Mind Your Manners!

Being a grownup is hard. You have to make your own food, pay bills, clean your room, and best or worst of all, there's no mother next to you telling you what to do. There's no mother to tell you to chew with your mouth closed or keep your elbows off the table. So what do we do now as grownups when it comes to etiquette? There are the easy rules like don't be late, don't smack your gum...but what about rules that aren't so common sense. Say for instance, you're hosting or attending a dinner party. Who knew that at one meal you could have 3 different forks?! Here's a couple of tips to follow and you'll be ready to dine, pinky up and all.

1. BMW--(no not the car, but I wouldn't mind one....) However, this easy to remember acronym stand for Bread, Meal, Water and should be applied when setting the table. The bread dish goes on the left side, then the meal, and the water glass to the right.

2. Outisde-In-- At the first fancy dinner I went to, I felt a little like Ariel from the Little Mermaid. (I didn't brush my hair with a fork, but I was pretty darn confused!) The rule is actually quite self-explanatory...start with the outside and work your way in. You eat the salad with the outer most fork (usually slightly smaller than the main course) and then the next fork is for your main course...If the silverware is place at the top of the plate, save that for later, it's probably for you coffee later.

3. Napkins--When you sit down, put your napkin in your lap! You don't leave your napkin on the table during dinner. After your done eating, you can put your napkin on the table. (Also if you HAVE to spit something out, which you really never should....wipe your mouth with your napkin and discretely spit the food item out and fold it in your napkin.)

4. Ahh...put a fork in it!-- ALWAYS USE SILVERWARE! even if you are eating something like a french fry do not use your fingers. Keeping your elbows in, you may cut with your right and then switch hands to put your fork in the right hand.

5. If you can't talk...it's too much food--Bites should be small...You should be able put the food in the corner of your mouth, and continue talking with out anybody noticing.

There are a lot more rules but most of these can be figured out by watching others, or just using your common sense!

You can find some more helpful hints at: http://www.gourmet-food-revolution.com/dinner-table-etiquette.html