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Potluck question!

I'm going to a potluck dinner next week and I'm so excited. I love them because while I love home cooked meals, I don't cook... so having a bunch of other people cooking for me is pretty awesome lol.
My friends know I don't cook, so they're perfectly okay with me signing up for salads or (store bought) desserts to bring.

This time I signed up to bring a salad. My salads are always a surprising hit. I buy a bunch of toppings and set it up salad bar style. I've even see kids eating it.

This time is a bit different. Usually when I go to these there are only about 15-25 people people. NBD. This time there will be over 50 people. To fit my budget, I decided to cut down on the amount of toppings.


So my question is... what salad toppings are your favorite? Which ones would you be disappointed to not see? Which ones are you always disgusted to see?
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Re: Potluck question!

  • I am weird and prefer my salads plain with basic lettuce and dressing, oh and croutons of course!

  • MUST have croutons!!!!  I also like cheese, cucumbers, shredded carrots and bacon bits.
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  • I probably like weird things in my salad... Cheese crumbles (goat, blue, or feta are all nice), nuts are good, so is fruit (strawberries, grapes, dried cranberries), and vinaigrette is a must for me. I'm not picky about my veg - the only thing I definitely wouldn't add is olives or raw onion.
  • wittykitty14wittykitty14 member
    First Comment 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    edited June 2013

    My answer depends on what type of salad you're making.  But here's some things I like to see:

    -Bacon, cheese, other meat, ranch, bleu cheese, raspberry vinaigrette, mandarin oranges, craisins, walnuts, croutons, chow mein noodles, cucumbers, sunflower seeds, any other fruit that flows with the salad (berries are good), hard-boiled eggs.  Note that I wouldn't put all these in the same salad :)

    Here's what I don't like:

    -Most lettuce (I'm ok with darker lettuce like romaine or spinach), onions, olives, regular tomatoes (cherry or grape is ok), peppers.

    I'm super picky when it comes to salad, so I'm not a big help here.  Are you able to set it up like a salad bar?  That way you could bring a bunch of toppings and people could add in whatever they like.

    Edited for spelling

  • My answer depends on what type of salad you're making.  But here's some things I like to see:

    -Bacon, cheese, other meat, ranch, bleu cheese, raspberry vinaigrette, mandarin oranges, craisins, walnuts, croutons, chow mein noodles, cucumbers, sunflower seeds, any other fruit that flows with the salad (berries are good), hard-boiled eggs.  Note that I wouldn't put all these in the same salad :)

    Here's what I don't like:

    -Most lettuce (I'm ok with darker lettuce like romaine or spinach), onions, olives, regular tomatoes (cherry or grape is ok), peppers.

    I'm super picky when it comes to salad, so I'm not a big help here.  Are you able to set it up like a salad bar?  That way you could bring a bunch of toppings and people could add in whatever they like.

    Edited for spelling

    Yup, in my OP I mentioned that's what I like to do. This way people aren't standing there picking through the salad bowl for the things they like.
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  • itzMSitzMS member
    First Answer First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment

    Bleu cheese, grape tomatoes, sliced black olives, cucumber, sweet red pepper

    Yum.

  • I love olives, black and green, croutons, marinated artichoke hearts, cucumbers, tomatoes, raisins and any type of fruit.

    Anniversary

  • I like croutons :) make sure you get croutons!
     Daisypath Anniversary tickers
  •  

     

    My answer depends on what type of salad you're making.  But here's some things I like to see:

    -Bacon, cheese, other meat, ranch, bleu cheese, raspberry vinaigrette, mandarin oranges, craisins, walnuts, croutons, chow mein noodles, cucumbers, sunflower seeds, any other fruit that flows with the salad (berries are good), hard-boiled eggs.  Note that I wouldn't put all these in the same salad :)

    Here's what I don't like:

    -Most lettuce (I'm ok with darker lettuce like romaine or spinach), onions, olives, regular tomatoes (cherry or grape is ok), peppers.

    I'm super picky when it comes to salad, so I'm not a big help here.  Are you able to set it up like a salad bar?  That way you could bring a bunch of toppings and people could add in whatever they like.

    Edited for spelling

    Yup, in my OP I mentioned that's what I like to do. This way people aren't standing there picking through the salad bowl for the things they like.
    Sorry, big reading fail on my part!
  • I did this and made it an asian salad (it was cheap) - canned mandarin oranges, chow mein noodles, shredded carrots, chopped peanuts, chopped up green onions. Ginger dressing. I didn't do chicken because it was expensive, but it would have been good.
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  • Tomatoes.  You have to have tomatoes.  But in thinking of the larger group, I'm not  sure you have to bring a huge amount more.  If all 50 people bring food for 50, there's going to be a lot of leftover.  You might be ok with more than normal, but less than you're thinking since there will be so much food there.  Just a thought

  • @simply fated - while everyone wants croutons, please make sure they are on the side and have their own tongs that never go in the salad bowl. As someone with a celiac sensitive FI the tongs going in the salad bowl after having touched croutons would render it inedible for him :(
  • I'm not much of a salad eater, unless it's potato salad.  I'm a huge fan of a well-made potato salad, because I don't know how to make potato salad.

