Know that if the potluck supper is small (only a few individuals or families), ask "What can I bring?" And then bring it. (Don't say you're coming with the Caesar salad and get lazy at the last minute and pick up a box of Milanos.)
Find out if the event is a community-wide feast, "bring a dish to share" means enough for twelve servings. That translates to a 9" x 12" (200 mm by 300 mm) Pyrex baking dish, or a salad with 2 heads of lettuce, or 4 baguettes of French bread.
Bring an appropriate serving utensil: It is unpleasant to watch the town ladle travel from chili to the fruit salad. Buy utensils at the Dollar Store and expect to lose them. On the bottom of your dish, put a strip of adhesive tape with your name and your telephone number written on it. Don't bring something in a family heirloom and spend the afternoon worrying about its safety.
Bring whatever hot pads and trivets may be necessary. Don't assume there will be enough -- or any.
Put the food in a real serving dish; that is to say: pottery. Don't bring it in plastic or in the caterer's aluminum (for those of you who won't be preparing your own lasagna). This may be a potluck, it may be a picnic, but it's not a refugee camp.
Remember that presentation is important. A bit of parsley, some sprinkles of paprika or chili powder on top of the deviled eggs or the macaroni salad... gracious, civil, and kind. Why else are we gathering? Don't show off by bringing an offering that creates work for everyone: rushing in with crock pots of soup that require soup spoons and bowls, bringing a dish so delicate it requires immediate and large-area refrigeration. Never bring something that depends on last-minute whipped cream. (If you call whipped cream "topping" or "Cool Whip," go back to square one. That isn't real food.)
Establish a trademark dish that you can make easily, quickly, and well, with preparation time and ingredients that fit your schedule and your budget. A recipe, for example, that depends on Thai fish sauce, available at a market 30 miles (50 km) away, is a stress-builder and an ego trip, to say nothing of its questionable public acceptance.
Bring something recognizable. Don't keep people guessing if it's chicken or tuna. (What is that stuff in the rice?)
Know that unless they are offered, don't leave with anyone else's leftovers. When cooking for a crowd of "unknowns," be very considerate: if you include peanuts or anything that may have may have had a passing acquaintance with peanuts, put a little sign by the dish that says so. (Same for any other common allergy: shellfish, e.g.). The same rule holds true for events where different ethnic traditions may be mixing -- i.e., identify the meat in a dish as pork or beef. If a dish is vegetarian, say so; if you know the difference between vegetarian and vegan, you might make a sign that clarifies your ingredients by the standards of those terms. Potlucks are neighborly, giving events: showing concern for the comfort of others is the whole point.
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