It's Like Buying a Pig in a Poke.

I have no idea what the literal meaning of that is, but it was a common phrase where I grew up. Basically, it means that you are buying something sight unseen. It's what I think of when I think about potlucks.

When you go to a potluck, you know that you're bringing something wonderful to share with the others and you pray that whatever the others bring will be, at least, edible.

Where I used to work, we had lots of potlucks. We had potlucks when people joined the staff. We had potlucks when people left. We had potlucks when people got promoted. We had potlucks when people had babies. We had potlucks when people got married. If someone had gotten divorced, I'm pretty sure that we would have had a potluck. Heck, we once had a potluck just because it was Monday. Face it, this was a group who liked to eat!

We had so many potlucks that we got tired of the basic potluck and had to move onto theme potlucks. Appetizer potlucks. Mexican potlucks. Salad potlucks. Breakfast potlucks. Dessert potlucks. Childhood recipe potlucks. Best recipe potlucks. Picnic potlucks. So many chances of buying a pig-in-a-poke.

Luckily, this group could cook. Well, for the most part, they could and those that couldn't had the good sense to have their husbands, wives, etc. cook for them or they stopped at the good takeout places.

Potlucking was such a part of our "corporate culture" that it was not uncommon to bring up the subject of food and cooking during interviews to see if the interviewee could cook. OK, we were a little extreme.

I guess, I come by this naturally. Some of my earliest food memories are big family dinners. Grandma Q would fix the main dish and each of her daughters (my Mom and the Aunts, then later my cousins' wives and my sister) would supply the side dishes.

Then, there were the covered dish potlucks at church. They were on Sundays immediately following services. All through the service you smelled the wonderful aromas wafting up from the basement. Sometimes it was difficult to hear the sermon over the choir of growling stomachs.

Later, came the roving dinners with friends. You had hors d'oeuvre at one house, salad at another, main course at a third, and desert at the last. This worked well when all participants lived in the same apartment building. It works okay when you all live within the same block. Anything more than that, forget it!

In every case, I remember lots of good food (for the most part), lots of good conversation, and lots of fun. To me, potlucks are like fireworks - I just can't get enough of them. In the hope that I can foster this same kind of lust for potlucks in you, here are some of my most asked for appetizer potluck recipes.

(After this was published, a reader was able to clear up the mystery of the "a pig in a poke". See below:

"Dear Gail,

As a born Tennessean, raised in Georgia, I enjoyed your potluck piece, and can shed some light on the "Pig in a poke" origin.

I'm guessin' you are young, or not Southern or both (nothin' wrong with that you understand) or you'd know that a "poke" is a bag or sack that you fill up by "poking" things in it. Same origin as "poke salad" which is a salad of wild greens, gathered in the fields and put/"poked" in a bag to bring home.

Keep up the good food,
Marsh Barrett"

Thanks, Marsh! I thank you and my other "young", non-Southern readers thank you!)

Now, on to the recipes -

Herbed Cheese Spread

8 ounces cream cheese
1 package ranch style salad dressing
1 teaspoon milk

Thoroughly blend ingredients together. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Serve with crackers, melba toast, or vegetables.

Pizza Rolls

1 package bread dough -- refrigerated/frozen
1 can tomato paste
1 tablespoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup mozzarella cheese -- shredded
1/2 cup pepperoni sausage -- chopped
1/4 cup ripe olives -- chopped
1/4 cup green onion -- chopped
parmesan cheese -- grated

Mix tomato paste, oregano, and pepper flakes together. Combine cheese, pepperoni, ripe olives, and green onion.

Gently roll and/or stretch out dough into a rectangle. Dough should be about 1/4 inch thick. Spread with tomato paste mixture. Sprinkle with cheese mixture. Starting with the long side, roll up like a jelly-roll. Cut into 1/2 inch slices. Place on a well greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly and serve.

Broccoli Nibbles

9 whole egg -- beaten
2 cups broccoli
1 medium onion -- chopped fine
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon rosemary
1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
pinch salt
pinch black pepper -- ground

Separate broccoli into flowerettes. Dip into boiling water until bright green and immediately plunge into an ice bath to preserve color and crispness. Once cooled, drain on paper towels to remove excess moisture. If frozen broccoli is used, eliminate this step. Combine beaten eggs, broccoli, onion, milk, bread crumbs, and seasoning. Pour mixture into 9x13 non-stick or oiled baking pan. Evenly spread broccoli flowerettes and onions in pan. Sprinkle cheese evenly over mixture. Bake at 350 degrees until mixture is set. (This will take approximately 45 minutes. Mixture is set when a knife inserted into the middle of the pan comes out without a liquidy film.) Remove from oven and let set for 5 minutes. Cut into 1 inch squares.

May be served hot, room temperature or cold.