Signature Potluck Dish

[talon]

Sadly, I haven't got one.

I've been to many, many potlucks in my life. Numenism is rife with potluck opportunities, virtually every event is attended by a feast of some sort, and as I've moved from Celebrant to Minister to Priest to Elder, my role in the potluck as also moved from bringing the chips and dip to more involved dishes.

There's not one single dish that everyone says, as soon as they see it, "Oh, yum! Noddy's (fill in the blank)" in the same degree of enthusiasm as "Yay! Brenda's here! I spy her mac and cheese!" or "Look! It's Brian's cheesecake! Ah! He brought two! Smart man!"

No, what I hear is, "That must be Noddy's. You try it first." "Naw, we'll wait for Tom, he'll try anything."

I don't know why I don't just pick a dish people willingly eat and just stick with it, but I don't. I experiment around, try new techniques, new combinations - some successful, some not.

I know people really liked my baklava cheesecake and even asked for recipes (not common with my dishes). And they loved my dolmades. They are charmed by my bread cornucopia filled with bite sized veggies and surrounded by dip filled giant bell peppers and tomatoes. They devoured my pumpkin soup. They made my potato salad the national dish of New Atlantis. So, yanno, I know I make food people like.

Yet, when faced with a group of people, I am compelled to try new things. The tuna aspic with pineapple was pretty but was only nibbled by the bravest souls and I saw one sneakily throwing away their portion after half a bite. Only Tom was brave enough to try my honey-dipped ants (they really were good, I ate most of it and have made it for myself several times since). It took several tries to get people to try my fried Dr. Pepper and most people still cringe when I bring it up.

And getting people to eat stewed monkey heads (stuffed bell peppers - with faces), George (creamed rice and chicken), Rat onna Stick (cheese-filled meatloaf - on a stick), graveyard stew (milk and saltines), Birdie Bread (made from many different seeds), Rattie Patties (bananas, avocado, split peas, toasted sunflower seeds, shaped into patties, served over pasta with a peanut sauce), Tomato Eclairs, Potato Farts, Joe (chili mac spaghetti pizza), and so on.

Honest, most of them are pretty good. They just don't look pretty or sound appetizing. If you can get past the surface to actually take a bite, they are aren't bad.

And I'm up to it again these weekend, hosting a small Steampunk Tea Party with new treats I haven't tried on anyone yet - Time Tarts and steamed eggs.

It would probably be easier if I'd just pick a single dish for which I would become famous in my small circles, a dish everyone could rely on as being welcome and edible. Even if it was always the same dish. Especially if it was always the same dish.