Perfect For A Potluck

Monday night was the last of our Bible Study group for this season. We will resume again in the fall. Our small but mighty group of friends always has a potluck before we “get to work”. We have a rotating list featuring salads, appetizers, main meals, and desserts. This week it was my week for the main meal. I made a batch of honey mustard chicken and roasted potatoes and vegetables for the group. They were a big success. Even though our group was smaller than usual, there wasn’t much left at the end of the evening.

For both the vegetables and the potatoes, I just tossed and coated them with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic, then roasted them at 425* F or 219* C for about 40-45 minutes.

I par-boiled the potatoes first in water with a little vinegar added, for about 30 minutes. When they were done, I drained them and tossed then in the olive oil mixture before roasting them. Adding vinegar helps add a thin crust to the potatoes, which helps to preserve the shape of the potatoes. The vinegar’s acid prevents the pectin in potatoes from breaking down too quickly.

There was no need to cook the vegetables first before roasting them. When the potatoes were ready to go into the oven, I just cooked them both together. They both came out cooked to perfection. 🙂

My vegetable mixture included broccoli rabe, carrots, tomatoes and garlic. I meant to add red onions too, but I forgot. I don’t think anyone missed them at all though. They were still very colorful and delicious.

I made a simple honey and Dijon mustard sauce, with a little white balsamic vinegar and tarragon tossed in to both marinate and cook the chicken in. I put the chicken in the oven at the same time as the potatoes and vegetables. Every now and then, I coated the chicken with more of the sauce from the pan to keep it moist and tender.

When it was all done and ready to go, I covered them both up and off we went. Simple, easy-peasy food to go.

Sometimes people stress over potlucks. What do I bring? How can I transport it? Don’t fret about it. The key to bringing good potluck foods it to make something deliciously simple and easily transportable. These recipes were both. Don’t sweat the small stuff. In the end, things usually work out just fine. As I said, everything was a big hit and there wasn’t much left over at all. That is always a good sign of success. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.