Epic Vegan Potluck to End All Potlucks

Yesterday I hosted a PPK potluck and it was super awesome. We had loads of people (24!), 7 dogs, 1 cat, a super cutie baby, and TONS of delicious vegan food. The weather was perfect, the people were awesome, and the doggies were all peaceful. It was a great day!

This was by far the most crazy fantastic potluck I've ever attended, and from now on I will plan on canceling absolutely all plans to attend PPK potlucks. We had table overflow, with loads of phenomenal dishes, and all vegan of course! You will win a gold medal if you make it through this whole post... I'm not kidding when I say there was a LOT OF FOOD!

The table, in all it's glory. There was a constant evolution of things arriving and being eaten... and it was all so good!

Overflow area!

Nebraska & Alex's Potato, Onion, and Sauerkraut Pierogis with unpictured Caramelized Onions. This was my first Pierogi experience, and they were great. I wish I had a picture of those caramelized onions too... they had cooked down into a creamy, golden relish that was so gorgeous and so unbelievably yummy.

ColdandSleepy made this phenomenal assortment of mini bagels!!! They were so delicious. She brought along some tofutti cream cheeze, and some homemade Garden Herb Spread.

Beautiful and delicious Empanadas (ole!) from Marzipan. They were really good... savory and hearty filling with a light dough.

Apple Coffee Cake, from Coldandsleepy! Sooooooo good. I heart coffee cake.

Open-faced Grilled Herb Tofu Sandwiches with caramelized onion and Sun-dried Tomato Pesto. From my kitchen!

Another goodie from Marzipan - really rich and flavorful Walnut Miso Dip. A great addition!

Sophia rocked it with Homemade Focaccia (!!!!) and totally beautiful and delicious Roasted Yellow Pepper Dip. It looks like mustard, it's so yellow!

Rice Krispie treats - using the totally amazing new Dandies marshmallows from Chicago Soy Dairy - I just followed the recipe on the inside of the box. Seriously, so good.

Avocado Key Lime Pie with White Chocolate Mousse in a pistachio-poppyseed crust. A repeat of a successful dish I made recently for family dinner!

Edit: A few folks have asked about the pie recipe & the white chocolate mousse recipe. It's from The Artful Vegan, and you can find it on Google Books. Go to page 179-180. The pie would be great without the mousse, by the way. The mousse is a very finicky recipe, and makes WAY TOO MUCH. It does freeze well however. I ended up taking about 1/4 of the batch, adding agar and kudzu, and got a great consistency. Let me know if you need more specific details.

Huge bowl of raspberries picked from my aunt's garden.

Roger rode into town on his bike (all the way from San Luis Obispo), swung by the grocery store, and busted out two *beautiful* and *delicious* quiches from "Vegan Brunch." He even left one behind, which I happily toted along to our Family Dinner on Sunday night. Wow! What a guy!

Moooooo & Howie brought these super delicious Lemon Pepper, Shiitake, Mandarin & Garlic Scape Spring Rolls, with a delicious sauce. Great flavor combinations! Also, I was super stoked, because it was my first time ever getting to taste a garlic scape. They are great!

Erin's outrageous salad... carrots, sunflower seeds, baco bits, cauliflower, celery, bell pepper... the list goes on and on. Packed full of veggies, with two delicious salad dressing options. Really great! We all agreed the salad was a great addition. Once you have a big helping of salad, you feel very virtuous, even if you have also had a giant plate full of vegan desserts.

Herbstonne's 5-gallon bowl of totally delicious guacamole. I went back for seconds (and thirds)!

Lemon Family's yummy macaroni salad. I love that noodle shape!

ChaSiuBao's Swedish Kanelbullar - Cardamom Buns. Oh wow - these are so lovely. I was super psyched that she left two behind... and it's almost time for breakfast!

Melissa's gorgeous salad: arugula with braised figs and peaches, almonds, and balsamic dressing. I took one bite of a fig, and totally flipped out. One of the most delicious things EVER. I loved this salad, and I want to marry it.

Gunnar Handsome's Brussel Sprouts with caramelized onions and pistachios. Mmmmmm!

Melisser begins torching her merengue cake... before the butane ran out!

After an emergency trip to the drug store for more butane... we present you with: Melisser's crazy butterscotch/chocolate chip cookie dough cake with torched merengue topping!!! Beautiful, dramatic, and totally decadent!

Inside shot, documented simultaneaously by Melisser and me.

Happy vegans!

My first pass at the table...

Dessert Plate: berries, Erin's **amazing** banana pudding, Rice Krispy treat, Swedish Kanelbullar, avocado key lime pie, and apple coffee cake. Mmmmmmmmmmmm....

PPK People shot! Big Smiles because we are all stuffed to the gills with deliciousness! Only Marzipan is missing from this shot... sorry we missed you Marzipan!

Semi-successful PPK Doggie Shot! L to R: Strummer, Molly, Dottie Bonkers (in the back), Snoopy's rear end, Stevie Wonder, Andre, and Fiona. They were all SUCH good doggies, I was very proud of them all - sharing people, toys, snacks, and one yard so peacefully!

Fiona was a superstar! She went right to work finding dog toys that have been lying around our backyard for YEARS (literally!) and started enjoying them. Maybe our dogs will learn from her!

Baby Lemon rides the Pelican! Awesome cutieness!

Miss Molly demands her own water bowl! :)

Tiny Strummer sits half on me, half on Melisser... thus doubling chances of getting some pets!

ChaSiuBao! gives out doggie treats and becomes Most Popular Lady At PPK Potluck.

Graveyard of Food That Once Was... There were some leftovers, but by and large, us PPK'ers really "stepped up to the plate" and did what needed to be done!

In preparation for this festive day of vegan gluttony, I ate no breakfast. Amazingly, I also ate almost no dinner... I was SO stuffed with goodness. This was such a great day of people, friends, dogs, flavors, and fun! Big smile!