Potluck Don’ts?

Photo from The Kitchn

We get it, you’re busy, and yes, everybody likes Planter’s nut mix, but don’t become known as that person who always brings obviously not-homemade stuff to potlucks.

If it should happen that you and another potlucker bring the same dish, in the name of sweet fried onions don’t wage a war of subterfuge against your rival. “I once took my famous hot artichoke dip to a potluck, and another person had made the same dip,” an anonymous potlucker told us. “Both were set out and her husband was loving mine (I’d spiced it up with dill and lemon juice). When he went to help his wife with drinks, she absolutely must have told him to stop eating mine—and told the rest of her family, too—because after that he didn’t go near mine and neither did their kids!”

It is rude to pick out specific food out of a dish. example, picking out all the shrimp. And, making a to go plate before the function is over is just tacky.

So… my guest brings her whole family of 10! AND they brought an EXPIRED cake from Walmart to add to the potluck table!!! Thank the good Lord there wasn’t 15.

Had someone (over the age of 30) turn up with a bucket of Kentucky fried chicken. Cold. He’d gotten “an extra bucket at dinner yesterday especially for the party”, and kept it in the fridge overnight.

Bringing a dish/dessert with one serving already missing! “I had to give hubby/my mom/my friend a taste first!”

Unidentifiable food is present. If you have to explain your dish, don’t bring it.

A stampede is caused by someone shouting, “Oh look Twinkies and SpaghettiO’s!” Why is it that the store bought stuff is more popular than my homemade Dulce de Leche Pie?

There are people in line with their plates heaped high looking for the Diet Coke.

”Too many memories of eating jello in the church basement while sitting on folding chairs. Now I need to make an appointment with my psychiatrist.”

Copycat Cracker Barrel Hash Browns Casserole

This recipe for Copycat Cracker Barrel Hash Browns Casserole is one of the tastiest Cracker Barrel restaurant recipes for side dishes! This hash browns casserole is made with frozen hash browns, sour cream, onion, and cheese. This is truly one of the easiest side dish recipes to make.

• 2 pounds frozen hash browns
• 1 (10.25-ounce) can cream of chicken soup
• 2 cups sour cream
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup finely diced onion
• 1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper (optional)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

• Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a large, 4-quart, bake dish with cooking spray (see note).
  2. In a large bowl, combine hash browns with soup, sour cream, butter, onion and red pepper. Season with salt and pepper and stir in 1 cup of the shredded cheese until well mixed.
  3. Spoon into prepared bake dish and bake for 45 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup of cheese and continue to bake another 10 minutes until cheese is melted and lightly browned on top.

  Notes

  • This makes a large quantity and is best if baked in a dish larger than a standard 9 x 13 casserole. You can measure your largest bake dish by pouring in water to see what quantity it holds. If you only have a 9×13, the finished casserole will be thicker and will need at least 10 more minutes of bake time before adding the final cheese.
  • This recipe was inspired by Homemade Cracker Barrel Hash Browns Casserole—a reader favorite!

Come on and Feel the Noise –Last Night’s Mini Poetry Slam

 

So last night at our potluck sitting in front of a centrepiece made by Dave Goodings (grape tomatoes, cream cheese and onions) we shared words. Dave read a story and Jennifer Fenwick Irwin read a poem by Carleton Place’s very own Claudia Coutu Radmore. Boring you say? I can guarantee you none of us fell asleep. Or did anyone? I must check under the table again for any stragglers.

 

Claudia Coutu Radmore is the author of  Tracing Your Ribs ,  Narcissus Unfolding , and  Moonbeam  among other books, Claudia’s poetry in all forms has also been widely published in magazines and anthologies.  

She is a former Montrealer who writes and paints in Carleton Place. A former teacher who formerly taught in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, and China. She also trained teachers in the South Pacific for three years. Her first publication was a pre-school manual in Bislama, one of the national languages of Vanuatu.

 She was also the 2009 winner of the Canadian Authors National Capital Poetry contest and a finalist in the 2008/2009 Origami Crane Contest. Claudia has won several honours in recent Japanese-form competitions, including the 2008 International Erotic Tanka Contest and the 2009 Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival.

Claudia is not only a writer but also has a publishing business, she began in 192, She publishes books for anyone who wants to have a book from their writing done and several of her mystery books have been very popular on Amazon. 

What book do I love most?

 

The story/history of one hundred and twenty years of New France, poems in the voices of my Coutu/Cottu ancestors and family members. “These poems are in the voices of her actual direct ancestors and their close ancestral relatives between the years 1672 to 1792.

Speakers were chosen who would best portray the history, culture and actual experiences of New France settlers. For the most part, their lives would have been typical of the habitant lifestyle in the rural areas. Though the Cottu (Coutu) family would become habitants of the Seigneurie at Lavaltrie, roughly 40 km east of Montreal on the north side of the St. Lawrence River, the family would spend ten years within Montreal’s walls (1690 – 1700) for safety during the height of the Iroquois raids.“

Carry on folks– this was your Carleton Place culture moment of the day:)

 

She has a new website now and you can check her out on this link!