How do you serve your meals

[LuvOrlando]

For some bizarre reason my Mom had a thing against paper napkins! Really REALLY AGAINST Them! When we were kids she pass around a towel! YUK!

ps MOM (who is near 80) STILL can understand why one would need a napkin!!!

This is just too funny. Especially since I have something against fabric napkins. When I'm at a restaurant with fabric napkins I always ask for paper too if they have them or resort to the ones under my beverage for dabbing my lips. Fabric just feels all wrong... like wiping my lips on the tablecloth.

Thanks for making me laugh at myself DisUnc, its good for the soul.

 

[DaisyD]

What is the point in running extra loads in the dishwasher for all those serving dishes? Seems like a waste to me.

We bring the pots to the table and serve out of them if we can. Sometimes we might transfer something toa regular dinner plate that fits easily in the dishwasher. Serving bowls take up too much room in the dishwasher so we rarely use those, unless we have company.

If it's just DH and I, which is most nights, we get our food at the stove and sit in the family room =)

All of our serving dishes and plates fit in the dishwasher at the same time. I wash my pots by hand as they are not supposed to cleaned in a D/W.

 

[KimR]

Your MIL sounds like mine. We had a cookout one evening and my MIL was helping me prepare. She was absolutely shocked that I put the ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise out on the counter in the original containers. She insisted that it looked 'ugly' and the condiments needed to be transferred to serving bowls. This was for a COOKOUT!!! But then again, this is the woman who transfers her liquid margarine to a crystal decanter that noone ever uses because it won't come out! But hey, it looks nice!

 

[Nancy]

I voted other cause it varies from day to day and depends on what kind of mood I'm in.

If I decide to make a big meal with all the fixings I will put everything into servings bowls and put them on the table. 2 nights ago we had hot dogs and hamburgers with a salad: those were left in the kitchen and everyone served themselves and plopped their butts in the living room. Most nights I like to eat around the table but I work a lot of later nights and when I'm not home I know the kids just put the pots and pans on the table.

Everyone serves themself since they are all old enough to do so.
Whatever works and as long as they eat who cares where and how things are served up.

 

[sweet angel]

I transfer everything from the pots and baking dishes to serving bowls and plates. I then put all the bowls on the dinner table and we all serve ourselve. I can't bring myself to serve out of a pot. My mom does what I do and she too would be think it strange if we ate out of pots. When I bake a chicken I cut it off the bone and place it on a plate for everyone to serve themselves too.

This is what I do, too. I've never seen anyone serve from pots or put pots on the table. I don't think I'd like it if my plate was prepared for me.

 

[BeNJeNWaFFLe]

Oh wow, it's good to see that we aren't so weird! No serving bowls here. It's usually a "Dinners ready, come serve yourself" sorta thing. Pots are on the counter or stove, grab a plate and get it yourself.

If we have grilled meat, we will slice it up and put it on a dinner plate to pass around the table. Same with rolls. Sometimes if we make enough of something for a few nights (like mashed potatos), we will put tonights serving into a bowl and pass it around because otherwise the men-folk like to take way more than their fare share. But other than that, we are in the "why create more of a mess to clean up later" crowd.

 

[Erin1700]

We do the pots still on the stove thing too. We make up DD's plate and DH and I do whatever is easier. With a newborn whoever cooked fixes the others plate. Now my mom and dad use serving bowls every meal, that is how I was raised but this works for us. Oh, and we watch TV too!

 

[Tamarap]

Initially I serve my family from the pots on the stove. If they want seconds, then they serve themselves.

 

[Tazicket]

It's just DH and I, but we usually dish it up from the pots sitting on the stove...why get extra dishes dirty?

 

[mrsltg]

Depends on the night - sometime I leave everything in its cooking container and put the food onto each individual plate (it's really not sporting to leave it all on the island and have everyone help themselves as the little one can't even see over the island yet... ), sometimes DH serves himself and the girls and I just get my own, and sometimes I put everything into serving dishes and set it out on the dining room table.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I usually serve entrees hot from the stove & put sides + the rest of the stuff out on the table in serving dishes for seconds.

We don't do TV or radio during meals. We eat after the kids finished their homework & DH walks in from work. At that point we all can use a little down time. Most dinner conversation is about goofy things that happened during the day to all of us. If a problem has come up we all help solve it & if a reward was given or a suprise happened we all give congrats. Dinner is open mike time in my house. If someone has been out late a mid-day meal like Tombstone is given after school and a full dinner that can sit like Chicken Soup happens later.

After dinner is a scatter of sports, TV or playtime.

 

[MzDiz]

We are very much a "why make more dishes?" kind of household. I leave the pots and pans on the stove and make up plates for everyone from there. That's mostly to make sure everyone gets their fair share if I'm making just enough. If I make an industrial sized vat of chili or soup, they're on their own. I leave out bowls and crackers and get out of their way.
On holidays, which are usually at my house, we have serving bowls and break out the fancy plates and silver. For every day meals, we're slobs.

How do the serving bowl folks do soup? Soup tureen? Just thinking about cleaning my soup tureen gives me the heebie-jeebies.

 

[stinkerbelle's mom]

I pretty much do the same as you. I might serve the kids atleast the first time since its all hot, but they are big enough to help themselves especially for 2nds.

 

[C.Ann]

Apparently - since I do not use sponges in my kitchen - my kitchen is never clean. (I use paper towels and fantastic, windex etc) Hey lady - my kitchen isn't clean because I have 3 kids and I hate cleaning - it has nothing to do with my lack of sponge use

-------------------------------------

Your kitchen is actually cleaner than hers if you DON'T use sponges.. Ever see those tests done on kitchen sponges? All the bacteria that remains on them even after you have rinsed them out?

Paper towels are definitely the way to go!

 

[helenabear]

Regular meals I serve the family straight from the pot. Seconds would be self serve from the stove. Formal meals, however, we transfer to dishes and the family serves itself (or we help those who need to be served)

 

[mickeyboat]

We serve regular meals straight from the pot. I voted that everyone serves themselves - and that means me, DH and FIL. We serve the kids, but they will probably serve themselves when they get old enough to do it. We eat in the kitchen, at the island most of the time, and in the dining room for special occasions.

Denae

 

[OKWMom]

I put everything in matching serving bowls, which we then serve family style onto my good china, making sure to wipe our mouths on the linen napkins (which I wash, iron, and starch daily along with the tablecloth). Every night.

And if you believe this, I have a bridge I’m looking to sell.

In my house, most nights, it is more grab it and growl than Emily Post.

 

[sweet angel]

My serving bowls/plates don't necessarily match.

I've never served soup or chili as a meal -- my son doesn't eat either, so no point in that. If I want soup, I'll make a bowl.

I'd have thought serving bowls would be the majority, not the minority. Apparently, I'm the weird one!

Dirtying more dishes isn't an issue since my son clears the table and loads everything into the dishwasher -- and then unloads the dishwasher when it's done.

If I had to handwash, it would be microwave meals and paper plates all the way.

 

[Nancyg56]

For some bizarre reason my Mom had a thing against paper napkins! Really REALLY AGAINST Them! When we were kids she pass around a towel! YUK!

ps MOM (who is near 80) STILL can understand why one would need a napkin!!!

I thought twice about admitting it but figured that if it was the worst thing we did at the table as kids I would be okay here.
Your Mom and mine would have understood each other, I think .

 

[sue1013]

I always put the food in serving bowls put them on the table and everyone serves themselves. Still do that even though its just DH and I mostly. The only person I ever saw put pots on the table was my MIL. I've never thought about the extra dishes the dishwasher takes care of them fine. When I was a kid we never ate out of pots either.