Linda Evans Shepherd - The Potluck Club Cookbook: Easy Recipes to Enjoy with Family and Friends

The Potluck Club
Cookbook

The Potluck Club

Cookbook

Easy Recipes to Enjoy with Family and Friends

Linda Evans Shepherd
and Eva Marie Everson

2009 by Linda Evans Shepherd and Eva Marie Everson

Published by Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.revellbooks.com

E-book edition created 2011

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-1-4412-0456-1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

The internet addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers in this book are accurate at the time of publication. They are provided as a resource. Baker Publishing Group does not endorse them or vouch for their content or permanence.

The Recipe for Friendship
2 heaping cups of patience
2 handfuls of generosity
1 heart of love
A dash of laughter
2 well-rounded scoops of respect
2 heaping measures of trust
1 head of understanding
Sprinkle generously with kindness
Add plenty of faith and mix well
Spread over a lifetime and serve everyone you meet.

To my mom, who taught me everything I know about good recipes. Im so glad you love this book. Thanks for making sure I got all our favorite recipes in tip-top shapeLinda

To Jessica, who takes the love of cooking from past generations to a whole new levelyour mother, Eva

Contents

I (Linda) recently met a woman whod never been to a potluck. Whats it all about? she wanted to know.

As a longtime potluck connoisseur, I explained it was about creating and bringing a dish to a party, dinner, brunch, dessert, or luncheon. All of the guests create and share a dish. That way no one has the burden of making the entire meal themselves.

But theres more. Potlucks are about the fun of tasting a variety of culinary delights. Its about feeling loved as you indulge in dishes from your family and friends. Plus, potlucks provide an opportunity to share a meal with a group of people without killing yourself in the kitchen or running up your credit card bill in a restaurant. Dining together without the normal dinner-party headaches helps you concentrate on the reason you wanted to get together in the first place: connection, food, and fun.

If youve ever been lucky enough to walk a potluck buffet line, youve probably eaten a few helpings of gooey chocolate clair dessert and helped yourself to a serving or two of someones homemade cake. This means youll appreciate the origin of the word potluck. Its from an English word formed from two words meaning cooking pot and lucke, referring to anyone lucky enough to find food in a pot.

We have been lucky enough to attend many a potluck, and weve enjoyed them so much that weve written half a dozen or so novels about a group of ladies who love eating with friends as much as we do. Our first series, the Potluck Club, was followed by a second helping of our saucy characters and their recipes for both dishes and disaster in the Potluck Catering Club series.

If you are looking for opportunities to enjoy a potluck, consider hosting a:

Book Club PotluckGrab the latest Potluck novel and host a girls night out with a dish to share from the pages of the novels. You can also give this recipe book as a gift to all your friends, then host a potluck dinner with a menu from this recipe collection. What yummy fun!

Snack PotluckGreat for almost any social occasion like sporting events or craft get-togethers. Invite everyone to bring party snacks to share, like Evas sausage-stuffed mushrooms or my caramel Ritz Bits crackers. You cant go wrong with Moms cereal snacks, which Lindas mom spent forty years perfecting.

Chocolate PotluckOur favorite! Invite everyone to bring homemade chocolate desserts to sample. For ideas, check out recipes like Lauras microwave mint fudge or Evas chocolate cream pie.

Potluck Lunch or SupperWeve sampled these kinds of potlucks at church, in the neighborhood, and at the office. If you need an idea about what to bring to your next potluck, try whipping up Lindas pecan crusted baked chicken or Evas chicken potpie. Use paper plates for a quick cleanup so you can concentrate on the fun and yum.

Salad PotluckBring ingredients to create one big salad or bring a variety of salads to sample like Evas mango salad or Lindas all-time favorite, layer salad with a secret ingredient.

Dessert PotluckHave the group bring desserts to share for your next after-dinner get-together. Try Evas lemon meringue pie or Lindas cool and smooth four layer delight. Its an easy fix.

Ice Cream PotluckWhy not try a giant banana split party with a variety of ice creams, toppings, and fruit. This is great fun for the kids.

Brunch PotluckNeed to host an early morning get-together? Have your friends bring breakfast items or ingredients to create an oatmeal bar. You can also try our great breakfast recipes like Evas french toast souffl or Lindas quick breakfast casserole, which you can prepare the night before.

Stew PotluckEach guest has an assignment to bring one item for the soon-to-be pot of bubbling stew. See our potluck vegetable beef stew recipe for complete directions on what to ask your guests to bring. You might also assign Moms cornbread casserole to complete the experience. But then, it might take Evas Georgia pumpkin pie to make the night complete.

Sandwich PotluckEveryone on your guest list brings sandwich makings and other lunch items for a build-your-own-sandwich event. This is perfect for your friends who dont know how to turn on their ovens. Of course, even they could find success in whipping up a batch of our tasty tuna fish or chicken salad.

Luncheon PotluckSelect something delicious like low-fat chicken parmesan or lemon baked fish for your friends to enjoy without guilt.

But the best idea of all might be to pore through this cookbook and select some tried-and-true dishes.

Share these recipes with your family too. Theyll absolutely love you for it.

Linda Evans Shepherd and Eva Marie Everson

A Childs Potluck

Let me explain something right off: potlucks and the South are synonymous. I grew up experiencing dinner on the grounds at church, family reunions (including some where I thought, Do I know any of these people?), and neighborhood gatherings held at the local park that was built in the dip between the Big Lake and the highway.

There was always a woman who appeared in charge. She spotted the other ladies descending from their cars, covered dishes in hand, and then pointed to the places on the picnic tables where that particular dish should go. Most of the women spent their lives in the kitchen, cooking up some of the most delectable dishes anyone ever let slip between their lips. Banana cream pies, homemade pound cakes, fried chicken that (as we say) made you want to slap your mama, vegetable casseroles, sweet salads, and the list goes on and on.

There were also the women who couldnt care less about the kitchen. These were the ladies who brought deviled eggs served on the deviled egg platters theyd received as wedding gifts, iced tea (always sweet), or the paper plates and plastic utensils. Their vegetable dishes were simple: throw some green beans in a pot, add a little bacon fat, bring to a boil, let simmer, serve.