Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner and What to Fix...Or Not!

Thanksgiving Day was celebrated with others in the park where we are staying. The park owners cooked a turkey and a ham. People attending signed up to take a side dish or a dessert. There was a good variety of food. A minimum of thirty people  attended. With another table set up on the other side of the food table and still others coming in and out who filled plates to take back to their units, the number attending was probably closer to forty.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Jellied Cranberry Sauce and Broccoli Salad

Dressing and Gravy

Only part of the desserts

What to Make for a Potluck Dinner? 

That is always a big decision! Many of the dishes I thought about taking, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, you name it..., were already on the list, so I decided to take Jellied Cranberry Sauce. I bought four cans, chilled them in the refrigerator, then slid them out of the can into a square pyrex dish and sliced each of them into seven slices. We brought only five slices home with us. I love having leftovers to serve with other meals.

Earlier in the month while sorting through a box of recipes equivalent to the size of two plastic shoe boxes, I found a favorite old family recipe for marinated carrots. There were not many vegetables on the dinner list. Since I knew it had a tasty sweet and sour combination and should go well with other fixin's for a big dinner, I decided to take a chance and fix it, knowing full well I might end up bringing the entire dish back home.

Marinated Carrots (with slices of Onion and Green Pepper)

Marinated carrots

A few people tried it, but... I did end up bringing most of the dish back home. These carrots, because they were marinated, kept well in the refrigerator, and tasted wonderful as a side for nearly every entree I cooked. Voila! All of the people who did not like carrots actually did me a favor because it left more for me and John to eat!

Below is the original recipe (not doubled) if you would like to try it. I actually doubled it when I made it in order to have a large dish. Thanksgiving Dinner was at 4PM on Thursday. I made it on Wednesday forenoon, and left it to set in the refrigerator to marinate the rest of the day and all day on Thanksgiving until the 4PM dinner. I stirred it a minimum of three times: Wednesday evening before going to bed, Thursday forenoon, and again before serving it. (Note: I tasted a carrot Wednesday evening before going to bed; and it tasted terrible because it had not set long enough. By Thursday forenoon, it was so much better, and by the time we were ready to leave for the dinner, the taste was to die for, the best marinated carrots I had ever made.

MARINATED CARROTS
(An old family favorite)

2 pounds carrots, cleaned and sliced
Boil with 1 teaspoon salt until tender.
Drain.

Bring the following to a good boil:
1 10 1/2 ounce can of tomato soup
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup vinegar
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon pepper
Salt to taste
1/2 cup oil (I used olive oil)

Combine with the cooked/drained carrots:
1 large onion - I slice it somewhat thin horizontally and quarter it.
1 green pepper - I cut it in half and slice it somewhat thin vertically from each side, cutting slices in half again.

Pour hot dressing mixture over carrot mixture.
Stir to coat all carrots, onions, and peppers.
Let set 26-30 hours to marinate. When cool, put in refrigerator.

What should I take to the next potluck?

I would appreciate your suggestions on what to take to the Christmas potluck dinner. Leave your comments in the comments section below. Thanks.

Thanks for visiting.

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