how do you eat dinner?

[ritaxis]

I've been reading old cookbooks again. Only these are the cookbooks that weren't particularly old when I came into contact with them the first time. They have become really old in the time that I have become middle-aged.

Anyway. Let's say you're planning a nice dinner with some friends. You're not going to imitate some nice dinner that you've read about, you're going to make the nicest dinner you can recognize as a familiar nice dinner. Familiarity is key. Your very own nice dinner, the way you would do it. Maybe the way it has always been done in your family, or maybe the way you have come to do it as an adult. What shape does it have?

-Do you lay out all the food for people to choose from and then find a congenial place to sit?
-Do you have a big table, and the food there when people sit down?
-Do you bring food in when people have sat down?
-Do you serve from the head of the table?
-Do you pass the food around?
-Does all the food come in at the same time?
-Does the food come in courses?
-If you do courses, what kind of food comes first? second? et cetera?

I have a reason for asking this, but I will not reveal it until/unless I get at least four responses. You don't have to answer every question. One of these questions is the one that set off this inquiry, but I won't say which it is.

On a related front -- that pastel de tres leches con rompompe y moras? (I used raspberries instead of strawberries because mora is almost roma turned backwards) -- it has a really weird method, where you beat whole eggs and sugar over hot water and you get them tripled in volume! who'd a thunk it? -- and then you beat in a little flour and some melted butter, which separates out during the baking, giving you a greenish rubbery greasy layer at the bottom which you peel off and discard, and a heavenly fluffy eggy part at the top which you dubiously soak in the rompope syrup you finally made out of Irish cream liqueur because there doesn't actually seem to be a bottled rompope liqueur in the real world (in the real world, rompope is a thing you make, like eggnogg), and then it comes out okay. Next time I'll leave the butter out and see what I get.

There's a reason I don't make dessert very often, and it's not because I don't have a sweet tooth.

Comments

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

In my parents' house, the food was on the table when the company sat down (or arrived as we sat down). It was reached or passed, not served formally.

There were exceptions if the group was big enough -- for Thanksgiving, for example, when there were often a dozen people total (the family was 4), most of the food was put on the buffet, and people went there and served themselves. It was clear to me that this was an adaptation to the space issues rather than a higher level of formality for the guests.

In both cases everything except dessert was on the table (or buffet) to start with, the meal wasn't otherwise divided into courses.

Serving food

[dragonet2.livejournal.com]

My mom always had it on the table and we sat down to eat, though she spent (and still spends) a lot of time getting up and down, going "oh you need____" or "I forgot _____".

The biggest get-together we had, a family reunion, we did the buffet thing because there was no place we could all sit down together at a table.

When I have people over, I serve it out buffet style in the kitchen, then we retire to the living room. Usually to yell at the football game on the TV.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

I always serve family style -- food on the table when folks come to sit and passed or reached.

We did that, too, when I was growing up, but I made a crab cocktail appetizer, ready on the plates when folks came in.

Well, it depends

[hrj.livejournal.com]

My answers to these questions vary considerably for various times in my life depending on whether I actually own a dining room table at that point. But assuming a table large enough to seat people at, and assuming a "nice" dinner, then:

Do you lay out all the food for people to choose from and then find a congenial place to sit?

For a party, yes, but for a dinner the food would be on the table.

Do you have a big table, and the food there when people sit down?

See above note. When I haven't owned (or had access to) an actual dining table, I've usually had at least a fold-out table (for cutting fabric) that could sub in a pinch. A holiday dinner, for example, would always be at a table. Normally, the food is on the table when people sit down (or is being placed there as people sit down).

Do you bring food in when people have sat down?

No, because I'm a host, not a waitress.

Do you serve from the head of the table?

Not typically, although things like carved meat generally stay in place with the closest person doing the serving.

Do you pass the food around?

Yes.

Does all the food come in at the same time?

Except for dessert.

Does the food come in courses?

"Main" and "dessert". I think once I had soup to start and then brought on the main, but I was being deliberately gourmet-ish.

If you do courses, what kind of food comes first? second? et cetera?

See above. Since recently acquiring a dining table, I've been trying to start a regular habit of having people over for dinner with a slightly more formal feel than just "sit and eat". But that's sort of just for fun, not because I feel it's necessary.

It varies

[momomom.livejournal.com]

-Do you lay out all the food for people to choose from and then find a congenial place to sit?

frequently yes, and this depends on the size of the group, my formal vs. informal intentions and what I'm serving. Also we may be eating in a formal table way but each serve theirselves in the kitchen then sit down or we make be watching TV and eating on trays.

