How are meals served at your house?

[lovetoscrap]

For us it is mainly family style with everything left in the pots and put on the table. I don't need more dishes to wash!

Spaghetti is the only thing that we serve in the kitchen, and usually DH or I fix the plates for everyone. And of course for special occasions or with company I put food in nice serving bowls/platters.

 

[LuvOrlando]

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[Teresa Pitman]

When my kids were really young, I pre-plated their meals and brought them to the table for them.

As they got a bit older, I would transfer the food to serving dishes to put on the table and let them serve themselves there. (I didn't trust them to carry their plates full of food from the kitchen to the table without dropping them!)

Now they are grown, we all serve ourselves from the cooking pots and dishes and take our plates back to the table. Honestly, there wouldn't be room for all the serving dishes on the table these days anyway.

Teresa

 

[tonilea]

I pre-plate the meals, leaving the pots in the kitchen. I started doing it because I tend to pick at the leftovers or help myself to a second helping I don't need.

 

[NAB]

We actually do both. Family style and pre plate.

I hate leftovers so make only what we usually can eat, then it gets giving out accordingly. This helps to so that know one over eats. When I was young, well actually my mom still does this, put out bowls, then I tended to eat more just because I could.

Now if I am making a Sunday dinner type it is put in serving bowls and everyone helps themselves.

 

[powellrj]

I pre-plate in the kitchen and then if you want more, you can help yourselves in the kitchen. Its just easier because of the set-up of the house. The kitchen is too small to eat in, its a galley kitchen and I don't have a dishwasher and am too lazy to wash all of the extra dishes if I use serving dishes!

 

[wall*e2008]

We do a combination of the first and second choices, depending on what is being served.

 

[ksjayhawks]

We do a mix of family style in serving dishes and preplated--depends on what is being served.

 

[luvsJack]

We have somehow gotten out of the habit of sitting down at the table together to eat. When my son's were both living at home and dh worked in construction, we did family style at the table. Now that one lives away, one is in and out at weird times and dh is away from home during the week--its usually just dd and me. We have taken to eating at different times-I eat early and she eats later after her evening activities.

I just told her that one of the things I want to change this summer is the way we eat meals. I want to go back to eating together, even on nights its just me and her. But I will probably leave the food in the kitchen and pre-plate.

 

[disykat]

I voted family style with food left in cooking pans, but I do put some things in serving dishes. It depends what it is and how the pot or pan looks.

When the kids were little, I plated in the kitchen because it was easier and I wanted control of what was on their plates. When they got to a certain age I thought it was important for them to start gauging their own servings. Since they were also of the age to carry things to and from the table and take turns helping with cleanup, it wasn't any more work.

 

[DMickey28]

I pre-plate. My parents still pre-plate. If it's company I will pre-plate certain items and the rest is on the table in serving dishes. For BBQ (ribs etc) I do serving dishes.

I could never just plop the pot of rice/potatoes/veggies on the table. Just not my thing!

 

[ms.yt]

I pre-plate in the kitchen and then if you want more, you can help yourselves in the kitchen.

That's what I usually do, too. Growing up, my mom served stuff family style in the pots & pans. She never preplated, but for some reason, I started doing that a few years ago.

 

[NMAmy]

I was just thinking about this after a stay with my BIL & SIL. SIL is an excellent cook but it drives me insane that she pre-plates everyone's food. She gives much bigger servings than I normally eat and she gets offended if everyone doesn't clear their plate. God help you if you ask for salt or pepper. Plus, if there is something that I just don't really care for, I'd love the option of taking a small portion.

At our house, food is served family style out of serving dishes or, if it's a really big crowd, then it's buffet style. I also don't care if you season your food nor do I check to make sure that you ate some of everything. It just seems so controlling to me to pre-plate food for guests.

 

[HSMndLKfan92]

It seriously depends on the day of the week.

 

[monkey68]

With us, it depends. We don't have a dining room, so we eat in the kitchen. Usually, the meat is pre-plated because there is no room to put it on the table, with the rest of it sitting on top of the stove. Then the sides, salads, etc. are put on the table and everyone helps themselves. Usually, my parents tend to by stuff ready made from the place around the corner, so we just leave it in that, unless there's company. Or if my grandma is over, we put it in regular bowls or pots because my grandma will flip if something is not homemade. She thinks it costs less, when in reality, it costs the same to buy it premade from this place instead of buying all the ingredients to make it yourself. But that's our little secret.

 

[shellybaxter]

Its just dh and I. I chose "the food is in the kitchen and we just come and get it" because sometimes we don't even eat the same things. However, if we have company (even if its just our 9 year old niece) we serve family style out of serving dishes. I hate putting cooking pots on the table