The Potluck Club Cookbook
September 28th, 2009. Filed under: Monday's Musings.
Potluck Parties: The Popular Pastime Goes Posh
Dinner parties take a cue from the past,
with revival in potlucks during hard financial times.
PLUS: New cookbook full of recipes perfect for
these friends-and-family get-togethers!
As wallets tighten, friends and family have to get more creative about the way they socialize, seeking to make get-togethers more budget-friendly without sacrificing the fun. That challenge is what has brought about the revival of potlucks to the social scene.
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The Potluck Club Cookbook by Linda Evans Shepherd ISBN: 978-0-8007-3349-0 |
“Eating in is the new eating out,” says Eva Marie Everson, a potluck enthusiast and co-author of The Potluck Club Cookbook. For instance, Everson and her husband used to meet up with another couple each month over dinner at a different restaurant. “But with the recent economy, we started eating in and dining à la potluck. We get to sit on a screened-in patio and watch the sun set over the lake behind the house. We all agree we should have been doing this all along!”
Potlucks are easy even on strained budgets because no one person carries the full cost of a table-full of food; instead, guests each bring their own favorite dish and together cater the event. This allows guests
to sample new dishes and share favorite recipes from their closest friends.
These potlucks that are popping up in even the classiest of circles barely resemble the potlucks of yesterday. Now, they might carry intriguing themes that the dishes are based around. For instance, a book club’s potluck might feature foods mentioned in the pages of their latest read. Or a birthday celebration for a longtime friend might be a wine-and-cheese potluck showcasing favorite edibles that get better with age. For a close girlfriend who is always known for accenting with yellow, a potluck in her honor might include a savory, golden-hued smorgasbord.
Whatever your affair may look like, Eva Marie Everson and Linda Evans Shepherd are the experts when it comes to hosting and attending these shared meals. Veterans of countless potlucks over the years, the duo has gathered their favorite potluck-ready recipes—from salads to slow-cooker delights—plus their experienced insights about pulling off a potluck into one source: The Potluck Club Cookbook. Shepherd and Evans are also the authors of the popular fiction series The Potluck Club and The Potluck Catering Club—so their penchant for potlucks is obvious.
“Potlucks have been a part of my life since childhood,” explains Everson, whose memories are rife with these culinary celebrations—from her days growing up in the South to her newlywed years to the times toting her young children along to the potluck, too. “The potluck meal isn’t just about sharing good, home-cooked food, but also about connecting with your closest friends and family and creating memories that last a lifetime,” Shepherd adds. “Potlucks must be what love tastes like.”
This cookbook compliments A Taste of Fame. It’s written by the same authors, Linda Evans Shepherd and Eva Marie Everson. (I’m sorry, but this keeps making me think of Eva Marie Saint. I wonder if her mother was a fan). I do get sidetracked now and then, but the recipes in this book are easy enough for a sidetracked person to follow. They are simple and don’t use a bunch of exotic ingredients. I’ve already tried the Turkey Enchilada Casserole. It was wonderful. I had to fight them off at work. Everyone wanted my dinner instead of their own.
I usually do big batch cooking on Monday mornings so that I don’t have to figure out meals when my body and brain are too tired to care. The recipes in this book aren’t big crowd size recipes, but you can make a double batch and freeze some for the days you are tired or in a hurry. Since Consumer Man is still over on the east coast of the mainland, I can make a single recipe and freeze in individual portions.
I have several recipes earmarked for try out today, so it’s off to the kitchen and my own little potluck club of one.
May 1st, 2013 at 03:06
[…] The Potluck Club Cookbook by Linda Evans Shepherd and Eav Marie Everson […]