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sorry for the garbled title...just pretend it says "like dessert".
Yikes - that's a tricky one. Generally I would say it's ok to ask someone to bring a specific type of dish if they've volunteered to bring something (i.e., dessert or a vegetable side). I might hesitate to ask a guest to prepare a specific dish because you don't know what kind of time they have to devote to your favorite. That being said, there's nothing wrong with saying, "oh any dessert is fine. People just loved your awsome date roll that you brought last time and I'm sure would enjoy seeing it again. But whatever you have time to throw together will be warmly received." And who knows, she might bring something even better than the date roll if you leave her to her own devices.....
She did say to "tell me what I can bring." The trouble is I don't know if she means pitching in and cooking a dish or bringing something packaged/ bottle of wine. I'm just not sure what to ask for (which is why I initially said salad, since it's easy). I'm not clear if she's coming from a potluck frame of mind or a "never come empty handed" frame of mind.
Since I am always a fan of more information then less, I'd say ask her. No harm done and you can get a better idea of what she's willing to do. It wouldn't be at all inappropriate to ask her whether she would prefer to make a dish to bring or contribute to the wine stash. You can caveat all this by saying it's entirely at her discretion. Good luck! Let me know what you end up doing
Cynthia is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
added over 1 year agoNever hesitate to ask. As has be said, if she's a good enough friend to be invited, she's likely a good enough friend to listen to a genuine question.
I would appreciate guidance on what dish to being. I think it's easier than trying to guess what to bring.
If you know the guest and know her/his capabilities, then I think you can be pretty specific like saying "that mud pie you made last time we were at you house was divine...can you bring that? After all they are good enough friends to be invited?
When I ask the host/hostess what I can bring, I love it when they make specific requests based on dishes they enjoyed that I have made for them. What a pleasure! And what a pleasure to only make one or two dishes instead of a whole meal every once in awhile!
Cynthia is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
added over 1 year agoI'm always glad for some guidance as to what to bring. I'm having Thanksgiving dinner on Friday with a friend's family (we both serve Thanksgiving dinner at a food bank on Thursday), and she said to bring my favorite side. That's pretty vague, so I asked if I could bring a pumpkin cheesecake, and got a big thumbs up. The moral of the story: never hesitate to suggest, most especially when it's a question of such a rich authentically ethnic possibility.