopy tomato insides and throw them away. Place tomatoes in a bowl with shallots, vinegar, tarragon, olive oil and pepper (omit the salt until the tomatoes are ready to serve — the salt will draw out too much moisture from the tomatoes as they marinate if you add it now). Let them sit, covered with saran wrap in a bowl, for about 30 minutes to an hour. Before you serve, add some coarse salt and mix well. (Also: If you have a grill pan, get some good bread and slice it about 1/2” thick. Grease your grill pan with olive oil and lightly grill the slices of bread to serve with the tomatoes.)
3. Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower
Ingredients
2 large broccoli crowns, stems trimmed, rinsed well
2 large cauliflower crowns, stems trimmed, rinsed well
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp lemon zest
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
salt and pepper
Preheat your oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with foil. In a bowl, mix the minced garlic, lemon zest, chili powder and olive oil. Break your cauliflower and broccoli into roughly same-sized florets. Toss them with the olive oil mixture, arrange them in one layer on the baking sheet, and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast at 425 for 15 - 30 minutes, depending on how crispy you want your veggies.
4. Candied Maple Bacon
Ingredients
12 slices bacon (Nueske’s is the best, any thicker cut will do)
1/2 cup grade A maple syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar
Preheat your oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with foil and get out a metal rack. In a bowl, mix together the brown sugar and maple syrup. If you’re in a serious pinch about the rack, you can slice a few apples very thick and roast the bacon on top of it, but the rack is best (less moisture in the oven = crispier results). Place the bacon in a single layer on the rack (you can do this in shifts, as the bacon doesn’t take too long to cook). With the back of a large spoon, smear the maple mixture over each slice of bacon. You can play around with the amount of syrup/sugar you apply, but most of the excess will drip off, so don’t go too crazy (the sugar will smoke, so turn on a fan). Place the bacon in the oven and check on it after 10 minutes — you will be ready to flip the bacon when it has started to look slippery and translucent. Flip bacon and apply maple mixture to the other side, and continue to cook for 10-20 minutes, until bacon is crisp and dark golden brown. Allow to sit on the rack for 5 minutes, then place on a plate to harden for about 5 more minutes. The bacon is great on its own or with (or even crumbled inside) cornbread or muffins.
