Swedish Meatballs and Potlucks

It started with a tap on my shoulder at work from Shelly.

"We're having an International Potluck. What can you bring?"

I usually don't think to deeply when it comes to potluck food, usually taking the easy way out and getting fried chicken. But this was different. This was International. Unless Kentucky is its own country, bringing fried chicken just didn't work. So I made a play for the next best thing.

"I'll bring homemade Swedish Meatballs."

I figured, 'I'm Swedish, and my Mom makes killer meatballs...I'll get help!' It worked; my Mom was completely up to it. She said, "Bring three pounds of ground beef and a half pound of veal. I have everything else we'll need. So on Monday morning Jack and I piled into the truck and headed to the see my folks. One the way we bought the freshest off-the-cow meat I could find. While Jack watched Bob The Builder videos, Mom and I mixed together the meat, the semi-super-secret spices, and Worsteshire sauce. We then hand-rolled the little guys until our hands were coated with gloves made of grease. After roasting the meatballs in the oven for 10-16 minutes, they were done and ready to store for the next day.

This morning I packed them into a crock pot, poured a can of beef gravy and 3/4 can of water over them, and mixed it all together. Three hours on the slow cook setting made them perfect for lunch.

And what a treasure trove of lunch it was!

There were several Asian dishes, a burrito bar, BBQ Chicken, baked beans, Thai Chicken with steamed rice, egg rolls, cake, cheesecake, cookies, brownies, spaghetti, and mexican rice. After everyone got their share (read as everyone took multiple trips to "The Trough") there was still enough for people to take home - in fact it was encouraged!

In short, I have two days worth of Swedish meatballs and rice that I can eat for lunch, thanks to the leftovers at the Potluck. And the cheesecake is usually around in the breakroom fridge for a a few days, longer now that a lot of our division has moved to a different building (no more sneaky snackers).

Some health districts don't allow places to have potlucks, because it's food that is prepared outside of the establishment and is at risk for contamination. I call hogwash on a majority of it; I grew up going to smorgasbords and potlucks...they haven't changed that much. I feel sorry for the folks who can't do this at work, because the genuine nature of the potluck - to bring your bounty to the table for sharing - gets lost in the act of buying a prepared deli item packed in clear plastic. If you haven't had a potluck lately, I would urge you to indulge.

It's like having a family picnic in the middle of winter!