Easy & Always Popular "Pot Luck" Event Recipe

Because I'd Rather Think About Summer

It's summer for some, but not for me.  I'm so cold this morning the best solution seems to be to think of summer.  If it's summer for you now, you might find yourself invited to pot luck events or BBQs where you are expected to bring a dish.  And for those like me, stuck in the cold barren depths of winter (melodrama alert), summer will return.

So here's an easy and always really popular recipe for all those occasions where you are obliged to turn up with a dish of food.  A perfect finger food, and can be fancified by your serving choices (it's fancy if you use a fancy dish to plunk it on, amirite?).

I've taken this dish along to numerous pot luck occasions and it's been universally loved (and completely eaten) every single time.  I managed to wrangle it out of someone else who reported the same success.  The only problem she described is that because it's so quick and easy, and so very yummy, whenever she gives the recipe to anyone else in her social group, they want to bring it to events too, leaving her wondering what she can bring now.

You'll Need

* Cream Cheese (just an average size tub, this recipe is not fussy, so just grab your preferred brand in the most commonly sold size and it's likely to be exactly right),

* Tinned tuna (again the size you have in your cupboard or grab off your supermarket shelf is probably perfect; just make sure there is less fish than cream cheese so the two bind easily and hold together when set),

* Lemon juice to taste (just squeeze some in; personally I like more, but to your own taste is just fine), or you can use lime if you prefer,

* Sweet chili sauce (go for mild to ensure maximum utility; not everyone likes it hot, or go hot if you're confident your intended eating-audience like that sort of thing),

*Crackers, (or you could use strips of pita bread, or your own preferred accompaniment, although you might need to think about how people will get the spread onto the pita; with crackers they can dip and scoop a bit like chips and dip).

Method

Drain the fish and pull out any bones if your tin has any obvious big bones in it (like the spine).  Put in a bowl and give a really good mix n' crush up to ensure any remaining small bones have been broken up (you probably can use an electric blender but it's not worth your while getting it out and a fork does this task perfectly).

In a bowl, fork or electric blend the cream cheese until soft (honestly, the fork is the way to go but if you must use your electric blender that's your choice).

Combine the cheese and fish.

Add the squeeze of lemon (you could also try lime if you want to be a little exotic)

Put into a container and stash in the fridge to set.  Use a fancy mould container if you are inclined and think you can get it back out in one piece (the recipe is firmer when set if the cream cheese to fish ratio is kept higher and a little less firm if you use more fish).

Put in the fridge so the cream cheese can reharden (and the dish will set)

When you are ready to serve, plonk it on a plate pour chili sauce over top to finish and put the crackers next to it. 

Profit

So so easy.  Takes about 10 minutes of work, and everywhere I've taken this dish it has been a huge hit.

You can tailor your accompanying crackers or bread to your own tastes although if you use something soft and flexible like pita bread you will need to consider how people are going to get the spread onto it, with crackers they can just dip and scoop like chips and dip.

You can fancify by using a mould for the cream cheese mix.  You might want to experiement first so you can get the recipe to the right firmness, (it's never a good idea to try a recipe for the first time when you need it, I always rehearse a new recipe at least once before "showtime").

If you have the time to get really fancified, you can put the unset cream cheese spread mix right onto crackers or strips of pita bread (use cake icing tools) and add the chili sauce decoratively and serve on a platter all ready to go.  Perfect finger food, although a little more time consuming this way.

Interestingly, a few years after I first began using this recipe one of the cream cheese makers brought out a cream cheese with sweet chili sauce.  I have not tried this product but I am certain that it's nowhere near as good as this fishy recipe (I did try some cream cheese with just the chili sauce once when I was making a batch of this recipe up and it's nowhere near as tasty without the fish and citrus).

As mentioned earlier, the biggest risk with this dish is that you give others the recipe and suddenly no one ever brings anything else to a pot luck event.  Its a nice dish (and oh, so easy) but there can be too much of a good thing, so if you're going to share the recipe, maybe just don't tell it to those who are likely to attend the same pot luck events as you!