Title: Eat, Pray…Exercise?

In my family, Thanksgiving kicks off six weeks of feasting. Lunches out, dinner parties, happy hours, plus all those kid-centric celebrations — and then we wake up just before Epiphany and realize that none of our pants fit. Happy New Year! This year, though, things are going to be different. Last spring, I started running, […]

Three Things I’ve Learned from the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line Experts

  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, but cooking a turkey always scared me. I thought that turkey was a difficult, mysterious meal that only someone with Top Chef-type abilities could pull off. I was also convinced that someone would wind up in the emergency room if I was in charge of dinner. So as much […]

Why I Love My Meat Thermometer

I am not a confident cook, let me just say that up front. I do fine when I’m just cooking for my family (largely because I am married to a man who wholeheartedly believes that a ruined meal is just the universe’s way of telling us to order a pizza) but when I have dinner […]

You Could Call Nana, but She’s Probably Calling Butterball

  The first time I cooked a turkey on my own, I called my grandmother for help. She was delighted, mostly because I was so clueless. “What is this INSIDE the TURKEY???” I asked in horror. “There’s something in a PLASTIC BAG. What is going ON HERE???” She couldn’t stop laughing. (It was the liver, […]

Favorite Family Traditions from Childhood and Today!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, largely because it doesn’t involve shopping or gifting, just eating and drinking. Buying holiday gifts for everyone in the family: Stressful. Planning a meal for the family: Fun! (I think holidays should be fun, you know?) My family doesn’t have any hard-and-fast Thanksgiving traditions; in fact, over the last decade, […]

Giving Thanks

Carol just took a call from a cook whose turkey wound up sitting out on the counter all night. “What did you tell her?” I asked. “Well,” Carol said, “she had put the turkey in at 2:00 am, and had told her son to cover it at 3:30, but he got confused and took it […]

Ever Wonder What People Ask the Talk-Line Experts?

This morning, Carol Miller, who has been answering phones at the Butterball Talk-Line for 25 years,  said to me, “Do you want to hear a cute story?” Yes, I said, because I am all about cute stories. Especially when they involve turkey. A man called the Turkey Talk-Line today from New York City, to ask […]

The View from Here

Ever wonder what the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line looks like? The Talk-Line experts are serious about making you feel welcome; they are kind and generous and happy to help. And they know more about how to cook a turkey than you would ever imagine possible. Go ahead, ask them a question. You can’t stump them. I […]

A Butterball Thanksgiving by the Numbers

Happy Thanksgiving! It’s snowing here in Naperville, at the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line headquarters; I am ill prepared for the weather (I didn’t bring any gloves! what was I thinking?!?). Fortunately, it’s warm and cozy inside — and also busy busy, with phones ringing and experts answering every imaginable question. Here are a few numbers to […]

Make This a Mad Men Thanksgiving

The hardest part of hosting a holiday meal isn’t the menu or the seating — most often, it’s deciding what to wear. How do you strike a perfect balance between festive and comfortable? This year, take a tip from Mad Men’s Betty Draper and opt for a great dress. Not so long ago, dresses were […]