Potlucks (I)

Yesterday was the last of our scheduled lunch meetings for the week--and it had the best food.  It was a brunch, really, and one with far fewer people gathered than at our larger meetings that had been catered earlier in the week.

Perhaps the size of the group, perhaps the brunch-rather-than-lunch menu, or perhaps the joy of it being the last of the marathon meetings contributed to it feeling like an easier and even happier gatherings than the others.  Or perhaps it was that this one was the only potluck of the week.

As you might have guessed, I have strong convictions about potlucks.  Called covered-dish dinners in some places and, for a time, "community-luck" in this place of ours, potlucks demonstrate the true marriage of hospitality and practicality.  Of graciousness and interdependency.  Of need and of excess.

Whatever I bring to a potluck is not enough.  But it's also, always more than necessary.  Potlucks in that way can serve as strange sorts of life in the kingdom of God.  None of us brings enough on our own, but together there is plenty--more than twelve baskets full left over (as anyone who has ever cleaned up after a potluck realizes right away).

Yesterday my contribution was what others (in the coastal areas of the country, I have noticed) call "strata" but what is known in these flat parts simply as "egg bake."  I have a few guidelines for potluck cooking, which I'm sure I'll come to at some point.  This dish fell into my "uncertain vegetarian" potluck category, and thus:

Egg Bake for a Brunch Potluck
4-5 C. soft breadcrumbs (always a good idea to use good bread; this was one small loaf of grocery store bakery french bread)
8 eggs, whipped to light color with
1 1/2-2 C. milk (largely depending on how much bread you use)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. Penzey's Forward Seasoning (or pepper, if not)
1 C. fresh spinach, lightly sauteed
1/2 C. mushrooms, lightly sauteed
1/2 C. shredded parmesan cheese
4-8 oz. shredded or cubed mozzerella cheese

Mix together breadcrumbs, cheeses, and vegetables in a greased 5-quart cassorole, whip together eggs, milk, salt, and seasoning and pour over the bread and vegetables.  Bake at 375 for 45 minutes until set and golden brown.