One Potluck Down, Two to Go

‘Tis the season for potlucks! We had our first holiday potluck on Saturday night. A Winter Solstice Party. One of the party-goers was commenting on how much he loves potlucks: there is usually no planning, no communication, and yet there is always just the right assortment of everything. Someone always brings meatballs, someone always brings a salad, a dessert, and so on. There are never any duplicates and it’s all so good!

I decided to make two dishes, both of them new. The first was an appetizer, Cheesy Ranch Roll-Ups, which is basically the same recipe as Party Pinwheels at allrecipes.com. I first tried the roll-ups at my grocery store’s holiday sampler called, “A Taste of the Holidays.” For about three hours, each department had samples of products or recipes made using products from the department. Customers could walk around and sample everything. People basically had a free dinner at our store that night. My department, Natural Foods, had organic chips and dip and fruit spritzers. Bakery had cookies, Meat had prime rib and summer sausage, Frozen had candy cane ice cream and Dairy had these roll-ups. The roll-ups were my favorite, and I knew I had to make them! I served them with salsa and they were a big hit at the solstice party.

The second dish was a dessert. A recipe had caught my eye in an email that Kraft sent me. I love the chocolate-peppermint flavor combination, so I knew that Chocolate-Peppermint Striped Delight was a recipe I had to try. It was easy to execute and very refreshing to eat. It too went over really well at the party. My only complaint is how messy it is. I’m suprised I was able to get a decent picture of it. There is just something so nostalgic about chocolate pudding and cool whip. The peppermint twist made it that much better.

We still have two more potlucks, both on Thursday. For my husband’s work potluck I’m making Cookies N’ Cream Salad. It’s always a hit and he always comes home with an empty bowl. For my potluck at work, I think I’m going to make peppermint brownies. Yes, the chocolate-peppermint combo again. What can I say? It’s one of my favorites!