Just checking-if you were planning a weekend with friends at someone's house and I said

[BertrandRussell]

"shall we do a pot luck supper on
Saturday night?" what would you think I meaner?

Bertrand Russell, you bloody genius, I'm making smiley face shepherds pie for our next Pot Luck. Someone else can plan an elaborate ooey gooey, calorie laden, even better than the last time dessert.

I fucking love tater tots. I sneak them in to the house and Dh thinks I'm terribly common. Every now and then the Brit in me comes out and I make us a nice, beige freezer meal and he's all cats bum about it.

Tater tot hotdish

www.tablespoon.com/recipes/easy-tater-tot-hotdish/4ad6c17d-15e4-4088-a9c2-d1b3ee16f155

I did not even know that such a thing existed until my sister moved to Iowa. Come to think of it, it is sort of shepherd's pie-esque, except for the mushroom soup (the part I don't like).

I do admit to liking tater tots, though. I watched a program recently about the company that invented them as a way to use scraps from other potato products. At first they didn't sell because they were so cheap, so the company raised the price, and voila, instant best seller.
Only in America, as we say.

I would assume it was everyone brings something, but I would ask for clarification as my understanding is that this is either an American or Aussie term.

I’ve only ever heard it used like that in American tv and books and assumed it meant everyone brings something. Normally a ‘casserole’ which seems to be some sort of baked dish in America!

I think it was the frozen food company Ross that used to do those Tatertot things in the UK, they weren't called Tatertots though and I can't remember what they were called but I used to love them. Don't know if they are still available in the UK.

I have a very old copy of an early Delia Smith cookbook where she used canned mushroom soup as an ingredient for practically every savoury recipe.

I love the earliest Delia books. You get your olive oil from the chemist, she defines pesto, and suggests making friends with your local Italian grocer.

We call it a bring and share lunch

When I was in the NCT twenty five years ago we used to have a pot luck supper once a month. Everyone arranged with the host to bring either a main course or a pudding and the host did drinks and nibbles.