How about a hot dip in a casserole dish? Not terribly difficult to carry, easy to reheat in the microwave.
My other thought is chicken satay. You could just bag the skewers of chicken and put the dipping sauce in a mason jar for travel. Both can be reheated in a microwave.

I'm bringing the Kalamata Olive Potato Salad to our office pot luck. No heating and only minimal cooling required.

I made vegetable potstickers for our potluck today! They can be served at room temperature and toted around in a plastic container. Also, fruit salads and regular salads are always appreciated!

Forgo the hot dish as others have noted! I'm a big fan of bean and grain salads--so often there's too much rich food, and so these will probably be welcome. Throw in enough red and green bell pepper or green onions and it will look seasonal too :)

I'm in with the salad idea.

Plus if there's a grocery store near you work you can skip all the lugging and just grab what you need there!

I always love a relish tray - fresh vegies - carrots, radishes, jicama, celery, snow peas, etc and lots of great olives. You don't have to worry about keeping it hot and can be carried to the party in zips and put together on the spot on a tray.

Some sort of homemade dip (be it for veggies or chips) is always good too. Light to carry and can be tossed into a reusable grocery bag to carry.

For public transit, I like to bring something that is happy in a shopping bag. How about calzones or empanadas? You can wrap them, ziplock them, and toss them into a sack.

my friend maria did homemade chips in ghost shapes for a halloween party. you could probably make some xmas shaped ones, or one that looks like your company logo or something

satsumas! just buy a couple crates and put them in a pretty bowl. simple,seasonal and delicious.

mini sandwiches! I make homemade pimento cheese then buy the prepackaged hawaiian rolls (the pull apart ones), remove the bread from the package, slice the entire thing making one big top and one big bottom, spread the pimento cheese on it, put the top back on, put it back in the white form then cut it into small sandwiches along the grooves in the bread. I use pimento cheese but the lady who told me about this idea years ago always made ham sandwiches. You could obviously use this technique for any sandwiches. I bring pimento cheese because although it's eaten a lot in the south where I'm from, most people in Chicago don't know about it so it's a treat for them. The best thing is that when you're done building it you just put it back in the same bag and it's light and easy to carry on the train etc.

For a big group, I like to take either jalapeno-cream cheese corn (easily reheated in a microwave) or pasta salad (made with orzo, golden raisins, and a vinaigrette as opposed to mayo).

Other simple ideas: Cheese plates, picnic salads (potato, macaroni...), veggie plates, homemade hummus with pita chips, pimento cheese stuffed tomatoes, old fashioned sausage balls, finger sandwiches...

Velveeta and rotel dip also goes over well in my office and is ridiculously simple to make. Nuke velveeta and rotel (chopped tomatoes & chilis) in a microwave safe bowl and stir every 30 seconds or so until totally melted.

I would nix the oranges idea. They're too unwieldy to peel and eat when you're filling up a plate with food.

Rachael Ray has a great recipe for late night bacon that would work at a potluck. Don't worry if you don't have paper towels - I didn't, and used socks instead. It worked!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/late-night-bacon-recipe/index.html

Google the recipe for Rutherford Grill Wild Rice Salad. It's easy to prepare a day in advance, serves well at room temp and is easy to transport. I generally cheat and use a couple bags of Trader Joe's precooked wild rice.

I made sesame peanut noodles for my office potluck today, which I think worked well. It could be served warm or cold, plus it's a vegan dish, yet it doesn't appear to be one. We have a few vegetarians and vegans in the group, so no one was deprived.

I'm making cheddar-chive gougeres (see David Lebovitz's recipe)! They are super simple and can be served at room temp or slightly warm. Never fails to impress :)

A plate of raw fruit or veggies is always necessary at a potluck...

I love making this roasted eggplant and tomato dish: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Herb-Roasted-Eggplant-with-Tomatoes-and-Feta-240367

It's delicious, vegetarian, and you can pop it in the microwave to reheat.

Homemade biscuits, served with either a few jars of different jams and preserves (and/or butter, honey, etc), or if you wanted it to be more of a main dish, you could do a small spiral cut ham with the biscuits (Trader Joe's has a good reasonably priced one that can be served cold).

Sausage cheese balls.

I'll bringing the Veganomicon's Quinoa with Black Beans and Mango. It's simple to make, it can sit all day, it's green and red, it's vegan friendly, and it's actually really tasty (and I'm not even a vegan). It might be hard to find mangoes at this time, but you could sub something else sweet. (Just go easy on the scallions, those'll stay with you all day.)

http://showmevegan.blogspot.com/2010/05/veganomicons-quinoa-salad-with-black.html

How about a Napa Cabbage Salad. This is always a big hit in my office. It can be prepared ahead of time and put together at the last minute. You can find a recipe on google. One is on http://allrecipes.com/napa-cabbage-salad/

One of my favs, a cheese tray (not the cubed cheddar and swiss thing). Maybe a round of brie and/or some nice goat cheese on a tray with grapes, pecans or walnuts, a jar of fig jam, those nice little mini toasts and some interesting crackers.

I bought a handy glass 9x12" casserole with lid and thermal zip around carry case with handles at Target (Pyrex or Corning) a few years ago and it's perfect for transporting hot dishes. This could open up many options for your menu choices.

