Last spring, I spent the better part of four days tucked into a tiny cabin near Neumann University, working on my natural sweeteners book. I took a cooler full of food, a pile of cookbooks to use as reference when my own inspiration failed me, and a few things to read simply for fun.
Included in my pleasure reading was a PDF of Alana Chernila’s book The Homemade Kitchen, provided by her editor in the hopes that I might write a sentence or two of praise. After my first day of writing was over, I warmed some soup for dinner and settled down to read.
My original intention had been to read just a bit that night and then go to bed early. Instead, I sat at that little, formica-topped table and hungrily took in every word. Friends, I devoured this book.
Now, I had a feeling I would like The Homemade Kitchen before I even opened up the document. I am a fan of Alana’s writing and always feel a moment of anticipatory pleasure when I discover she’s posted something new on her blog. What’s more, since we met four or five years ago, Alana has become a dear friend. We don’t get to see each other too often, but whenever I find myself passing through Western Massachusetts, I point my car in her direction.
The reason I tumbled head first into these pages is that they bring together everything I want from a cookbook. It’s got appealing food, smart and sensible kitchen advice, wonderful writing, a glimpse into the author’s life, a pretty design, and glorious pictures.
When the physical book landed in my mailing box late last week, I was reminded of my time with that PDF all those months ago. While I haven’t cooked anything from it yet, I’ve broken the spine in half a dozen places and have littered the pages with post-it notes.
Just a few of the recipes I’ve marked include Broccoli Raab with Cheddar Polenta (page 61), Roasted Salmon with Yummy Sauce (page 163), and the Congee with Chicken and Greens (page 202). I’m hungry just listing them out.
Disclosure: The nice folks at Clarkson Potter sent me a copy of this book for review and photography purposes. No additional compensation was provided.
I have stolen my friend’s baked ziti recipe. It’s delish!
My favorite pot luck dish is usually some sort of home made dip!
I like to bring a big green salad to a potluck with my homemade vinaigrette. There are never enough vegetables on the table!
Winter potluck will find me making a large crockpot of either vegetarian chili, or basil tomato soup and bringing them along with a nice crusty artesian bread. Summer potlucks I will usually bring a fruit salad.
Egyptian lentil soup with cilantro and yogurt.
Every potluck or brunch I go to I bring a chocolate babka. It’s a hit every time. And who doesn’t love a dessert?!.
Usually a chicken, broccoli and cashew pasta salad.
I’m a baked pasta fan…ziti or lasagna
I have been taking a loaf of home made bread and some good butter to the last few Potlucks. It seems that my co-workers have no knowledge of how to make good bread!
One of my favorite potluck dishes (especially in the summer) is an easy broccoli salad with cherry tomatoes, red onion, cheddar cheese, bacon, and a slightly sweet dressing. So good!
Favorite potluck dish – Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup- along with a previous commenter who was making tater tot hotdish…there is something about Minnesota foods and their applicability to potlucks!
The number of crockpots I encountered at my first MN potluck sent my head spinning, I have now learned to love and embrace the crockpot!
My go-to potluck dish is enchiladas! Total comfort food and a crowdpleaser!
In the summer, it’s one of two 7-ingredient dishes: either my mother’s potato salad or a fresh salsa. Winter would be baked beans or a homemade boule of hearty bread.
I love the cabbage ramen noodle salad at pot lucks!
I found sesame peanut butter noodles are usually pretty popular. I’ve also gone with pesto pasta salad and tuna noodle casseroles. I prefer dishes that can be served at room temperature!
My favorite potluck dish would be baked ziti and homemade rosemary asiago peasant bread.
My grandma would make cheesy potato casserole for Christmas. It’s always been my favorite. Even after I found out that most people call them funeral potatoes.
My favorite potluck dish is a fresh fruit tart. It is a lightly sweetened dessert that really lets the flavors of in-season fruit shine. There are never any leftovers!
I like to keep things seasonal and try to focus on locally sourced goodness when choosing potluck items. One thing for sure, I can never settle on just one thing, and most often will prepare both a savory and sweet dish.
Potluck contributions depend on the season for me. In the late summer and fall it’s often coleslaw. I never imagined is get so excited about coleslaw, but making it with Sweetheart Cabbage is spectacular!
I would say that my go to dish for pot lucks is either dill pickle potato salad or cole slaw or both.
