Putting the “Luck” in the Potluck
I earned a bad reputation for myself at a company potluck when I accidentally added a plastic-sealed recipe fold-out to my batch of fudge. “What are these layers made of?” one executive asked, splitting the fudge in two to reveal the white strata. “Layers?” I asked, my eyebrows rising to my hairline. “It looks like it has writing on it,” another executive added. “ Writing on it?” My mind-- visibly racing; my forehead--wet with anxiety. “It’s paper!” someone shouted and in a flash, everyone’s head was up, like a herd of deer who just heard a twig snap. Those fellow employees will never look at a plate of fudge the same way again. They will be mistrustful and wonder, “Did some dingbat put plastic in these?” I’ve done this to them …and I am ashamed. I can relate to their distrust because I’ve had similar “Close Encounters of the Putrid Kind” at pretty much every Communal Food Event I’ve ever been to. Here’s how a typical “Potluck Action” plays out: Heidi spo