Thanksgiving Day Tips

Thanksgiving Day can be a joy and a pain .  Some things you can control and some you can't.  Here are a few things that if you remember to do you might save yourself some time and aggravation.

1) Practice safe turkeying: Butterball.com reminds us to.. (They also have a hotline for cooking questions 1-800-BUTTERBALL)

• Thaw: Place unopened turkey, breast side up, on a tray in refrigerator. Allow at least 24 hours of thawing for every 4 pounds of turkey.
• Temperature: Always use a meat thermometer to determine when the turkey is done (fully cooked). The temperature should reach 180° F in the thigh, 170° F in the breast and 165° F in the center of the stuffing.
• Two-Hour Storage: Store leftovers in separate containers within two hours after cooking.
• Three Days to Eat: Your leftovers will last 3 days in the refrigerator. Eat or freeze leftover turkey within that time period.
• Wash preparation utensils, work surfaces and hands in hot, soapy water after contact with uncooked turkey and juices.
• Do not stuff the turkey the night before.
• Carve the turkey before you place in the refrigerator.

2) Don't put grease down the drain: Thanksgiving is a royal pain in the U.S. drain. Thanksgiving means turkey dinners, family gatherings and football. For household drains and aging sewers across the United States, it means a lot of grease going down the pipes - and into the sewers.The number of calls to plumbers and drain experts jumps 50 percent over a normal Friday so if you’d like the keep from having to call one the day after Thanksgiving, try these ideas:

• Clean up oil and grease with paper towels and discard them. Or pour off the grease into a container, let it congeal, and discard the container in the trash.
• Avoid putting stringy or fibrous waste down the disposal.
• Do not wait until the disposal is full to turn it on. Use plenty of water, and let it run for 20 or 30 seconds until it is clear

3) Keep the conversation light: Here are a few things most families attempt to stay away from on Thanksgiving:

• Since Thanksgiving is a no-holds-barred, all-day gluttony marathon, it does not matter how many times someone goes back to the dessert tray, you can’t say anything about it.
• Nothing can spark a holiday shouting match faster than unsolicited political commentary.
• Most believe that it’s never appropriate to bring up “painful family subjects” around the dinner table.
• Sometimes turkeys dry out or mashed potatoes turn soupy. It is never okay for a guest to point out to a host who has been slaving over a stove all day that something is wrong with the food.
• Maybe Thanksgivings past were a little more extravagant with better food and livelier company, but it’s not a competition. Don’t compare and don’t say a word.

4) Last, don't forget to be thankful:)...Happy Thanksgiving