Best way to keep food warm on the table

[IndigoOnTheGo]

Newbie at entertaining here. In my last two dinner parties with guests, by the time we are actually sitting down and eating, the food is no longer piping hot. My in-laws are from Ireland and always serve their pre-portioned food on piping hot plates (they hand out the plates using oven mitts.) They also have a "hostess trolley" which is an electrical warmer oven with multiple compartments which is kept in the dining room. As each item is cooked, it can be shelved in the trolley and stored there until more portions are needed.

I've complained to my husband that I think our dining room is too cold which cools down the food as it sits in the middle on the table.

Any hints for my next event? I hate the thought I've put in so much time and effort in cooking and then the guests end up eating cool and congealing food.

[Rhee]

I have a warming tray from the 70s that I use to warm plates. I put the plates on well ahead of time. The plates are conductive enough so the the whole stack of plates are warmed.

To keep a platter warm on a buffet or sideboard, I use a heating pad underneath. I like using stuff I already have. :)

[todao]

I use a similar method, sandwiching the heating pad between layers of towels so the heat doesn't damage the top of my credenza /buffet. It works quite well. Of course, it won't keep food warm forever but it does work well to maintain heat for those dishes waiting to be served over the course of the meal.

[RGC1982]

I am assuming that you are talking about a seated dinner in which you are serving "family style" , i.e., that you are placing large platters in the center of the table rather than serving individually. Warm individual plates will go a long way toward keeping food hot. I have ,found, if you are using serving pieces and serving "family style", that serving pieces made of clay hold heat a lot longer than regular glass or porcelain. Many of the Emile Henry or Le Creuset clay pieces can be heated in a 200 degree oven until you are ready to take the hot food out of your pot, and the hold heat for a long time. Just be sure that your china manufacturer does not recommend against warming your individual plates.

A 200 degree oven approximates a warming drawer, and I use either to warm plates, serving pieces, and to keep the food warm. You can plate up the food into serving plates and keep them in your oven until you are seated -- hopefully not more than a few minutes, or it can affect the look and texture. If it is the kind of food that cools off quickly (steamed veggies come to mind, or fish), consider putting a pot cover on the serving dish until you are ready to eat.

Finally, they do make serving ware that comes with heat or freeze packets (Pyrex) and you can microwave the plastic bag and put that under a plate or two. The pieces I am thinking about also come with green insulated covers with handles in order to travel with the food, but you don't need the covers in this instance.

If none of the above works, or you find yourself with a buffet, nothing beats sterno and chafing dishes,

[FriedClamFanatic]

At Thanksgiving time, I use a hot tray and a couple of slow cookers. Don't actually cook in the slow cookers, just let them stay on warm. Stuff like mashed potatoes, veggies, stuffing, etc, stay plenty hot

[gramercyfoodie]

you are not alone...just started entertaining too and this has been my biggest challenge.

[Wien]

An easy and quick way to preheat plates is to put a bit of water in each, stack them in microwave and heat at highest for a minute or two. Pour off water and they dry instantly, hot and ready for food to be plated.

When serving pasta in typical bowls, I fill each pasta serving bowl with cooking water just before draining pasta to heat thoroughly. Saves a lot of time and uses water to good purpose.

[zamorski]

I think that heating the plates is all that should be required. I use my convection oven at about 200 degrees (F).

Plating the food quickly is important--ask a trusted guest to help, especially if you are serving more than 6 or 8 people or if the plating is at all elaborate.

If you do have a more elaborate plating, having everything carefully laid out and planned in advance is essential if you want the food to be hot.

If your plating is going to be slow, you can heat the plates a bit hotter (up to 350 degrees), though be careful not to damage your table, placemats, counters, etc. if you do. Also be attentive to heat-sensitive sauces (like Hollandaise) if you do this...

Plate last those things that cool most quickly (or for which serving temperature is most crucial). Vegetables tend to fall into this category, so I always plate those last.

[thew]

wait - food sits out long enough to cool down? go figure. learn something new everyday

[IndigoOnTheGo]

I think those insulated dishes might be the ticket. In my family, we put out all the food in the middle of the table and everyone serves themselves. I was born in another country and most of our food is served at room temperature. I'm teaching myself some American dishes and learning slowly. Seems my guests prefer their food should be steaming hot and it is when it comes to the table...except by the time everyone is ready for the 2nd serving the food has cooled down. I was given a 70x style hot tray like Will Owen's - might have to give that a go as well.

[tmso]

In addition to good, hot, covered serving dishes, some things benefit from sitting over a tea candle. This is a great way to keep a terrine of soup piping hot, for example.

[Morganna]

Heh, yeah, my first thought when I saw the subject was "in your tummy". ;D

[todao]

Insulated serving dishes are available with labels ranging from Wolfgang Puck to Pyrex and Progressive. I like to preheat them with some boiling water (which I transfer from dish to dish to warm them before placing food in them) and they've never failed to hold the food nice and hot at my table.

[Will Owen]

Much less elaborate than that trolley is the hot tray, one of my favorite inventions. I actually do have a trolley one from Salton, like a tea cart with a hot tray as its top surface. I think it's from the '60s; I found it in a rummage sale right after we moved to Pasadena, and I paid five bucks for it and have used it for every Thanksgiving since. I also have two different sizes of Salton hot trays from the same period, since the style and trim is the same, and a few other older ones. All of these were from yard sales or antique malls. I did buy a new one a few years back, for about $70 (as opposed to $10 or so for the others); it fell apart not too long ago, and so there's one from the early post-WW2 era in its place.

[jjrb230]

Simply Google "plates for keeping food hot"; you don't seem to know they exist.

[pharris]

I'm not too crazy about the idea of a "hostess trolley"--sounds like a home Automat--but there are less cumbersome ways to heat your plates up and it really does help keep the food warm. Just stick them in the oven if it's on for other things, or put a damp paper towel on each, stack them up and put them in the microwave for two minutes. I try to keep them below the oven-mitt temp, but if you need them, just make sure you warn your guests! (Flip side, I like to chill my salad plates in the refrigerator too.)