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True. A meal without a good portion of protein is unhealthy for some, and could provoke a crisis.
Clam chowder. Aren't clams a protein? And I believe cream is also. Don't most people include protein of some kind with a meal? I think vegans eat beans for protein, and maybe rice is a protein also.
Last edited by staywarm2; 01-09-2017 at 10:23 PM..
Has anyone ever invited family over dinner and they brought their own food? They weren't asked in advance either.
I had never had this happen to me and I'd never think of doing it either. I make some wonderful soup (broth based such as Chicken noodle, minestrone for example). However for this particular dish, a cream based soup is needed because it was placed in sourdough bread bowls and it would not absorb the all the broth. We served Clam Chowder and Tomato Bisque Soup in Bread Bowls which is traditionally served in bread bowls.
I was insulted when they walked in with their pot of soup...Then my spouse chose to eat theirs too!
It was funny when I looked over and ALL the water was absorbed in the bowl and all that was left was carrots, potatoes, and chicken chunks..
I would encourage people not to do this. It's very insulting to the host or hostess.
OMG! That's incredibly rude!
I do think that clam chowder and tomato bisque are two odd soups to serve. Is that popular in your area? I wouldn't care to eat either of those. BUT....I would ask you ahead of time if you'd mind if I bring my own, because of my personal tastes. If I didn't know you well enough for that, I'd decline the invite, I guess. OR if I thought I could fake liking clam chowder, I'd go.
My favorite soups are lentil, cream chicken, cream potato, green pea, black bean, some sort of spicy tomato-based Mexican soup. But lentil is my favorite. Cream potato if I don't care about calories.
But the food's not the important part. It's the company.
I haven't read all the pages, but this is how this SHOULD have gone:
Hostess: We'd love to have you all to dinner. I'm planning on serving x, y, and z.
Guest: That sounds great. What can I bring?
Hostess: If you could bring dessert (or a salad or side dish or whatever), that would be great.
I do think that clam chowder and tomato bisque are two odd soups to serve. Is that popular in your area? I wouldn't care to eat either of those. BUT....I would ask you ahead of time if you'd mind if I bring my own, because of my personal tastes. If I didn't know you well enough for that, I'd decline the invite, I guess. OR if I thought I could fake liking clam chowder, I'd go.
My favorite soups are lentil, cream chicken, cream potato, green pea, black bean, some sort of spicy tomato-based Mexican soup. But lentil is my favorite. Cream potato if I don't care about calories.
But the food's not the important part. It's the company.
The cream based soups traditionally do better in sourdough bread bowls which are very popular in the city where I live.
Chicken broth/water based soups get absorbed by the bread and all that's left is soggy bread and the ingredients of the soup are just laying at the bottom of the (w/o liquid) bread bowl. I offered a soup (glass) bowl but she preferred a bread bowl.
I agree with you that it is more about the people which is why I was shocked that she had to bring her own meal and didn't come with the same intention of enjoying a family gathering.
Exactly! Do I appreciate good food? Of course. But when I go to a dinner party, the most important aspect for me is to spend time with my friends. If I don't enjoy the food, I'll eat it anyway, appreciating the effort, time and money that went into the preparation.
I've only had it happen once that a dinner guest brought their own food. The difference being that she had quite severe food allergies and she let me know beforehand that she would be bringing her own dish, so I could take the information into consideration when buying ingredients and making the food. I'd be pretty annoyed as well if I made dinner for a group of people and nobody was eating any of it. .
I get the sense that this was an informal family dinner......especially if soup was the main/only course.
I feel bad that the OP feels bad......But, IMO Unless there is some sort of back story, or the OP has left something out it seems to be a very strong over-reaction on the OP's part given the informality of the get together.
Life is to be lived and enjoyed, especially among our family and friends. There is always something that gives us pause, or challenges us and our spirit.....but this isn't one of them.
Your husband was the saving grace imo....He did the right thing. It was not meant to insult you or take their side....although that is coming across from your post that you take it that way. It used to be called being a good sport.
Try to get over what this seems to be to you, a personal affront....I am sure it wasn't meant to be. I think they simply brought her favorite soup because she wanted to share it, Maybe she is younger and more inexperienced. Who knows, you haven't given me enough reason to think this family member was being malicious rather than generous.
Life will be easier if you can take things graciously and in stride.
Wishing you many more family dinners and love....it matters.
I get the sense that this was an informal family dinner......especially if soup was the main/only course.
I feel bad that the OP feels bad......But, IMO Unless there is some sort of back story, or the OP has left something out as it seems to be a very strong over-reaction on the OP's part given the informality of the get together.
Obviously the OP felt her dinner was too special for anyone to bring a dish to add. Her thread is one long complaint about someone bringing an additional soup to a family style soup dinner.
That was my point, what was yours? Would you be complaining?
I agree with you that it is more about the people which is why I was shocked that she had to bring her own meal and didn't come with the same intention of enjoying a family gathering.
That street goes both ways....
You should not have been shocked, but gracious, about her contribution to the meal.
You also should have had the intention of enjoying a family gathering.
Don't you have regular bowls you could have offered for their broth based soup? As the hostess, YOU should have offered a real bowl.
I don't eat seafood, so no clam chowder. Tomato is "ok", but not a meal. I don't eat bread. Edamame is not a meal - more like a snack. I don't care for it. Is that all you served? Did you have a green salad or something else?
I would have either eaten beforehand or after I left your place, because there would not have been much there I could have eaten either.
It's obvious to me that the OP was a person who had a talent for making soups. Bread bowls are probably a popular way to serve soup there (as it is in many cities now). So she wanted to have the family over to enjoy a couple of her specialty soups in the new way to serve them. She was making a special dinner. Then this family member, "like a bull in a china shop" comes in with her own version of soup without asking and messes up the OP's plan for the dinner. Some people who are very good cooks are actually artistic types and create an ambiance with their meal. My DH is one of these and we don't ask people to bring food to our dinners.
The kind of dinners where the host throws burgers or a couple of steaks on the grill and calls people to come over and join them is a whole different situation.
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