Welcome to our home! I am going to start with a happy topic – food! Food and fellowship go hand in hand. Many holiday memories and family celebrations happen here around our table. My goal at home is to make these meals pleasant to the eye and palate.
Plating food has many benefits. It shows your family that you care about them. It also helps you reduce waste. You know your family and what each of them likes to eat. You can plate the food to their preferences and portion to their needs. When I can, I try to represent something from each of the four food groups. I serve a smaller portion of meat with a larger portion of sides because this helps our food budget.
On special occasions we splurge on a treat such as the deli potato salad shown above. For holidays we budget for a larger meal and serve family style.
My inspiration for plating comes from visiting restaurants on my anniversary or birthday. I am known to have a camera on hand to take a picture of my food before enjoying it. I love a pretty plate!
I look for ways to add color to a dish. Here I added pineapple to our sliced ham before serving. Adding a dash of oregano or parsley to a dish when applicable can help make it look all the more pleasing. Paprika, dill, and cinnamon are my other favorites depending on what I serve.
I practiced plating food and table presentation when I was first married. It was just my husband and me, so there was no pressure and he was very grateful to me for going the extra mile. We couldn't afford to go out often so we made the practice of dinner dates at home. We still enjoy having special meals for two on occasion.
Dessert is always a nice way to end the day. I don't always do dessert but when I do I try to keep in mind our family favorites.
Tablecloths and centerpieces are the easiest way to make your meal time together as a family more pleasing. We enjoy candles at the table and keep them lit while we do family devotions. Even when my children were small candles helped to calm the atmosphere around the table. I would also play calm classical music in the background if the day had been a particularly stressful one for us all.
Your home is your haven and I hope that you will enjoy finding ways to make your meals a memorable time for your family. They will notice and appreciate the extras you do over time. Hospitality starts at home and your first focus is your family.
"Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it." Proverbs 15:17 ESV
