No matter what the challenge, it helps to have a fail-safe, a good and reliable fallback – tell us about yours!

A potluck is a gathering of people where each participant is expected to bring a dish of food to be shared among the group.

Some things in life are a given. And one of those is the infamous potluck.  A potluck meal, like an old fashioned barn-raising, converts a gargantuan task into a manageable and shared endeavor.  And, potlucks often feature some delicious, truly gourmet efforts from committed, creative foodies.  But for us non-foodies who think Costco makes the BEST potluck entries ever, there’s the cringe factor – when the office (bunko, gab-fest, book club, block party, family) potluck announcements go out, we face a dilemma: what to bring, what to bring???

Here, compliments of my ever creative, loves-to-cook-when-she-has-time daughter, you’ll find some food for thought.  She offers easy, fail-safe alternatives to thrashing about looking for the just-right contribution:

---

Howdy fellow cooks, party throwers, pot-luckers & general enjoyers of food!!!

I recently served an all time favorite family salad (# 1 below) at a work pot-luck and as they hungrily chomped it down, I shared all my interesting and delicious variations with the “partakers”… end result, many of them asked for the ideas in hard-copy.  Luckily, I already had most of it in a word document and I just needed to update the latest variations.  These are always a major hit a parties, pot-lucks, BBQ’s, etc.

Gourmet (Grilled Chicken) Salad – So Many Ways

Start with a base of good old Salad Greens.  Add some creative ingredients and, viola!  A meal in itself appears!  If serving as a side-dish, just skip the “meat”.  Added bonus: you can assemble ahead, and right before you serve, add the dressing and toss – ENJOY!!!

Variations Unlimited

The key is to add several of the following to the Salad Greens:
(Note: for salad greens I usually use chopped Romaine and add a package of mixed field greens.)

1. Something cheesy
2. Something tangy (tomatoes, cranberries, mandarin oranges, etc)
3. Something crunchy (sunflower seeds, pine-nuts, pecans, etc.)
4. Something “herb-y” (basil, cilantro, green onions)
5. Something protein (grilled chicken, grilled steak, crab/shrimp/lobster, beans, etc.)
6. Something “else” ( … other fruits, grilled/steamed veggies, etc…use your imagination)

For Starters, Four Fail-Safes

Wine Country Style

• Gourmet Salad Greens
• Diced Grilled Chicken Strips
• Dried Cranberries
• Crumbled Feta Cheese (or, Blue/Gorgonzola if you like more flavor)
• Chopped Green Onions
• Roasted Pine-nuts (or, Glazed Pecans, if you like it a little sweeter)
• Brianna’s Blush Wine Vinaigrette (available at most grocery stores)

California Style

• Gourmet Salad Greens
• Diced Grilled Chicken Strips
• Drained Mandarin Oranges
• Diced fresh Avocado
• Bacon Bits (I use the “real” bacon bits)
• Grated Cheddar Cheese or 4-Cheese Mexi Mix
• Chopped Green Onions
• Sunflower Seeds
• Brianna’s Blush Wine Vinaigrette (available at most grocery stores)
• BONUS: add (1/2”) pieces of steamed asparagus and/or grilled portabella mushrooms….YUM!!!

Italian Style

• Gourmet Salad Greens
• Diced Grilled Chicken Strips (or, substitute w/ thinly sliced/diced grilled steak OR clump crab meat)
• Julienne Sun Dried Tomatoes
• Fresh sliced Basil
• Grated Parmesan and/or Romano Cheese
• Chopped Green Onions
• Roasted Pine-nuts
• Newman’s Own Light Balsamic Vinaigrette

Mexican Caesar Style

• Gourmet Salad Greens
• Diced Grilled Chicken Strips (or substitute w/ thinly sliced/diced Carne Asada)
• Grape Tomatoes sliced in 1/2 lengthwise
• Fresh chopped Cilantro
• Grated/crumbled Cotija Cheese
• Chopped Green Onions
• Sunflower Seeds
• Trader Joe’s Low Fat Cilantro Dressing
• BONUS: add black beans and corn for extra protein and “meal worthy” nutrition

---

I hope you enjoyed this culinary side trip from my usual posts.  Although this looks like a post about recipes, it’s really an analogy for living: it’s easier to stay in the game when we have a bit of a “Plan B” waiting in the wings, just in case.  And, truth be told, Plan B is often a simple variation of “Plan A” – much like the four yummy and interesting recipes above!  Alternate recipes, alternate routes, alternate outfits, alternate options, it’s all about being able to adapt and produce on demand.

And now I’m hungry.  Go figure.

No matter what the challenge, it helps to have a fail-safe, a good and reliable fallback – tell us about yours!