How To Win Your Office Potluck

It’s a week before the big day, and you’ve been bogged down with projects. You try to escape it, but you can’t hide. Every time you enter the break room, you see the sign-up list staring you in the face, and your name is still not on it. What is this beast that has been terrorizing your work day? IT’S THE OFFICE POTLUCK LUNCH!

If your office is anything like ours at OstermanCron, then you love potluck lunches. We host around four or five potluck lunches every year at our office furniture store, and they’re always a big hit. There is usually a lot of really good food, but my favorite part is that everyone has lunch together as a family. Whether you make everyone’s favorite dish (cheesy potatoes) or your best dish (Korean BBQ pork belly tacos), it’s always fun to get involved with the potluck lunch. If you don’t have time to make a dish, it’s perfectly acceptable to buy something premade. Either way, I’m here to help you learn how to win your office potluck lunch party.

Let’s start with the easy one first. If you do not have time to make something, or let’s say even you wouldn’t eat your own cooking, then it’s quite alright to buy something to bring to the celebration. The most important thing to do when buying something is to stick with the theme. If the theme is healthy, bring your hummus dip and veggies or a preprepared salad. Another tip is to check the list and see if someone may need help with their dish. An example would be if a coworker is making salsa, you may want to offer to bring the chips. One final note on buying something: drinks are one of the most forgot potluck items, so picking up lemonade or iced tea would be a great idea.

Now for the harder part. You want to show off your culinary skills. Some people like to make the same dish for every potluck, and that’s perfectly okay (if the dish is amazing). If you make something that needs to be heated, be sure to have a way to heat it up. I have seen plenty of lines behind the microwave and toaster ovens. Also, my preference is to make something that tastes better the next day (for example soups and salsas).

I know; I didn’t tell you how to win yet. Well here it is: my guacamole recipe! This is always a crowd pleaser and it’s super simple to make. Feel free to adjust to your taste buds’ delight.

Guacamole Recipe:

Ingredients

3 avocados, pitted, peeled, and mashed

½ white onion, very small dice

2 Roma tomatoes, small dice

2 garlic cloves, minced

2-3 serrano chilis, seeded and small dice

1 lime, juiced

Kosher salt to taste

Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Fresh cilantro, chopped, and added to taste

1. Take the avocados and run your knife through it until you reach the pit in the middle. Then continue to cut around the pit until you reach the starting point. Then twist the avocado in half, remove the pit, and scoop the delicious avocado into a big bowl without the peel.
2. Using a potato masher, mash the avocados.
3. Take a white onion and remove the skin. Cut the onion in half and dice it into very small pieces. (If you want to remove some of the harshness of the onion, you can put it in a strainer and rinse it with water.) Then add the onion to the avocado.
4. Using a small knife, core the tomatoes to remove the stem and seed. Basically, cut a circle around the stem of the tomatoes to remove it. Then cut the tomatoes in half and remove the seeds with a spoon. Small dice the tomatoes and add them to the avocado and onions.
5. Take the two garlic cloves and remove the skin. Mince the garlic very finely and add them to the avocado mixture.
6. Next grab the chilis. Put your hand on top of them, use your palm to press and roll them to help loosen the seeds. Remove the stem and cut the peppers in half longways. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and small dice the peppers. Try a bite of the pepper to check the heat. Add the peppers to the avocado mixture and wash your hands. A lot! Seriously, these peppers will burn your hands later if you do wash them thoroughly.
7. Mix the avocado mixture until everything is well incorporated. Roll the lime to help loosen the juices and cut in half. Then  juice one half into the mixture. If you like guacamole more on the acidic side, add the juice from the other half. Now taste the guacamole mixture. Needs something, right? Add salt, pepper, and the cilantro and mix together. Try it again. If the seasoning is perfect, then congratulations on your delicious guacamole! (When adding the flavor enhancers, add slowly and keep trying the guacamole to make sure the seasoning is perfect)

Note:

If you are making this the night before, store in an airtight container with plastic wrap tightly packed on top of the guacamole and place it in the refrigerator. If it gets a little brown that is perfectly fine, just mix it with a spoon before serving, or scoop it off the top.

Regardless of which route you decide to take, remember that office potlucks are meant to be FUN! Whether you sit by one of your friends or sit by the weird guy in accounting, just enjoy your time with your office work family.