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Wednesday, November 15, 2006

We find that answers to most urgent Thanksgiving cooking and baking questions can be found online, both on product Web sites and food-related blogs. Hotlines are a good resource, too. There are many places to turn for holiday help; here are just a few:

· Reynolds Turkey Tips Hotline, 800-745-4000. Prerecorded messages are available 24 hours; or go to http://www.reynoldskitchens.com/.

· U.S. Department of Agriculture Meat and Poultry Hotline, 888-674-6854. Prerecorded messages are available 24 hours; food-safety specialists answer questions from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and on Thanksgiving day from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.; http://www.fsis.usda.gov/ http://./

· Butterball Turkey Talk-Line, 800-288-8372. Home-economist specialists available Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and on the Saturday and Sunday before Thanksgiving, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; on Thanksgiving day, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; http://www.butterball.com/.

· Crisco Pie Hotline (new this year), 877-367-7438. Consumer advisers available Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

· Turning Leaf Vineyard's Thanksgiving Tips Hotline, 866-998-5323. Sunday to Nov. 22. Experts available Tuesday and Nov. 22 from 2 to 8 p.m., and prerecorded messages are available 24 hours. Callers must be 21 or older.

· Ocean Spray Consumer Helpline, 800-662-3263. Weekdays, including Thanksgiving day, customer service representatives are available from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.