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DOUBLE DIPPING -- UGH!!!

@lakeloverhh, ever heard of flippin' and dippin'? It's almost as bad. Someone dips with part of the chip, bites off the dip, then flips the chip over and dips with the (purportedly untouched) other side of the chip. You can tell they feel so virtuous since they don't consider this double dipping! Eeuuuwww!!!

As far as potlucks go, I worked with a girl who brought sauerkraut and sliced hot dogs in a crockpot to every company get-together. The same pot. The same food. From the freezer. Yes, the same food that no one ate the last time. She'd just thaw it out in the same crockpot and bring it again.

@Editmom - re-leftovering over and over again? foul!

@Editmom - Is there a statute of limitations on how many years one can re-leftover the leftovers?

@robincat - I would drink too! ~;O

Let's see...

• My all time favorite is the guy at the potluck who literally loads half of some dish onto his plate. Before anybody else has had a shot at it. Often it's something like shrimp cocktail.
  
• Not specifically a food issue, but the holiday guest who stands around talking and watching the host clean up 99% of the kitchen before finally asking if they can help.
  
• At potlucks, that one person who's always the first to sign up to bring paper plates or napkins or a 2-litre bottle of soda. Every single time. Without fail. Come to think of it, I think it's usually the person who volunteers to make the sign-up sheet.
  
• The person who shows up at a 50-person potluck with a 2-cup bowl of something (seems like it's usually a rice dish for some reason).
  
• Likewise, the person who brings two medium "pizzas" (I used quotes because they're usually from Pizza Hut) or one bucket of KFC chicken to aforementioned 50-person potluck.

imho I think it depends on the potluck. Some potlucks seemed to be geared mostly towards feeding a large amount of people without spending too much or forcing one person to do all the work. I think take out or prepackaged foods are fine in this situation. Other potlucks seem more like an opportunity for everyone to share a favorite recipe or more as a general celebration of food. In this case I don't think take out or prepackaged foods are acceptable.

When we are at a restaurant (no matter what the company is, that is, it doesn't only happen when "we're all family here"), both my in-laws routinely "check out" every piece of bread in the common bread basket until they find the piece/roll they like, at which point, my mother-in-law (the worst offender of the two) tears a piece and returns her roll or whatever it was to the basket! And she then repeats the process multiple times as she only tears enough for one bite at a time.

A couple of times, I tried telling her (choosing my words with extreme care so that not to offend her while my blood was reaching a boiling point), "why don't you just put the whole piece on your little plate here, you don't have to finish it if you don't want to", to which she replied, "that's OK" (!!!!). I'm not sure what it even meant. When my sister-in-law witnesses such behaviour, she doesn't care if she sounds polite or not, and pretty much just tells them like it is. But really, it never helps, certainly not in the long run. I just never eat bread when I eat out with them.

Table Manners. Are they becoming extinct?? Seriously. Thank god I am no longer dating. When I was, I have broken up with guys because of the table manners-or the lack thereof. I just can not handle it. You are not Tarzan and I am not Jane. Let's act civilized.

Close Mindedness. I am a picky eater. I'll admit it. But, I always try something new (unless there's multiple ingredients involved that I don't like). Always. I just never promise to like it. If you've never had anything in a dish, why not try it?? That gets on my nerves.

Work Gatherings. Nothing annoys me more than someone bringing a condiment (let's say shredded cheese) and it's enough to feed a few people not 20-25 people. Why would one bring an 8 oz bag??? I understand being busy and you can't cook. But, don't bring something that can't feed the masses. I don't know-maybe it's the Italian in me, but uhh

@izatryt: Statute of limitations on re-leftovering at a potluck! HA!

I was warned by more than one person at my first gathering at that company not to eat the sauerkraut dish. I was there for at least three gatherings where she brought it -- God only knows how many times it had shown up before. Obviously, no one ate any of it. I guess they just didn't have the heart to tell her to quit bringing it. What's really funny is that even SHE didn't eat it!

When cooking, my roommate constantly tastes the food, which is fine, however she always sticks her fingers in her mouth when she tastes and licks, then does it 10 more times (not washing hands in between!). I use a new spoon each time I test. When plating foods, she uses her fingers in addition to the serving spoon to move food to the plate. Then at the dinner table she uses her fingers to get all the extra juices... don't even get me started when she goes to get seconds...

Eww...

An ex of mine had such bad table manners and ate so fast - stuffing himself without tasting anything- that it made any meals with him the low point of our relationship... Not surprisingly we broke up.

My mentor group at university had a pot-luck, and one of the guys decided he wasn't going to bring anything because he didn't cook! I was furious when I found out. What a spoiled baby! I sent him to the store with a specific list to buy: 2 baguettes, red grapes, green grapes, a Camembert, and a piece of sharp Cheddar.

@smile - you just described my mother-in-law!

I host birthday parties at work, and there was one coworker from the other (uninvited) side who would always come by while we were setting up and take food. Once, she took half a cheesecake (the birthday cake) before we finished setting up. Another time, she took all the deviled eggs before we finished setting up.

We always open up the food for anyone to take after everyone directly involved have been able to pick through the food. I think it's rude to invite yourself to a party during or before the group starts.

I don't care if people bring nuked stuff that was previously frozen food. If that is what they can bring, that's great, even if it's only enough to feed 2/3 of the people. I rank them higher than the person who always brings the napkins, the soda, plates, cups, or utensils.

I stopped participating in office pot lucks lead by a particular person because she always gives my dishes away.

Talking with food in the mouth is so disgusting. And as gross as it is when it's actually being formed into a bolus in the mouth, I learned how much more disgusting it can be smeared all over the front teeth not long ago. I don't even know how it was possible, but chewed-up tortilla chips smashed into the front teeth through a wide grin was more than I could handle.

@HeartofGlass -- Holy cow! She defines the term "wicked stepmother"! She actually just throws away your dish when you bring it in??

And since when does being a vegetarian equate to being a pain in the ass? Any good dinner party menu should include vegetarian dishes, even if the hosts don't know for certain a guest is a vegetarian.

I feel for you.

Well, to be fair, she waits until I leave the room ;)

Her technique involves trashing it in the kitchen when I'm in the living room--I noticed she was doing this the first year, I brought something when I saw everyone else's dishes were set out except mine. Went in the kitchen, saw my stuff in the throw-out pile of refuse.

I've also tried bringing things in case it's my cooking that offends her. Over the years she has thrown out a loaf of olive bread (hey, it's Greek and you can always use extra bread at a dinner party, I thought--wrong because bread should not have 'things' in it), heart shaped butter shortbread cookies dipped in dark chocolate (can always use cookies at the end of the meal with coffee, I thought--wrong because butter is 'evil'). Also wine, flowers...eventually I gave up just because I hate seeing perfectly good things put in the trash.

Editmom & chiff0nade--that is so sweet of both of you to say, it's sometimes nice to hear that what doesn't feel normal isn't normal.

And dbcurrie--as someone who also loves dessert (as I assume you do from your tale)--LOL hilarious with that story. I've had the same thing happen to fries as well.