What Kind of Food Do You Have When It's Family Reunion Time?

I used to hate family reunions and especially the part about sharing food. It was always "pot luck" and I wondered where that name came from but never looked it up before. I just thought it would be a matter of luck whether the people who brought prepared the food with clean hands and the same attention to sanitation that we had at home. Yuck. It was like playing Russian Roulette, as far as I was concerned. Pot luck dinners at places I worked were worse. There we knew which people had poor hygiene because certain people always used the bathroom and then went out without washing their hands. Which is worse, knowing the food is contaminated or just thinking it probably is. That settled, there was usually potato salad and corn bread and chicken. Pies and cakes and ice cream were a must for dessert. We don't eat that way any more. In fact, the term "pot luck" refers to the old practice of keeping a pot of food always cooking over a fire so that anything could be tossed in the pot, and it was a matter of luck what you eventually fished out. That sounds OK to me.

Not too long ago my husband and I went to a family reunion with his fathers side of the family and it is always a cook out and bring your own food. We bring hamburgs,hot dogs,snacks and desserts for the kids. Some of the other family brings large bowls of diffrent salads and others bring veggies and dip to munch on not to mentone a huge bowl of mixed fruit. We all realise that we cant remember everything and if we are missing something someone else will have it and are always willing to share. Most of all and most important is the time we get to spend together as a family and catch up with those we dont get to see often enough through out the year.

your discussion made me think.... yeah the food that is always serve during our reunion was never changed. always this oily and heavy meals but of course delish. i came from a family where cooking is a hobby and eating as well. so if you are on a diet get ready to burn all of that as soon as reunion is over for you are going to be guilty after eating.

I think as to Chinese, there are two main foods that are important for the important festivals. They are chicken and fish. So we have these for the Mid-autumn Festival.

Hello wondericequeen, We don't have any special dishes for our family reunion. My mother is an excellent cook. Whatever she cooks, it tastes so delicious and very tempting to try before being put on table *laughs* But I prefer lobsters or any seafood will do. My mother always has a headache whenever it comes to food. She has many children that have different kind of preference for food. Unfortunately for my other siblings,my preferred food is her priority!

In past years, my family will have chicken,i believe every chinese' dinner will include chicken in the reunion time,and some soup is necessary,and fish,vegetable..and so on.But this year,i studying in college far away from home,so i can stay together with my family to view the moon,what a pity.and the climate is not so good tonight.the rain is going on .hope everybody have a good mid autumn festival day.

Well, there will always be spaghetti... everybody in my family loves to eat my mother's spaghetti... there will also be fried chicken for the kids... salad for the grown ups... especially those who are in a diet... fruit salad... pork barbeque... fish barbeque (Tilapia and Milk fish or Bangus in our language)...

Well,in my family reunion I make biriyani,and with it I make chicken ried,dry chilly chicken and fruit salad.

Seafood, especially shrimp, is a big thing for my family when we get together. Cole Slaw that isn't ordinary, some with raisins and nuts in it, that's well-loved. Cranberry sauce. Some kind of meat. Sweet potatoes, the rest of the time, we usually eat white potatoes. Desserts, usually at least 3 kinds.