Potluck

DEAR ABBY: I had to laugh when I saw the letter from "Not Sure If I Do," who hesitated to attend a potluck wedding at which guests would be expected to pitch in and do dishes. That sounds a lot like a Quaker wedding. In my meeting house there would be no minister, no music - perhaps some wildflowers picked from a nearby field. The couple would recite vows they had written. The only cost would be the courthouse fee and whatever the couple spent (if anything) on wedding attire.

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I were invited to a dinner party at a couple's home. We accepted the invitation with pleasure, only to be told afterward that it was going to be a "potluck. " When I called the hostess to ask if we could bring dessert or perhaps an appetizer, she informed me that the menu had already been planned and we were assigned a side dish neither of us had ever heard of. Then she told me she would email me the recipe. Abby, I was shocked and, frankly, offended.

This year's New Jersey State Fair is around the corner, and a Culinary Arts Festival will be one of its highlights. The festival will feature a variety of food demonstrations as well as daily recipe contests, open to New Jersey residents only. The annual fair, will be held from Aug. 5 through 14 at Garden State Park in Cherry Hill. A different food division will be judged each day, beginning with jams and jellies on Aug. 5. Subsequent events will cover canned goods, cookies, pies, a combined event for men and children, cakes, and miscellaneous potluck foods.

Memorial Day weekend is here, and with it, all the attendant demands for potluck offerings, followed by the furious thumbing-through of cookbooks. Oh, the glory of basking in oohs, aahs, of being hounded for recipes. No one wants to be the owner of the still-brimming platter on the picnic table — the one everyone politely passes over. The "luck" in potluck comes from tried-and-true, no-fail, consistently awesome recipes. Josh Kim, owner of the Spot truck, has wowed friends and family with his grilled chicken wings, rubbed with the unlikely combination of herbes de Provence and ginger, then basted with a beer-diluted barbecue sauce.

The lamb was on the grill, the vodka was flowing, the air was thick with the acrid smell of Bulgarian cigarettes, children raced from room to room, knots of people talked and laughed, but Vasily Belov had only one thing on his mind. "What is the news from Moscow?" he asked his fellow writer Georgy Semyonov, an enormous, grizzled, gregarious man who had flown into this country only a few hours before and had just burst into the room with a storm of greetings. "Tell me. What is happening?"

If you invited the Philadelphia Eagles to a potluck Super Bowl party, chances are that veteran running back-kick returner Brian Mitchell would rustle up some smothered chicken, smoked ribs or shrimp ?touff?e. Or he might step out to the patio to deep-fry a turkey. Head coach Andy Reid and his wife, Tammy, would arrive with Western sandwiches and Mississippi mud cake. Defensive line coach Tommy Brasher would carry in a party-sized casserole dish of low-fat eggplant parmesan. And right behind him, backup quarterback A.J. Feeley would be toting several bags of takeout from Dave & Buster's.

Hot! Hot! Hot! there's more to running for president then just debating policy - you even have to do some very silly things. In the first installment of our weekly series, we find Al "What's it going to take to make me an Alpha Male?" Gore contributing to an Iowa potluck supper.

Momi, a small, new eatery off South Street, is majoring in nostalgia foods with a '50s flavor. From its TV dinners and Ovaltine to the tables, tiles and dishes, this is a time warp to be tackled with knife and fork. Remember Rice Krispies Treats, those slightly sticky, somewhat sweet squares made from the popular crispy rice cereal and marshmallows? They set the stage here for a cast of food characters that includes Fluffernutters, Tater Tots, potluck dinners and Jello. And if you like, you can wash it all down with Tang before leaving for home, pockets filled with complementary molasses-flavored Mary Jane chewies and sticks of bubble gum. Momi (it's pronounced Mommy)

TOP TEN LISTS Top ten ways to show disdain for your fellow man (From FRANK SULLIVAN, The Times-Colonist, Victoria, B.C. 10. Limit TV viewing to "Late Night with David Letterman. " 9. Revive the Twist. 8. Rescind all gun laws. 7. Give free cigarettes to everyone. 6. Encourage use of fatty foods. 5. Ban treats. 4. Ensure all blood banks bankrupt. 3. Turn all traffic lights red. 2. Turn all traffic lights green. And (drumroll) 1. Let Saddam Hussein, Moammar Gadhafi and Manuel Noriega rule the world.

Lisa Montgomery talks fast, really fast. She holds a day job as a packaging products sales rep. She cares for three dogs, two cats and a parrot. Lately, she has been visiting her ailing mother a lot. How does the dynamo from Royersford do it all? By means of a raw-food diet, Montgomery says. She believes that the diet cleanses the body and nurtures the soul. But the raw-food connection doesn't end there. Montgomery, 51, hosts a Web site and monthly potluck dinner in her home, featuring dishes such as her signature three-nut pesto "pasta.

