I do plate the food for dinner, but most of the time it's no great chore, being just for Sweet Baboo and me. No vertical stacking, though, and I don't like seeing it on TV either. So last millenium.

Now, for a bigger gathering, like a Thanksgiving dinner, I would put the dishes on the table or a side buffet and let everyone serve him or herself.

And kids? Or should I say, stepkids, brought up to be picky eaters, so obviously, not by me. It's just wasting food to give them platefuls of stuff they're not going to eat. Then we just pass the bowls.

I enjoy plating the food because I think, you put all that time and love into cooking for a meal, and get so much satisfaction out of it turning out well, isn't it quitting early to just drop the big spoon and say "come and get it"? To be able to serve an attractively plated meal is the culmination of the pleasure of cooking.

mrs. gleff is a professionally trained chef, and used to work in some of the best restaurants in the mid-Atlantic. She plates the food. I try to plate the food. I get points for effort.