Sure, it's traditional to pass huge platters around the table in one merry food frenzy at Thanksgiving. And, yes, we'll be busy enough just getting all the food prepared, so why throw in the extra step of multiple courses and plating food individually? We'll give you two big reasons why we're thinking about doing this.
The biggest benefit to pre-plating food is to save space. With a big platter of turkey, several casserole dishes, salad bowls, gravy boats, and wine bottles all in offering, the table starts to feel cluttered and crowded very quickly. We could do a buffet instead, but we really like the intimacy of all sitting down to eat at the same time.
By plating food in the kitchen and bringing plates to the table all together, we get the best of both worlds. And yes, maybe we'll set up a buffet of the leftovers so people can serve themselves seconds!
Thanksgiving dinner also seems to go by far too quickly. We spend so much time preparing food, and then everyone is finished eating in twenty minutes. We're thinking of serving dinner in multiple courses as a way of drawing the meal out and getting everyone to relax at the table together.
What do you think? Are we just making more work for ourselves, or could our efforts make this into an even more spectacular feast?
Related: Yay or Nay? Setting a Kid's Table at Holiday Dinners
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Comments (14)
I think you're setting yourself up for wasted food -- at my aunt's Thansgiving dinner, there are inevitably sides that I (and others) don't want to touch with a ten-foot pole. For some, its the green bean casserole, others hate candied yams...you get the picture.Not to mention, portions and what is the rght amount -- again with the potential of wasted food. I'd say let people serve themselves.
That being said, too -- why does everyone have to get up from your table the minute they're finished eating?
No. thank. you.
Thanksgiving is too homey of a meal to call for plating the food not to mention too formal and stuffy. This would not fly at my gatherings nor would I want it to.
We're doing a mix - plated salad to start, then individually-sized sweet potato gratins with Brussels sprouts on the side. But the bulk of the main meal (turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy) will be served family-style, as I think it should be. (I am a big fan of plated salads no matter what kind of meal it is; it's nice to sit down to a plated salad all ready to go.)
I think this will keep the table clear in the beginning parts of the meal, and give time to get conversation going with our very motley crew of friends, family, and colleagues. Emma and I will let you know how it goes!
We are planning a plated, multi-course meal. We've had gatherings of 20 in the past, that was serve buffet or family style. This year, there are 6. It seemed like a good size group to try it out on. Plus, we're not serving a traditional meal. No turkey, no green bean casserole, no pumpkin pie. Shunning tradition allowed us to feel like plating courses was totally okay, and all of our expat guests agreed.
I think that's an excellent idea unless there are a lot of finicky eaters. On the other hand, when you are a guest at someone else's home, you don't usually pick and choose what you want to eat. Why should a holiday be an excuse for a feading frenzy and cast away our table manners. Yes there will be fewer leftovers that would crowd the fridge and end up down the disposal anyway. There will also be more dishes to clean and more work for the cook. Though this would be a great oportunity for older children in larger crowds to participate as 'servers'. All in all, I really like this concept --especially the idea of setting up the dishes on a buffet for seconds.
Be prepared to have a thick skin about guests whose appetites don't seem to compliment your cooking. I'm all for guests being polite about what's served (so, scoot the brussel sprouts around on the plate and hide them under the mashed potatoes), but I've never been able to finish what Americans consider a "normal" serving even of foods I like.
Family-style service and buffet service both make it easier for the host to never really know which guests loathed the brussel sprouts, and everyone leaves fed and happy.
A more amenable tradition to revive might be coffee, dessert, and conversation in the living room after the meal, if you want people to linger.
I wanted to do a smaller group this year for just this reason, but people keep adding plus ones and it's now just over the brink of what I'm comfortable taking care of by myself.
We don't have a huge picky eater problem, and I planned around what the majority of my diners don't like, so I'll at least be able to plate the soup and a salad then set out everything else on serving dishes.
My mom and I have always done this, albeit in a less formal way. She is of the belief that there is just too much food to try to sit down and eat it all at once. Instead, thanksgiving dinner is a drawn out affair where you eat a few courses at a time. Usually we do it in threes: First is the a soup, some light appetizers, and maybe a salad. Second is turkey, casseroles, stuffing, and a vegetable dish. Third is the lighter vegetable sides, and more turkey if you want it. Pies and cookies are grazed on later. We make everything available as a buffet once it's been served in a "course".
As far as wasting food, our meals are usually under ten people so it's not hard to customize plates for the, ahem, more discerning guests.
It seems to me that doing a multi course plated thanksgiving dinner would require the host to be in the kitchen plating food throughout the enitre meal - no thanks! Thanksgiving is more about hanging with the family
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But then I couldn't have a big pile of turkey/potatoes/sweet potatoes/salad/roll/stuffing and pour gravy over the whole thing!
We always set up the "buffet" of Thanksgiving dishes on a long counter in the kitchen and fill our plates there before going to the table rather than putting all of the dishes on the table itself. I know not everyone has ample kitchen counter space, but this always works great for our family!
I agree with Mini Cooper Kate. If your guests will help you, then I would consider plating the food. I always enlist the help of guests with cooking, and even setting the table and preparing drinks. I think most people enjoy helping out.
There's no way I could find the counter space to plate everyone's food for them, even if I wanted to add more work to an already labor-intensive meal.