Potluck!

Five years ago this Saturday Dan and I got married in a lovely backyard in Hastings. In lieu of gifts, we asked our friends who cook to bring a favorite dish. In large quantities. 

And boy, did they deliver: plump lobster rolls, traditional Chinese lamb dumplings, classic French ratatouille, poached salmon with a french dill mayonnaise, pork pernil, market salads, smoked eggplant with walnuts and yogurt and homemade sourdough loaves. We supplemented with raw oysters, delicious tacos and pizza made to order, but really, we needn't have. The home-cooked food was plentiful. And it was so much fun to go into our host's kitchen and see the parade of dishes that were both delicious and personal.

Honestly, I can't think of a better way to start a partnership than with that kind of  teamwork. 

Once synonymous with noodle salads and Jello molds and relegated to Church and bingo halls, potluck deserves a rebrand. A curated potluck is a lovely thing.

Our lives are busy. Too busy, if you are to believe the NYT which recently wrote about this very issue. Now more than ever, when the world is so fraught and frenzied, we need to sit down with friends and break bread as often as we possibly can. But, the thought of hosting a dinner party on a Saturday night is exhausting after a day of running errands or from a baseball game to yet another birthday party.

So why not share the "work" rather than skipping out altogether? The market makes it so easy to do that. 

This week we have charcuterie from Portugal and goat cheese from Cooperstown, NY., and Aya Hummus to adorn a pretty appetizer platter. Have a guest on cocktail duty? Springbrook Hollow has a terrific rye, the start of many a great fall cocktail. Make sure to pick up a bottle of Annie's Ginger Elixir, or Mead Orchard's zesty sparkling cider for guests who don't imbibe.

Wil-Hi Lamb is back this week so why not center your meal around lamb, be it a rack of lamb, lamb skewers or the aforementioned dumplings? Have someone roast a bunch of colorful peppers from shishitos ro Johnny Nardellos to purple bells. Have someone else make a farro salad  Have someone bring (or make) bread and flowers. (This week we have a familiar face coming with just dahlias...)

And of course, dessert. Noble Pies is here to keep it simple. Or, you can make this plum cardamom crumble with pistachios.
The goal, after all, is to be all together. 

This is also the week we "glean" for the food pantry. So if you buy something peppers or potatoes for a potluck make sure to buy an extra pound for our gleaning baskets. Also, the knife sharpener is here! Bring your carving knives and pruning shears.

Oh, and this week's music? The Altogether Band. Almost like we planned it that way.