The Potluck Puzzle

Until I moved to New Hampshire I wasn’t accustomed to bringing food to a meal at someone else’s house. It took me a while to get used to it and I attended my first parties toting only a bottle of wine. But it’s so common here – “party” tends to equate with “potluck” – that when I finally brought some food, unasked, to a neighbor’s party, I was rather coldly told thank you but it wouldn’t go with the rest of the hosts’ dishes. Sometimes you just can’t win.

Potlucks All Year

In small town New Hampshire, potlucks are held year-round. Publication parties, holidays, political meetings, book clubs, retirements, graduations, fundraisers and friend-raisers, or just because people want to see each other. In winter, the food will be on the dining room table, beer wine and soda in the kitchen, and conversation everywhere else. In the spring and fall – when the air is chilly and the grass is mucky and wet – parties are held in the driveway with guests spilling into the street, everyone in boots, hats, and jackets. But summer is the best, with the buffet moved from the house to the yard, folding tables unearthed from the garage and hosed down, and the lawn spread with every kind of chair from Windsor to beach chairs. Kids come to the summer parties, sitting on picnic blankets, shrieking and running in packs, babies chuckling then crying and finally falling deep into exhausted sleep in their strollers in the shade.

What to Cook? Best Ideas

At a potluck let the host provide the hot food unless you want to bring a crockpot of hot chili along with the real reason we like to eat it – the garnishes of shredded cheese and – do you need to be told this? – chopped sweet onion, sliced pickled jalapenos, nacho chips or saltines, and sour cream. 

The best type of dish is one that, whether it started out as hot or cold, keeps its personality as it comes to room temperature. A platter of grilled fruit – watermelon, slabs of pineapple, halved figs – with fresh berries, sprigs of mint, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Bean salad, Watermelon Salad with Feta and Mint, Coban Salad, Whoopie Pies. German Potato Salad, which has a vinegar dressing, will keep well on a summer buffet table. Don’t even think of putting anything with a mayo dressing out to sit in the heat.

Sometimes you just want to show off. Own it and go for it. If I’m hosting an event I’ll serve a whole baked salmon with dill sauce (keeping the sauce chilled in a bowl of ice), plattered and garnished like crazy. My other favorite show-stopper is chicken satay with peanut sauce, adapted from a recipe by Sheila Lukins. Once the skewered chicken is grilled, I arrange the skewers like the spokes of a wheel, layered, on a large round tray. Drizzled with satay sauce (the remaining sauce served separately), scattered with tiny-diced red bell pepper for color, and garnished with a chiffonade of basil leaves and wedges of fresh lime, it’s pretty much guaranteed to outshine everything else on the table.

Chicken Satay: The Recipe

When I discovered Sheila Lukins’ All Around the World Cookbook, I especially liked her recipe for chicken satay, Singapore style. My adaptation, below, has been in my regular rotation of party foods for years. Once it’s marinated, the chicken skewers are oven-roasted or grilled for only 5 minutes, and this is a recipe that is best served at room temperature. The peanut sauce is smooth with coconut milk and peanut butter, and flavorful – but not hot – with garlic, curry powder, and a bit of chili paste. One of my favorite things about this recipe is that it does not require overnight marinating. A couple of hours at room temperature will do, or if it’s summer and your kitchen is really warm, refrigerate for about 4 hours.

I do not soak bamboo skewers overnight, as I dislike the way they can splinter. Instead I fill each skewer so that the meat covers the entire skewer from end to end.

For the marinade:

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon honey

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 kg (2.2 pounds) boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut against the grain into strips about 7.5 cm (3 inches) long and 2.5 cm (1 inch) wide

For the peanut sauce:

60 ml (1/4 cup) vegetable oil

118 ml (1/2 cup) finely chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons curry powder

1 teaspoon chili paste or 1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

60 ml (1/4 cup) coconut milk

60 ml (1/4 cup) creamy peanut butter

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or to taste

2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

3 tablespoons (packed) light brown sugar

1 cinnamon stick about 7.5 cm (3 inches) long

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons finely chopped peanuts (optional)

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh basil leaves

1. For the marinade: Bring a small pot of water to a boil and set aside. In a large nonstick skillet over low heat, heat the oil and saute the onion and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the curry powder and chili paste; saute 2-3 minutes. Add coconut milk and 60 ml (1/4 cup) water, and stir in peanut butter, lemon juice, vinegar, brown sugar, cinnamon stick, and bay leaf. Mix well. Simmer until thickened, 5 minutes, and add chopped peanuts if using.
2. Remove cinnamon stick and bay leaf. Using a food processor or immersion (stick) blender, puree, gradually adding 60 ml (1/4 cup) boiling water to bind the sauce. Cover and refrigerate, bringing to room temperature before serving.
3. To finish and serve: Preheat oven to 232°C (450°F) or prepare a grill or ridged grilling skillet. Thread the chicken lengthwise onto skewers. Place the skewers on a baking sheet bake until cooked through, about 5 minutes, or grill, turning once, about 5 minutes in total. Do not overcook or the meat will be dry. Serve at room temperature with peanut sauce.