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Connecting without infecting- ceative ways to celebrate?

leswp1

leswp1

New member
The biggest source of spread is small family/friend gatherings with 'trusted' people who's bodies aren't trustworthy. We know testing is not effective as a screen to be safe. If they don't live with you they shouldn't be there. What are you doing to connect without infecting? Looking for creative ideas and a place people can share how they are doing things without being inside together. [please, please leave out how any mention of 'only having one other family/friend,etc. This isn't safe and I am trying to keep my blood pressure at a reasonable level]

We are 3. Usually have all the elderly relatives. When we cancelled we heard a chorus of thank yous from people who didn't want the stress of having to say no. We may set the laptop up at the head of the table and zoom or FB video chat.

For Advent I am going to have an envelope for every day and write a short blerb of fond memory that we usually would hear over the T-day or Xmas table.

Also planning to bake, freeze meals that they can defrost and eat with us at Christmas time.
 
My wife and I will be doing one at home. Our dining room is small, we usually eat in the other room 99.9% of the time, so we wanted to try something outside where there's more room for Thanksgiving given it's special. We didn't quite know if the weather would cooperate, but from a client she got a big bubble tent, about 12` in diameter and 7' tall, that's plastic and clear. So we figure we can move everything outside and eat in that; a little goofy, yes, but this is the year to do something unusual. Actually it looks like the weather will cooperate pretty well, 60 degrees and partly cloudy for most of the week. And throughout the day we'll Zoom with family in the area and back east.
 
My dad is coming over, and he's been in my sort of bubble since May/June, and he's also been doing what he can to stay safe. Probably better than I am, actually (not proud to admit).

My brother intends to come up for Christmas from SC, but he's decided COVID is a total hoax and refuses to take any measures. My dad and I told him that MA requires visitors to have a negative test or quarantine, he refused. So we told him he'll quarantine and get tested or he can stay there. It sucks. The Cult of Trump has ruined a lot of people.
 
We will continue to be home with Mr. & Mrs. geezer and the big & little geezer kids (University to 1st grade). We don’t care for turkey anyway, so all I need is the “foolproof rib roast “ link on Allrecipes.com (which has served us very well the last few Christmas and Easters) to make it a happy family holiday.
I rather enjoy the absence of socializing.
 
Just me and the Ms.

We're going all out for food. Cooking has already started. I’m so excited. I’ve always wanted to do Thanksgiving.

Breakfast:
Alton’s apple spice bundt cake

Dinner:
Smoking a whole turkey
Likely spatchcock and with a maple sage wet or dry(ish) brine​
Cornbread*^ & sausage stuffing
celery, carrots, shallots, possibly apple, among other things​
Mashed potatoes*
god I wanted garlic mash, but garlic doesn’t agree with Wdx... sigh. Not everyone can be perfect​
Gravy*^
still not sure how I’m doing this. Smoked drippings are going to taste like char. So likely going to cook the neck, back, and giblets in turkey stock with veggies​
Sweet potato biscuits*^ and/or
Parker House rolls*^
We might do the PH Rolls non-GF for me. Just can’t beat that ungodly good texture of a gluten bread.​
Cranberry sauce*
Pumpkin Pie^ or pumpkin cheesecake*^, not sure which yet

Pairing with one of our Trader Joe’s Diamond Reserves.

*From scratch // ^Gluten-free

We’re going to eat for a week lol.

Turkey went in the fridge yesterday. We also baked the cornbread and started the staling process. It's sooooooooooo good. It's my own recipe for the cornbread but we decided to throw in some Scarborough Fair and holy moly, revelatory.

Tonight while Wdx is working, I'll be making and parbaking the Parker House rolls. We can toss them in the oven day to finish.
edit: nix that. Goofs are on.

As for connecting:
Going to Zoom/Facetime with family. With some of the in-laws, we're setting a strict "no COVID, no politics" rule... :roll eyes:

Starting after Turkey Day, we're going to be doing contactless treat drops with friends and family. We've gone back and forth with this and making sure the science backs up this idea. Seems like surface transfer is significantly less common than we thought. At least according to latest research.
 
We had a scare last night/this AM but turns out so far things are still OK. I am going to bake.

Yum to that menu. Usually I have started baking/prepping by now. Not this time. I don't usually make breakfast. Maybe I will be inspired. I could make cinnamon rolls... Swedish Coffee bread. First I need to make a pecan pie.
 
