Main and Sides vs Just One Thing

[NailBat]

A common style of dinner here is to have a main and 1-2 sides. Typically the sides will be very simple because who wants to coordinate multiple recipes on a Thursday night. The main and the sides would have complementing and contrasting flavors so even if they're simple on their own, the idea is they become more interesting when served together.

In our house, however, pretty much all our dinners are just one "thing". But that one thing has a lot of complementing and contrasting flavors within it. This works better for us for many reason: serving the food together gives the flavors a chance to mesh in ways you don't get when they're separate, it prevents me from having to either prepare the sides or batch cook a bunch of the same sides, and it leads to a much wider variety of flavor combinations as I integrate whatever happens to be in the fridge into our daily dinners.

When it comes to a "typical" dinner (whatever that word means to you), are you a "just one thing" person, a "main and sides" person, or even a "lots of small things" kind of person? Yes I'm sure it changes based on your mood but is one of them more common than the others?

 

[TastyReuben]

It’s really a mix, but mostly “main and sides.”

Christmas season, we do a lot of small bites, though, and if we’re having soup, it’s just the one thing, maybe with bread.

 

[caseydog]

Since much of my eating is actually grazing throughout the day, I don't generally eat "meals." That means that most of my food at home is just one thing.

Down here in the South, especially in Soul Food restaurants, you get a "meat-and-three," which is one meat, and three sides from a list of sides. It can be cafeteria style, or from a menu. My favorite is Chicken Fried Steak with mashed potatoes, fried okra, and cole slaw that often can be served first, like a salad before your meal.

Meat and three - Wikipedia

CD