Do You Warm Your Plates?

TastyReuben

TastyReuben

Nosh 'n' Splosh
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Not sure if this belongs here, but do you routinely warm your plates when having a meal (assuming, of course, that you're having a meal that's not meant to be cold)?

Our last two stoves have had a "keep warm" setting, so I have developed that habit. Also, if I've used the oven to prepare the meal, I'll toss the plates in the shut off oven for a few minutes just before plating and serving.

I have to admit, it makes me feel like a proper waiter when I'm bringing a plate of food to the wife and I get to say, "Careful with that...plate's hot." :)

How about you?
 
Hmmm.... not often although I probably should do. My partner eats incredibly slowly. If I eat with him I finish in less than half the time - so he routinely eats lukewarm to cold food by the end of the meal. He doesn't seem to mind this, though.
 
morning glory said:
Hmmm.... not often although I probably should do. My partner eats incredibly slowly. If I eat with him I finish in less than half the time - so he routinely eats lukewarm to cold food by the end of the meal. He doesn't seem to mind this, though.
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My mom has always been a very...nervous person (she's 81 now), and growing up, on the rare occasions we'd eat out, she never enjoyed herself. She eats very slowly, and both my dad and I eat very quickly. Not messily at all, just very efficiently and very fast.

I can remember sitting down in a cafeteria type place, very informal, and my dad and I being nearly finished, while my mom would still be buttering her roll and seasoning her food.

She has such a nervous disposition that once we were done, she couldn't eat. She felt very self-conscious being the only one eating, and she also felt like she was holding everyone up, waiting on her, and that affected her so strongly, she'd choke on her food and would finally give up and say she couldn't eat any more, that we were making her nervous.

Once, it came to a head after years of this, and we were eating out, the usual thing happened, and she started choking, and she finally slammed down her fork, gave a little cry, and shouted, "I can't eat like this with you all just sitting there staring at me! You make me so nervous!"

One of the waitstaff happened to be standing right there and heard everything, and my dad looked at her and depanned, "26 years married, six kids, and she says I make her nervous!"

:laugh:
 
TastyReuben said:
My mom has always been a very...nervous person (she's 81 now), and growing up, on the rare occasions we'd eat out, she never enjoyed herself. She eats very slowly, and both my dad and I eat very quickly. Not messily at all, just very efficiently and very fast.

I can remember sitting down in a cafeteria type place, very informal, and my dad and I being nearly finished, while my mom would still be buttering her roll and seasoning her food.

She has such a nervous disposition that once we were done, she couldn't eat. She felt very self-conscious being the only one eating, and she also felt like she was holding everyone up, waiting on her, and that affected her so strongly, she'd choke on her food and would finally give up and say she couldn't eat any more, that we were making her nervous.

Once, it came to a head after years of this, and we were eating out, the usual thing happened, and she started choking, and she finally slammed down her fork, gave a little cry, and shouted, "I can't eat like this with you all just sitting there staring at me! You make me so nervous!"

One of the waitstaff happened to be standing right there and heard everything, and my dad looked at her and depanned, "26 years married, six kids, and she says I make her nervous!"

:laugh:
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Great story - but you and your Dad really should have been more polite and built in a few eating breaks to allow Mom to catch up. I do that if I'm in a restaurant with my partner although I don't think he notices! Its me that feels a bit silly otherwise, sitting with an empty plate whilst his is still nearly full.
 
morning glory said:
Great story - but you and your Dad really should have been more polite and built in a few eating breaks to allow Mom to catch up. I do that if I'm in a restaurant with my partner although I don't think he notices! Its me that feels a bit silly otherwise, sitting with an empty plate whilst his is still nearly full.
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I have a hard time doing that, partially because it's just my nature to get through things like that as quickly as possible, and also because I like my food to be as hot as possible, and when it starts to cool off, I really lose my appetite for it.

When we were kids, Mom never ate with everyone else. She played family waitress and served everybody, and then when we were all done and up from the table, she'd sit down and eat by herself, at her own pace, and then clean up the kitchen. Even at home, she didn't like feeling rushed. She liked (and continues to like) to dwadle.
 
I sometimes warm my plates. It depends on the food. Fish and some other seafoods I particularly don't like getting cool on the plate -- and it happens quickly with sautéed or grilled seafood. I let my steaks rest, and I am fine with lukewarm steak. Soups and stews right from the cook pot stay hot just fine without a warmed bowl.

CD
 
My husband has a habit of warming the plates/ dishes. If the oven is on, then they'll get warmed in there. But if it isn't, he zaps them in the microwave for a minute or two.

I'm not that fussed. I like my food hot but I eat slowly unlike my husband. I've learnt to accept colder food at the end of the meal.

My portion control has become that I should have only a mouthful or two left by the time my husband finishes his meal. Anything else and I'll leave it for my husband to eat now!
 
Can't say I've ever done this. I suppose this is something to consider if I have a few foodie types over and am serving steak or pork. It is not something I'd ever do just for myself. And if I do have company, I'm probably a little too into the "rushing around" stage just before service, I'm sure I'd forget.

When I visit people, none of them do it, although I've had heated plates provided at restaurants.
 
Not usually plates, but if we are having a broth-based soup, like the ramen bowl the other night, then I'll warm the bowls by placing very hot tap water in them a little while before the soup is done, then dumping the water out just before serving. Reason being broth-based soups cool off really quickly.
 
medtran49 said:
Not usually plates, but if we are having a broth-based soup, like the ramen bowl the other night, then I'll warm the bowls by placing very hot tap water in them a little while before the soup is done, then dumping the water out just before serving. Reason being broth-based soups cool off really quickly.
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On cold mornings, I will rinse my coffee cup with hot water to take the chill off. Hot coffee in a cold cup doesn't let me slowly enjoy my coffee. It gets cold too fast.

CD
 
caseydog said:
On cold mornings, I will rinse my coffee cup with hot water to take the chill off. Hot coffee in a cold cup doesn't let me slowly enjoy my coffee. It gets cold too fast.

CD
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I always heat my coffee/tea cups. With the Keurig, it's so easy to simply tell it to squirt out some hot water, it's a no-brainer.
 
TastyReuben said:
I always heat my coffee/tea cups. With the Keurig, it's so easy to simply tell it to squirt out some hot water, it's a no-brainer.
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I have a Keurig, too. That's what I do, most of the time. If I do make a pot of coffee, I'll fill cups with hot water while the coffee brews.

CD
 
This used to be featured in the early to mid '70s as one of the cycles on Kitchenaid dishwashers when Hobart was making them. As time went by, it was taken off as an energy saver. :wink:
 
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