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A Butterball Turkey Talk-Line expert on Thanksgiving disasters and redemption

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:16:05 GMT

There are a lot of ways to screw up a Thanksgiving turkey. One of the more original ones is having your dearly beloved almost choke on an engagement ring.“One of our turkey experts received a call from someone who had hidden an engagement ring in the stuffing, and then he couldn’t find it,” says Barbara Robinson. “He called us in a panic. Of course, we came to find out, it had slipped into another cavity.”Crisis averted. And as a supervisor at the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line (1-800-BUTTERBALL), that’s what Robinson does every holiday season – prevent crises, provide advice and lend much-needed emotional support. From Nov. 1 to Dec. 24, she and roughly 50 other culinary experts with headsets and computers operate the company’s call center in Chicagoland. (For non-Midwesterners, that’s Chicago and its suburbs.) They handle more than 100,000 requests for assistance each season, covering everything from properly thawing a turkey (never in the Jacuzzi!) to what to...

Facing a Thanksgiving baking emergency? Call this hotline.

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:16:05 GMT

So you’re on the hook for making the Thanksgiving meal happen, but the prospect of prepping yeasted breads wakes you up in a cold sweat. Or maybe a cousin decided to bring a guest who is … gasp … a vegan.Don’t despair, frazzled home chefs. Vermont’s King Arthur Baking Company runs a baking hotline — and email and chat — that pairs struggling bakers with pros to navigate any baking project. Those professional bakers are standing by — at 855-371-2253 and www.kingarthurbaking.com/bakers-hotline — from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 6 to 1 p.m. weekends, Pacific time.We asked hotline baking specialist Dawn Hope to share some of her tried-and-true tips — and warnings —for Thanksgiving baking.Q: What’s your backstory?A: Like a lot of other people I work with on the hotline, I was a former professional baker — I worked in a bakery for decades and I used to work for decorators in New York City. My whole life has been in food. My job...

Can you guess which hit ’90s rock act is heading out on tour in 2024?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:16:05 GMT

Hootie & the Blowfish is hitting the road in 2024.And they are bringing Collective Soul and Edwin McCain along for the ride on what is being dubbed the Summer Camp with Trucks Tour.The trek includes a Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View on July 17.The overall tour begins May 30 in Dallas and continues through Sept. 28 in West Palm Beach, Florida.Tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Nov. 10, hootie.com.There are also presale opportunities for Hootie & the Blowfish and Citi card members, both of which run from noon Nov. 7 to 10 p.m. Nov. 9. (See hootie.com and citientertainment.com for details.)Summer Camp with Trucks TourMay 30            Dallas, Texas                        Dos Equis PavilionMay 31            Rogers, Ark.                         Walmart AMPJune 1              St. Louis, Mo.                      Hollywood Casino AmphitheatreJune 6              Detroit, Mich.                       Pine Knob Music TheatreJune 7              Cincinnati, Ohio  ...

Pac-12 power ratings: Arizona rises as the top tier forms and tiebreaker scenarios gather at the gates

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:16:05 GMT

With three weeks left, six teams are in the race for a berth in the Pac-12 championship game.Washington stands alone with an undefeated record in league play (6-0), followed closely by Oregon (5-1). Four teams have 4-2 marks: Utah, Oregon State, USC and Arizona.If the Huskies win at least two of their final three, they clinch a berth in Las Vegas. And if the Ducks keep winning, they qualify, as well.But the conference is one or two unexpected results away from tiebreaker mayhem. Only four of the six teams play each of the others, and the two schedule misses, USC-Oregon State and Arizona-Oregon, could further complicate matters.Which makes this a fine time to remind fans of the tiebreaker process itself.Two-team tieHead-to-head trumps all. If the tied teams did not play each other, the following process is applied, according to the conference:— Win percentage against the next highest placed common opponent in the standings (based on record in all games played within the confere...

Recipe: Whole roasted turkey with giblet gravy, from Butterball

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:16:05 GMT

What’s more classic than a whole, roasted turkey for the holidays? The company perhaps most closely associated with these big birds provides many how-tos and recipes on its Butterball.com website – including pickle-brined, maple-mustard glazed, smoked and even java coffee-rubbed. But it’s hard to go wrong with the classic Holiday Turkey with Giblet Gravy, which combines crispy skin with juicy meat and a rich gravy made with aromatics like parsley and onion.Make sure you have ample time to thaw a turkey, if using frozen — but don’t do it on the counter; do it instead in the fridge or in cold water. Then it takes at least three-and-a-half hours in the oven. Must-have items include a roasting pan, a meat thermometer, a sharp knife to carve the bird after resting and of course enough people to eat it all – Butterball recommends 1½ to 2 pounds per person.Holiday Turkey with Giblet GravyServes 14INGREDIENTS1 fresh or frozen whole turkey, thawed if frozen (Butterbal...

