Going To A Potluck? Assemble, Don’t Cook Food
Party season is upon us, and one thing you can count on right on through New Year’s Eve, you’ll be asked to bring something to a potluck. Maybe several potlucks.
Whether or not you can cook, if you have a full-time job and a family, you probably have less time for it than you used to. By the same token, the more jobs and families you have, the more potluck invitations you’re likely to receive.
Maybe you’re known for bringing the loaf of sourdough, or the drinks, and everyone’s fine with that. But say you want to do more. You want some recognition of your good taste, if not your culinary ability.
What to do? Buy your way out - but not in a way that will make your friends narrow their eyes in a sidelong glance that says, “You didn’t cook this.”
Take advantage of the prepared foods now available at many supermarkets and team them with fresh fruit and vegetables. We’re talking assembly, not cooking. No stoves. Little knife work. In other words, a repast you could create anywhere.
Think of it more as flower arranging than food preparation.
The antipasto plate
Some supermarket deli sections feature an array of pickled and marinated foods perfect for assembling. Look for marinated peppers, olives and mushrooms. Cruise over to the lunch meats for sliced salami, the refrigerator case for cheese and then hit the produce department where, if you’re lucky, you’ll find already-cut carrots and celery - and maybe some green onions - to assemble on your plate.
Classic fruit and cheese
A true no-brainer. Choose cheeses you don’t see all the time, but that are easy to like. That means bypassing the brie and camembert and trying some smoked Gouda, an English blue, a Cheshire or dry jack. Then find the prettiest, plumpest grapes - at least two kinds - from the produce department. Pick a selection of other beautiful fresh fruit: red and green pears, apples, whatever looks wonderful. Add a couple of boxes of fancy crackers and you’re in business.
Simply shellfish platter
This will require some thinking ahead, because you’ll have to keep it absolutely cold until serving time. Find a supermarket with a good fish counter - this is no time to use a store you’re not sure about - and get cooked shrimp with tails on, fresh cooked crab meat if they have it, and smoked fish. Throw in a tin of smoked oysters if you know people who like them. Buy the smallest jar of mayonnaise you can find - you’ll spice it up with chili powder from your spice rack - plus a few lemons and a bunch of parsley. And a bag of ice if the food’s going to be out for more than, say, 20 minutes.
At the party, arrange the seafood around a small cup or bowl of the chili-mayonnaise. If there’s a waterproof container, make a bed of the ice to put the platter on. If you’ve forgotten a cup for the mayo, pick up a green or red bell pepper at the store to hold it.
Charcuterie chic
If your friends are meat-lovers, create a platter of smoked and cured meats. Salami, coppa, ham, summer sausage - the deli case will reveal a whole variety that’s usually put into sandwiches. Pick up (or raid your own refrigerator for) a selection of unusual mustards to serve with them.
Dessert by the pound
Prepared poundcake is one of the food industry’s greatest inventions. No one will figure you baked it yourself, but who cares? It’s just a blank canvas for your imagination. Slice and serve with a sauce you’ve made simply by smashing fresh berries. Truly in the spirit of what we’re proposing, do it without special equipment - like the bottom of a water glass. Garnish with mint.
Eating with the eyes
When presentation is everything, it pays to know a few tricks. Such as:
Color scheme. An all-one-color plate can be cool - think a selection of all-green vegetables arranged around a container of ranch dressing (white for contrast). But usually, remember to make plates with several colors: red, yellow, orange or green. You can introduce green easily with herb garnishes, and put dips in hollowed-out bell peppers or red cabbages.
Textures, shapes, levels. Just as in a flower arrangement, an arrangement of food looks its best if there is a variety of shapes and textures, and if some of it is placed slightly higher. Some serving pieces do this for you. Or mound up bunches of grapes or other fresh fruit for height. Serve celery or carrots standing up in a container.
Serving pieces. This is a good time to bring out those big platters you never use any other time. Check thrift stores and consignment shops for bargains. Or, if you’ve blown your budget on the food itself, and you don’t have a big piece, party stores have inexpensive metal platters that look fine.
Flowers. Flowers make nice garnishes and immediately introduce color and texture to a plate. But be careful: If they’re on the plate, you can bet someone will try to eat them. Use only nonsprayed, organically grown flowers there. Otherwise, use them so that it’s clear they’re not to be eaten - in a teacup on the tray, or stems tied with raffia.