MNP Week 24: Saucy Meatballs Topple Desserts

In a devastating performance, Saucy Meatballs dominated the potluck competition Monday Night. 

In the season's 24th Monday Night Potluck, Sarah and Jack's Saucy Balls 49 points easily outpaced the excellent field, exceeding the point total of the second and third place finishers combined. 

The dominant dish clearly reflected a team effort. Jack credited Sarah with the majority of the effort, but Sarah reflected that credit back on Jack for "pattying the balls" and "stuffing the cheese."

Saucy Meatballs may have stolen the spotlight, but there was still plenty of room on potluckers plates and palates for other dishes to shine. Desserts followed up on the delightful Meatballs, taking the second and third place spots on the evening. Jess and Richard's Aunt Patti's Bread Pudding narrowly took second place, its 24 points edging out Team Sully's Cran Apple Crunch's 23. 

Thanks again to all who made delicious grub for the potluck! As always, here are the chefs and their dishes:

Angie Dorton - PB Banana Cups
Dave Sutton - Sweet & Sassy Pork Sliders
Brenda Kuznik - Olive Waf & Brie Cheeses
Brenda Kuznik - Skinny Pop Popcorn
Gina Parthum - Pasta w/ Pancetta Cauliflower, Broccoli & Olives
Sarah and Jack - Saucy Meatballs (1st Place)
Team Sully - Cran-Apple Crunch (3rd Place)
Kelly Schaller - Pork Green Chili
Jess and Richard - Aunt Patti's Bread Pudding (2nd Place)
T Jay - Pork on Pork on Pork
Jared - Bourbon Pecan Pie
Chris Hershey - Sloppy Joes

MNP Week 23: Chili Blanco Takes First By A Nose

Despite a near potluck disaster that saw the tragic loss of a Crock Pot and some delightful pulled pork (prepped by Mike Cardone), Broken Compass potluckers overcame adversity to hold another delightful Monday Night Potluck.

Due to the last minute cleaning and general hectic nature of the potluck, your trusty MNP blogger was unable to sample any of the yummy treats provided by our excellent chefs. Tom Greiner's Chili Blanco took first place by a narrow five points over Heidi Ashton's Apple Crisp, while Matt Wardlaw's Smoked Salmon, Gouda and Fig Crackers reached the podium as well. The full list of dishes and cooks is below. We'll see you tonight at 7 for another potluck! (this time, no broken Crock Pots)

Bo Rocco - Trout Pate
Tom Greiner - Chili Blanco (1st Place)
Heidi Ashton - Apple Crisp (2nd Place)
Gyde (spelling? who knows) Lund - Chicken Pesto Pasta
Samantha and Warren and Chelsea - Rosemary Garlic Taters
Ashley B - Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes
Katie Schroeder - S'mores Bars
Maria Galgas - Zucchini and Onion Pie
Kirk P - Chicken and Potatoes
Christine Broyhill - Cajun Jambalaya
Matt Wardlaw - Smoked Salmon/Gouda/Fig Crackers (3rd Place)
Andrea Jordan - Pulled Pork & Citrus Slaw
Justin - Brussel Sprouts
Rachel D - Chicken Fajitas w/ Green Chilis
Team Team - Beer Cheese Soup

MNP Week 22: St. Patrick's Day Deliciousness

Lana McLaughlin - Irrational Califlower Cheese Pie
Susie Nathnagel - Irish Green Salad w/ Goat Cheese
Amanda and Eleanor - Margarita Cheesecakes
Rick - Bangers and Colcannon w/ Guinness Gravy (1st Place)
Jake and Chris - Double Baca Deviled Eggs
Danny Bumm - Green Irish Dip
Blair - Irish Soda Bread
Katie Schroeder - Pi Day Key Lime Pie
Tom Greiner - Guinness Onion Rings & Gravy
Hailey Michelsen - Guinness and Bailey's and Whiskey Chocolate Cupcakes (2nd Place)
Mike Spies - Ham and Bean Soup
Hanna Holtzbog - Grilled Blackened Salmon (3rd Place)
Kate - Quinoa Vegetable Chicken Chili
Jenna Van Bell - Jenna's Birthday Cake
Dylan Gunther - Mac N Cheese

The MNP champs

MNP Week 21: An Epic Pork Off

March Madness is truly upon us.

In the first Monday Night Potluck of this delightfully hectic month, Broken Compass played host to one of the best potlucks of the season to date.

A mere eight points separated the top four dishes, while 11 of the 18 finished with double digit points. The competition came down to two delicious pulled porks and one double chocolate cake, loaded with so much chocolate even your regular potluck blogger (a notorious sweet tooth) thought it was delightfully rich. 

