For the past 12 years, I and a group of friends—our ranks expanding and contracting from four to a few dozen—have held our own potluck because hauling turkeys, mashed potatoes, and pies back and forth via mass transit is actually easier and a lot more fun than schlepping across the country for an annual dose of crowded airports, clogged highways, and the worst kind of journey: the guilt trip. My gang's first New York potluck Thanksgiving came about because none of us new city transplants had enough money to go home. Plus, I had grown up going to an annual Thanksgiving potluck hosted by family friends, so the concept seemed normal; indeed, the holiday for me meant sampling the exotic handiwork of other people's parents, like hard-boiled eggs in the stuffing—a far cry from the oyster rice dressing my Southern Louisianan mother makes.
The first year away from the familiarity of home proved to be a little difficult for some—no matter how good your friend's herbed root-vegetable foam is, it doesn't fill the hole where Mom's green bean casserole should go. Still, by the time we were kicking back with our shoes off, our favorite music playing, and yet another glass of wine—hey, there were no parents making snide remarks about our level of alcohol consumption—even the sickest of the homesick were thinking this was the way to go every year.
For these annual parties, I have prepared vegan sides for vegans who didn't show up, and spent hours making vegetarian gravy only to watch the so-called vegetarians wolf down the giblet gravy. When I've hosted, I've received too much help or not enough. The battle for oven space has brought friends to near blows. Well-timed dishes have gotten cold, and I've become near faint and somewhat drunk while waiting for a blackened smoked turkey to make its way from one part of Brooklyn to another. And I've subjected others to the same woozy fate while basting, basting, basting before loading a questionably done turkey into the hatchback of a gracious friend's car. Seats for the feast have included the floor, at a card table, and a couch.
Disasters have been averted or happened, and yet every one of these Thanksgivings has turned out wonderfully in the end (plus, the wine has gotten better over the years). The tips offered in the subsequent sections of this story for hosts and guests, as well as the potluck-perfect menu suggestions, draw on my years of successes and mistakes. I also turned to several seasoned potluckers who have triumphed over all kinds of Turkey Day challenges, from cooking a full meal on hot plates and in a miniature "Easy Bake" oven, to having to serve tuna sandwiches instead of turkey because one of the kids thought the oven "seemed too hot" and turned it off while the turkey was inside. Though they have differing views on everything from decoration to delegation, they all agreed that the best potlucks are the ones where you relax, go with the flow, enjoy your guests and—sometimes—your tuna sandwiches. If you follow our advice, hopefully nary a bite of tuna will you encounter on the big day.
HOST TIPS
- Delegate, Delegate, Delegate
One of the joys of a potluck is that you don't have to make everything. So don't. "The first Thanksgiving I hosted I made too many things myself," says one potlucker. "I stayed up until 2 a.m. baking pies and rolls, then got up at 6 a.m. to start a 20-pound turkey. It was kosher and covered with quills that my mother and I had to pluck off with pliers. It took hours of hard labor. From this experience I learned: Don't bite off more than you can chew in terms of how many dishes to make yourself. Don't order a kosher turkey unless you don't care about it having smooth, crisp, edible skin. Finally, don't attempt to work too closely with a parent."
- If You Love Them, Set Them Free
Our panel of hosts was split on how specific to get when assigning menu items. "Some families have certain dishes that they feel are essential components of a Thanksgiving meal, therefore I tell people what I'm having and tell them to bring anything else they wish," says one host. "'Free choice has never failed to bring a variety and it makes people feel they have a say in celebrating the holiday." Another says, " I never assign specific recipes— if you want to control things that much, just make everything yourself!" She adds that the joy of a potluck is sharing your family apple pie recipe or learning how one friend's grandmother made sweet potatoes. I once attended a Thanksgiving potluck where the hosts said to bring whatever we wanted and just about everyone brought guacamole. "It was my dream Thanksgiving," the host recalls fondly. "We were in our 20s and avocados were extra-special to us because they were soooo expensive that we only bought them for special occasions. We ate all the guac. Mmmmm...."
