Nov. 13--Thanksgiving dinner help is just a mouse click or phone call away, thanks to a number of consumer hotlines and Web pages (social media, too) focusing on the holiday season. Whether sponsored by government agencies, trade groups or food companies, these outlets are resources for useful answers to your pressing cooking problems; they offer shopping pointers, recipes, food safety tips, advice for leftovers and practical storage ideas.
Here are a few to check out:
USDA: Food safety tips from the United States Department of Agriculture. Click on Countdown to Thanksgiving for ways to prep the turkey and Let's Talk Turkey for ways to safely roast the bird. Or, speak to a food safety expert at the toll-free meat and poultry hotline, 888-674-6854. The hotline is open Monday through Friday and on Thanksgiving Day. USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service posts food safety tweets on Twitter. Or go to Ask Karen, a resource for various cooking and food safety questions.
Butterball Turkey Talk-Line: For 34 years, Butterball operators have been talking turkey with consumers. Call 800-288-8372 for help on weekdays (also Saturday, Nov. 14, and the weekend before Thanksgiving). This season, the company is emphasizing what it calls the "Four T's of Food Safety": Thaw (2 hours for every 4 pounds of turkey), Temperature (Use a meat thermometer), Two-Hour Storage, Three Days to Eat (refrigerated leftovers). (Need a chuckle during those hours in the kitchen? Read our roundup of 10 weirdest questions posed to operators.
Crisco Pie Baking Hotline: Call 877-367-7438 for help with your baked goods and pies. The hotline is open weekdays (closed Thanksgiving); with online chats offered weekdays Nov. 16-25.
National Turkey Federation: This trade association offers instructions and tips on prepping, cooking, serving and storing the bird, plus a history of Thanksgiving and turkey, recipes and wine suggestions.
Sara Lee Pie Hotline: Call 888-914-1247 for pie tips on weekdays 7 a.m to 6 p.m. Central Time (including Thanksgiving until 1 p.m. Central Time). Or tweet your questions to @saraleedesserts using the hashtag #PerfectPie during hotline hours.
wdaley@tribpub.com
