you could try this

I just run 'em under hot tap water for a few seconds, and then give them a quick swab with a dishtowel to dry them. (But this is only for, at most, two people and would obviously be inconvenient for crowds.)

Awesome, Stewriffic.

kat allison's idea looks pretty good too.

I just put them in the oven at 'warm' or just below 170-200F for about 10 minutes, or, if I've been using the oven and the dinner's out of it, I shut it off, leave the door open until it's cooled significantly, then put them in. Never occurred to me to put a tea towel under them, but it's probably not a bad idea. Gravy/sauce boats I fill with hot water until I'm ready to put the sauce in them.

I want my bed to be full of heated plates. I'm freezing.

Stewriffic, I suggest crawling into bed with a bunch of these.

I recommend one of these (for your bed, not your plates, although there's a certain utility there as well.) That model is currently in "absorb" mode, but it automatically switches to "radiate" at the appropriate time.

For your plates, I concur with an oven on 'warm'.

Huh, I had one of those and I only used it for its dish-cleaning qualities, I didn't realize it could warm dishes as well.

Yeah, dogs can get your dishes pretty clean, but the shedding makes them bad plate warmers for dinner parties.

solution: hat, scarf, two sweaters, bed. Need to find my wool socks. Oh! I have a heating pad, yay!

We use a microwaveable heating pad to heat our bed in the winter.

I just shove 'em in the microwave - often using the oven isn't realistic as it is being used for, you know, the food being cooked.

60 seconds in a microwave for 5 plates (or 2 minutes if they won't be needed for a minute or two) does the trick.

I just stick them in the oven, on whatever it was on - it's sort of un-PC to use hot water here 'cos of the drought.

If you have a dishwasher, run the plates on part of a dry cycle.

I have this problem too and a couple of times I have been organised enough to be running a full dishwasher and timing the cycle so I can take the dishes right from the heat cycle to the table (otherwise, I normally skip the heat cycle because it seems a waste of energy when the dishes can drip dry).

What a great idea, plinth.

Why does one heat plates for serving? I've never heard of this before.

You shouldn't have a problem sticking them in the oven with the oven on to no higher than 200. I do it all the time when making pancakes or something else that needs to stay warm. Put them on a cookie sheet with a folded dish towel on it.

cause if the plates are cold then the food cools down rapidly. I don't bother 99% of the time.

Yeah, but... seriously- is this common? I've never heard of a single instance of it before reading this thread. Is this some kind of traditional ethnic thing, or something all the cool kids are doing these days, or what?

I'm mystified.

What else don't I know?

Well, it is extremely common for serving enchiladas. Obviously it's not commonly done in the kitchens of my family or I would already know how to do it.

This question was precipitated by The Joy of Cooking's suggestion that one should serve an omelet on a warm plate.

is this common? I've never heard of a single instance of it before reading this thread.

It's pretty common in restaurants, where there's often an actual piece of equipment called a "plate warmer," and where there isn't, chefs will stack a pile of plates above the stove so they pick up rising heat. It makes a huge difference, in restaurants, when the plate is warm. It means that the diner stands a chance of having food still appetizingly hot when you get it. In my waitressing days, I remember the difference being really obvious when we were so busy that we used up the warm plates really fast and had to serve on cold plates. That cold ceramic sucked heat out of the food really fast, so it wasn't nearly as hot when it got the table, and by midmeal the diner was eating room-temp food.

So it's one of those things you can do at home that adds an extra nice touch. I can see it making a difference with omelets, because cold eggs are less yummy than warm. The one place I consistently follow my restaurant serveware warming habits at home is in coffee. Every morning, I warm my cold cup with hot water from the tap before putting any coffee in it. The coffee stays hot much longer - if I don't do that, I notice how much it instantly cools the coffee to pour it into a cold cup.

Yeah, we always did this at my dad's and often at my mum's. In fact, she warmed the plates for dinner last night and I thought of y'all, though it wasn't very practical as we were eating on the couch while watching a dvd, so had to employ dish towels to avoid thigh burn. I only bother occasionally--when the oven's warm anyway, or when I've got guests.

Hmm. Apparently the restaurants I worked at, and the ones I eat in, are not that high-falutin'.

Dude, you're trying to characterize a warm plate as confusing, exotic or "high falutin'". Stop that. It just isn't any of those things.

Unless it's a warm plate of beans, in which case, all of the above, and then some.

Plate warmers are mandatory for institutional food. If you are serving at a wedding or a hospital or a nursing home the food will need to be put on hot plates to account for plating time and delivery time.

Even if you have hit your target cook temps you will still need to hit target table temp and you can't do it with cold plates. The health department could shut you down.