CH Runners
Not Running => Food => Topic started by: BonitaApplebum on November 16, 2019, 02:53:52 PM
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My favorite holiday is almost here, I have to get my act in gear.
We are having our yearly pre-thanksgiving party here at our house. We skipped it last year, so I am especially excited about it this year. I just make bird and gravy for this, it’s potluck. If I have time I’ll make a pie, too.
Then for actual thanksgiving, we go to my mom’s. I’ll be splitting cooking duty there with my brother. I usually make a bunch of side dishes and he does bird and taters. We both do apps and desserts.
I don’t have any dishes picked out yet... who has good Thanksgiving ideas already?
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Our plans are a little bit up in the air, but will be low-key as I'm on call.
I've made this pie before and recommend it! https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/apple_cranberry_currant_crumble_pie/
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That sounds yummy! I made a regular apple pie last weekend. I Iike the idea of a slightly fancier one.
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Planning on hosting this year for all the 'kids' and my DD's bf and his mother. Should be interesting.
Doing a turkey, with our family recipe of dressing (Portuguese style). Also, mashed potatoes (thinking about making them half cauliflower and not telling anyone), cranberry sauce, some other veggies (no idea what yet) and pumpkin praline cheesecake. Or maybe pumpkin crème brulee.
Anyway, I need some inspiration so happy that you started this thread.
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Going to a vegan restaurant with DD, bf and another family, HOWEVER we decided one day that week we will do a night of just the sides. Mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, etc.
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Hosting friends this year. I think we are going pretty traditional. The weekend before Thanksgiving we are also having a block party Thanksgiving with the neighbors. It's so weird to have neighbors this friendly.
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I'd love your Portuguese stuffing recipe Jan :heartbeat:
We're hosting. My dad will join us and another friend's big family. I'll be back soon with some of the recipes I always use.
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My classic recipes for thanksgiving:
Spinach and butternut gratin
Onion, shallot, and leek gratin
Wild rice with toasted squash, leeks, and cranberries
My granny’s creamed spinach
I will definitely make one or more of those.
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I would love the leek gratin recipe.
We are heading to my MIL’s. DH will smoke the turkey. I have no idea what else is planned.
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I would love the leek gratin recipe.
We are heading to my MIL’s. DH will smoke the turkey. I have no idea what else is planned.
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https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/scalloped-onions-leeks-and-shallots-10831/amp
I follow it fairly faithfully, but more cheese is good, too. It’s a good traveling recipe, you can prep everything ahead of time and just put it in the oven before dinner. I recommend a food processor for the prep.
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That recipe looks wonderful Bonita. I may have to add that.
We'll have a roasted turkey -- I follow Alton Brown's brined recipe faithfully almost every year
A vegan turkey - The Pardon from No Evil Foods
Veg pot pie
Creamy mashed potatoes
Corn souffle (friend is making this)
Traditional stuffing
Sausage/oyster stuffing (friend is bringing)
CL Spirited Cranberry Sauce[/rul] (I make this every year)
Salad + some other veg
and lots of dessert
(https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/spirited-cranberry-apricot-sauce)
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My plans are
Traditional stuffing
Herb roasted turkey
Orange cranberry sauce
Amaretto and apple sweet potatoes
Rolls
Mashed potatoes
Green beans
Gravy
Lemon meringue pie
For the block party thing we are bringing costco apple pie and chips and guac.
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Alton Brown’s turkey is so good.
And the leeks look delicious. Thank you.
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Oh, I like lemon meringue pie, that’s a good idea.
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We are going to canada for the long weekend but doing friendsgiving this coming weekend. I need to figure out what to make!
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MM, tell me more about the amaretto and apple sweet potatoes please
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What is everyone’s stance on appetizers for thanksgiving?
My party is structured so that people arrive at 1 and we serve the meal at 4. There is alcohol served so I like to have some food available during the first part of the party. Usually light weight stuff like cheese and crackers, crudités, etc. My one friend always brings popcorn (Peanuts homage).
At my mom’s house we always have tons of apps. We start early and eat late, so that works out ok. Shrimp cocktail is a standard, usually some sort of hot dip, deviled eggs, etc. Natalie is planning pigs in blankets as her contribution.
I have a friend that refuses to put out a single bite of food before dinner, she wants people to “come to the table hungry” for the meal. I see her point, but I think I’d get a little hangry waiting around.
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Team Bonita. I'll have some kind of spicy/sweet nuts (I'll probably use pecans), deviled eggs, tasty cheeses and crudite out for people to snack on. And there will be a cocktail. I think I have enough limoncello left from my summer batch to use that with prosecco and maybe something apropos of the holiday like cranberries.
