Tips for Holiday Road Tripping with Dishes to Share

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Are you joining family or friends for a holiday dinner? If you’re not hosting, that likely means that you will be transporting a dish to share. Here are some ideas to make that task a little easier, both on you and your hosts.

While some of us delight in surprises, it does make sense to arrange ahead with the host to bring travel-safe and -friendly foods. Think appetizers or side dishes that can be served at room temperature. Appetizers such as antipasto meats and cheeses are designed to last a long time without refrigeration, and likewise deviled eggs and smoked fish. Bruschetta can be made ahead and assembled when you arrive. As for side dishes, how about volunteering cornbread or dinner rolls? You could also bring a bean or rice salad or a cabbage slaw – something light and crunchy to complement the main meal.

Here are a few recommendations on transport, with a few tips from food experts.

• Plan dishes that you can make well ahead of time – maybe the day before – so that you have plenty of time to relax on Thanksgiving morning.
• Keep in mind that your host is already using the kitchen and heating elements. I’m preparing a side dish in my slow cooker. When I arrive, it’s easy to plug it in to rewarm out of the way of the main dishes in the oven and on the stove.
• If you’re taking a casserole, leave it in the casserole dish and consider letting it cool to near room temperature before you leave home. To keep it warm, double wrap the casserole dish with aluminum foil, then wrap it in tea towels or, better yet, put it in an insulated casserole carrier. You can also transport warm appetizers like stuffed mushrooms in a casserole dish with a carrier.
• Be sure to keep food safety in mind. The USDA recommends that perishable foods be refrigerated within two hours of being cooked or one hour if the temperature is above 90 degrees to avoid bacteria.
• Some foods are just not good candidates for transport. They don’t rewarm well, like mashed potatoes, or they need to be served quickly after being cooked, like green beans.
• As for cold dishes like salads, relishes, and salsas, they’re best transported in plastic containers or storage boxes with well-secured lids that won’t spill or leak on transport. You can take along a separate plate or bowl for serving when you arrive.
• If you’re taking a dessert, the easiest things for travel are pies, cookies, or cupcakes in a cardboard box or plastic container. If you tend to repeat the same type of dish to share, consider buying a specially designed carrier such as Snapware. If you make a cake with frosting or decoration, a good idea for transport is to tent it with toothpicks, then cover it loosely with aluminum foil.
• Especially if you don’t know all the guests, or there will be children around the table, there’s the possibility of food sensitivities – gluten, dairy, peanuts – and vegetarians and vegans in attendance. Before leaving home, you might list the ingredients on a card to place alongside your dish.
• Finally, consider whether your dish might not be totally consumed. Will you leave it there or take it home for leftovers? Best to think ahead about that, too.

As we all head out over the river and through the woods, let’s hope our dish-to-pass offerings are popular additions at the dinner table.

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