Potluck Pointers
✦ When making a taco salad, add the
dressing, meat, cheese and tortilla chips
just before serving. This will keep the
salad from wilting, and the chips will
stay crunchy. —Lisa Homer
Avon, New York
✦ I always like to precut cheesecake by
dipping the knife into hot water and
wiping it on a paper towel before mak-
ing another cut. —Rick Peters
Manson, Iowa
✦ Stuffed peppers are my specialty for
fall potlucks. So, in the summer, when
peppers are abundant, I freeze them. To
prepare the peppers for freezing, wash
well;remove seeds and stem. Blanch for
3 minutes; drain well and freeze on a
waxed paper-lined cookie sheet. Once
frozen, place them in plastic freezer
bags and enjoy them all fall and winter
long. —Ruth Johnson
Albuquerque, New Mexico
✦ I like to use chopsticks as an alterna-
tive to sharp-pointed wooden skewers.
—Shannon Abdollmohammadi
Woodinville, Washington
✦ When I transport hot dishes, I use a
gym bag or a bag large enough to hold
a 13- by 9-inch dish. I wrap the dish in
newspaper, then line the bag with a large
bath towel and wrap the towel around
the dish. Everything stays warm, and it
is easy to transport. —Virginia Lytle
Salem, Wisconsin
✦ Whenever you’re bringing a stew,
soup or chili to a potluck, you’ll find it
can be easily transported in a 5-quart
slow cooker. —Charlene Spelock
Apollo, Pennsylvania
✦ Whenever I’m asked to bring a
punch to a potluck, I pack all of the in-
gredients I need in a cooler and assem-
ble the drink there. —Susan Freebury
Wilton, North Dakota
✦ It’s easy to cut canned potatoes in
perfect sizes for a breakfast casserole. I
use my egg slicer! —Valerie Giebeig
Tallahassee, Florida
Grand
Prize
Creamy potato bake
rates with judges!
Mashed potatoes never tasted so
good! That’s what our taste-testers concluded when they sampled Joan McCulloch’s cheesy Duo Tater Bake. This family favorite was awarded the $500 Grand
Prize in our recent “Potluck Pleasers”
recipe contest.
Joan’s satisfying side dish had our
judges asking for seconds. Flavored with
cheese, sour cream and seasoned cream
cheese, the delightful blend of sweet
potatoes and russet or Yukon Gold potatoes almost melts in your mouth.
“I have made this potato bake only
four times for family dinners, and everyone loved it,” she says from her home in
Abbotsford, British Columbia. A widow,
Joan has three grown sons and four
grandchildren.
“I got the recipe from my sister in Winnipeg, Manitoba, who got it from our
niece,” she notes.“I added the chopped
green onions on top for both taste and
presentation.”
Holiday Favorite
Joan has served the potatoes for Eas-
ter, Thanksgiving and Christmas, but
they’re perfect for any occasion.
“My family gets together with my sis-
ter and her family for holiday meals and
for barbecues in the summer. My sister
and I do most of the cooking,” Joan says.
In addition to her prize-winning
recipe, Joan likes to prepare cabbage
rolls, pasta salad, shish kabobs and piero-gies for family dinners, showers and
birthday celebrations.
“My Indonesian shish kabobs used to
be everyone’s favorite, but now it’s the
Duo Tater Bake,” she says.
“I just love to cook and bake. When I
was 17, I worked in a drugstore luncheonette. The cook there would not share
her recipes with anyone, so when I was
helper of the day, I’d memorize the
recipes and write them in a notebook.
“Later, I scoured cookbooks and mag-
azines like Taste of Home (my favorite)
and watched cooking shows. I also col-
lected recipes from friends and family.”
When Joan got her niece’s recipe for
Duo Tater Bake, she didn’t know it would
be worth its weight in (Yukon) gold!
Win Cash! Like Joan, each issue’s
Grand Prize winner is awarded $500
in cash. Turn to page 43 to learn how
you can enter Taste of Home’s next
national recipe contest…and get your
chance at the top prize!