Recipe: Make Thanksgiving dinner rolls the King Arthur Baking Co. way

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:16:05 GMT

When it comes to Thanksgiving baking, one of the topics King Arthur Baking Company’s hotline experts field the most questions about is dinner rolls — second only to pies and pie crusts, according to baking specialist Dawn Hope.These dinner rolls come out soft, tender and warm and are perfect for Thanksgiving — or, really, any time. According to recipe author Mary Jane Robbins, who also works at the baking hotline, “We make this big batch of rolls for cookouts, bake sales, community dinners and Sunday dinners (with plenty of leftovers for the week).” Bake what you need and freeze the rest if desired, she writes.King Arthur Baking Company’s Big Batch Quick Dinner RollsMakes 24INGREDIENTS1/2 cup (113g) water, lukewarm2 cups (454g) milk, warm (100 degrees to 110 degrees)3 tablespoons (43g) butter, room temperature2 tablespoons (21g) granulated sugar1 tablespoon (18g) table salt2½ tablespoons (28g) instant yeast6 to 7 cups (720g to 840g) King Arthur Unbleached All...

Wish You Were Here: An epic family adventure across Spain

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:16:05 GMT

Got wanderlust? Our readers have traveled the globe this year, exploring everything from Oregon’s bike trails to Austria’s museums and cultural centers And they’ve share their stories and helpful travel tips along the way.Now, a San Rafael family is sharing their adventures in Spain.Wish You Were HereSPAIN: San Rafael residents Jack and Clare Robertson took a family trip to Spain and Portugal in September. Along for the ride were, left to right, John (San Rafael), Clare, Dan (Los Angeles), Sarah (Chicago), Nolan (Chicago), Tori (Denver), Jack and Tatum (San Rafael).In addition to a stop in Toledo, pictured, where they toured cathedrals and the Jewish Ghetto, the Robertsons visited Madrid’s Royal Palace, Prado Museum and nightclubs, Jack says, and “gorged on guided tapas tours with good cheap vino and cerveza throughout. (We) walked steep steps in amazing Granada and its Alhambra, (and) visited the White Villages in the mountains, where we made homemade ...

5 awesome things to do at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:16:05 GMT

You could spend an entire day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and not run out of stuff to do, thanks to behind-the-scenes tours, animal feedings and opportunities to get wet. Here are five awesome ways to maximize your time at the aquarium (and you’ll no doubt find others):Explore a new deep-sea exhibitGiant isopods scurry like roly-poly bugs in a touch tank. Japanese spider crabs the size of Labrador retrievers stalk a whale skeleton. Glasslike jellies crackle with electric-rainbow lights. Into the Deep, which opened in 2022, features the largest collection of deep-sea animals in all North America – you’ll find awe in this weird environment lurking around every darkened corner.Visitors take photos of a giant sea bass at the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Kelp Forest exhibit in Monterey, Calif., on Tuesday, May 30, 2023. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)Dive with aquarium staffWant to immerse your child, literally, in the wonders of the ocean? You can with surface-diving excur...

BART slows trains due to wet weather, commuters told to expect delays

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:16:05 GMT

(BCN) -- BART said on Monday that it is running trains at slower speeds due to wet weather across the region.The transport agency is advising commuters to add 10 minutes to their planned travel time to factor in delays. Daylight saving: Why these two states didn’t change their clocks this morning The National Weather Service forecast for the greater Bay Area on Monday calls for moderate to high chances of rain all day throughout the region.According to forecasters, the wet weather is due to a pair of cold fronts moving through the Bay Area, bringing with them light showers and a slight chance of thunder.Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.

NoMa is booming. Where did that name come from?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:16:05 GMT

This crane is seen above the NoMa skyline in D.C.(Courtesy NoMa Business Improvement District) This crane is seen above the NoMa skyline in D.C.(Courtesy NoMa Business Improvement District) The 35-square-block area of Northeast D.C. known as NoMa has led the U.S. in new apartment construction (by ZIP code) over the past five years, with nearly 7,400 new apartments delivered.It also includes ZIP code 20002 — the Union Market area, with a 72% increase in new apartment construction since 2017.What happened?The view on an Amtrak train out of Union Station is now lined with new glass, steel and brick apartment buildings and condos (26 newly-constructed buildings at last count), with cranes building more and banners inv...