One of our guests is very well known for bringing her things to heavy prep*. And in general the dishes that are brought for Thanksgiving need some reheating (so I avoid 'handing out' things that don't reheat well like mashed potatoes). So some snacking and festive beverage drinking will happen.
*When I bring a dish to other people's homes I try to limit/eliminate anything done at their house except a reheat when absolutely necessary. And I have a galley kitchen so it's challenging when my friends need a lot of space. But I always make it work.
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Always have apps.
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Yes to appetizers!
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MM, tell me more about the amaretto and apple sweet potatoes please
I need to get the recipe from my mother. I tried to find a similar one online and failed.
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Yeah I try to eliminate heavy prep when I travel, too. But there’s always that one guest that shows up with groceries and a plan! :roll:
For my party it gets challenging - we are expecting 40 guests this year. I always whiteboard out everything that needs any onsite prep, and offer up everything we have: oven, stove, toaster oven, microwave, grill, IP. I make the turkeys in the late morning so that the oven is free when people get here.
It’s a challenge to get everything ready to go at the same time, but that’s part of the fun.
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Totally agree. I love a good project so much and when it ends with delicious food, drinks and wonderful friends, more the better.
Do you roast your birds Bonita?
Does anyone here grill their turkey? I should know better than to try after the spatchcock chicken fire of 2015 but I'm kinda sorta tempted...
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I'd love your Portuguese stuffing recipe Jan :heartbeat:
me too!
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I have no idea.
Last year, a friend hosted Friendsgiving for the hashers and I made cheesecake and I think mac and cheese for that. My family doesn't always do Thanksgiving, and Dad didn't message me about it until 5pm the day before and I'd already made alternate plans, so...
I haven't heard anything from anybody this year. If nothing else comes up, I'll probably do something on the smoker or the grill and invite my brother. Or do something simple like make a pie and go crash someone else's Thanksgiving. It's looking like I'll have no idea until the last minute.
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Had a free minute so I googled "Portuguese stuffing recipes" and Leite's Culinaria popped up. I had forgotten all about this site and how much I love it. :heartbeat:
This mushroom strudel recipe looks simple and divine. It would make a great Thanksgiving app either cut into small pieces or (I may do this) with the filo shaped into purses for individual bites. https://leitesculinaria.com/2229/recipes-mushroom-strudel.html
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I'm curious - how far in advance do your respective families firm up Thanksgiving plans?
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I'm curious - how far in advance do your respective families firm up Thanksgiving plans?
My family lives a 14 hour drive away. If we had made plans with them it would have been firmed up months ago.
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Not far.
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Not far.
How not far? I would PREFER 2 weeks advance notice, but not less than the Saturday before because I want the ability to make other plans. My family is CONSISTENTLY just a few days before and it drives me nuts! (And since they sometimes go to the beach instead of doing Thanksgiving or host on Friday instead I can't just assume it's going to happen and when.)
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I'm curious - how far in advance do your respective families firm up Thanksgiving plans?
We alternate years with my fam and DH’s, so we always have a general idea of who we will be with.
As far as deciding who is hosting goes — odd years are always at my mom’s. Thanksgiving overlaps with hunting season, so we go where the woods are.
Even years, DH’s fam takes turns hosting, it’s either here, SIL’s, or at a cousin’s. We usually decide maybe a month out or so who is hosting, although sometimes someone offers sooner.
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Totally agree. I love a good project so much and when it ends with delicious food, drinks and wonderful friends, more the better.
Do you roast your birds Bonita?
Yes, exactly!!
I roast, following the Cook’s Illustrated brining and roasting methods. I’ve been doing that for years with good results.
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Amaretto Yams
Prep time: 20 min. Cook time: 45 minutes total
3 lbs yams, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup hot water
1 small green apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 cup amaretto
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/4 cup brown sugar 2 tbsp butter, melted 1 tsp cinnamon
Place yams and water in a 9 inch square baking dish and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on HIGH for 8 minutes; let cool slightly.
Fold over one corner of plastic wrap and carefully drain off all water; remove wrap and place apple slices on yams. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Dissolve cornstarch in amaretto in a small bowl; stir in brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon. Pour over yams and apples and bake for 30 min.
Makes 8 servings.
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RG-- well we just do our own thing anyway. If we have my step-daughter we are in town and usually do TG with his family. Usually his brother hosts but one year they were out of town so we hosted. But at my dad's house because we cant seat that many people. Usually tg with my dad is only an option if we go to his wife's fams party or if I host Friday. But anymore I just don't have the energy for it and would prefer to opt out.
