Thinking about a perfectly stunning party to throw for a few friends? Or for more than a “few” colleagues or clients?
There are dozens of cookbooks out today, all filled with prototypes for the consummate meal-such as the champagne brunch, the ethnic buffet or the “decked out” holiday party.
But the easiest party of all to pull off is almost always overlooked, because no one seems to wax poetic on the one repast that truly spreads around all the work: potluck.
So whatever happened to the potluck party? According to Nach Waxman, proprietor of the New York City bookstore Kitchen Arts & Letters, it’s alive and well and “never really went away.” But now it’s no longer the “poor cousin” of the party circuit. Like the chic and sophisticated “eat-in” and “meet-in” kitchen of the ’90s, it’s been remodeled and resuscitated to suit new needs.
Originally, the phrase referred to a very informal family dinner, notes Margaret Visser, author of two books that explore the anthropological aspects of dining (see pg. 36).
“A guest was not expected to bring something, but rather not to expect something specially prepared,” she explains, so the guest’s “luck” lay with what was in the “pot.”
Over the years, Visser says, “the meaning of the phrase changed to reflect the growing popularity of meals or parties where guests came with contributions of food.”
And with this sort of event, the luck lies in the uncertainty of who will actually show up, what they will bring, how good it will be and how the meal will be served.
But gone are the days of mystery casseroles or meatball stews, and all the rest of that ordinary and unimaginative fare. And gone are the days of dishing out food from cooking pots or plastic containers, or slapping it all on the table at once. Today’s potluck repasts are planned and executed with panache.
Mouth-watering dishes reign supreme at potlucks given frequently by Adela Cepeda, president of A.C. Advisory, a Chicago financial firm.
“It just makes a lot of sense, especially given contemporary lifestyles,” says Cepeda, who has three young children. “Time is important to everyone today, and this lets you share the work and reap the benefits at the same time.”
The potluck is also the perfect “neutral” of the party world, lending itself easily to myriad themes. Be it a barbecue, a holiday feast or a business meal, it can be held as a potluck.
“I never have fewer than two dozen people for Thanksgiving,” points out Cepeda, “and this makes it easier. Plus my business requires quite a bit of entertaining, and that can be a big drain on family life,” she points out. “But this way, you can save time and include your whole family.”
The setting is always superb at Chicago architect Claudia Skylar’s potlucks, since her award-winning kitchen was designed with just such parties in mind.
Skylar, who also has a family, started inviting guests for potlucks religiously once a month when her first daughter was born because “we couldn’t get baby-sitters.”
Fourteen years later, her monthly party meals include both colleagues and friends. They have proven to be effective for conducting business as well as maintaining relationships, she says.
“Cooperative meals, such as those on the American frontier, once were integral to the way we lived,” says Waxman, and now the concept has come full circle. Today, having everyone pitch in can make a party easy instead of an ordeal, and it’s a concept that “works particularly well when applied to the potluck,” says Madeline Murphy Rabb, an art consultant and former executive director of the Chicago Office of Fine Arts.
“Collaborative affairs can be very spontaneous,” notes Rabb, “which leaves you open to inspiration.” When she finds especially good pickings at the farmers’ markets, she plans a spur-of-the-moment potluck for the same evening.
“Not only does everyone bring a dish, but we all pitch in to hire help. That way we can all enjoy the party,” she says.
“Everyone also likes to cook these days,” says Cepeda, which also helps explain the popularity of the potluck. Guests put their best “food” forward “because they’re proud of their skill and they want the kudos,” she says.
And while some of this excellence can be chalked up to a bit of friendly competition, the same concept can work both ways. Chicagoan Ellen Sack, an international travel consultant, owns up to the fact that she “doesn’t like to cook at all, but loves to entertain,” so the potluck party has proven to be her perfect out.
“People usually opt to bring what they truly love to make, so you know it’s going to be great,” she says, noting that the food at her annual Christmas potluck dinners has been “really fabulous.”
Courses that whet an appetite and create a gastronomically satisfying meal are served one at a time at the potlucks hosted by Erwin Drechler, the proprietor and chef of the Lincoln Park restaurant Erwin.
But Drechler, a stickler about all aspects of a meal, firmly believes in assignments.
“I try to create a harmonious balance in meals every day, and this philosophy transfers over very easily to the potluck,” Drechler says.
He plans his potlucks around themes, tells guests exactly what kind of course to bring (“perhaps an appetizer with a fish component or a poultry main dish,” he says) and even gives out culinary guidance when necessary.
Clearly, what ties together the potluck repasts of today and elevates them to an art form, is the fact that hosts leave little to chance.
“These meals are better planned than ever before,” says Waxman, and this relates back to the edibles.
“It’s easier to put your all into a dish when it’s the one thing you have to do,” notes Cepeda.
But if good food provides the “substance” of the meal, then ambience qualifies as the “form.” And this aspect of the potluck is also played up to the hilt these days.
Skylar planned a large center island in her kitchen specifically for this style of entertaining, making it grand with a turquoise granite top and dramatic lighting.
“Our potlucks have always been too big to serve from a buffet or sideboard, and this frees up the dining room table for seating,” she explains.
And Cepeda has a major collection of vintage serving pieces she inherited from her husband’s grandmother.
“I just switch the food into these,” she says, if a guest’s serving dish isn’t up to snuff.
Given the resurgence of the potluck, she may not have to use those heirlooms very often, because serving dishes as sturdy and sensible as this type of repast are everywhere to be found these days.
