I've always thought putting parsley on a plate was stupid, and the judges on Chopped (all great chefs) seem to agree.

Anyway, Arthur Hailey said it best in one of his early books, Hotel, when he had the sous chef say: There's too much parsley on the plate and not enough in the soup.

OMG! I remember making those salads for Thanksgiving dinner every year, the only time we had them! Making those was quite a step up from putting the silverware and linen napkins on the table! My mother hated to cook and was not a good cook - those two traits are probably highly correlated! We all still laugh about some of the things we ate. Surprisingly, in spite of that, we all (6 siblings) are excellent cooks who really enjoy cooking. Every chef-authored book that I ever read with my career exploration students in high school emphasized the positive relationship and role model of an older, usually female, family member who loved to cook. Such memories!