But yeah, usually this is all kinda last minute. I know it makes us kind of jerks for travelling over TG but otherwise TG planning is a cluster fuck I don't enjoy participating in.
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Well, now in particular, it's like, if I don't make plans, I'll have to spend it alone. And if I do make plans, I feel guilty if last minute my parents decide to do something.
The year we were entirely out of town was totally the best. But I was out of town with the now ex-boyfriend. I did enough holidays entirely alone when I worked retail and lived out of state. Including the one where I ate a bologna sandwich in a hotel room because all the restaurants serving meals closed before I got off work.
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I am thankful for the quiet day alone to have the world to myself. But, I get it.
In your shoes, I'd ask if they're planning something and if you don't get an answer make other plans. We often take in orphans if we host though.
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I would love to have you over if you lived closer RG. I agree, RA, we always take in orphans when we can.
Our group just grew by 6 in fact because a dear friend mentioned at girls' night out last night that it was just her immediate family and IL's. We can fit them. Now our TDay dinner is going to be epic.
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And also, her IL's keep kosher so now her husband (gently) insisted on bringing the (kosher) turkey, already roasted and carved. Yes please! This makes Thanksgiving dinner soooo much easier now.
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NYT posted an awesome Thanksgiving cooking in a tiny kitchen video. It's a little long (37 minutes) but I am liking her side dishes.
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I'll have to look for that. Thanks RA
I love Thanksgiving planning so much. I used to travel super heavily around this time of year and one of my favorite things was to get all the cooking magazines and devour them on flights, then pick and plan everything out so I could hit the ground running when I got home a day or two before.
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nibble cheese and crackers
marsala glazed turkey (i use a dry brine)
mushroom and shallot gravy
mashed potatoes
roasted carrots
sauteed green beans
brussels sprouts salad
cranberry pie w/whipped cream
tipple
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I'm curious - how far in advance do your respective families firm up Thanksgiving plans?
my mother demanded we all set our plans (to travel to her house for t'giving) in AUGUST.
so i was a firm NO.
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I messaged my brother who didn't know but thought his daughter might. So I messaged my niece who thought it was happening and then she confirmed so now I know it's Thursday at 2. And then I messaged my brother. Haha.
Now, let's see if it STAYS Thursday at 2...
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Had a free minute so I googled "Portuguese stuffing recipes" and Leite's Culinaria popped up. I had forgotten all about this site and how much I love it. :heartbeat:
This mushroom strudel recipe looks simple and divine. It would make a great Thanksgiving app either cut into small pieces or (I may do this) with the filo shaped into purses for individual bites. https://leitesculinaria.com/2229/recipes-mushroom-strudel.html
That is a great site and the one I use for the codfish cakes. Below is my grandmother's recipe:
1 lb ground pork - you may only be able to find it with spices. That's ok.
1 lb ground beef
1 cup chopped celery
1 large onion chopped
2 Tsp poultry seasoning
2 cloves of garlic, chopped.
salt and pepper to taste
2 bay leaves
1-2 loaves, crappy white bread, preferably a bit stale. - tear into tiny chunks. Start with one loaf.
In a BIG pot, add olive oil. Heat. Add garlic and stir until good smells. About 1-2 minutes. Add onion and celery. Cook, stirring frequently until translucent. Add seasonings. Stir. Add meat and stir until cooked. Add bread crumbs, stirring, until you get the consistency you want. I add the bread crumbs, stir it up and then, cover the pot for about 10 minutes. Then, I check the consistency. if too wet, add more bread. It should stick together but not be saucy.
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My party was a blast. We wound up with about 35 guests. I don’t do anything overly creative for that party, just the bird, gravy, and taters... now I get to make a bunch of much more fun side dishes for Thursday.
Gotta make some decisions soon...
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We're going to my sister's and bringing roasted carrots and asparagus, a blueberry pie, and a chocolate dream pie. I'm also making mashed potatoes for a work potluck on Tuesday, if there's leftovers I'll bring those too.
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Prep has started. Spiced nuts and cranberry sauce are done. Both are delish.
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My party was a blast. We wound up with about 35 guests. I don’t do anything overly creative for that party, just the bird, gravy, and taters... now I get to make a bunch of much more fun side dishes for Thursday.
Gotta make some decisions soon...
:heartbeat:
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I can't make cranberry sauce in advance. It WILL give you a stomach ache if you eat an entire batch in one night.
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So instacart brought me plain stuffing by accident, no seasoning. What to do?
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I can't make cranberry sauce in advance. It WILL give you a stomach ache if you eat an entire batch in one night.
I have also learned this lesson the hard way.