French Rage said:
My wife and I will be doing one at home. Our dining room is small, we usually eat in the other room 99.9% of the time, so we wanted to try something outside where there's more room for Thanksgiving given it's special. We didn't quite know if the weather would cooperate, but from a client she got a big bubble tent, about 12` in diameter and 7' tall, that's plastic and clear. So we figure we can move everything outside and eat in that; a little goofy, yes, but this is the year to do something unusual. Actually it looks like the weather will cooperate pretty well, 60 degrees and partly cloudy for most of the week. And throughout the day we'll Zoom with family in the area and back east.
Click to expand...

This sounds like great fun!
 
Swansong said:
My dad is coming over, and he's been in my sort of bubble since May/June, and he's also been doing what he can to stay safe. Probably better than I am, actually (not proud to admit).

My brother intends to come up for Christmas from SC, but he's decided COVID is a total hoax and refuses to take any measures. My dad and I told him that MA requires visitors to have a negative test or quarantine, he refused. So we told him he'll quarantine and get tested or he can stay there. It sucks. The Cult of Trump has ruined a lot of people.
Click to expand...

"been in my sort of bubble since May/June." ??? Ahh what? Does your State's guidelines say get together with your "sort of bubble" ? And, you aren't proud to admit that you aren't staying as safe as you could be? Are you kidding, its the plague what are you doing, trying to be a weapon? Clean up your act. You know that is what you are asking of everyone else to do.


Eni0PnaWMAIn_SX
 
Last edited:
Did someone other than les post in this thread recently?

My notification page said “-1” people posted

weird
 
dxmnkd316 said:
Did someone other than les post in this thread recently?

My notification page said “-1” people posted

weird
Click to expand...

It must be someone I have on ignore. When I tried to look it said I didn't have permission to look and that happens only when someone blocked shows up.
 
Pretty sure Jeb posted...

We decided instead of me smoking a turkey like normal we would buy from a restaurant. Market BBQ has a nice spread so we went with that. Of course now I have a turkey in my freezer that at some point will make enough leftovers to last until the pandemic ends but hey its all good :^)
 
Handyman said:
Pretty sure Jeb posted...

We decided instead of me smoking a turkey like normal we would buy from a restaurant. Market BBQ has a nice spread so we went with that. Of course now I have a turkey in my freezer that at some point will make enough leftovers to last until the pandemic ends but hey its all good :^)
Click to expand...

Any tips for smoking?
 
dxmnkd316 said:
Any tips for smoking?
Click to expand...

Well I am a huge proponent of brining...I tend to do it for 24 hours and always make sure there is a bit of whiskey in the brine. I like to add all sorts of different flavors depending on my mood and have never had any complaints. (I like to mix up flavors and spices to hell with recipes!) The brining will prevent it from drying out as well...and helps thaw if you pull the bird out too late. Plus since you salt the brine you don't need to salt the bird when you cook it.

Then before I smoke it if I want it to have that awesome brown hue I use olive oil (instead of butter) all over the bird. The spray is quite helpful here but if you have a really good olive oil massaging it in is no big deal. Then I usually shake on some oregano and sage and whatever other spices I used in the brine.

Now it depends what you are smoking the bird in. I have a Traeger so I don't have to do a whole lot to smoke. I usually put the bird in an aluminum roasting tray with a nice helping of the brine to prevent any drying out later on and use as a bath. (as Hovey said) I put the grill at 180 degrees and have a meat thermometer in the breast. Every hour or so I will bath the turkey in some brine. (like people do with ribs) Now I like to smoke a super long time but not everyone can do that so you need to kind of play it by ear. I once smoked a breast for like 7 hours never putting the temp in the grill above 200. That year I made two turkeys and the smoked was devoured and the roasted lasted another week. (and the roasted was pretty friggin good) If you dont have that kind of time though then after say 2 hours start jumping the temp up a little bit each time you wash it in the bath and it should still come out great!

One thing that I liked was adding a bit of sliced fruit to the bath while it smoked. I cut up some apples once and it added a nice aroma that everyone noticed. (I told no one)

This was probably longer than you wanted but I started to flash back and kind of rambled.

That bacon idea is outstanding I am so doing that next time!
 
Whoa thanks!!

I honestly had no idea you were a smoke fiend. I’ve got a 40” masterbuilt electric. I’ve mastered the pig but we’ve been branching out. We did a couple breasts earlier this year in a maple-sage brine. Yum.

tomorrow will be a different beast altogether.
 
Smoked Turkey is awesome. And it isn't as hard as you think just takes time. But it is so tender and juicy you might never eat roasted turkey again.
 
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