It’s not personal; it’s polite.
Pet peeve time. Have you ever caught yourself counting how many to-go plates someone is packing?
Has anyone ever shown up for Thanksgiving “dinner” but never sat down, never ate and instead just packed their containers and bounced?
No, no, no. We have more home training than that. So here it is: The quintessential To-Go Plate Protocol.
The Rules
The To-Go Plate Protocol 1 Don’t pack a to-go plate until everyone has eaten. We’ve all been tempted. That dressing hit so hard that all you want to do is pack an entire container before it’s gone. You keep eyeing the pan and watching as the bottom of the pan becomes wider and wider. Control yourself! Put yourself in the shoes of someone who hasn’t eaten yet. There could be a mother dealing with young children at the kids’ table who hasn’t had a chance to make her plate yet. Maybe Cousin Ray-Ray doesn’t get off work for another hour. Doesn’t he deserve a plate, too? Until the host or hostess declares that it’s time to pack up, keep yourself seated. Let everyone in attendance eat.
2 Don’t make a to-go plate your first and only plate. If you are invited to dinner, then that’s what you should be having: DINNER! Not tomorrow’s lunch and not your midnight snack. Dinner. So take a plate, pile it up, take a seat, eat and converse with family and friends. If you’re wondering when you should pack your to-go container, go back to Rule #1.
3 Don’t bring your own containers. Can you be more obvious? Rolling up to the crib with a whole bag of Styrofoam containers? What do you think this is, a cafeteria? There’s one caveat, though. If the host asks you to bring containers, then ignore this rule. If not, then leave the Styrofoam or Glad plastic or Rubbermaid containers where they belong – on the shelf at home or at the store.
Whole pans wrapped for the fridge are the host’s call. Your to-go plate is not a pan. The To-Go Plate Protocol, continued 4 Limit of two containers per person. This is the big one. Packing up for your boo-thang because he’s at his mama’s for dinner? If he didn’t invite you to his mother’s house, then you don’t need to be packing him anything from your mother’s house. Everyone wants leftovers. That’s why you need to remember what you learned in preschool. Share. Take turns. Only pack two containers per person. Two is more than enough, especially if it’s a divided container with sections. One section for the protein, one for the dressing, one for the mac ‘n cheese or anything else that’s left over. The same rule applies for desserts, but not regarding containers. Two pieces of dessert. Max.
5 Mix it up. We know! The dressing makes you wanna slap your mama. But a whole container full? STAHP!!!! The only time a container should be filled with one dish is when the host is wrapping it up for the fridge or the freezer. For a to-go plate, you make a plate, not a serving bowl. Your container should consist of a main dish and sides. Maybe a roll.
Extra rule: The only time you can pile up your car with leftovers If you bring a dish and, by the time dinner is over and you’re ready to leave, it’s more than half full, take it with you. That means nobody wants it. Do everyone a favor and take it home.