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Okay, we are on the hook for:
Cranberry sauce
Green bean casserole
Onion/leek/shallot gratin
Creamed spinach
Apple pie
Deviled eggs
Pigs in blankets (Natalie is making that one)
I decided to stick with tried-and-true recipes this year as I don’t seem to have a lot of bandwidth this week.
I’m hoping to prep everything today. That way we just have to drive tomorrow and then just pop things in the oven. The rest of the time I can focus on getting a buzz on and talking smack with my cousins.
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That is a great site and the one I use for the codfish cakes. Below is my grandmother's recipe:
1 lb ground pork - you may only be able to find it with spices. That's ok.
1 lb ground beef
1 cup chopped celery
1 large onion chopped
2 Tsp poultry seasoning
2 cloves of garlic, chopped.
salt and pepper to taste
2 bay leaves
1-2 loaves, crappy white bread, preferably a bit stale. - tear into tiny chunks. Start with one loaf.
In a BIG pot, add olive oil. Heat. Add garlic and stir until good smells. About 1-2 minutes. Add onion and celery. Cook, stirring frequently until translucent. Add seasonings. Stir. Add meat and stir until cooked. Add bread crumbs, stirring, until you get the consistency you want. I add the bread crumbs, stir it up and then, cover the pot for about 10 minutes. Then, I check the consistency. if too wet, add more bread. It should stick together but not be saucy.
That looks great, Jan! I make something similar using Italian sausage, ciabatta bread cubes (drying in the oven now), and a mix of dried and fresh herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, a bit of fennel seed).
With our respective families all back in the Midwest and preferring not to travel over T-giving (although we went to FL last year), we almost always have a very low key Thanksgiving at home (just me, the Mister, and the two Spawn). The menu is pretty simple, too:
* Appies will be bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with a Marcona almond and tuna-stuffed peppadew peppers (Spawn the Elder will come over early in the afternoon and make these). Likely will make some sort of cocktail for Spawn the Elder and me.
*Roaster chicken (about 6ish pounds or so); I work a good amount of chopped pancetta, sage, rosemary, salt and pepper under its skin (based on a Tuscan recipe for guinea fowl) and stick a lemon up its butt.
* Mashed potatoes and gravy (the Mister is a master gravy maker)
* Aforementioned sausage dressing
* Steamed Brussels sprouts
* Pumpkin pie
* Unoaked Temecula Valley Chardonnay
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Nice ladies!
Now that I have the turkey being brought with parents who will need pareve sides + dessert
so I'm making:
charcuterie board with meat (salami) & cheese
charcuterie board with beef and no cheese
deviled eggs
butter/cream laden mashed potatoes
vegan mashed potatoes
vegan sweet potato casserole
stuffing
apricot spirited cranberry sauce
pumpkin pie
coconut cake
cute mini pies - graham cracker crust with smores filling and chocolate crust with chocolate cream filling
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No stuffing advice to my previous post? :'(
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No stuffing advice to my previous post? :'(
chopped parsley
minced fresh sage, rosemary and thyme
Yes, musical, but those are the classic herbs. Plus celery, onion, salt and pepper.
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chopped parsley
minced fresh sage, rosemary and thyme
Yes, musical, but those are the classic herbs. Plus celery, onion, salt and pepper.
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The only one I have fresh is sage.
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The only one I have fresh is sage.
How about dried herbs? Not quite as flavorful, but will definitely work.
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I'm sorry I missed the question. Do you have very flavorful (veg) broth/stock?
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Veg stock and dried herbs. Poultry seasoning too
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that combo should give it some flavor and be at least ok
eta:
I think I saw in Thanksgiving thread that this is for Friday? If so, plenty of time to go get fresh herbs.
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I'm done with all of my prep! Well, my pie is still in the oven, but that's it.
I forgot to list one of my apps -- shrimp cocktail. I'm going so old school this year for the apps! (Also doing deviled eggs and pigs in blankets. All I need is ants on a log!)
I'm glad I made easy stuff that doesn't require a ton of work this year... I think I'm still pooped from my big party last weekend.
We are driving out tomorrow morning. I guess I have nothing left to do tonight but pack!
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I almost forgot that I planned to make deviled eggs too! Thanks bonita
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More deviled eggs here. The whole family loves them.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
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I used dried thyme, rosemary, sage, garlic, shallots and the stuffing turned out really well! I made the Americas Test Kitchen mac n cheese and it was TO DIE FOR as usual, even GF
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Our Thanksgiving plan. Beef Wellington, creamed spinach, jalapeno mac and cheese, stuffing and gravy.
(https://i.postimg.cc/qppD2fzh/Full-Size-Render.jpg)
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Looks good, Radial. We had Chinese food. :)