-Do you have a big table, and the food there when people sit down?

Yes, sometimes. Table fits 8 comfortabley.

-Do you bring food in when people have sat down?

Usually if it is pasta we seat people then bring the dishes of pasta in one at a time from the kitchen.

-Do you serve from the head of the table?

No, not even turkey. It is sliced and on a platter and passed around with the starting point being rather random.

-Do you pass the food around?

Yes, if it is on the table.

-Does all the food come in at the same time?

Depends, pasta no...salad is on the table and pasta served from the kitchen. Other foods yes.

-Does the food come in courses?

very very rare unless you count desert. Rare soup serving before rest of food too.

-If you do courses, what kind of food comes first? second? et cetera?

as above.

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

a nice dinner with friends, now, means we go out to eat. :) if we hosted anything at home, it'd have to be buffet style because we don't have a large table. nor is this likely to change, since there will be even less room on the boat. we don't really have a tradition of "familiar" dinners; the partner with whom i live and i don't even have sit-down dinners among ourselves, and we don't host dinners at home because we're not huge on cooking. and when we go out, we frequent more buffet style restaurants than others.

back when we lived in ontario and actually hosted usenet newsgroup get-togethers and the like, we had a large table, but would still rather do food buffet style -- different people would cook their own specialities, and we'd coordinate sufficiently so there would be something for everyone, and allergies accomodated. i am not particularly in favour of formal dinners with one set of food for all.

so that would be:
-Do you lay out all the food for people to choose from and then find a congenial place to sit?

when i grew up, food was there when people sat down to eat (i know because i had to get it there on time, *wry grin*). that would be:
-Do you have a big table, and the food there when people sit down?

also back then:
-Do you serve from the head of the table?
larger meal items, such as a goose or ham, yes.

-Do you pass the food around?
side dishes, or smaller meat items like pork chops.

-Does all the food come in at the same time?
back then, no, in courses. now with the buffet, yes.

-Does the food come in courses?
then, yes. now, no.

-If you do courses, what kind of food comes first? second? et cetera?
1. soup, 2. main course (meat or fish, side dishes incl. salad), 3. dessert (and coffee), rarely 4. alcohol, cheese & fruit

i'm more about the congenial atmosphere and good conversation than about the food, though i like to eat. :) but "good food" is good enough; it needn't be fancy (and i really rather it not be the focus).

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

OK, I have no idea how typical this is for the UK at large. As a family, we're not really into entertaining, but as the way I'd do it seems to be rather different from the replies you've already received, I thought I'd comment:

-Do you lay out all the food for people to choose from and then find a congenial place to sit?

If it was a cold buffet, then yes, this is what I'd do. This would be typical way of handling a hypothetical Christmas evening family gathering on a day when everyone's already had a big lunch. Or for occasions like after a funeral service. Or at a party where light snacks are being served.

-Do you have a big table, and the food there when people sit down?

Eek, no! It would get cold. (Insert grumble here about eating breakfast at WisCon from cold plates.)

-Do you bring food in when people have sat down?

Yes. Ideally I would have a separate kitchen and dining room. I can sort of achieve that by seating people in the conservatory, so lets pretend that's what I'm doing. So I would call people in and let them seat themselves, then bring in the food.

-Do you serve from the head of the table?

No. I would plate up the meat/vegetarian equivalent in the kitchen. Each person would receive their portion and the vegetables and accompanying sauces etc. would be brought to the table in dishes for people to help themselves.

-Do you pass the food around?

Not quite sure what you mean. We would ask people to pass the items we couldn't reach, but there would be no organised way of passing stuff from one to another.

-Does all the food come in at the same time?

Not if it's a full dinner. Each course is brought in when required.

-Does the food come in courses?

Yes. The starter would be served first. When that's been eaten and cleared, the main course would be served, then when that's been cleared, the dessert.

-If you do courses, what kind of food comes first? second? et cetera?

I would do courses for this hypothetical family gathering. The starter (a soup, tiny salady thing, melon or fruit juice) would be served and eaten first, then the main course (meat/meat equivalent and veggies), then the desert (or pudding), which would be pie or pudding or fruit salad or whatever. Possibly cheese and biscuits as a final course to finish.

That, of course, assumes a traditional British type of "meat and two veg" meal. If eating Indian or Chinese food, then the people would be seated and each given a plate, then all the different dishes would be placed on the table for everyone to help themselves.

And now I'm curious as to your reason for asking. *g*