Twenty for Potluck

By Candy Sagon
Washington Post Staff Writer

When the guest list's up to 20, it's time to share the cooking. But a potluck dinner still takes planning: How to deal with those who can't (or won't) cook. How to avoid 15 casseroles of sweet potatoes. How to deal with your (fill in the blank)'s picky kids.

My brother and sister-in-law in California host a big potluck Thanksgiving each year. Last year a certain relative was asked to bring green beans but showed up with cookies instead. "Oh, was I supposed to make green beans?" she asked coyly. "I must have forgotten." Another year my brother's friend promised to bring a side dish, but showed up an hour late with two six-packs of beer instead. "Sorry, dude . . . " was all he said.

A potluck may be a great way to share the load, but beware of a few potholes along the way. Even the experts hit them occasionally. Tamara Weiss is a well-known Martha's Vineyard host and author of "Potluck at Midnight Farm." She throws potluck dinners almost every week. "Just the other night," she says, "I asked a friend to bring a rice dish to go with the fish my husband had caught. We even talked about the recipe she wanted to use." The night of the dinner the woman showed up with a loaf of bread from the supermarket. "She decided she just didn't feel like making a rice dish," Weiss says.

What can I tell you? People can be flakes. The solution is to anticipate glitches, be flexible "and pour yourself another glass of wine," says Weiss, only half-joking. (If it helps, remember that since it's a potluck, the guests won't hold you completely responsible .)

As the Thanksgiving host, you should make the turkey and gravy. As for the rest of the meal, consider these strategies from several potluck veterans:

Weiss: We're having 25 at our potluck Thanksgiving this year, so I know the drill. My suggestions:

1) Assign non-cooks to bring the flowers, wine, gourds to decorate the table or candles. They could also pick up a pie or some ice cream.

2) Pick someone prompt to bring the hors d'oeuvres.You don't want your appetizers arriving just in time for dessert.

3) With 20 people, you'll want at least two of the guests to make different salads, two people to bring different potato dishes (one sweet potatoes, one regular potatoes), two people to bring different green vegetables (maybe Brussels sprouts and green beans) and two people to bring pies.

4) Let your guests help with the cleanup. Cleaning up can be fun -- some of the best conversations happen in the kitchen. Finally, if someone really wants to bring a certain dish that you don't particularly want, let them bring it anyway. Every year my best friend brings her noodle kugel, and now my kids don't consider it Thanksgiving without it.

Diane Morgan, Portland, Ore., cooking teacher and author of "The Thanksgiving Table": We have 16 coming to our potluck Thanksgiving this year and I'm teaching 21 Thanksgiving classes between Nov. 1 and Thanksgiving Day. To cope, I e-mail recipes for my guests to make. I tell them they only have to make this one thing, and I'm really enthusiastic about it. I really sell it. But I try to find recipes to match the person's abilities.

For a friend who works full time, I give her a make-ahead dish, like a pumpkin pound cake, that she can make and freeze. For relatives who want to help but need something easy, have them do some of the shopping for you. Or have them set the table the night before or help arrange the flowers.

Also, and this is important -- make sure someone brings kid food. There's nothing worse than having kids reject all the food at the table. Make sure there's a dessert that appeals to the kids (ice cream, for example), some sparkling apple juice for a special drink, and something they'll like, like mac and cheese or yams with marshmallows.

Sara Moulton, host of the Food Network's "Cooking Live With Sara Moulton," and author of "Sara Moulton Cooks at Home" (Broadway Books): We often do a potluck family Thanksgiving and Christmas, and we have relatives bring the beginning and the end of the meal. For this big a group, you should make the turkey, stuffing and gravy. I'd have the person living near the best takeout store bring the hors d'oeuvres. The bakers in your group should bring the pies -- or they can buy them. For those who can't cook, have them bring the wine (suggest a Rioja, a Riesling or a Beaujolais, if they know nothing about wine).

Non-cooks could also buy a bag of washed salad greens and some nice cheese to go with it and you can provide a vinaigrette. Someone else not that competent could make the fresh orange relish on the back of the cranberry bag. It's so simple, a child could do it. Someone who can cook should bring the potatoes -- sweet, mashed or both -- and someone else can bring a green vegetable, their choice. That way all your bases would be covered.

If someone's unsure about a recipe, have them bring the components to your house and they can finish making it there with your help. I have a great recipe for shredded Brussels sprouts with a little chopped bacon that I give to people who aren't sure what to make for a side dish. I tell them to shred the Brussels sprouts at home and finish making the dish at my house. Dinner can be incredibly improved by an interesting side dish.

Jorj Morgan, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., cooking teacher, former caterer, author of "At Home Entertaining" (Cumberland House): I'll always remember the family potluck Thanksgiving we had one year. My sister-in-law was supposed to bring the pumpkin pie, but she decided instead to make a recipe for custard pie topped with fresh fruit that she had admired in a magazine. She was so proud of herself, until the entire family looked at her and said, "But where's the pumpkin pie?" She was crushed. Now I let her bring whatever dessert she wants, and someone else brings the pumpkin pie.

The key is to find out what people like to do -- or are able to do -- and then work around that. I try to organize people into food groups: the bakers, the cooks, the picker-uppers, the gourmets. I start with the least likely cook of the bunch and ask them what they want to bring. If they're not sure, I suggest they pick up a pie.

Also, plan a menu with some dishes that can be served at room temperature, so that you don't have too many dishes that need to be kept hot. Suggest a green bean salad instead of baked green beans. Have someone bring a chilled pie.

Ever since the year my grandmother forgot to cook the turkey (she put it into the oven, but forgot to turn it on), I always have a baked ham just in case. (For more suggestions, see Morgan's Web site, www.jorj.com).