I've never made it, but there is a ramen noodle salad that people always go nuts over at parties. Just google ramen noodle salad. It's made with the dry noodles. You don't even cook them. They sit overnight in the dressing and plump up. No heating needed.

I took Apple Harvest Salad to two office potlucks this week - I took everything either in it's original packaging or chopped up and placed in a ziplock - easy, delicious and goes with a variety of meat dishes along with suiting the vegetarians (me) just fine!
The recipe is at:
http://www.mccormickgourmet.com/Recipes/Salads/Apple-Harvest-Salad.aspx

One of those coolers that is about 6-pack size could help and be easy to darry in. Fill it with those mini sandwiches someone mentioned. Also ham biscuits, sandwichesa staple at Southern parties. You could make up lots of different combinations for small sandwiches and make quite a splashy assortment.

Or how about sushi?

I'd go with the cheese straws/gougères, for convenience's sake -- they're light and compact to carry and everyone loves them. Otherwise, go with a salad, if only to balance out what will likely be a heavy meal.

So Michelle, you got a lot of feed back here. Please let us know what you'll be contributing to your potluck.

I'm a huge fan of bringing quinoa salads... my go-to recipe is from Gourmet... rated 4 forks! The recipe calls for a bit of butter but if you make it with only oil it's vegan and of course, gluten-free. I often add an avocado. The recipe calls for 1c dry quinoa which makes about 3c cooked so you can easily double it for your party. I don't mess with the fancy prep in the recipe and instead go with the kitchn's own method. Yum! Oh, and it tastes better when it's not cold so don't worry about finding fridge space.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Black-Bean-and-Tomato-Quinoa-238939

http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/tips-techniques/how-to-cook-quinoa-063344

Tabbouleh! I've made Ina Garten's recipe twice this fall, and it has been met with popularity.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/tabbouleh-recipe/index.html

Lemon adds acid, bulghur wheat makes it substantial, tomato/cucumber add bite, and all the herbs combined make it interesting. Plus it's really easy to make in large quantities, minimal steps. I did make some adjustments, as described here (like less salt):

http://www.winnercelebrationparty.com/home/post/43307/#post

I completely disagree with the salad/dip contingent. Potlucks are going seriously downhill (and there is an article in today's New York Times on this very serious subject!!!) due to lazy cold or store bought food.

Instead, make Swedish Meatballs! Any standard cookbook can yield an easily doubled recipe. Put the finished meatballs in a large ziploc bag for transport, take the dish on the side. Reassemble for the microwave, or you could prob. even microwave in the bag (I'm not a microwaver so I am not sure...) then dump into the dish. Everyone will love you for it. You can even make them from turkey.

What about baking some bread? Easy to transport, delicious and will go with everything else already there

Any ideas for coworkers who are mostly conservative, male, and significantly older? I normally cook simple dishes with vegetables, legumes, and bold flavors, but that never goes over very well with my work crowd.(on the other hand, the person who wraps strips of bacon around pieces of hot dog always recieves accolades, so that gives you some idea of what they like).

Seconding the idea of bread. Cheeseburger dip might go over well, and works well with it. Maybe aim for super bowl type food?

Meatballs make people smile. You can make 60 of them quickly, and they are easy to fry up, tote, and reheat.

You could skip the red sauce. Opt for something like these mini lamb meatballs with a cilantro-mint chutney.
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/mini-lamb-meatballs-50400000109236/

How about this? http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/RecipePage.aspx?recipeid=115371

Almost like Nicoise salad but without the tuna. Great served cold or room temp. Easy to make and carry.

To engineergirl -- I know what you're talking about! My husband is an engineer and his co-workers sound just ike yours. I have a whole set of recipes just for his office potlucks. The sausage cheese meatball recipe on the back of Jimmy Dean packages seems to be their all-time favorite.

thank you sooooo much for all of your input!! It's a pretty young crowd with some foodies as well as vegans so I think I'm going to go with the rice salad!! and even before i asked this question i was thinking of baking some rolls or something, so I might do that too. When if not during the holidays, right?

Thank you all soo much for your input!

Michelle

I like Paula Deen's bacon bread sticks. Super easy, transport well, and are good at room temperature. Get sesame bread sticks - I usually end up with small ones - wrap each with bacon (I use center cut and usually use half a slice). Bake @ 350 for 30 minutes. When hot, dredge in grated Parmesan cheese. These are a hit with men, BTW. One package of bacon cut in half will cover about 2 packages of bread sticks. You can make as many as needed.

I wish I would have seen this before committing to our potluck! So many good ideas.

We have very tight competition for types of food, being able to bring desserts is impossible!

I am making a baked white bean recipe:

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/baked_beans_in_tomato_sauce/

If you are looking for a rice dish, I just posted a wild rice with cranberry and fennel seed recipe. If you do try it, tell me what you think!

cold lavas/tortillas - fill them with some ham/fish/hummus, some fresh salad + some sauce (mayonaise or other) and cut them it about 3 cm pieces. yummy..

What about homemade bruschetta and crostini? Easy to make, pretty easy to transport with a Tupperware, and doesn't need to be heated.