Author: ArtsyChowRoamer

The Do’s and Don’ts

CELEBRATING THANKSGIVING IN 2020

While we may not be able to gather for the holiday like we’re used to we can still celebrate Thanksgiving and try to find things to be grateful for. This post I’ll try to share some of my thoughts about the do’s and don’ts for the day and give you a few recipes that might come in handy since you could be cooking for yourself this year! 🤷‍♀️

As for me, I will be spending the holiday with my husband instead of my extended family as usual. With five brothers and sisters, various husbands, wives and children, the holiday can be boisterous and fun while also managing to be loud and stressful at times.

One nieces husband often seeks retreat somewhere coming from a small, quiet family that I suspect has never so much as guffawed during the holiday much less had a rowdy game rules fight or political debate like we are prone to do in our family. Beware the words…..what did you say? 🤣

DON’T NUMBER ONE

So maybe I just found my number one don’t for this year. DON’T TALK ABOUT POLITICS! That is unless you know everyone around the table is of the same mind on the subject. (That means you know everyone is either gonna high five Biden’s win or be a “whiney little bitch” about Trump’s loss). 🤣🙌😁

Anyone who knows me will be laughing about my saying that this is a don’t because I would always be breaking that rule myself. This long LONG election has finally come to an end and it has not been pretty. It has been doubly stressful on top of a pandemic.

It made it harder to vote and that made a lot of people mad. There are still run offs going on in my own state as we battle for control of the Senate. I feel like this election has been going on for four years and it has been the election from hell.

So just say no and don’t bring it up this time around. This might be the perfect year to finally give the subject a rest at the dinner table. And if you ALL agree on politics….well that is something to be grateful for.

DO NUMBER ONE

Do keep it simple. That is what keeps the stress level down. Let others help. Even if there are only two of us my husband will be my sous chef in the kitchen and help me with the big meal. Sure cooking for two shouldn’t be that hard but when it is a meal with several courses it still takes a lot of time on your own.

Kids like to help with things-especially dishes they really love. They need to learn basic kitchen skills and good memories are made cooking together over the years. This also brings a sense of normalcy in a not so normal time; something kids need to thrive.

Think of things that can be store bought over making everything from scratch. There is no harm or foul in taking short cuts; especially in 2020. When sorting through recipes look for the ones that give you the biggest bang for the buck with the least amount of time and ingredients.

If you have others coming (which you are not supposed to be doing..just sayin’…) ask them to bring a favorite dish or two as well. Whatever they bring, mark if off your list of to do’s instead of just adding more dishes to your planned menu.

Start putting your beautiful table together the day before and eat “teas on knees” the night before. This saves you so much time on the day of. Keep the table setting design simple too. Incorporate pumpkins, leaves, flowers and herbs that come from your own yard if possible.

DON’T NUMBER TWO

If you’re going to play games, don’t be so competitive. Keep it light and don’t get into arguments over the rules or who should be doing what. One sister is notorious for that while my mother is always “helping” people which others see as cheating. It really shouldn’t be that big a deal right? Laugh it off and just keep on playing.

Pick games that everyone can participate in and have fun. Don’t pick things that some aren’t so good at that make them feel stupid. No one likes to feel left out or not up to speed. Team games rather than individual efforts are always a good pick too as long as you let everyone contribute.

Don’t let kids throw a fit over losing in a game. They need to learn how to lose as gracefully as they win because that is life and they will not win everything they try or do over the years. Make it plain beforehand that their will be no BIG dramas at the Thanksgiving game table!

DO NUMBER TWO

Do utilize Zoom and other platforms to visit during the day with relatives you are unable to see this year. This is the recommendation of the CDC and the scientists. There is nothing you can’t do on Zoom including game playing and eating together.

Sign up and set up a free meeting for an hour for your meal and another hour for a game. You can do this and it is safer for everyone. If we don’t start listening to the advice from doctor’s and scientists and start making some personal sacrifices it may be one of your relatives that won’t be around at all come Christmas.

DON’T NUMBER THREE

Don’t politicize the wearing of masks. A mask is not a political thing. The Asians have been wearing them for years out of respect for themselves and their elders; the elders that they love and don’t want to lose because of bringing diseases into their lives and homes.

Don’t gather in groups outside your bubble without wearing those masks and don’t stay in any area for long periods of time without good ventilation and your mask. This means sharing a meal together outside your own bubble is not a good idea since you have to remove it to eat.

DO NUMBER THREE

Do bring those customs and rituals from past holidays to this one. It will make it seem more normal for you. Like I know it’s Thanksgiving when I set out and start toasting the white bread for my grandmother’s famous dressing.

