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The holidays are here, everybody is either jetting out or into a different city or their parents’ house. If you are not leaving town, Christmas doesn’t have to be gloomy. Round up some friends who like you, will not be going to Mombasa and have a potluck dinner!
A potluck dinner is a gathering of friends or family where each attendee brings a meal to be shared with the other guests. Think of it more like a food “chama” (you literally eat from everyone’s pot or contribution] Here are a few pointers for the perfect potluck.
Set the date and RSVPs
Set a date and decide who is going to host. Have everyone rsvp.
Assign everyone a meal
If you are hosting, assign a meal to everyone or have them bring a meal they are comfortable making. If you are doing Kenyan cuisine don’t ask Hadija to bring matoke stew when she would really have made killer pilau or biryani.
To make potlucks more fun, pick a food theme for instance Italian, Swahili or Moroccan cuisine. Without a theme you might end up with a mix of Thai stir-fry, Greek salad, pilau, burgers, pasta, githeri, Spanish quesadillas...you will have a food accident.
If you are a group of 15: assign 4 meat dishes, 2 veggie dishes, 2 salads, 2 appetizers-pizza is a crowd pleaser, 2 side dishes, 1 big fruit platter and 2 desserts. In the menu, be considerate of special diet guests. Each person should bring at least 2 liters of beverage to share.
Be the hostess with the mostest
As a hostess you will make your house inviting also you will make the biggest meal. Decide what two major main dishes you will be serving. Set up a food, drinks and dinnerware station.
Provide pens and plain paper to label all the foods.
Be a good guest
Show up on time, no flaking out last minute. Do not arrive with the fried rice 3 hours after the dinner has ended. Bring your food in an appropriate serving dish. Keep your food easy to serve and not overly spiced and enough for everyone.
Do NOT bring soup; soup bowls and limited table space kill potlucks! Presentation matters too, bring proper serving utensils; a table full of food in foil will end up looking like a refugee camp. Happy Potlucking!
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