You’re invited to a cook-out, what side do you bring?

42 comments

  4. Depends on what I’m feeling like. Crunchy Asian slaw, bowtie pasta salad, or cookies and cream bars.

  6. If I have the time/energy I’ll make my family’s pasta salad, which is objectively the best pasta salad anyone has ever eaten.

    More likely, though, I’ll bring beer.

  10. Deviled eggs, every time. I make them very well and usually everyone likes them. And usually no one else things about bringing them!

  11. Depends on what the host would like me to bring. But usually my wife can make a pasta salad while I just buy a fruit tart at the grocery store.

  13. Baked potato salad.

    I fry up a bunch of bacon, then sauté an onion and garlic in the bacon fat. Then add cubed potatoes to that and fry until tender.

    Toss that with the crumbled bacon, shredded cheddar, chopped green onions, and a mayo-sour cream dressing.

  17. Home brew for sure. I like to make a Jambalaya or my jacked up spanish rice. Maybe a corn pudding. Depends on what the host wants.

    My wife is the primo baker she is usually asked to bring a dessert.
    Her pound cake is fantastic, almond,lemon or butternut. Great NY style cheesecake and her blueberry tarts ( cupcake sized cheesecake with blueberry topping. The best coconut cake I’ve ever tasted. She trades the coconut cake to her chiropractor for treatments.

  18. I always go for the 7-layer dip. It’s cheap, keeps well in heat, and is impossible to fuck up lol.

  24. Beanies & Weenies – Pork & beans with cocktail sausages. It’s always a hit and I never have leftovers to bring home.

  28. mustard vinaigrette slaw. Possibly a cilantro style slaw that I used to eat at a cafeteria (with limes I think instead of mustard).

    Maybe a baked good but my boyfriend really enjoys making brown butter cookies for big get togethers. I step aside and let him shine.

    When I cook for large groups I like to do vegan gluten free when possible.

    I’ve seen people bring popcorn, an oddball choice but it gets eaten up quick.

  30. A salad with some kind of non-meat protein (like chickpeas, quinoa, black beans) for the non-meat eaters.

  33. i’m not bringing shit, if someone invites me to a party with food I don’t bring anything unless they specifically ask me to

  40. I usually ask the host what else has already been declared and base my answer on that. Veggies tend to be scarce at cookouts, so I have a couple of veggie salad recipes I rotate. One that I don’t personally care for but is always a hit (I always leave with an empty bowl) is broccoli salad. It’s really easy. You need about six cups of fresh broccoli cut into bite-sized pieces. Add to that about eight ounces of bacon, cooked and crumbled, about two cups of shredded cheddar cheese and toss with either creamy coleslaw dressing or ranch.

    If all the sides for the meal are handled, I’ll usually bring a desert. I’ve recently taken to making jello molds. The first time I made one I figured I was wasting my time. I figured there’s a reason they fell out of favor. But I was on a kick where I just really wanted jello all the time, and I was making a bunch of other stuff so I was spending a ton of time in the kitchen anyway, so I made some. I did a layered thing with a rainbow of jello flavors and put fruit that matched the flavor in each layer. It took two days to make (in five minute increments every six hours) but it came out beautiful.

    And folks ate every last speck of it. The thing weighed a solid six or seven pounds when I was done and the ten or so people there managed to eat every last bit and a few people were disappointed when they found out that it was gone.

    It has since become my go-to potluck dish and I never end up taking any home or throwing it out. Everybody loves jello. I have no idea why people stopped making jello molds for potlucks. Everybody loves jello, especially in the summer.

    (Pro-tip: if I have to travel very far with a jello mold, I keep it in the mold, in a cooler, until I get there and turn it out onto the platter after I arrive. It’s easier to transport that way. I also pretty much only use serving bowls as my molds, the fancy, elaborate shapes are difficult to plate.)

  41. Well most our cookouts are cold enough to be inside. Lol. Everyone loves my mashed potatoes. Its just expected that wormbreath brings the taters. I also will bring cucumber sandwiches.

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