Christmas 2020 During Coronavirus

Ohh Christmas. The time of the year that I look forward to the most! I literally start counting it down in July when there are officially less months to next Christmas than the one before. But this year things are a bit different. The world is in turmoil and the throes of the pandemic. The log crackling on the fire is American democracy and the carols being sung are the jeers and tears of protestors and angry mobs. Putting all of that aside, though, a Coronavirus Christmas is a must!

These days I've also been working two jobs nonstop and haven't had a day off since Thanksgiving. So, now I've finally had time to crash! I woke up on the morning of Christmas Eve, not to the feeling of relaxation and holiday cheer, but to a sharp shooting pain in my feet! I'm pretty sure that the combination of standing constantly, still attempting to workout, and maybe my shoes being too tight.

Not to be overshadowed by the tingling and numbness that made it difficult to walk, I was determined to make the most out of Christmas this year! After all, don't we all need some holiday cheer?

What to Make for a Coronavirus Christmas?

The first thing that I knew that I was going to make during this Coronavirus Christmas was cookies. What is Christmas without cookies!?? I pretty much only make cookies this time of year and almost always make peanut butter blossoms with peppermint kisses and and Mexican wedding cookies. Sometimes I'll mix it up with pumpkin chocolate chip or lime shortbread. But this year I wanted to stick with my tried and true favorites.

The next thing that I had to determine was the main course. I made fondue for Thanksgiving and had enough cheese leftover for another meal. I spent a little bit of time thinking about just making another fondue. But I usually make seafood and pasta for one holiday meal and lobster prices have been spectacular lately! So, lobster macaroni and cheese inspired by fondue fit perfectly this yeaer.

Mashed potatoes are also always a given. No holiday is complete without mashed potatoes.

Dinner rolls are the same. Like so many people, I grew up with those Pillsbury grands or crescents out of the can. Even as an adult there's something so satisfying about peeling back the wrapper and snapping open the can! These days I'm attempting to make bread, though. A lot of us are during Coronavirus and it seems only fitting to make actual rolls this year.

The last thing to determine is dessert. This one took me quite a bite of time to come up with. I actually just spent all of my last day at work before Christmas still thinking about it. I have an abundance of apples and have been thinking anything simpler than apple pie! Perhaps a crisp or a crumble? Although I eventually decided on the day off for a cobbler that turned out more like a cake!

The Coronavirus Christmas Menu

For this year's Coronavirus Christmas I have come up with the following menu:

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How to Get All of the Dishes Out at the Same Time

The most difficult part of cooking a feast is making sure that everything comes out at roughly the same time. There's a particular order that you have to start, prepare, and bake things in. This year I simplified this process immensely!

Dishes to Prepare Ahead of Time

I made the peanut butter blossoms several days before. I actually made them for an entirely different purpose and really just had them leftover. But such is Christmas! Cookies keep well and are often made to pass around to friends and family during the holidays.

Dishes to Cook on the Day Of

On the day of, the rolls are essential to make first. They have to proof and take several hours to make. It's better to get them started and out of the way than to be scrambling at the end to proof bread!

Second on the docket was to start the apple cobbler. Since I'd never made this before, I wanted to get the ball rolling in case anything didn't work out. It ended up going fine and was absolutely delicious! But you never know when you haven't practiced something beforehand.

I followed this up with the lobster macaroni and cheese. There are a lot of moving parts with this. You have to cook the lobster and the shrimp beforehand, prepare the roux, and bake for almost an hour. I did this in stages, but at least started the process pretty early on.

After that, I prepared the Mexican wedding cookies. These are quick and easy and can be squeezed in anywhere. I would ordinarily make them the day or even week before. But alas, I didn't have the time!

Lastly, I made mashed potatoes. This is the easiest part of the cooking process today. If you're worried about time, you can prepare the potatoes sooner and reserve boiling them for later in the day. But I had so many things to start ahead of time that I pushed it off.

Cooking Times

A big part of cooking for the holidays is prioritizing oven space. One day I want a house with a double oven. But until that time! A mixture of make ahead, stovetop, and staggered oven usage.

Cookies: 20 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit
Mashed Potatoes: 30 minutes on stove
Rolls: 25 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Macaroni and Cheese: 35 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Apple Cobbler: 40 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit

Luckily, everything cooks at the same temperature, so there was no finagling or prioritizing of oven temperature. And everything cooks in similar time frames, so I put the mashed potatoes on the stove and the rolls, macaroni and cheese, and cobbler in the oven at the same time.

The only thing that I had to make time for was baking the cookies. I made the peanut butter blossoms days before and baked the Mexican wedding cookies earlier in the day.

Conclusion About the Meal

As taxing just getting through the holidays this year was! In the end, this Coronavirus Christmas was fantastic. It was great to have a couple of days off and spend the day with good food, good cocktails, and as good company as we can minimally do this year.

Catfish Out of Water

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