Reply #57: I remember my grandmother said she liked chicken feet [View All]

[Nobody]

and other parts of the meat that most people usually put in dressing or just toss. I wonder if it was because she felt she had to let everyone else eat first when she was a kid or while raising her kids.

But yes, the husbands and kids often ate first and uninterrupted while the wife snuck a bite or two of cooling food whenever the kids too young to feed themselves would let them. I'm glad to see that now there's more of a team effort which allows both parents to eat the food while it's hot.

In my family it was considered rude not to wait until everyone was seated before you dug in. I even wait at friends' houses when they invite me to dinner. They're a lot more casual at sit down dinner and when the food is placed on the table, it's fair game for whoever's at the table. If you're taking a nature break when the food comes out of the kitchen, no one will wait for you.

I come from a very large extended family and it makes plate passing go smoother. Family gatherings now are so large we have to do it buffet style. Grandma was always the first one to fill her plate. With a buffet, you could eat as soon as you finished going through the line. It made huge family meals a lot easier.