SC - Re: Lamb

[John]

Hi all from Anne-Marie

on potlucks....

I have had great success with potlucks in the past. The secret, my friends
is to fix it! Success is good planning, well executed.

If you're organizing the potluck, be sure to twist the arms of your friends
to bring something good, and lots of it. I often will personally bring a
large crock pot of bukkenade or other stew like substance or else two or
three tartes of flesche. Offer to provide easy recipes that are
transportable to anyoen who asks, and a few who dont. Ask the hosting
branch to donate money for a main dish, or tell everyone that the barony is
doing the bread (so hopefully not everyone brings bread).

Remind folks that they're supposed to bring a dish to serve 8-10 people.
Thats one dish for each person in their party! I tell folks to bring as
much food per person, as they expect to eat, volume wise. One pie is
sufficient for one adult person. SUre, no one would eat a whole pie, but
they'd have a slice of pie, and a hunk of meat and a slab of cheese, and a
piece of fruit, and...

Bring a LARGE stack of 3x5 cards and waterproof pens, like ballpoints, and
as people bring their food, give them a card to wrtie down what it is, and
what the ingredients are. Be sure to have extra serving gizmos, clearly
labelled with your name.

Arrange the tables so that you dont end up with one big line. Go for two
lines at least. Have helpful cheerful people move up and down the line
offereing nibblies to the line waiters, or else call folks up table by
table so they can at least sit whle they wait.

Have some well respected person stand up at the start and review the
"rules"...dont take all of something, dont stick your fingers in the common
pot, dont take more than you can eat...look behind you at the people still
to come and look ahead at the amount of food left. Be polite, you can
always go back for seconds, etc etc. you'd be suprised how many people dont
know how to act. A gentle reminder goes a long way.

we are blessed here in Madrone to be surrounded by good cooks, and also by
good medieval cooks. I will attend potlucks here, and be assured of a
wonderful meal, even if I choose (as I often do) not to eat anything that
isnt medieval. 

would that this were the case everywhere...there are some places where I
will NOT eat the potlucks, or the feasts, and before any feast I usually
call the head cook and find out what's on the menu. Nothing personal, just
wanna know if my $12 or whatever would be better used at that little French
restaurant I passed on the way to the site...

in any case, if you preplan a bit, and set up some shills to bring "good
stuff", you should be fine.

- --AM

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