June Potluck Lunch

To celebrate my manager's birthday, say goodbye to a coworker who is leaving and to welcome two new coworkers, I organized our department's now traditional, monthly potluck lunch - this is what the Army calls a "Hail and Farewell" event.

I love these lunches because they're loosely organized - we set up a list with just categories such as "appetizers," "entrees," "desserts" and "drinks" - but other than that, there's no theme at all. People are free to bring what they feel like and that is usually what makes the lunches so good -they end up as an eclectic buffet. Here's a shot of my department lining up at the food table - the offerings included fruit salad, a mescalin green salad with feta and raspberries, Swedish meatballs, french bread and butter, white rice (which I provided, in the rice cooker my Mom sent me off to college with) and sweet and sour chicken.

That's the sweet and sour chicken in the crock pot, accompanied by homemade calzones - one was spinach and artichoke and the other had spinach and sun-dried tomatoes (made by a vegetarian):

For dessert, we actually had four choices - the Tiramisu I made the night before, classic chocolate chip cookies, a peanut butter pie and a brownie pudding (which had a nice thick crust on top and a gooey bottom), topped with vanilla ice cream. Unfortunately, I took a picture of the desserts before the brownie pudding was brought out so you'll just have to take my word on how good it looked (and tasted!)

The best part of these lunches is the fact that they give us an opportunity to stop working, eat, and mingle with one another. My department is so busy that we tend to grab lunch and eat at our desks while working, so it really makes a difference to have everyone gather together for these potluck lunches.