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July 2008
Do you serve meals family-style?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On our recent vacation, my husband and I had a cookout with some friends with teenage children. When the food was ready my friend, Andy, offered his kids the option of plating the food for them or serving it family-style. Both kids enthusiastically voted for plating.
I was really surprised. With the exception of some dinner parties when I prepared something in individual portions or packets, I’ve always put everything on the table for people to help themselves. I felt it let people chose what they want to eat and how much of it. I guess it’s also how I grew up eating and never really thought otherwise.
On one hand, serving family-style prevents waste from putting too much of something on a plate which ends up uneaten (I am not a member of the clean-your-plate club) but on the other hand, plating keeps portion sizes under control and keeps me from telling my son, Alex, “That’s enough mashed potatoes!”
It got me wondering which is a better approach. It’s definitely an easier cleanup with no serving plates and bowls. Health-wise there are pros and cons. Plating food allows you to control what goes on the plate, but open serving can help kids learn to monitor for themselves and might encourage them to take more healthy stuff, like veggies, if it’s right in front of them.
How do you serve food in your home? Do you watch portions by plating food for your family? What do you see as the pros and cons?
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Do you come bearing gifts?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I just returned from a New England vacation with my family that included lots of trips to friends we hadn’t seen in a long time. Some visits were just quick hellos while others included a meal or even an overnight stay.
As we hit the road going north towards Vermont, I realized I didn’t have house gifts for friends we were staying with and went scurrying to pick up something. Since we started our trip from the beach in New Jersey I bought saltwater taffy - an unexpected treat for landlocked locations.
By the time we were about to leave Vermont, I remembered I hadn’t gotten anything for people we were dropping by to see on the way back down to the beach. I hurriedly picked up some local maple syrup and jam, trying to stay one step ahead of our stopovers.
All this shopping got me wondering when it’s necessary to bring a gift and when it’s not needed. With friends I dine with frequently I’ll usually bring a bottle of wine or a dessert when invited for dinner, but there are times I walk out the door and realize I’m empty handed and it’s no big deal. I try to avoid getting locked into an endless cycle of having to bring something or thinking of something unique each time you get together. Not only is it exhausting to be that creative - it gets expensive!
Do you come always come bearing gifts or do you discriminate when and where it’s appropriate? What are your favorite ways to show appreciation without going broke?
For another perspective on this question, see The Hostile Host entry in the Social Butterfly blog.
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Can you take the heat?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I know we’ve all heard it. If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen. With summer in full swing I was wondering if that old wife’s tale still rang true. With air conditioning and other modern comforts, do people still shy away from using the oven and range during the hottest months?
I know these days I mostly grill and enjoy salads and cold soups, but there are still times that I feel like a stir-fry or want to make roast potatoes or a heated dish.
I have heard from people who rely entirely on the grill and the microwave in the summer never wanting to heat any kitchen equipment. Even though I try not to use them that much, sometimes I just don’t feel like being mosquito bait.
Am I the only one to turn those knobs once June comes or do you still cook indoors during the summer?
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Do you grill or barbecue?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I admit, I have been guilty of misusing those terms. But then again, I am a northerner who wasn’t raised on barbecue. It wasn’t until moving here that I was firmly given an education about the difference between grilling and barbecuing.
I learned that when I throw a steak over direct heat that’s grilling. When I slowly cook a pork shoulder over low heat, preferably with smoke, and top it with sauce that’s barbecuing.
Do you use the terms grilling and barbecuing synonymously or are you semantically correct when it comes to outdoor cooking terminology? Has anyone wigged out if you used the references incorrectly? Do you get mad when people use them wrongly?
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What do you cook for picky grownups?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Every year for her school auction my friend Mary offers to prepare a dinner for four as a donation. She looks forward to creating an impressive themed meal for some lucky winner.
This year she contacted the item’s purchaser to go over potential meals, suggesting a Tuscan feast or perhaps a Greek adventure. She was a little disconcerted when her enthusiasm was met with silence. Hesitantly the woman confessed she didn’t really eat beef or pork…or seafood. Mary countered with chicken. Turns out she wasn’t crazy about it. “Vegetarian lasagna?” Mary questioned. Guess what, she didn’t really like vegetables either.
