Easier Potluck Transportation - Getting Food From Here To There
So, you're invited to a potluck. What fun! The first thing on your mind is what to bring. Perhaps the host has given you a suggestion or two and now it's just a matter of narrowing down the choices.
The day to cook finally arrives. With recipe in hand, you eagerly gather together the ingredients and cookware... then stop. How are you ever going to transport this food? Let's take a look at a few ideas for cooking and packaging food with traveling in mind.
Casseroles
This dish is probably the easiest to get to a potluck, and to get back home. If you are making a larger than normal casserole, try using a large study roasting pan rather than the standard 9x13 baking dish. Then cover the pan with aluminum foil, run a piece of tape over the top, and it will be safe to transport.
Disposable baking pans are a great way to eliminate the worry about getting your favorite roasting or lasagna pan back home. However, they are not sturdy. You can put two together in order to help keep them from twisting, but you are still much safer transporting the baking pan in a sturdy box or cooler. Make sure you have one of these items ready and waiting in the kitchen so you can quickly transfer your baking pan from the oven to the box. Line the box bottom and sides with old towels for extra strength and to provide some heat proofing. And don't forget to throw in your potholders! If you are expected to bring serving utensils, grab those at the same time and throw them in.
Soup
This dish is probably the trickiest to transport. If you are cooking in a crockpot, part of your problem is solved. You can cook and serve out of the same cookware. You will just want a very sturdy box or cooler to set the crockpot in so it sits upright in the vehicle on the way to the event.
If you are making soup in a large pot, you may want to take the extra time to transfer the soup to jars before transporting. If you put the soup pot in a box with the lid on, it is still going to slosh around inside the vehicle as you drive to the potluck. That never ends well. Pour the soup into large containers such as jars with lids that seal tightly. Set the jars upright in a box with old towels separating them (and keeping the soup warm if necessary). Bring a clean soup pot and ladles along with you and you will be ready to serve your lovely soup, rather than cleaning it off the carpet in your car.
Desserts
If you make cookies without frosting, such as chocolate chip cookies, you just need to put them on a platter and cover them with aluminum foil. However, there are some difficulties when it comes to frosted cookies. Be sure the icing is thoroughly set up before packing them. Put one layer in a shallow baking dish, then stand a strip of cardboard on its end in the center of the baking dish, then lay a sturdy piece of cardboard on top and create the next layer.
Cupcakes transport easily if you bring them in the muffin tin you cooked them in. Always use paper liners when you bake the cupcakes, then even if you take the cupcakes out to frost them, you can drop them back into the muffin tins. Stick toothpicks in the tops of frosted cupcakes and cakes to provide a tent above the frosting. Then you can lay a sheet of parchment paper over the top without ruining your pretty work.
There are plenty of fancy items you can use to transport food. For instance, some of the new crockpots have safety latches that keep the lid securely fastened. But if you are using cookware you already have, you need to be a bit creative. Boxes, coolers, cardboard, extra baking pans, and big jars are all very useful items when devising a way to get your delicious dish from here to there without a disaster. Look around your house and gather what you need before you start cooking and you'll be ready to roll when the food is!
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