Maytag Kitchen tip of the week.

Are you serving a large crowd this Christmas?  Here is some table setting information to help you out:

Table Settings Part 1:

The rules for the table are bendable these days. You know the basics: Elbows off the table, work in from the outside. That’s about it. But some of us want to learn more because it’s a pleasant custom. It creates a certain formal elegance and conveys good manners. Not to mention telling people that a meal is to be lingered over and enjoyed.

So, what goes on the table? It depends on the courses and the foods you’re serving. Each piece should have a definite function for the meal. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Plan your places.

First, make sure everything is clean and pressed, spotless and shining. When possible, place settings should be 12 inches apart, directly across from one another for easy conversation.

2. Start with the plates.

• Service Plates — For a very formal dinner, you’ll want to use a large service plate at each setting (upon which the appetizer or soup will be placed). For less formal meals, you can set the appetizer/soup on the dinner plate or serve them on other smaller service plates/saucers. (Sounds like a lot of dishwashing after the party, but hey, this isn’t about efficiency.)

*Tip: The main dinner/service plates and flatware go about one inch from the edge of the table (that makes it harder for clumsy people to knock things off).

• Bread Plates — Set at the upper left edge of the plate. Butter spreaders are placed on the bread plate, parallel to the table edge, with the handle to the right. (A bread plate is not required if you find you’ve already got so many dishes on the table, you can’t see the tablecloth — and your dinner plates are big enough for guests to put bread at the side of the plate with the meal.)

• Salad Plates — If salad will be served at the same time as the main course, place the plate to the upper left of the dinner plate — or to the left and slightly below the bread plate if there is one.