I keep finding variants of beef potato/barley stew with dumplings - so sounds like a Shabbat. My experience here is not to bring anything edible to a Shabbat unless explicitly asked to. The book, or other small token, approach is what I would take if invited to Shabbat.
Quote: There is nothing lean, light or subtle about the traditional Jewish dishes of Central and Eastern Europe and a dish such as cholent (slowly cooked beef stew that is loaded with beans, potatoes, and, if you're truly lucky, kishke) hits you on the head, make its way to the stomach with a thump and then sits heavily in the intestines for several hours. Loaded with incredible amounts of fat and cholesterol, this is a dish that ignores nearly all of the rules of what we have come to think of as refined cuisine. Despite these seeming faults, well prepared cholent can be a delight beyond comparison. Oh yes, for the uninitiated, kishke (which Americans euphemistically call "stuffed derma") is made by stuffing beef intestines with bread crumbs, seasonings and chicken fat). I am not quite sure why, but the best cholent in the country always seems to be found in Tel Aviv.
I definitely would avoid bringing a dessert into the house unless/until you know exactly the degree of kosher your hosts keep.
I recently went to an event at a friend's home, where people keeping different degrees of kosher attended. Quite a few brought food, but wouldn't eat anything because they didn't trust what anyone else had brought, and they didn't seem to be sure that the hostess's kitchen was truly kosher (she eventually brought out the paper plates, and a few of them nibbled on what they, themselves, had brought) .
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