    My family made a godawful salad out of out cottage cheese and powdered jell-o.  I was probably the only person who loathed it.  There would be several different flavors and colors of the cottage cheese salad at every family gathering.

    I thought I had the only family in the world who made this type of dish.....

    We make it with cottage cheese, jello powder, probably cool whip and mandarin oranges.  It's the weirdest thing, and I've never met anyone else who's heard of this! 

  • I'm not much of a salad eater, unless it's potato salad.  I'm a huge fan of a well-made potato salad, because I don't know how to make potato salad.

    My family made a godawful salad out of out cottage cheese and powdered jell-o.  I was probably the only person who loathed it.  There would be several different flavors and colors of the cottage cheese salad at every family gathering.
    That does sounds a bit weird. I never heard of it before.  I'm not a fan of cottage cheese so I would pass.

    Anniversary

  • I love the sliced, roasted almonds- salt and black pepper is my favorite, but they come in several flavors.  I wholeheartedly endorse cheese, bacon and croutons.  Smoked gouda is excellent, too.

    I make my own apricot dijon dressing- super easy and you can proportion the ingredients to any size crowd.  I also like maknig my dressing to my taste, adjusting ingredients as necessary. 

  • Cucumbers...lots of cucumbers! A lot of people are into the nuts these days, but I still prefer old fashioned croutons over anything else. I think the toppings that most people would like are:

    Cucumbers
    Croutons
    Mushrooms
    Onions
    Cheese
    Bacon Bits
    Anniversary
  • This might be weird but I like pepperoni in my salad. 
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  • Croutons, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Hard Boiled Eggs, Cold Ham or Turkey pieces, with a olive oil over the top and a dash of pepper... Yummy... might have to do this for lunch tomorrow!
  • I like Olive Garden salad toppings: pepperocini, tomato, olive, red onion, cheese, croutons and Italian dressing.
  • bwils35 said:
    @simply fated - while everyone wants croutons, please make sure they are on the side and have their own tongs that never go in the salad bowl. As someone with a celiac sensitive FI the tongs going in the salad bowl after having touched croutons would render it inedible for him :(
    As I said, I'm doing it salad bar style, so all the toppings will be on the side. I'll definitely put out enough serving utensils for each topping and hope that no one mixes any of them up. Maybe I'll put the croutons as far from the lettuce as possible, if that would help?


    Thank you everyone for your replies! I'm really excited to have an excuse to go to Trader Joe's this week.
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  • yes that would definitely help! I did know you said salad bar style, however I've noticed multiple times that people like to keep the same tongs. I don't know why, we've just seen it at the last few BBQs we've gone too.
  • if you want try something other than a "traditional" salad, my favorite is spinach leaves (or is good with regular lettuce too) with candied walnuts, pears (or green apple), dried cranberries, feta cheese with a raspberry or champagne vinigarette-- my husband hates salad and even he will eat this!  I would make it for cheer banquets (over 50 people) and it will still inexpensive to make comparably.
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    Anniversary
  • Okay, I'm writing up my shopping list. Thank you, ladies, for the great suggestions!
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  • I love the sliced, roasted almonds- salt and black pepper is my favorite, but they come in several flavors.  I wholeheartedly endorse cheese, bacon and croutons.  Smoked gouda is excellent, too.

    I make my own apricot dijon dressing- super easy and you can proportion the ingredients to any size crowd.  I also like maknig my dressing to my taste, adjusting ingredients as necessary. 

    Recipe?



  • Update!

    The salad went over great! Thank you everyone for your help! <3
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  • Viczaesar said:

    I love the sliced, roasted almonds- salt and black pepper is my favorite, but they come in several flavors.  I wholeheartedly endorse cheese, bacon and croutons.  Smoked gouda is excellent, too.

    I make my own apricot dijon dressing- super easy and you can proportion the ingredients to any size crowd.  I also like maknig my dressing to my taste, adjusting ingredients as necessary. 

    Recipe?

    Just saw this- sorry!

    The dressing recipe:

    1 Tbsp mayo

    1Tbsp dijon mustard

    1 Tbsp olive oil

    1 Tbsp cider vinegar

    1 Tbsp apricot preserves

    2 tsp sugar (I don't add this, though)

    salt and pepper to taste

    This dresses a salad for 2-3 people.  I put all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk them together, then add the greens and toss.  I also taste as I go along and tweak- I like a little more mustard and a little less vinegar.  Add the sugar (or sweetener) if you like a sweeter dressing, but as I said, I leave it out completely. 

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