The pork off pitted two dishes, The Dirty Duke BBQ and Pork Tacos against each other in a clash of styles. Dirty Dukes utilized a more traditional BBQ route, bolstered by the presence of Sweet Baby Ray himself to blow away palates and wow potluckers. Pork Tacos, meanwhile, brought a fresh take to pork, with a Mexican zest and delicious salsa to sprinkle on top of horribly cute mini tortillas (which had to be home made. Or at least, this blogger has never seen them in grocery stores or that's all that would be in my pantry. Stupid cute). 

When the votes were tallied, Dirty Duke came away with slight two point victory over Double Chocolate German Chocolate Cake and Pork Tacos. But upon further review, the Dirty Dukes were stripped of their first place victory due to likely voter collusion (and because the creators happened to be Monday Night Potluck emcee Daniel "Buckets" Miller-McLemore's family, who certainly don't need any more growlers). 

Anne Marie's German Chocolate Cake swooped in for the victory, while Sarah and Jack's Pork Tacos took second and claimed the Pork Off title. Seth Cohen's Coconut Porter Red Curry Chicken nailed down third place with 26 points. 

As always, we thank our amazing potluck chefs who supplied the grub for the evening. You rock.

Beth Groundwater - Kitchen Sink Slaw
Carolyn Magsson - Aussie Chicken And Rice
Chris Miller-McLemore - The Dirty Duke BBQ (1st Place/Disqualified)
Chantal and BIll Kirkhoff - Veggie Ranch Tortilla Pinwheels
Dave and Judy Sutton - Southwest Ranch Chicken & Bacon Salad
Bridget Cavanaugh - Pizza!!!
Loren Richardson - Spaghetti Pie
Sarah and Jack - Pork Tacos (3rd/2nd Place)
Katie Schroeder - Nutter Butter Butterfinger Cheesecake Bars
Tom Greiner - South O' Border Bean Dip
Seth Cohen - Coconut Porter Red Curry Chicken (4th/3rd Place)
Maria - Salad w/ Fennel Shaved Parm & Almonds
Vicki - Philly Chicken Cheese Dip
Amanda - DONUTS!
D... - Tortillas
Anne Marie - Double Chocolate German Chocolate Cake (2nd/1st Place)
Chris - (unreadable by this author)
Else - Scones

MNP Week 20: Leap Day Potluckin

The Leap Day edition of Monday Night Potluck did not fail to live up to its much-hyped billing. 

In a meat and sweets filled affair, meats carried the day, as all three podium finishers narrowly beat out a plethora of scrumptious desserts on night that happens just once every four years. 

One of the most parity-filled potlucks of the season ended with a three point spread separating the winners. Carolina BBQ Sliders, Stuffed Meatball Parmesan and Ham With Spiced Bourbon Cherry Glaze all duked it out for the top spot, each throwing haymakers into the late rounds. BBQ Sliders classic Carolina sauce brought a refreshing twist on the typical tomato based sauces Monday Night Potluck usually sees, and gave it an early advantage.

Not to be denied, Ham and Meatballs fought tooth and nail to hang with BBQ Sliders. Meatballs' chemistry with its delicious cheese stuffing (because really, when is meat and cheese not the right thing to eat. The answer is never. It's always the right thing to eat) caused problems defensively for the rest of the potluck's dishes, while Ham's delicious Bourbon Cherry Glaze made taste buds too drunk to care about what else they were eating. 

In the end though, BBQ Sliders' depth proved to be too much as it eked out a 26-24-23 victory over Meatballs (2nd) and Ham (3rd). It was a meat off for the ages. 

Honorable mentions go out to all the delicious desserts that finished off the meal for the bloated and delighted potluckers. 

Barnhart - Carolina BBQ Sliders (1st Place)
Dever - Southern Pimento Cheese
Cassels - Vegetable Salad
Chris Hershey - Crazin Pesto
Katie Schroeder - Raspberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Angelina - Blueberry Peach Dump Cake
Kelsey Miller - Spinach Artichoke Dip
Tom Greiner - Thai Chicken Pizza
Nate Murphy - Cake With Fancy Label
Tommy Peters - Baked Green Chile Mac N Cheese
Mike Spies - Ham w/ Spiced Bourbon Cherry Glaze (3rd Place)
Jen and Kim - Decadent Peanut Butter Bars
Samantha and Warren - PB&J French Toast Bites
Rick - Stuffed Meatball Parmesan (2nd Place)
Arkady - Crack & Cheese
Calhoun - BBQ Slider

MNP Week 18: Love Is In The Potluck Air

With the residuals of love hanging in the air, Monday Night Potluck was up for grabs. 

A spread of three points separated the top three dishes last night during the Valentine's/President's Day potluck, as potluck chefs poured all their love into their dishes. 