- Cover the Basics
A good compromise to the free-choice conundrum —and a way to avoid being awash in guacamole, if that's not your idea of a dream Thanksgiving— is to chat with the attendees about what they'd like to bring and make gentle suggestions to ensure the basics are covered. Turkey, stuffing or dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, something green, a cranberry dish, and pumpkin pie were the must-haves in our informal polls. "I usually let people decide what they want to bring but steer them away from it if someone else is bringing something similar," says a planning-oriented host. Another says, "Once I've planned the basics with my close friends, I fill in with the other guests as they RSVP. As the menu starts to fill in, I get more specific with my requests—the later RSVPs get fewer choices. Even so, I try to be general with my requests and if they have something different that they're excited about bringing, I just fit it in." Also be sure to have plenty of hors d'oeuvres, nuts, cheese, and other nibbles, and drinks "to keep people happy until the inevitably late main dish is ready."
- Restrict Restrictions
The hosts were surprisingly unanimous when it came to their guests' dietary restrictions. "Even though we are vegetarians, I would never insist that someone leave the bacon out of their Turkey Day dish," says one host. "There is always enough variety for everyone." Still, it's nice to let people know if there will be a vegetarian there so that, for example, crumbled bacon can be served on the side of a salad rather than in it. "I try to ensure there are enough sides for everyone to feel well-fed," says another host. "If I know a vegetarian is coming, I'll use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock for, say, a sweet potato purée."
- Some Birds Shouldn't Fly
Although cooked turkeys can be carried in a car (and, believe me, they have been), having to transport a huge, delicate roast bird in a greasy pan can be a bit hairy—let's just say it makes hauling a 25-pound raw turkey on the subway seem like the easy part. "It was a HUGE fiasco getting the turkey to our house in one piece, and people were a bit stressed about it being perfect," said one host about a bird on the move. "I'm not going to say it wasn't worth it, but the angst to enjoyment ratio was almost 1:1." For a good-looking turkey, a splatter-free vehicle, and a nervous-breakdown-free Thanksgiving, make sure that once it's cooked this unwieldy Thanksgiving mainstay only has to travel from the oven to the carving station.
- Count Your Chickens (and Turkeys)
It's a good idea to try to get a head count as far in advance as possible so you can decide on the size of your turkey (especially if you have to order it) and the volume of sides, desserts, etc. If you have "maybes," count them as "yeses" and then factor in a few extra portions for unexpected guests. All of the potluck pros agreed that it's better to have lots of tasty leftovers than to have to cast people out on a holiday that's all about sharing, abundance, and hospitality. One host who serves a free-range heritage breed turkey that has to be ordered a month in advance from the farmers' market offers this tip: "I order the turkey based on how many max we can fit, not how many are actually coming."
- Creativity and Flexibility
When it comes to serving and seating, sometimes function needs to come before form. The world will not come crashing down around you if you don't have enough serving dishes to transfer everything from Tupperware. Likewise, you might have to be creative with seating. "If we have a large group, we'll throw an extra card table at the end of our main dining table and toss a big tablecloth over the whole thing," says one host. An architect and host of many potlucks says: "We don't have enough chairs, so we usually use carpet samples for people to sit on and hollow metal doors on milk crates as tables. We disguise the tables with colorful tablecloths, flowers, candles, and sometimes the good old tissue-paper turkeys." Another host suggests setting up a buffet and some small tables and letting people find seats on couches, chairs, or wherever they find a spot. If you'd rather not have crumbs on your couch, you can rent tables and chairs at a party supply store. You can use high-quality paper, plastic, or environmentally friendly bamboo plates and utensils to cut down on cleanup or if you don't have enough to go around. And be sure to get some extra containers for people to bring leftovers home in.
- Help Wanted?
