xmas party (pot luck)

[smilingcat]

Years past, our company had a catered Xmas party lunch. Well you can't blame them for not picking up the tab this year. So we now have a pot luck. this wouldn't be too bad if there were more women who cook in this place.

I work for an engineering company. Mostly men, and then their are us. two women who are married, a single gal who hates to cook and me.

We have had pot luck lunch in the past. So I cringe at the thought of another pot luck here.

we have had:

shrimp cocktail platter, which no one dared to eat except for the person who brought it. The shrimp must have been pickled in nitrite. rubbery and just plain yucky.

a vegetable platter (clery stick, cucumber slices, raw broccolli) from a local grocery store

a bucket of El Pollo Loco chicken with its famous flame grilled chicken . A step up from KFC

a take out from Panda Express. My guess is its going to be orange peel chicken with fried rice.

oh almost forgot Pizza pizza from Domino's. the real cheap franchised pizza shop.

....

Yesterday, one of the guys asked me what I was bringing and I said not sure. So he put in a request for sushi. NOT SO FAST BUCKWHEAT (Der Schweinehund!!). #1 grade tuna starts at $20/lb.

In the past, I have brought:

Gnocci with cream sauce (my boss requested cream sauce instead of tomato sauce) guys poo-pooed it. My boss loved it. and one guy whose last name is Itallian said I don't know how to make REAL Itallian dish. (Sche**&) And my boss is second generation Itallian.

Potato salad with vinegarett with bit of meyer lemon. where's the mayo someone asked.

micro-green salad with falafal. What the heck is that as they pointed to flafal. no clue!!!

Chicken with artichoke in light cream sauce tossed in with linguini. Gremolata sprinkled on the top. Parsley and garlic gave it the nice color and bit of bite for a balanced taste. And the lemon zest gave it that refreshing light taste. too weird for them.

So I'm thinking why am I going to beat myself up with der Schwein und der Hunds?? I'm really tempted to get Hormel can of chilli or Van Camps pork and beans and chop in some cheap hot dog meat.

but I'm just too nice. So maybe I'll try more for the 10 pointer on a guy-o-meter food. Stuffed bell peppers. stuffing will be cajun style dirty rice. relatively simple and easy. Use enough rice to make it cheap. I think I will make some of them blazing hot
chop in some habanero's or sctch-bonnet or serano. serves'em right.

feeling bit mean!! My partner thought it was totally appropriate with the van camp idea. cheap hot dog adds that just the right zinger touch.

It's too bad I can't call in sick tomorrow. :P

[sundial]

LOL! Men....

I guess you could always serve spam on a toothpick.

[Zen]

Some peoples taste buds will never evolve, why knock yourself out?

How about antipasto from the grocery store deli?

[snapdragen]

Is there someplace close that could "cater". Have everyone chip in a set amount, and have the food brought in. My office does that with Boston Market (meh...) But is is better than toxic shrimps!

[Karma007]

Fruit Loops?

[malkin]

Fruit Loops is a fantastic idea!

We're having record breaking ill will at work right now...I was planning to bring a half dozen Happy Meals to a pot luck at the bosses' house, but Fruit Loops opens a whole realm of possibilities!

[shootingstar]

I don't get it....why not all of you go to a restaurant for the Christmas meal , prebook place days in advance with people rvsping and everyone pays for their own dish. Just get a restaurant that has a web menu online for people to ponder over dishes in advance.

That's what we do where we are....and the majority of employees are men. Yes I work at a construction engineering firm...it's large enough, that I don't know all the guys and other employees.

Snapdragon's idea works well also where we are.

[buddha_bellies]

I say bake cookies! I don't know anyone who doesn't like chocolate chip cookies. And if they're picky, I guess you can alway bake one batch more chewy then the other.

Geez... I can't believe people would actually complain about your food. And they didn't even TRY cooking theirs!

[salsabike]

People who like to cook can choose to cook. People who don't like to cook can choose to bring take out or grocery food. If there's a food in either case that people don't like...they don't have to eat it. No big deal.

[Pedal Wench]

Ha! Same situation here. We used to have a chef at work, but due to the times, he's been gone a year. So, everyone once in a while, we dust off the kitchen and do a potluck. I bring a watermelon/feta/pinenut salad with lemon-peel infused olive oil, this other guy brings Doritos. Chili potluck, I bring a black bean/roasted corn salad, he brings a package of cookies. Xmas potluck is tomorrow. I just spend $54 dollars to make my sweet potato souffle, doubled recipe - they're cooling off as I type this. He's bringing soda. What makes that just too pathetic is that we have a free soda fountain. All the soda anyone can drink...

[SadieKate]

I hate potlucks. There, I've said it. Food tastes horrible if the menu isn't cohesive. You can be the best cook and bring a spectacularly yummy dish, but paired with the wrong thing it will taste like something unmentionable.

Only time a potluck can be good is with friends where everyone is trusted to stick to a theme and not bring crap, or is willing to take an assignment (me included).

Chip in for pizza and pies. It'll be easier and less nauseating, and everyone spends the same amount.

[DebTX]

I'm so glad to hear I'm not the only one who hates pot lucks!
I'm with the group that says "chip in $5 each and order in some pizzas."

[bmccasland]

I work for an engineering firm, in cajun country. So even though most of the staff are men, they can cook what they catch. If it's shrimp, they probably caught them. Totally blew me away when I moved here that while the guys were talking about hunting or fishing, the disucssion would then move to recipes!

So we irrevently call our Section's pot-luck "Road Kill Cafe." Hey, we're the biologists of this bunch. I believe Shrimp Etouffe is on the menu. I had alligator sausage cheesy balls already this morning.

Merry Christmas, Y'all!

[Karma007]

I have a potluck at work today. I'm vegetarian, so potlucks always make me nervous. I usually grab a snack ahead of time, so I'm not left with salad and chips. I made cupcakes (vegan) and have not told a soul that they're vegan ("There's VEEGAN IN THERE?! I"M ALLERGIC TO THAT!"). I'm waiting for the accolades before I spill..

A positive story, at my bf's chrstmas party (while not potluck) was catered by a meat company. I was giddy when I found out they ordered falafel, etc. from another restaurant just for the veg-eaters. I have never felt so loved...

[Kimmyt]

I actually like potlucks, especially for lunches, but then I'm more of a grazer for lunches anyway. I can imagine they would suck righteously if not many people enjoyed cooking, and honestly if someone PUT AN ORDER IN? Oh man, the snarky comments would have had a hard time being withheld.

We're doing a potluck at work on Xmas eve since our company shuts down after that and usually the last day before the break is mostly empty and the people that are there are just wrapping up loose ends. Our company is highly multicultural, so I always look forward to our potlucks. I'm looking forward to lots of dumplings! And I plan on making some challah.

K.