Although Mary was rendered virtually speechless, they finally agreed on stuffed shells with ground turkey. Mary confessed her disappointment to me later. She explained the reason she offered these meals is because she likes the challenge of creating an unusual and special meal, not something so basic that it borders on boring. She wondered why the family had even bought this item when it was clear they took so little pleasure in what they ate.
I had to agree that it is a discouraging to cook for someone who viewed the dining experience as purely perfunctory. Have you ever invited someone over who seemed to like nothing? What did you make?
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Are cookbooks a thing of the past?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It seems that every time I go to my mailbox or bookstore there’s a new cooking magazine or one with expanded recipe content. It used to be just the two biggies, Gourmet and Bon Appetit. Then Martha came along with photos to die for. Real Simple followed with an incredible visual presence and enticing recipes. Now there’s a magazine from Paula and Rachel as well as well as so many others. I’m forever clipping and folding down pages at the expense of even cracking the binding of the scores of cookbooks that dot my shelves.
I began to wonder if magazine recipe use is eclipsing that of cookbooks. With many cookbooks costing $30 to $50 a pop, a $4 magazine looks pretty darn attractive these days. Then I realized the Internet has even more recipes than one could ever use and it’s free!
Are you finding yourself cooking more from magazines, Internet and newspaper recipes, or, are cookbooks still your resource of choice?
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Holy moly -those cherries cost how much?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I admit it. I was totally seduced by those bags of glistening garnet cherries lining the produce department shelves. “Oh look! Lucky me, they’re on sale!” I thought, nonchalantly dropping a bag or two into my cart. After all, they’re so tiny, how much could they weigh?
Imagine my shock when I got to the checkout counter and my bill was about four times what I expected it to be. I had that moment of panic - do I take them back or suck it up? I confess I caved, meekly handing over my credit card. I justified their astronomical cost as a seasonal treat that, for me, was worth more than pretty much any other food that I could think of right then.
I’m sure I am not alone. Have you experienced the same sticker shock? Did you keep them, or sheepishly ask for a refund? Have you gotten burned buying anything else that ended up costing way more than you thought?
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How do you split the check?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A couple of times over the holiday weekend we went out with a group of families for dinner. There’s always that awkward moment when the check arrives and the bill needs to be divided.
When we dine with friends, they usually have the same size families and eat and drink similarly, so it’s always pretty easy to split it down the middle. Even if one of us has indulged a bit, it usually comes out in the wash over the course of going out together. But when you go out with people you don’t know well things can get prickly.
We’ve dined with some families who recite everything they ordered and pay for exactly that, practically whipping out the calculator to get it down to the penny. While that is certainly fair it is a little uncomfortable when the waiter is watching.
On the other hand, it seems some families use the group meal as way to disperse their indulgences. They think nothing of ordering multiple round of cocktails when dining with teetotalers or ordering the most expensive thing on the menu when everyone else is getting a burger.
What do you do when a bill is clearly not even? Is it no big deal or do you give them a little nudge towards equitability.
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What’s on your menu for a concert at Chastain?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A reader wrote into the Food & Drink section to ask for ideas for meals to take to successive concerts at Chastain. My mind began racing, thinking of all the yummy possibilities.
Unfortunately I haven’t gotten to Chastain yet this season (Check the Summer Music Guide), but I certainly have been doing a lot of take-and go-eating. When choosing menus to entertain away from home, I try to balance out things I can make ahead which are also easy to eat (i.e. no steak knives required.) When time is short, there’s no shame in supplementing with some high quality takeout items.
One easily transportable meal that is always a hit is a muffuletta sandwich, filled with Italian meats and a zesty olive relish. Make your own or pick one up at E. 48th Street Market in Dunwoody or at Parish near Inman Park.
Another “fan favorite” is a well seasoned, very thinly sliced marinated flank steak. It can be grilled and sliced before hand to eat as is, or sandwich the slices on a crisp baguette. Roast sweet onions to serve alongside the steak. A cornbread salad is also an unusual and refreshing unexpected side.
What do you like to make and take? What is the most unusual meal someone has ever turned up with at Chastain or other outdoor dining event?
For more ideas, check these out.
Easy picnic menus for the park
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