Karlie McLaughlin's BLT Love Bites fought tooth and nail for the climactic one-point victory, finally claiming the top spot with a delightful presentation of the bacon, which was formed into mini hearts on top of the neatly packaged BLTs. 

Despite a mighty push from the superbly glazed Maple-Dijon Salmon, Bacon Mac managed to cling to second place, finishing two points ahead of the fish. 

Thanks as always to the chefs who whipped up delicious food for the potluck! You all are awesome. The chefs: 

Lana McLaughlin - Breck Bourbon Balls
Karlie McLaughlin - BLT Love Bites (1st Place)
Linda Ralston - Bernie's Spicy Deviled Eggs
Samantha Warren - Washington's Wieners (T-President's Day Wiener)
Team Sully - Bacon Mac (2nd Place)
Team Vargo - Toasty Turds
Tommy Peters - Washington's Favorite Buttery Garlic Cauliflower (T-President's Day Winner)
Lauren Parsons - Homemade Samoa Cookies
Chris Hershey - Maple-Dijon Salmon (3rd Place)
Anonymous - Chocolate Peanut Butter Bacon

MNP Week 17: A Slow Cooking Affair

When a serious group of crockpots get together, a delicious potluck is on hand.

That was the case at this week's Monday Night Potluck, which featured a whopping eight slow cooking dishes, nearly half of the 17 dishes supplied on the evening. In the end, both crockpot and non-crock dishes became champions on this potluck evening, with Claudia Olea's Creole Chili and Dirty Rice claiming a victory in the Cajun category while JT and Lucy Beth's Mini King Cake Rollups took first in the general potluck. 

King Cake Rollups stole the narrow victory from Tomato Pie, which also managed to podium over many delightful slow cooked foods, while a certain Mystery Guest took third with Creole Greek Okra. 

But on Mardi Gras week, nothing could dim the Cajunness of Creole Chili and Dirty Rice, which combined the scrumptious heartiness of a chili with the spicy zestiness of Cajun cooking to run away from the rest of the Louisiana-based dishes. 

Join us next week for our Valentine's/President's Day themed potluck this coming Monday! And as always, here's our awesome chefs from this past MNP: 

Jackie and Kim and Sam and Justin and Matt - The Best King Super Cookies Ever
Trish Streicher - Mac & Cheese
Megan Matza - Goat Cheese Bruschetta
Greta Shackelford - Spinach Salad
Chelsea Vendegna - Veggie Enchilads
JT and Lucy Beth - Mini King Cake Rollups (1st Place)
JT and Lucy Beth - Cranberry Orange Bundtcake
Super Bowl Leftovers - Pizza Dip
Russ Schissler - Quinoa Enchilada Casserole
Richard and Jess - Tomato Pie (2nd Place)
Kate, Jessie, Kathy - Hotter Than Yo Mama's Hummus
Mike Spies - Chicken Marsala
Claudia Olea - Creole Chili and Dirty Rice (Cajun Champion)
Mystery Regular - Creole Greek Okra (3rd Place)
J. Haggerty - Gumbo
Seth Cohen - Turkey Meatballs w/ Chocolate Coffee Stout Mushroom Bacon Cream Sauce
Jamie Machowicz - Cheese Dip and Pretzel Chip Cookies
 

MNP Week 16: Mini Peanut Butter Cheesecakes A Delight, Champion

In a shock to absolutely nobody, Maria Galgas's Mini Peanut Butter Cheesecakes won a commanding victory at last week's Monday Night Potluck. 

An MNP juggernaut, Maria's desserts are renowned across the potluck land for their deliciousness, so when competitors saw her name on the same line as "Cheesecakes" and "Peanut Butter" and "Mini", it was nearly a foregone conclusion. 

With second place up for grabs, however, the remaining dishes held an admirable battle. Sara's Baby Pot Pies clawed their way to the podium, outlasting Mama's Pot Pie in a hearty, chicken-centric pot pie battle, claiming second place with 20 points. Kim and Jen's Salad de Potluck was a late arrival, meanwhile, but managed to secure enough votes for third place while presenting eaters with a different tasty surprise in every bite (seriously, I still have no idea what combinations of foods and flavors were in that salad). 

Delicious as always, and make sure to join us tonight (Feb. 8) for our Cajun themed potluck and to meet our new head brewer, Jason Wiedmaier! (http://www.brokencompassbrewing.com/blog/2016/2/5/meet-our-new-brewer-on-monday-night-potluck)

Loren - Chillin Chilladas
Cliff - Mama Pot Pie
Sara - Baby Pot Pies (2nd Place)
Sarah/Jack - Lil' Smokeys
Samantha and Warren - Mom's Coleslaw
Maria - Mini Peanut Butter Cheesecakes (1st Place)
Tarek/DBallz - Ballz's Beans
Kim and Jen - Salad de Potluck (3rd Place)