The origin of the potluck is not the Native American custom of potlatch, where the host throws a huge ceremonial dinner and sometimes ends up giving most of his possessions away to his guests. The potluck actually has its roots in the Middle Ages. People wanted to make use of every last leftover scrap, so they would often throw everything together in a pot and keep it warm, so if anyone came over at the last minute, they had something to offer their guests.
As far as I know, no scraps were involved in last night's dinner. But I'm sure as hell looking forward to eating the leftovers from our meal -- especially the decadent chocolate peanut butter cupcake that Brian brought from the newly opened Bristol Farms in Union Square.
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