Polite Paradise

For dessert I always do the dessert that has a million different names. Sex in a pan, sex on the beach, striped delight..layers of Graham cracker crust, chocolate pudding and sweetened cream cheese.

Easy to make, easy to dish up and people seem to love it.

I usually do chicken wings for a main, a sauced and a dry one like salt and pepper.

I like to bring an interesting salad. 

My favorite summer potluck dish is:

1 bag frozen sweet corn
2 15oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 red onion, diced
2-4 tomatoes, diced
2 avocados, chopped
juice from one lime
salt and pepper to taste

mix and serve!
It's always popular, and you could easily add a diced jalapeno for a bit of kick.

My favorite summer potluck dish is:

1 bag frozen sweet corn
2 15oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 red onion, diced
2-4 tomatoes, diced
2 avocados, chopped
juice from one lime
salt and pepper to taste

mix and serve!
It's always popular, and you could easily add a diced jalapeno for a bit of kick.

I just made almost exactly this recipe (with jalapeno!) for a potluck this weekend.  It's so colorful, too.  People loved it.

My go-to easy appy type potluck dish is cream cheese topped with jalapeņo jelly.
Place a block of cream cheese on a dish and top it with a sweet-hot jelly and serve with crackers. Best if you use a fruity flavor such as strawberry-jalapeņo.

If I feel like being more elegant and going to extra trouble, I do the puff pastry brie version of this.

Puff pastry topped with the following:
nuts (walnuts or pecans for example)
jelly (sweet-hot as noted above)
a round brie
more jelly
more nuts

Wrap it all up in the pastry, flip and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Let stand for one hour before serving.

The fact that it needs to stand for one hour after coming out of the oven is one of the best things about this as it makes it so that you can prepare and then bake and then have plenty of time to transport so that it is served at the ideal moment.