The smell of bread along with onions and thyme just remind me of the years spent at my paternal grandparents home in Charlottesville, Virginia. When we start texting about cooking turkeys and the inability to “gobble gobble when I’m hot” I laugh and always think of her. It makes it seem so normal yes?

Do pull out pictures from past holidays and remember the fun memories of being together. That’s even a good thing for that Zoom meeting. Ask each person to share a favorite memory with everybody or to share something they are grateful for.

DON’T NUMBER FOUR

Don’t try new recipes you have never made before for the holiday. Nothing says stress like a big fail for the special table especially if you have nothing to replace it with on hand. Remember the keep it simple rule? If you feel like you really need a change up then test it out ahead of time so you can fix any mistakes and make changes to the recipe for the big day.

DO NUMBER FOUR

Do pick a great movie for the day if one of your family rituals is to see one together. You can use on demand services and buy an almost something new to watch since movie theaters are out right now as an option. Pick one for the kids and an action/adventure for the adults so everybody gets something.

My pick for us on Thursday will be Let Him Go with the fabulous Diane Lane and Kevin Costner. Can’t wait to see these two act together and there’s just enough action and drama to keep us from nodding off after the big meal.

IDEAS, FOOD PICKS & RECIPES

I do like a good signature cocktail to begin the meal. Duke’s Cosmopolitan, which is a recipe from Ina Garten’s Foolproof cookbook, is a festive one that is great from Thanksgiving through New Years.

I prefer a vodka drink and this recipe brings together just the right amount of sweet to tart with the use of cranberry, lemon juice and a bit of Cointreau for orange freshness. You really can’t beat this drink as a showstopper that just about everyone will like.

My next go to as I outlined above is the dressing of my grandmother Hallie. Hallie was an extremely good but simple cook. Her dressing used dried bread cubes made from white processed bread, onion, salt, pepper, thyme and the juices from the cooked turkey.

Once the bread was sufficiently moist she laid it out on a sheet pan and baked it for around 20-30 minutes until crispy on the outside while still moist on the inside. Over the years I have made some changes but still remain faithful to her simple but delicious side.

Take a half loaf of white bread (enough for 2-3 people) and lay it out the day before to dry overnight. Toast a third lightly and a third darker the next day and cube all into a bowl. Sautee half a white onion and two stalks of celery in two tablespoons of butter until soft.

Add to the bowl with about a half teaspoon of fresh thyme or to your own taste. Salt and pepper with a half teaspoon of salt and a quarter teaspoon of pepper. Again to your taste. I then do a small pour around of extra virgin olive oil.

I use chicken bouillon to moisten it all. You don’t want it wet-just moist. I pour around and mix and let it set for a bit. If still dryish I do another pour around and so on until you get it where you want it. Spread it on a sheet pan and bake it in a pre-heated oven for 20-30 minutes at 350. Serve with the gravy from the juices of the turkey.

Last but not least I am breaking one of my own rules this year and making something I have never tried before. Mainly because it is just me and my husband and he’s on board with trying it too. We had a fried turkey at a friends house two years ago and it was the stuff of magic.

Like they say, once you have tried it you will never go back. Well I don’t have the secret sauce and the injection thingy or the turkey fryer either so what’s a good inventive cook to do? Fried Cornish Hens-that’s what.

Why? Because it’s smaller and I can use my little fryer with the basket for the job I think. I’m going to follow a recipe from Pat and Gina Neely’s Celebration Cookbook that I found online. It’s got a buttermilk brine recipe that sounds super good.

I always change a recipe to my own taste even if trying it for the first time. This recipe calls for a flour coating before frying and I am not going to do that. I want that skin brown and crispy just like it would be on a turkey and not like the skin on fried chicken but here’s a picture of their finished product. You’ll have to wait for a pic of mine after the big day!

CONCLUSION

I hope these tips and hacks will help you have a safe, happy and tasty Thanksgiving with your family in the safest way possible. This entire year will go down in history as being one of the absolute worst and a synonym for just that very thing.

Sort of like, how ya doin’? Man my day was so 2020 today. Ya know what I mean? I know it’s been hard and it is even harder to have holidays without all our families together but we don’t have much longer to go and just think about how great it will be when we don’t have it to talk or worry about anymore.

So celebrate in style. Toast to the New Year and good things to come. Find things to say thank you for. Eat some turkey, play a game and watch a movie. Wear a mask, take care of you and your loved ones and hey…don’t be a stranger. Let me know what you are doing to make this holiday season special and “normal” OK?

If you liked what you read you might also enjoy other posts from Just Because. Be on the lookout for my next post on exploring in North Georgia. Until then…

Cheers!

ArtsyChowRoamer

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