How do you serve dinner

taurusgb

Do you put the food on everyone's plate in the kitchen or serve it in bowls at the table?

I used to do the former, but then realised that sometimes I was throwing away food as some days people are hungrier than others, or they don't always like everything on the menu.

What I do now is to put everything in bowls on the table, then I serve each person what they want (we do have a rule though that the kids can't just say 'no thanks' to everything, though I do believe it's ok for everyone to have their individual idiosyncracies (sp?) )..Served this way, very little food goes in the bin, and there are often little bits of left overs that can be refridgerated and used up in some other dish. I still do the serving though - when I tried letting them help themselves one son would have half the available potatoes and my daughter would have cleared the meat plate!

Ronankfan

I normally serve up in the kitchen only do the bowls thing on a sunday or special occasion!!!!!! I try and save as much of the left over food as possible to save on wastage.

goldentouch

Since I don't do the dishes, I like to serve at the table. It's nice... feels like the simpsons sometimes though :rotfl:

Sometimes we eat on our laps though so I serve it :eek:

That's nice too

Queenie

Dish up on plates for family everyday meals - I have a teeny tiny kitchen and enough to content with when it comes to cooking equipment w/out adding to the burden with serving dishes too :laugh:

Mind you, there is another reason - by dishing up onto the plates, gives me far more control over portion size *and* I get to choose the level of leftovers to fit in with my menu planned leftovers

The table is always laid though and we don't eat on laps in front of the TV.

High Days and Holidays is another matter entirely, then, it's best linens, serving dishes, candles, the works.

Wendrie

It depends on what it is - but usually we eat at the table all together with almost all the dishes/bowls on the table. Although I will often bring something to the table, dish it up and then remove it to make more room. If I need to have leftovers - they get taken out in the kitchen before dinner <G>

bizzy_lizzie

dishes on the table if we are all together & plated up if we are spread over a longer period.
Dishes on the table definately makes for a superior class of leftovers as you dont have to plate scrape to get them ( and dont think i dont, i definately do)
but having a couple of teenage boys there isnt usually anything left anyway.

comping_cat

I serve up in the kitchen, then we either sit at the tablke or on our laps. Sometimes i serve in seperate bowls, but not very often, normally just special occasions. I tend to know how much/what my children will eat, so we dont have much wastage, and in fact, i find if i let them help themselves, their (as my nan would say) 'eyes are bigger than their bellies'!!! So we have more waste that way!!!!

CharleneUK

I dish out in the kitchen but ask everyone how hungry they are first.

Very hungry, hungry, not very hungry.

Newbie06

Middle Class / Upper Class use bowss at the table, Working class plate it up!!!!

I'm the latter, but live with a middle - amazing the differences we encounter in everyday routines!!

Queenie

Al_Mac wrote:

At the table,..... chopped up raw carrot, cherry toms in bowls ...

:j That's a "picky-tea" in our house :laugh: Saturday night was picky-tea night, but we don't do that every week anymore.

catowen - oooh, we all had "eyes bigger than our bellies" when we were kids too :rotfl: That one didn't bother me - it was my Dad threatening he'd have our "guts for garters" that instilled fear into my 5yo heart :eek: Had no idea what garters were but I just knew having my guts made into them wouldn't be painfree Or when he'd tell one of my brother's to shut his K-coal ( ) took me years to work out a K-coal was cake-hole and a daft way to tell him to stop talking Anyone else get told to let their "meat stop your mouth"?

CharleneUK - :rotfl: I like that Three choices = spoilt for choice :laugh: (I'm off to your house for tea)

GIRLPOWER_2

I mainly use serving dishes and we all sit together at the table..... find it loads easier... I get the children to set the table.. I cook and place the serving dishes on it....and the children clear to the worktops in the kitchen after. Then I save what I can and load the dish washer...

However tonight I had done steak in redwine in the SC and only had enough for a piece each so I served the steak onto plates tipped the sauce from it into the gravy boat and just served the veg in dishes.