The World's Worst Potluck - Driving Game

On our drive back to Billings last Sunday I was reading to Matt from this interesting book called Why You Say It which I'd borrowed at my Dad's house.  This book is all about the origins of different expressions and sayings like "caught red handed," "monkey wrench," "deviled eggs," and "slush fund."  One of the sections I read was for the term "potluck."  The book said it had to do with housewives adding the bits of all there leftover dinners to a pot which would then be eaten with the diners apparently hoping for good luck when it came to taste.   Or so the story goes.

Somehow or other this led me to say something about what I would bring to the world's worst potluck...which in turn led me to ask Matt to play an old car game with me which we'd both played as  kids. 

You know, the memory and alphabet game where each person says what they are going to bring to a party in turn and correlated to a letter of the alphabet.  Person 1 says something that starts with letter A, person 2 repeats the letter A and the comes up with a letter B, person 3 says letter A, B, and C, and so on until someone forgets one item or you reach the end of the alphabet.  Ever play that one?

It was a lot of fun trying to think of the worst thing to bring for each letter as quickly as possible, though I realize that macaroni salad and coleslaw are probably more than acceptable potluck fare for a lot of people.  Not Matt and I though... yuck, macaroni salad....ewwww.....no thanks. 

So, "Matt and I are going to the world's worst potluck and we are bringing...."

Anchovies
Brussel sprouts
Coleslaw
Deviled eggs
Eggs benedict
Foie gras
Gaspacho
Horseradish
Iceberg lettuce
Jello with fruit in it
Kohlrabi
Lutefisk
Macaroni salad
Nog (as in eggnog)
Oysters on the half shell
Pickled eggs
Quail
Radicchio
Sprouts
Tripe
Unagi (eel)
Veal
Watermelon pickles
Xylitol packets
Yerba mate
Zebra steaks

It kept us pretty amused (and kept me awake) and then before we knew it we were pulling into Billings.  Neither Matt nor I had played that particular travel game in quite some time.  I'm glad it came to me though as we read through that interesting little book.  Its always been pretty fun.

Comments

  1. I don't think we ever played that game in all of our travels!

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    1. See and I thought Matt told me he had, but I guess that is only with me. Its a pretty good game. Keeps me awake! :)

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  2. Hahaha. When I read the word "Oysters," my stomach clenched. I had a Really Bad Experience with some oysters and have never been able to eat them again.

    Have you ever eaten gefilte fish? That would make my worst things to bring to a potluck list.

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    1. Ha! Yes, gefilte fish could definitely qualify for this list! Though, no, I've never eaten it...I never wanted to.

      Its interesting how a bad experience can leave such a long lasting and strong impression, isn't it. My sister made ranch dressing once from a packet mix and she didn't shake it up enough so there were still chunks of mayo floating in it like little disgusting icebergs. I've never eaten ranch since. She totally ruined it for me.

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  3. I forgot to add my name to the anonymous comment - it's me - Sharon

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  4. funny! My rule with potluck food is that it has to be comfort food that's recognizable and can handle sitting around :)

    But I do love some of the things on your list, just NOT for potlucks.

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    1. Yes, yes, not everything is made for a potluck no matter how much one might like it to be, right? Do you have a favorite potluck dish? Or does it always vary?

      I like to bring bread or rolls of some sort. It sits around well and is almost universally enjoyed. And I enjoy making it a lot, too.

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