Time to go with a potluck.
I’ll serve the drinks.
sounds like she needs new friends. I have yet to make a meal with invited guests who were anything but gracious and thankful for the time to be together. When will these people learn, carbs cannot affect you when at someone elses house for dinner???? ;)
This makes it rather obvious that I’m running with the wrong crowd. All my friends like/love meat. Co-incidently, they are all Rupublicans. They are a bit picky about vegetables, however.
Sorry, can’t relate, but thanks for letting us know that our friends and families may not be quite as weird as we think.
I thought picky eaters had to gag it down so as not to offend the host. That’s what I was taught.
GEORGE: It’s from that grapefruit that Jerry squirted at me.
JERRY: Hey, I eat healthy. If I have to take out an eye, that’s the breaks.
*********************
Jerry: Well, you know, we were having dinner the other night, and she’s got this strangest habit. She eats her peas one at a time.
*********************
Elaine: Hey, you wanna hear something weird? Mr. Pitt eats his Snickers bars with a knife and fork.
Solved that problem by telling them where we were going and let them decide if they want to go. I used to cook and entertain but ended up doing all the entertaining. I no longer cook for friends.
I was taught to eat what is put before you.
Yea Susan, I'm really looking forward to sending you an essay so you can make some money off of it.
Do your own work Susan, and do it quick before the NYT is just a bad memory!
Americans have boxed ourselves in at meal time, by using just a single format of eating, best described as the Midwest buffet style. It amounts to loading up your plate with all that you want, and eating as fast as you can. It is the optimal format for American restaurants.
However, if you wish to enjoy dining, you need to try different formats.
More than anything else, it is a psychological adjustment, as it changes the tempo and character of a meal considerably. For example, most Americans would almost cringe at the idea of having a three hour long meal, not understanding that it would not be a gorge, and at the end, you might not even feel full.
Small amounts of aperitifs, cordials, wines, mixed drinks, liqueurs, digestifs and brandies can all be served through the course of a dinner. And if done properly enhance the meal enormously, yet get no one even tipsy.
One dinner technique is to use courses, with a small amount of a dish that guests can either try, or ignore, spending the time in conversation. Since courses are small, if you don’t care for something, in a short time something else will be along.
Of course a downside is that you use a lot more dinnerware, so if there is someone in the kitchen working during the meal, it is a huge help.
Extending a meal time also means that there needs to be breaks in which guests can freshen up. It also helps if the chairs are very comfortable.
A meal theme can be as simple as an extended wine and cheese party, Spanish tapas, or other hors d’oeuvres, incorporating unusual delicacies that become the subject of conversation. The idea is to take the focus from eating a lot, fast, to light snacking that slowly adds up to a meal.
Of course, this does make things more ala carte, for your picky eaters. It also makes it harder to eat an entire roast turkey at one sitting.
I make it a point to let the guests know what will be on the menu and ask if they have any problems with it. I also tell them, if they are bringing a friend, they need to make sure there are no issues. However, that is as far as I am willing to go.
Many years ago, a friend ignored me and brought a vegan to a bbq (because she was such a hottie and he was sure there had to be some veggies around) but I ended up asking both of them to leave when she started on her “meat is murder” spiel.
Well, actually, I told him if she can’t shut up about the meat, he should give her a carrot and tell her to eat in the car.
They decided to leave shortly after that.