covered-dish supper

[ kuhv-erd dish ]

noun

1. a meal to which guests contribute food, as casseroles.

Example Sentences

If you had a certain kind of upbringing in the South, you likely know the strict hierarchy that dictates who brings the potato salad and cornbread to a covered-dish supper and who is responsible for the paper plates.

From New York Times

Southern Kitchen also muses on the iconic casserole and its lasting appeal, including a quote from a 1970 cookbook that states that "the covered-dish supper is becoming one of the most convenient ways for people to get together and have dinner. It works for large church dinners, for gourmet clubs when the menu is planned way ahead, for neighborhood gatherings, and for buffet suppers in honor of special guests."

From Salon

Since then, immigrants have been arriving like guests at a covered-dish supper, contributing their specialties to the new communal table.

From Time Magazine Archive