When dining at home do you"plate"the food?
 

My parents(or most people) would never think of this.Food goes on the plate with no thought of how it looks.No effort is made to present the food in a way that pleases the eye.
At home,when cooking for yourself or for your family/company do you"plate"your food?

When cooking for myself....or something plain for the family I will not bother. If it is a dish that required more work...or if we have guests, I will plate the food. You will see the garnishes...and the whimsical presentations !
One thing: if you do "plate" your food, it really needs to live up to the presentation in terms of taste.

Not on an everyday basis, but certainly on special occassions and every once in a while when I just feel like making a special dinner. I think small things like that helps keep the romance alive.

If guests or my gf are over, I'll do what I can to make the presentation "nice". Otherwise, no, certainly don't worry about it.

Yes, but none of that wiping down the plate.

Like others, if there is somebody else eating, I'll put some work in the presentation. Otherwise, I can typically be found eating right out of the Calphalon! :D

Every day, no, but many days I do.

Sometimes it may be as simple as molding the rice with a small bowl, others it could be more elaborate.

Tonight is roast chicken and veggies, that won't be plated, but the chicken will be whole so it can be cut at the table.

Interesting you should ask this.
 

We come out of the country/rural tradition of putting food on the table in serving pieces, not plating the food. Each person can take as much or as little as he or she pleases.

When there is too much food to put it on the table, it goes on the side board.

I try to make the food look as desirable as possible, but each person has to fix his or her own plate.

We eat in the dining room every day and use real plates and settings of flatware.

Very old fashioned!

I'm having the same exact dinner tonight ! It must be Sunday !

I rarely, if ever do.

Especially if my wife and I are dining traditional Chinese style, normally all the food is laid out in the center of the table, almost buffet style.

I do all the cooking/serving and we eat most meals at home if we're not traveling.

And, yes, I do plate the food so it looks appetizing and not just like something dished up from the slop bucket.

Takes a few more seconds and a bit of thought, perhaps, but it's not something I've even thought about until I read this thread. :)

This sounds very similar to what I had at home and now try to continue with my GF. That goes both for "Eastern" and "Western" dining.

Breakfast is up to me and I'll fix her a nice plate to eat in bed.

Another 'yes' to presenting meals on a plate, unless the food is cooked or served whole, such as large baked fish or a pizza.

Whenever possible, it's good to do like oldpenny does - hopefully with a nice glass of wine too. ^

I will occasionally do this as I tend to eat slower when food is presented. Makes you want to admire the food instead of wolfing it down.

It dedends. We will usually plate the food, but if I'm feeling good we'll sometimes go family style.

We are sometimes guilty of serving a meal that all the same color...usually not reailized until it gets plated (chicken/corn/saffron rice or pork/mashed potatoes/cauliflower)

I always plate the food. It's the fun part of cooking. Looks nice and less dishes to wash. Though reading oldpenny's post brings back fond memories of holiday dinners past. :)

Yes to the wine!
 

Sometimes it seems that all I do is cook and do dishes, but I think we are healthier for it.

We have a tradition out here in the West of feeding people. Anyone who is here at mealtime is offered a meal. We always eat at the table. I won't even discuss people eating off the breakfast bar in the kitchen.

Also we eat together as much as possible.

Thanksgiving is a cooperative effort. I've added a pumpkin soup receipe I got in Australia to the menu.

Yes it would save dish washing if I plated the food, but the idea doesn't appeal to me at all.

I wish I could say I spent a lot of time on the "presentation" when feeding the family, but it's usually buffet style - pans on the stove, plates in a stack, everyone serves themselves. Fewer dishes that way. I have also been known to eat a sandwich over the sink and encourage my husband to do the same. That being said, my parents always always always sit down formally for each and every meal including breakfast. It must be generational or a retirement thing. It drives me crazy when they start talking about what's for lunch at the breakfast table. I wish I had time to think that far ahead... ;)

It depends on what I or my S/O are making. If she is trying out a new recipe and is experimenting then yes, she plates the food.

If we are having a simple dinner that is easily served from bowls or plates, then we put them on the table and serve ourselves.

I tend to plate for special occasions...but usually, everything is served family style, either on the table or from the counter.

But...I also eat over the sink, out of the pan, or on the couch out of the takeout container. :)

When I'm eating by myself it's about 50/50. When my kids are over, 100% of the time we plate the food.

Having cooked to pay my way through college, I've really gotten into the habit of plating food just about every time I make something, alone or with company. It really does add something to the psychology of eating.

I am so glad that we are not alone.
Our table is always set, and in the dining room.
And with cloth napkins also, glassware, china and silver, yes it is silver.
What do we have it for?
Our china cabinet never gets dusty, it's in use !!

As a bachelor my silver(two sets)sit in a cabinet next to my unused table linens and serving pieces.My "good"crystal(service for 16) just gets grimy in a cabinet.I do use "good"stainless(cuzon) and very nice china every day however.
Since I help entertain for work-I just have lost all drive to do so in my home as well.More often than not I just suggest going out for a meal rather than entertain in my home.My friends used to love coming to my place for meals and often ask when is it going to happen again.

As I live out on the Texas prairie (dusty), I don't keep the table set as such, but as we use it for supper and dinner there aren't many hours of the day when it is out of use.

I always "plate" the food. The presentation, especially for guests, is a key component. It doesn't make the food any more nutritious, and it doesn't make the food taste better, but it makes it look even better, and it's something anyone can do.

You have to put food on the plate so I would think everyone plates the food. Whether they do it consistently on each plate or not and with any flair is another story.

I am really into food presentation. I think it enhances the dining experience.

When I'm at home by myself I don't worry too much about presentation . . . but I do use my favorite plates.

When someone comes over (even 1 person who's been over 100 times), I usually "plate" the food and have fun with interesting ceramics and food presentation techniques.

Yes I always plate the food and always always wipe the drips. Silver plate for everday, sterling for special occasions and cloth napkins always - very green!

We usually eat family style but always at the dining room table and no TV during meal time.

I always plate the food, even by myself, and wipe the plate.

I cannot get my extended family to do this for Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner, but my "chosen" family and I will be eating tasting menu style next Thursday :)

As I tend to pick up eating habits from my moms side of the family, I always use a plate. Otherwise I be like my father eating over the kitchen sink.

I plate every now and then, not necessarily for special occasions nor that I am having company, just randomly.

I try not eating the chicken straight out from the bucket. :D

LOL I thought I was clicking on a "Do you bother to dirty a plate, or eat right out of the saucepan?" thread. Since it's not, I'll keep my mouth shut and move on. :D

Hilarious!

Hmmm, I'll even wipe down my own plate. No drips!

That way when I'm curled up on the sofa with the plate leaning against me there's less of a chance of me staining a shirt.:D

Unless cooking a steak where the amount is dedicated to one steak per person, then most our other cookings do not.

Ditto :)

Since I cook only for myself (roommate does his own thing) I've brought the frying pan over to the table/sofa/desk many a time when I don't feel like getting a plate dirty

I plate for my kids so I know how much they are eating. But they must sit at the table and we use plates, napkins and silverplated. For guests I will use the diningroom table with linens and china/crystal however I tend not to plate and to platter presentations because I want the guest to feel free to eat as much or as little as they want. No point making them feel guilty for not eating their veggies if they don't want them.

On weekends, DDrewgirl does the cooking and I plate the food. I am also in charge of thinking what we are going to eat which is based heavily on what wine I want to drink for the night.

On weeknights, Ddrewgirl still does the cooking and we eat in front of the tv. She has so many series she wants to watch.

AK