Next weekend is Memorial Day weekend and it’s once again that time of year when lots of people are having barbecues and picnics with friends and family – a lot of times these get-togethers are potlucks.

I was looking at recipes the other day and decided it was time to update a few of my potluck items. I always seem to bring the same thing like a mac-and-cheese, which is exactly what I will be talking to some friends’ house soon and I must admit it is still one of my favorite dishes. But I think it’s time to try out a few new ones and see which are keepers and which are going to be thrown out. Speaking of thrown out, I think that is why I have hesitated in changing up my tried and true potluck recipes – it started with an incident in the early ’90s.

I was living on Travis Air Force Base in base housing on a street where all of the families were really close and we were always getting together on the weekends throwing impromptu barbecues, Super Bowl parties, you name it. I think if someone was just walking down the street we would pull together a party.

I had decided that I was tired of taking the same old Velveeta-salsa-hamburger-nacho dip – which, by the way, is very addicting. So I pulled out the old recipe books and began browsing for a good potluck recipe. Back then I definitely was not very adventurous about cooking. I was still cooking from a lot of boxes and cans. So for me, my choice of stuffed manicotti was really exciting. I got all of the ingredients and mixed everything together and stuffed enough manicottis for two large baking dishes and covered them with some sauce and lots of extra cheese. Since the potluck was outside, I decided to put them in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes right before we left so they would still be a little warm when we arrived.

Fast forward after everything was laid out on the picnic table and I was urging everyone to try my new creation. We all dug in. I glanced over to see my friend Terri looking at me kind of funny so I asked her what was wrong and she just started to laugh and then took her fork and began tapping the manicottis. Apparently I had overlooked the part on the box where you were supposed to boil them first and that 30 minutes in the oven did nothing to help. So they all had a good laugh at my expense – I sulked for a while, then got over it. But I did learn a valuable lesson; pasta should be cooked.

So let’s hope these potluck recipes come out a little better for the Memorial Day weekend than my manicotti! But as always, here’ s a nice party punch to start it off right.

Party Punch

1 bottle of Southern Comfort

6 oz. lemon juice

1 can frozen lemonade concentrate

1 can frozen orange juice concentrate

3 liters lemon lime soda

Chill all ingredients. Mix first four ingredients in a large punch bowl. Add your soda. Add some drops of red food coloring if you would like. Float a block of ice and garnish with fruit slices.

If you’re asked to bring a main dish, nothing can be simpler to feed a few people than a delicious ham.

Mango and Apricot-glazed Ham

1 6-lb. boneless fully cooked ham

2 tsp. whole cloves

2 cups apple juice

1/4 cup apricot preserves

3 Tbsp. mango chutney

3 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 cup packed brown sugar

Place the ham on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Score the surface of the ham, making diamond shapes a half-inch deep. Insert a clove in each diamond. Pour the apple juice into the pan.

In a small saucepan, combine the preserves, chutney and mustard. Cook and stir over medium heat until the preserves are melted; brush over the ham. Press the brown sugar onto the ham.

Bake uncovered at 325 for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until the ham reaches 140 degrees with a meat thermometer, basting occasionally. If the ham begins to brown too quickly, cover loosely with foil. Let stand at least 10 minutes before slicing. Dig in.

If you’re asked to bring dessert, this one is always a crowd pleaser and it looks pretty too!

Banana Trifle

2 packages 3.5-oz. banana instant pudding mix (vanilla can be substituted)

1 quart cold milk

2 bananas, chopped

4 cups heavy cream

4 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup confectioners sugar

1 12-oz. (or 16-oz.) – whichever you can find – prepared pound cake, cubed

One half box of vanilla wafers, crushed

Whisk the pudding mix with milk until smooth. Stir in the chopped banana and set aside.

In a large bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks are just about to form. Beat in vanilla and sugar until peaks form. Do not over beat.

In a glass bowl, layer half the cubed pound cake, half the pudding, half the whipped cream and half of the crushed wafers. Repeat with remaining cake, pudding and whipped cream, then top with remaining wafers. Chill in the fridge until ready to serve!

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