You might want to ask a friend or two to come over early in the day to help, as long as that sort of thing relaxes you instead of causing more stress. "Ideally, I'll brine the turkey myself the night before and then a friend will come over in the morning to help me prep and roast it and make the gravy at the last minute," says one host.
- Be a Kitchen Timer
When you host a dinner party, you probably time things so that not everything has to go in the oven at once. If you're giving your guests a lot of freedom about what they bring, you have to be a little more cunning with the oven. "Never underestimate how soon the turkey has to go into the oven," says one host. "Count backwards from the time the guests are told to arrive and stick to that, understanding that other dishes will by vying for oven space." It's wise to ask people to bring fully cooked dishes, but most things will still have to be reheated. Some dishes can go in the oven when the turkey is almost finished cooking, while others can go in after you've removed it and it's resting and being carved. Think about what will taste fine at room temperature, what heats well in the microwave (things that don't need to be crisp or crusty work well), and what can be finished on the stovetop (blanched green beans, for example). After each item comes out of the oven or microwave, cover it with a lid or foil until it's time to serve. A warming tray can also be a big help.
- Send Out the Welcome Wagon
Take a cue from the first Thanksgiving and remember that it's better to have people sitting on the floor than to turn people away. "I think the best Thanksgiving potluck was the year that we invited lots of people, including a bunch of interns from my office, and they all brought their friends," recalls one host of a particularly bacchanalian potluck I attended. "Everyone brought a bottle of wine and we drank it all. The whole thing snowballed into a party that started around 3 p.m. and ended around midnight. We all had a great time." Another adds, "If guests try to be considerate but make themselves at home and the host learns to roll with the punches, it should be a great time—no matter what goes wrong with the prep or meal."
Attending a potluck Thanksgiving? Check out these tips for being a guest at a potluck
MENU IDEAS
Plenty for the Meal's Preamble
These delicious hors d'oeuvres travel well and can be served at room temperature so they don't take up oven space. They'll keep everyone happy until the often-late main course is ready. Other good things to put on the buffet include smoked fish, crudités, pâté, an assortment of cheeses, and plenty of bread, crackers, and chips.
- Goat Cheese Marinated in Rosemary, Fennel, and Hot Red Pepper
- Ham and Watercress Crepes
- Brochettes of Melon, Prosciutto, and Fresh Mozzarella
- Tapenade
- Beet, Chickpea, and Almond Dip with Pita Chips
- Blue Cheese and Caramelized Shallot Dip
- Salmon, Dill and Cream Cheese Spread
Three Terrific Turkeys
All three of these traditional Thanksgiving turkeys are flavored with herbs that just about everyone loves, making them perfect for picky guests. For the first, you make the gravy right in the roasting pan, and for the other two, you can make a gravy base up to two days ahead. So whichever you choose, you won't be struggling with sieves, saucepans, and skimmers while the hungry hordes gather around like vultures.
- Herb-Roasted Turkey with Shallot Pan Gravy
- Herb-Roasted Turkey with Apple Cider Gravy
- Tom Colicchio's Herb-Butter Turkey
Taking Sides
No matter what you or your host loves—cornbread or mushroom stuffing, green beans, or roast squash—we've got you covered. All of these sides travel well and most can be made ahead of time and simply popped in the oven or microwave or quickly finished on the stove.
- Rustic Porcini Onion Stuffing
- Andouille Sausage and Corn Bread Stuffing
- Mushroom-Miso-Mustard Gravy
- Fresh Orange-Cranberry Sauce with Walnuts
- Party Potatoes
- Candied Sweet Potatoes
- Sauteed Green Beans
- Roasted Autumn Vegetables
- Parker House Rolls
- Squash Pan Rolls
Always Room for Dessert
The great thing about most pies is that they can be made ahead and taste fine at room temperature—and if they don't, the oven should be freed up by the time you're ready to heat them anyway. Make sure to have plenty of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream to dollop on top.
By Megan O. Steintrager
