Thursday, December 1, 2011

College-Style

College-Style

The Strength of a Potluck

Posted: 30 Nov 2011 02:18 AM PST

By: Anna of Loras College

There’s something old-fashioned and even American about the notion of a potluck. Everyone bringing what they have to the table and sharing in order to feed everyone else. In this season of giving and sharing, it’s especially applicable. With all the holiday parties and events going on, why not make one of those a potluck?

Why Potluck?

• It's cheap, it's easy and it's fun!
• You can try foods you've never tried before!
• You bring one dish but get to taste as many as you want!

Potluck Spread
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Who to Invite?

First things first, decide who is going to be involved. The entire campus, your sorority or just the math club? Once you decide who is invited, the rest can fall into place. Bonus points for elementary-school-birthday-style invitations.

What to Bring?

Who is gonna bring what? A potluck is no good if you end up with no dessert — or only dessert! You can just let everyone bring whatever, but if you're concerned, divvy it up by last name. A-J bring main dishes, K-R brings sides and S-Z is responsible for bringing dessert! You can also draw slips of paper with the type of dish you can bring or, if your potluck is small enough, you can ask for preferences. You never know who has their Grandma's secret brownie recipe just waiting to be shared!

If you’re the one bringing the dish, some easy and dorm friendly show stoppers include deviled eggs, salads, simple soups, pasta salads, chips and dip, tacos, cookies, cakes and brownies. Looking for recipes or inspiration? www.allrecipes.com and www.foodnetwork.com are great places to start!

When to Have it?

Plan, plan, plan in advance! Your potluck will go more smoothly and you'll enjoy it more if you are organized. Shoot for two weeks notice for everyone involved. This will get it on people's busy schedules early and give cooks time to find recipes and get ingredients if they need to. Try and find a time that works for most people. Weekday or weekend? Lunch or dinner?


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Where to Host It?

You need a facility! Maybe that's just going to be your apartment or dorm room, but if you have a larger crowd, you need to talk to the people on-campus who can give you permission to use your residence hall's basement or an empty classroom. Don't assume you can use a space without permission and be sure to ask well in advance!

How to Pull it Off?

• Publicize. If your event if bigger, flyers and mass e-mails can be awesome ways to get the word out. At my campus, we've used sidewalk chalk on common walkways and big balloons with event information which definitely gets noticed by students! If the potluck is being hosted for a particular group, make sure to attach the name to the event — you want the organization for which you’re president to get credit, don’t you?
• Get people to commit. Have a sign-up sheet or RSVP system so that you know who is coming. Especially if this is your first time hosting a potluck, it's good to know at least 5 or 6 people plan to show up!
• Theme it! Celebrate the diversity on your campus by having an international potluck where everyone brings food from the country of their heritage. You can also theme it by color (how creative can you get with blue food coloring?) or flavor (Italian potluck? Mama Mia!)

Thoughts?

Have you ever hosted or been to a college potluck? What do you think? Share your thoughts (and any fabulous recipes) below!!

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