I am not a fan of sweet potatoes at all, so I can't give an unbiased opinion on any of the sweet potato ideas. But here are a few T&T's for regular potatoes! Potatoes Savoyarde 1T unsalted butter, melted plus 3T unsalted butter cut into small pieces 3 cloves garlic, minced 2T finely chopped fresh parsley 1-1/2c shredded gruyere cheese 1/4tsp freshly ground pepper 2-1/2lb potatoes, unpeeled and sliced 1-1/2c chicken stock Preheat oven to 375F. Brush 2qt. baking dish with melted butter. In small bowl stir together garlic, parsley, cheese and pepper. Layer 1/3 of the potatoes in prepared dish and sprinkle 1/3 of the garlic/cheese mixture over the top. Dot with 1T of the butter pieces. Repeat the layers once, and finish with the remaining potatoes. Pour the stock and then the remaining garlic/cheese mixture, dot with remaining butter pieces. Cover dish with foil buttered on one side. Bake 30 minutes, remove foil and continue baking until potatoes are tender and top is brown and crusty, about 30-40 minutes longer. Serves 6 (from Williams Sonoma) Wild Rice Potato Rosti 1/2c wild rice, cooked 2lb potatoes, cooked and peeled 3T walnut oil 1tsp yellow mustard seeds 1 onion coarsely grated and drained 2T fresh thyme Salt & pepper Coarsely grate cooked potatoes into large bowl. Add cooked rice. Heat 2T oil in large non\-stick frying pan. Add mustard seeds, when seeds begin to "pop" add onion, cook gently for 5 minutes or until soft. Add onions to potatoes & rice, add thyme and mix thoroughly. Season with salt & pepper. Heat remaining oil in pan. Add potato mixture, press down well and cook for about 10 minutes or until golden on bottom. Cove pan with plate and flip over, slide rosti back into frying pan and cook other side 10 minutes more, or until golden. Cut in wedges and serve. Potato Gratin Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 cup) 1 clove garlic, halved Cooking Spray 1 c onion, chopped 6 medium sized baking potatoes, peeld and cut tino 1/8 inch slices ¼ tsp salt ¼ tsp pepper ¾ c extra sharp cheddar, grated ¼ c romano cheese, grated 1-3/4 c chicken broth 1 c evaporated milk Preheat oven to 425 Rub a shallow 3 qt casserole with cut sides of garlic halves, discard garlic. Coat dish with cooking spray. Coat a non-stick skillet with cooking spray, place over medium heat until hot. Add Onion and sauté 5 minutes or until tender., set aside. Arrange 1/3 of potato slices in prepared casserole, sprinkle with half the salt and half of the pepper. Top with half of the onions and half of the cheeses. Repeat layers, ending with potato slices. Bring broth and milk to a boil over low heat in a small saucepan. Pour over potatoes. Bake, uncovered for 50 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Linda

Copious amounts of booze to make them forget food! Throw a few tri-tips on the barbie then slice it thin. It's like serving steaks without the need for 20 steak knives and a seat at a table. Another thing that works pretty well is to go to Wing Stop and get one of their bulk hot wing platters. All this helps to avoid the sit down all at one time for eating and people will forage over the dinner period. Makes for smaller plates filled with a course at a time and everyone seems to find a spot to sit. Believe me you don't want to spend the time placing tables for twenty people to sit. Over the years we've had many of pool parties and it helps to have folks bring a side or dessert. You know the whole thing about "what can I bring." We've found that people actually feel more comfortable when they bring something. I know this seems strange but they also seem to help with the layout and cleanup when they're making sure you try their green beans with funions and pickled kippers casserole all the while keeping tabs on their prize tupperware. Fish breath is a small price to pay for the help and a single cocktail will make it as if it never existed. I know we don't subscribe to the Martha Stuart book of party planning but if you don't want to spend a whole lot of time cleaning up and prepping so you can focus on the fun take em up on the "what can I bring." Partygoer:What can we bring? You:Well we have some hot dogs but we're a little short on chateau briand, filet mignon, and caviar. Partygoer:Maybe we can bring some potato salad. You:Wow that will be perfect!!! It will go so well with the hot dogs.

Now that is a challenge. If you have a covered casserole dish that can go in the oven you could do a ratatouille type of mixed medley. Maybe not the 'rainbow' arrangement, but a variety of soft veggies sliced thin and arranged around a center of peeled new potatoes. Eggplant, yellow and green zucchini, a thinly sliced sweet potato, broccoli...things that will cook/steam very soft. Drizzle with a honey/lemon vinaigrette. A bit sweeter than normal. In the oven covered and cooked a bit longer, they will get really soft. The potatoes i would par-boil. They might try something they normally would not eat. http://www.makebetterfood.com/recipes/ratatouille-a-la-remy/

Ours is pretty basic, glazed baked ham (NOT spiral cut) & scalloped potatoes for sure. Probably a green salad containing a wide variety of baby greens. Maybe that pineapple casserole made with chunked pineapple, cheese, I forget what else, but it goes so good with ham! A green side dish of some sort. I'm seriously considering introducing the family to the roasted Brussels Sprouts with cranberries in a reduced Balsamic vinegar glaze (Pioneer Woman). Personally, I'd be happy with just that dish, it really is that good! Oh, and dessert is always fresh strawberry pie, even though I decided long ago that there is no such thing as good fresh strawberries in Texas. As no one else here has had fresh strawberries that don't have the hard white center, they think what we have here are good. That's okay, I just make the pie, I don't have to eat it! Rusty