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I were invited to a dinner party at a couple's home. We accepted the invitation with pleasure, only to be told afterward that it was going to be a "potluck. " When I called the hostess to ask if we could bring dessert or perhaps an appetizer, she informed me that the menu had already been planned and we were assigned a side dish neither of us had ever heard of. Then she told me she would email me the recipe. Abby, I was shocked and, frankly, offended.

Memorial Day weekend is here, and with it, all the attendant demands for potluck offerings, followed by the furious thumbing-through of cookbooks. Oh, the glory of basking in oohs, aahs, of being hounded for recipes. No one wants to be the owner of the still-brimming platter on the picnic table — the one everyone politely passes over. The "luck" in potluck comes from tried-and-true, no-fail, consistently awesome recipes. Josh Kim, owner of the Spot truck, has wowed friends and family with his grilled chicken wings, rubbed with the unlikely combination of herbes de Provence and ginger, then basted with a beer-diluted barbecue sauce.

1 1/2 pounds ground pork 4 ounces firm chorizo or hot Italian sausage, casing removed and crumbled 2 slices of bacon, finely chopped 1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup minced shallots 2 tablespoons chopped parsley 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 cup mayonnaise 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce 4 hamburger buns, toasted   1. In a large bowl, mix ground pork, chorizo,...

1 dozen eggs 6 tablespoons mayonnaise 1 teaspoon dry mustard 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1/4 cup sweet pickle relish 5 strips of cooked bacon, crumbled 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce   1. Place the eggs in a pot of water. Bring water to a boil and then turn off heat. Let the eggs rest in the water for 15 minutes. 2. Peel the eggs and cut in half vertically. Remove the yolks and place in a bowl.

For the cake: 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour 1 1/2 cups sugar 12 large egg whites, at room temperature 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract, or a combination 1 1/2  teaspoons cream of tartar For the filling and icing: 3 pints fresh strawberries (2 pints sliced thin, 1 pint halved) 4 tablespoons sugar 3 cups whipping cream 1/3 cup superfine sugar   1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

1/2 pound farfalle or other bite-size pasta 1 teaspoon salt, divided 1/2 pound tomatoes, cored, halved, and seeded 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, cut into thin strips 1 tablespoon chopped garlic 1/2 cup chopped red onion 1/4 pound sharp provolone, cut into ¼-inch cubes 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 2 ounces olive oil 1/2 cup basil leaves, loosely packed 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (optional)...

1 bunch (6 large) scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced 2 (16-ounce) bags coleslaw mix or 1 (16-ounce) bag each of shredded green and shredded red cabbage 1 small red onion, thinly sliced 1/4 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup lemon juice 1/4 cup vegetable oil 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger (from about a 1-inch piece) 2 tablespoons white vinegar 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar 2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil 2 teaspoons sesame seeds, optional 1 teaspoon salt 20 grinds black pepper   1. Rough up the scallion slices a little with your fingers so all the little layers of the scallion whites separate.

If you're invited to a potluck party this season and want to cook, don't fret about what to bring. There are more than 100 classic and heirloom favorites in the recently released Cook's Country Best Potluck Recipes, from the editors of America's Test Kitchen. Chapters focus on brunch, salads, slaws, hot sides, casseroles, game-day favorites, slow-cooker dishes, centerpieces, and desserts. "Potluck is an old-fashioned way of cooking for a bunch of people," says Christopher Kimball, founder and editor of Cook's Country and Cook's Illustrated, who was instrumental in assembling the cookbook.

The watchword for 2009 is less , as in: getting by on less; using less expensive ingredients; eating out less often. And more home cooking. The trend will affect families at all points along the culinary spectrum. Bon Appetit magazine, for example, suggests its home cooks substitute truffle oil for more expensive truffles, while Wegmans supermarkets say sales of supplies for home baking and canning are way up. "Over the last year, we've seen increased sales of baking ingredients such as flour, even over the spring and summer when flour prices were rising dramatically," says Josephine Natale, spokeswoman for the supermarket chain.

DEAR ABBY: I had to laugh when I saw the letter from "Not Sure If I Do," who hesitated to attend a potluck wedding at which guests would be expected to pitch in and do dishes. That sounds a lot like a Quaker wedding. In my meeting house there would be no minister, no music - perhaps some wildflowers picked from a nearby field. The couple would recite vows they had written. The only cost would be the courthouse fee and whatever the couple spent (if anything) on wedding attire.