My fave potluck dish is apple crisp. My grandmother’s recipe, easy to transport and always a hit.
My favourite potluck dish to bring is either deviled eggs or broccoli salad…both seem to be a hit.
This book looks fantastic…pretty sure it’s another one to add to my Christmas wish list!
Summer potluck dish: Some sort of pasta salad. In the past, always the pesto rotini (multi-colored) with red onions, feta, olives, cherry tomatoes, and cucumbers. Lately, a BBQ sauce macaroni salad with bell peppers, chili powder, mayo, scallions, and our favorite bbq sauce (and some heat). Rest of the season potluck: Always bring some of the phenomenal strawberry vanilla jam, or apricot, or nectarine + lime. And sometime a berry/apple crumble. And they always return the empty jars.
The book plus all that?? Too good! And what I bring to a potluck is usually jars of pickles and possibly a loaf of bread. If they’re lucky!
Tater tot hotdish is my go to potluck dish! Gotta share my Minnesota heritage whenever I can!
I love bringing a trio of local cheeses plus pickles, jams, and other cheesy accessories! But if we’re talking a hot dish of some kind, probably the Smitten Kitchen caramelized onion and butternut squash galette.
My friends and I do a lot of potlucks where we need to feed a lot of people, and usually have a day of activity before hand. Therefore my favorite dishes are all crockpot ones I can make a huge batch of and let cook on its own throughout the day, to be delved into at night. Of these, crock pot Chicken Tikka Masala with rice and pita bread has received consistent praise, even from people not in love with “foreign” ingredients.
I usually bring a pie or cheesecake to a potluck. I love making desserts!
Cold red quiona salad with pickles, tomatoes, peppers and italian dressing.
This book looks great! I like to make a muffuletta a day ahead and give it time to meld together, then cut into wedges or slices at the pot luck.
I always bring a pie.. anything seasonal at the time…My favorite…..Rhubarb
Potluck dish: I always make this spinach rice salad that my mom got off the back of Good Seasons Italian dressing box. It has chopped celery, scallions and a bacon garnish — with a dressing sweetened with a little sugar and deepened with soy sauce. Mine has since evolved to feature toothy basmati rice, heavy on the finely chopped spinach and other veggies. But it’s always a hit, must be the bacon.
Lasagne.
Lately I’ve been using a fiesta corn relish recipe that I can up as the dressing for a cabbage salad. I can literally shred up a head or half a head of cabbage and then dump on a pint of fiesta corn relish and I am done. Love it! And people seem to really like it. Plus it is is gluten free and dairy free, which is great when there are lots of people who need that around.
My favourite potluck dish is sweet and sour meatballs.
Always a bit hit.
Thanks for the chance.
I love to share my ferments at potlucks; kraut, pickles, kimchi (although the kimchi tends to perfume the whole room when it’s opened!). Since I have a big garden, I also like to prepare a dish from whatever is abundant at the time.
I make a zucchini casserole that tastes like old fashioned herby bread stuffing. There is never any left over to take back home.
My mother used to make a dish with green beans, scrambled eggs, and bacon that we took to every potluck. It is my standard go to if I don’t need to take something vegetarian.
Depends on the season and the theme of the potluck gathering but my preferred go-to dish is tea biscuits. Light and fluffy and good as a dessert with jam or with butter beside a salad.
My favorite potluck dish is definitely my apple crisp. I like to use softer apples that become almost applesauce during cooking. Always a hit!
I think hummus is a perfect potluck food!
My favorite potluck dish is either Ree Drummond’s jam bars, tweaked to use whole wheat flour and a little less sugar (and an entire pint of jam!), or homemade oatmeal bread, preferably with good butter and more jam. This cookbook looks gorgeous!
We have a couple potlucks a year at work and I’ve gotten good response to focaccia in the spring and pasta casseroles with winter squash in them in the winter.
I make a cake from a recipe that came from my mom’s family in Minnesota. Oatmeal chocolate chip cake is always a hit.
Linda McCarthy’s Vegetarian Paella!
–djs
My favorite potluck dish is a quick dessert. I usually go with one of SmittenKitchen’s one-bowl cakes – berries in the summer, chocolate in the winter.
My favorite pot luck dish is ratatouille
I love making beef barley soup for potlucks — every last bit is sopped up and eaten!
I don’t have a go-to potluck dish. Bread with homemade jam is a contender, though. Maybe I don’t go to normal potlucks…. 😉