Baked Potato Buffet Bar Party!

"Oh, exalted PoTaTo!"

I am now a proud member of the potato club

lots of baked potatoes, a big bowl of chili, and a big bowl of steamed broccoli florets.

Last weekend, we hosted a family dinner at our house. My family is quite excellent -- but as you might recall from previous posts, we have quite a staggering array of dietary preferences. From salt-free + oil-free vegans on one end (my aunt & her partner) to teenagers who are definitely not enthusiastic about veggies (my brother's children and step children) and even a serious soy allergy. Ha ha, it's pretty funny.

So, somehow in conversation with my mom and my aunt, I realized we could have a baked potato bar party, and it would meet everyone's needs! 

Everyone loves chili on baked potatoes, so I made a batch of chili from "30-Minute Vegan." I hadn't ever made this recipe before, but I absolutely loved it. Possibly my new favorite chili recipe?! I did make a few substitutions (extra can of beans instead of seitan and doubled the quantity of chili powder...) to good effect. 

And my aunt and her partner brought along a huge and beautiful salad, which was a perfect side for hearty potatoes and fixins. 

I made a big spread of various toppings (in addition to the chili and broccoli):

Salsa, Sauteed Leeks, chopped Cilantro, Spicy Heidi Ho Cheeze
Avocado slices, BacoBits, Scallions, and Creamy Heidi Ho Cheeze

Yumz!! My brother's family also brought along a few non-vegan toppings (shunned from my photograph!!!), but they also tried and enjoy the Heidi Ho cheese, which is pretty cool.

potato sirsasana

my plate of goodness

I almost never make baked potatoes, but I gotta say, this was one of the most yummy and satisfying meals I've had in a while. It really Hit The Spot. As you can see, I had a sweet potato under all that good stuff! Everyone else wanted a regular potato, but I went the other way. Happily, there were actually a couple of baked potatoes left over, so I got to try that version for lunches over the next couple of days too. So delicious and filling and full of flavors and textures and colors.

sorry for the well-after-dark picture, but hopefully it's better than nothing

For dessert, I kept it simple - I made a batch of Dreena Burton's Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies (my favorite recipe ever) and a few baskets of fresh-from-the-farmers-market strawberries. Suffice it to say, there were not any dessert left overs! 

This dinner was so fun and such a hit with everyone, that I had to go out and buy a special mug for my potato friend.