A Not-So-Yankee Potluck
Last Friday Groundwork! held it’s holiday potluck: Employees, members and guests brought their culinary skills together for a celebratory tour-de-food featuring dishes from all over.
What could have been dueling guacamoles turned out to complement each other: one a spicier aromatic dip, and the other a lighter citrusy spread, both providing a little starter for everyone. Some slow-cooker kielbasa served up in a warm croc pot was inviting enough for all the meat eaters to have a second go. Nearby, a large oven pan of paella had just the right rice, but if you didn’t want to excavate through shells in order to get some seafood, a small plate of sushi rolls that could do in a pinch was also available.
Classic homemade lobster mac and cheese seemed to be all the buzz. Celentani pasta was cooked perfectly past al dente, with a solid cheese to lobster ratio in almost every bite, topped with a crunchy panko crust. A vibrant garden salad with freshly picked greens, crumbled blue cheese, and walnuts offered a lighter fare, but still held that sense of comfort on a plate. “A” for effort and taste to all the front-runners, but you’d be getting nowhere if you didn’t raise a glass of homemade eggnog. Usually a thick commitment, this silky and light drink was easy sipping, and proved even easier on the way down with a little spike of bourbon and rum.
Groundwork’s favorite duo: Shelley Cardoos and Jeremiah Hernandez of EforAll
For dessert you could dive into a bowl of parfait carrot cake that was spiced up a few notches to reach that holiday status in cinnamon and nutmeg, or grab some buttery sugar cookies. A mini custard pie is where I topped it all off. The pie wasn’t too eggy, and the crust had some decent flakiness to it. After the international grub affair we all gathered by the Christmas tree for a classic group photo. One or two of us may have had to suck in the gut. As you might too, when finding your insatiable appetite outmatched by the passion of New Bedford home cooks!
Some members resorted to napping after the potluck.
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