Donnelly - Modern potluck: beautiful food to share

Acknowledgments

They say it takes a village to raise a child. This is even truer for a cookbook.

First, to my agent, Jonah Straus: We did it! After years of dance parties, cocktails, and brainstorming sessions, we finally had a chance to work together. Thank you for your encouragement and moral support throughout this entire process, from proposal to publication. Im lucky to have you as an agent but even more lucky to count you as a friend.

To Rica Allannic, thank you for your support of Modern Potluck from the very start. It was an absolute dream that you acquired this book. Thank you to Doris Cooper, Anna Mintz, and Carly Gorga at Clarkson Potter for your enthusiasm. And Ashley Meyerhow lucky are we that Rica decided to take a sabbatical just as my book was being edited? Its been a delight working with you.

To my Food & Wine family: I never would have gotten here without you. Thank you especially to Dana Cowin, Pam Kaufman, and Kate Heddings for teaching me about high standards and for all of your support over the years. And to Tina Ujlaki: You are the worlds best mentor and my second mother. I know that the recipes in this book are better because of your training.

Thank you as well to Marcia Kiesel, Grace Parisi, Melissa Rubel Jacobson, Justin Chapple, and Kay Chunfive incredible cooks and recipe developers. I learned so much about flavor and proper technique from you; tasting the food you worked each day was like getting a culinary graduate degree.

To Cherry Jones, our wonderful former nanny: Thank you for keeping my daughter happy, engaged, and healthy as I toiled away on this book. And for taking home so much of the extra food. (Thank you to Patrick Moroney and Jennifer Urbealis-Moroney for assisting with this difficult task as well!)

The photo shoot for this book required its own subsection of the village, but the days I spent working on it were some of my favorite during the process. Thank you to photographer Yossy Arefi for creating such gorgeous photos and for your expert styling. You work with such confidence and grace. Thank you to Paola Andrea for sourcing and sharing stunning props as well. Carrie Purcell: You made my food looked exactly as I imagined it but better than I ever could have styled it myself; it was a pleasure to watch you work.

Thank you to Mirella Cheeseman, Emma Saccone, Brooks Halliday, Monica Pierini, and Richard Lapham for your help with the photo shoots as well. To Michael Nagin, La Tricia Watford, Jan Derevjanik, Mark McCauslin, and Heather Williamson for creating and producing such a beautiful design. And to Lauren Velasquez and Sean Boyles, for handling marketing and publicity efforts, respectively.

To my friends and neighbors who appear in the photos: Charles Antin; Alessandra Bulow; Anna Watson Carl; Daniel Gritzer; Cherry Jones; Ellora Forrest; Sachin Hyjek; Rakhi Seth-Forrest; Patrick and Evie Moroney; Postell and Otis Pringle; Brainerd, Eloise, and Beatrix Taylor. Thank you for being part of this project!

Thank you to my volunteer recipe testers: Charles Antin, Jane Antin, Kate Brambilla, Jennifer Bee Barker, Maren Ellingboe, Gina Gancheva, Arielle Heller, Sara Hodgdon, Irene Lin, Jenn Louis, Joy Manning, Maggie Mariolis, Becky McCandless, Jennifer Urbealis-Moroney, Patrick Moroney, Amanda McFaul, Raquel Pelzel, Natalie Rockwell, Debra Kruth, Darcy Sawatzki, Rachael Shapiro, Natalia Stroutinsky, Emily Thelin, and Tracey Webber. Your feedback throughout this process was invaluable.

To Amelia Rampe: You are a superstar! Thank you for coming to my house, week after week for several months, to test recipes. I know that these recipes are even more delicious because of your help and that your career will take you to great places. Thank you Tessa Thompson at Institute of Culinary Education (my alma mater!) for connecting me with Amelia.

I was thrilled when many of my friends and favorite home cooks agreed to contribute recipes. Thank you to Anna Watson Carl, Justin Chapple, Clotilde Dusoulier, Megan Gordon, Daniel Gritzer, Phoebe Lapine, Heidi Swanson, and Molly Yeh for sharing your best potluck dishes.

To my first family: My parents and my sister, Katie. Thank you always for your support.

And to my second family, my husband and daughter, to whom I dedicate this book: Thank you a million times over for your love and encouragement. This never would have happened without you!

snacks, dips & drinks

Sweet-Spicy-Salty Snack Mix

VEGETARIAN; GLUTEN-FREE (OPTIONAL) / MAKES 3 HEAPING QUARTS

Popcorn, rice crackers, and a mixture of seeds get mixed with a soy-caramel sauce for a gluten-free (if you use gluten-free soy sauce) and nut-free snack mix thats hard to stop eating. While the mix is sweet enough to serve as dessert, the cayenne heat makes it great with cocktails.

cups unsalted or lightly salted popcorn (see )

OUNCES RICE CRACKERS, BROKEN INTO BITE-SIZE PIECES (ABOUT 2 CUPS)

CUP (1 STICK) UNSALTED BUTTER

CUP LIGHT BROWN SUGAR

CUP LIGHT CORN SYRUP

TABLESPOONS SOY SAUCE

TEASPOON BAKING SODA

TEASPOON CAYENNE PEPPER

TEASPOON CREAM OF TARTAR

CUP PUMPKIN SEEDS

CUP SUNFLOWER SEEDS

TABLESPOONS SESAME SEEDS

Preheat the oven to 225F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat pan liner.

In a very large bowl, toss the popcorn with the rice crackers.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add the brown sugar and corn syrup and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar is melted and a deep amber syrup forms, about 4 minutes. Stir in the soy sauce, baking soda, cayenne, and cream of tartar. Slowly and carefully pour the syrup over the popcorn and crackers, and stir to coat. When nearly evenly coated, stir in the seeds.

Spread the mixture on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for about 1 hour, until dry to the touch. Let cool to room temperature. Break the snack mix into bite-size pieces and serve.

NOTE. Twelve cups of popcorn is the approximate amount in 1 standard microwave bag. To make popcorn on the stovetop, combine cup grapeseed oil, coconut oil, or other high-heat oil with 3 kernels in a large, heavy pot over high heat. When those kernels pop, add the remaining kernels in a single layer and remove the pot from the heat. Count to 30, and then return the pot to the heat. The popcorn should start popping rapidly; when the popping slows to a near stop, turn off the heat. Uncover the pot when the popcorn has fully stopped popping. Carefully transfer the hot popcorn to a bowl.

POTLUCK PREP. The snack mix can be kept in an airtight container for 3 to 5 days. If it gets sticky (this can happen if its humid), dry it again briefly in a 225F oven.

Pig Candy

GLUTEN-FREE / MAKES 16 PIECES

Candied bacon is a fantastic snack to eat with drinks because it hits so many spots on the tongue: Its sweet, smoky, and salty, and usually a little spicy. I add another element to make it even harder to stop eating: tangy sherry vinegar. The hardest part of this recipe is waiting for the bacon to fully cool and crisp before trying it. For the most evenly cooked bacon, use bacon thats the same width on either end.