Serving Family Style

Nowadays, it seems like most restaurants, with the exception of Asian ones, plate all the dishes in the kitchen, rather than sending out a communal platter. It may mean dirtying an additional plate or two, but if you want to make your dinner more special, or you want to invite more interaction among your guests, send out your dishes on platters or in serving bowls and encourage everyone to pass them around. Some people will even catch on and hold the dish while their neighbor spoons out a portion. For more formal gatherings or when the platters are too hot to pass, serve the food from the end of the table and pass the plates. That way, everyone gets to see the dishes in the vessels in which they were cooked (especially if you have attractive cookware) or on platters before they are put onto the plates.