Strange catering habits you have experienced when eating at friends/family houses?

[Chicchicchicchiclana]

The grazing table thread inspired me! I know one should always be grateful when people invite you to eat with them (and I am!!) but I find it interesting the great variety of ways people do the hosting. Have any memorable dining experiences in other people's houses really stuck with you? Without being mean of course.

@Wineat5isfine

Baked beans in a shepherds pie is quite lovely.

But I simply can’t get on board with chips and gravy!

I dare you to try it..

@Lalliella

Friend’s dad crushed his and put it between 2 slices of bread and butter to make an apple pie butty 😂

I love this man! Perfect "I don't give a shit" Dad behaviour. Awesome.

I thought of something else, on a Monday my Gran, who looked after me, would give me tinned tomato soup with the mashed potato left over from Sunday lunch. I loved it, and it would still be on my menu if I was allowed it.

Tuna and baked beans with mashed potato on top like a cottage pie!!

I distinctly remember going to a friends house when I was about 7 and having water with my meal in a glass - thinking it was very grown up. We always had squash.

ExH’s mum does roast dinner with potatoes 3 ways (roast/boil/mash) and 2 meats as her 2 sons and husband all like different things. It’s a fine spread but omg the work...

@RavensWig

My late DM saved every bit of leftovers in tiny ramekins in the fridge - spoonful of beans, ramekin. Half a sausage, ramekin. She was also renowned for her deeply ingrained habit of veg at every meal, so in later life she'd make a spag bol with a portion of broccoli on the side, or have a takeaway curry and cook some cauliflower to go with it.

One occasion she served us up one of her strangest concoctions made with leftovers - cottage pie made with twice cooked beef (cooked for Sunday roast 2 weeks before, frozen, thawed, minced and repurposed), with sweetcorn, baked beans, and...Chinese five spice.

I don't know what she did with it with it but it was bloody delicious and nobody threw it up overnight.

I don't think brocoli with spag bol is odd at all....I always serve a veg. I wouldn't cook veg to go with takeaway but would order some veg side dishes.

Using left over roast meat minced up is normal too....you can reheat once. Some of my earliest memories is putting the roast lamb leftovers through the turn handle mincer to make shepherd's pie..... The only reason I don't do this is there are never left over roast meats in this house...m

@hedgehogger1

I remember on the French exchange, back in the day when you just stayed at someone's house. The getting in from school snack was a hunk of baguette with a plain chocolate bar in it. That's my kind of snack

Our French neighbours did this. Baguette, butter, thin slice of plain chocolate. The father was a cardiologist!

Oh and ExH’s dad makes potato pie- which from what I can see is just mash with cheese on grilled (compared to some pp’s dishes this is haute cuisine!) he used to make it for the boys if ExMil was working late with baked beans.

@nat6999. I love a mash potato sandwich and am proud to have converted my DiL to these delicacy.

@Idontlike

Gravy fgs not Grave

This has reminded me of a slightly embarrassing moment! We're an entirely vegetarian household and DS has never eaten meat. We were having a meal out once and a lady on the next table asked the waiter for more gravy. DS, who was about 6 or 7 at the time, watched her intently as she poured it onto her meat, and then turned to me looking thoroughly pleased with himself and said, in his usual foghorn voice, "Oh! Is it called 'grave-y' because it goes over the dead animal?"

@Kljnmw3459

At my PILs house you must never serve yourself a drink during dinner. MIL has tasked my FIL to be the drinks host. She will disapprove of anyone serving themself a drink no matter how thirsty they are. Even asking for a drink is met with a tut. FIL must somehow divine from the atmosphere when it's time to top up someone's glass. He's not the most observant person so we're trying to throw subtle hints at him that he then completely misses.

In my husband's family, only men pour drinks at meals

Not weird as such but my gran used to bring out Yorkshire puddings with gravy before she served up the main part of the dinner.I can't recreate that gravy I can still taste it now.Fucking devine it was.

Ex Mil loves her "best butter"
best butter with potatoes,best butter on bread,best butter on toast.
She meant Irish butter as she is from Dungarven.God love her shame her son was a prick.

Haha re the mashed potato sandwiches talk!

I remember as a child we went on a caravan holiday, me, my mum, sister and grandad.

My sister had a habit of only ever eating food if it was in a sandwich (I think this is because DM always put a plate of bread and butter on the table)

Anyway DM had made a shepherds pie. Grandad goes "well I don't think she will be putting that in a sandwich!"

She did. And still does now.

We always buy an extra big joint of meat for Sunday roast. Then use leftovers in a pasta dish or pie. It's delicious. We chop it up though, hate those old mince grinders.

@BIoodyStupidJohnson

Schoolfriend’s family had a toaster in pretty much every room. Lounge — toaster. Dining room — toaster. Bedrooms — toaster.

Ive only got as far as here. But the crumbs

Imagine the crumbs

@LunaMay

I just can't get my chips to go like hers. It sounds funny but it's one of the things i really miss about her.

I'd find an old cookery book - written around the time your Nan would've been first married snd learning to cook - and follow those instructions. It's probably the fat the chips were cooked in - maybe lard?

Serving Yorkshire pudding WITH your roast meal! And worse, little round Yorkshire puddings. Weird.

My Dad was from Bradford and my (Canadian) Mum learned to make Yorkshire pudding the correct way - in a big pan to be served crispy before your main meal, with gravy and mint sauce. Even my Chinese SiL has learned how to make and serve it properly.

My PIL’s (very upper middle class and would consider themselves ‘foodies’) have really awful food hygiene. For example a Chilli con carne will be cooked, left lukewarm on the Aga in a pan for 5 days then reheated for another meal. They get really sniffy with us if we decline the 5 day old, unrefrigerated, reheated food. At our last visit we found condiments in their fridge from 2001. They refused to throw them out.

I'm worried that I'm the freak you're all talking about. I'm going to be very careful what I serve next time we have guests!

@Franca123

We always buy an extra big joint of meat for Sunday roast. Then use leftovers in a pasta dish or pie. It's delicious. We chop it up though, hate those old mince grinders.

We buy a bigger than needed pork joint. Then use the leftovers to do Monday night fakeaway of roast pork fried rice 🥰 I think that might be my favourite meal of the week.

My sister in law just warms through chicken in the microwave. I happily refuse to touch it. Tbf the rest of the family are still alive. But still!

Sounds delicious! Will try it next week!

I can remember at primary school we weren't allowed water with our lunch, as it would fill you up. you could only have it when you had finished.

@TheGrumpyGoat

My PIL’s (very upper middle class and would consider themselves ‘foodies’) have really awful food hygiene. For example a Chilli con carne will be cooked, left lukewarm on the Aga in a pan for 5 days then reheated for another meal. They get really sniffy with us if we decline the 5 day old, unrefrigerated, reheated food. At our last visit we found condiments in their fridge from 2001. They refused to throw them out.

My parents are like that. I had stew with maggots in once. They'd been boiled up so were just dead, floating about

Mind you, Canadians eat some weird stuff. My DH can't get past my love of Peanut butter and jam butties (heaven!) And gravy on chips? We have curd cheese on them as well as gravy.