Join: #TurkeyTweetup Thursday for The Salvation Army

Which St. Louis business can"Do the Most Good" for The Salvation Army? Stop by the Moonrise Hotel next Thursday to find out.

As Thanksgiving approaches, St. Louis offices will compete against each other to see which office can bring in the most canned and boxed goods for The Salvation Army - St. Louis. The occasion? The annual Turkey Tweetup Office Challenge, to benefit Salvation Army food pantries. From 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 15 at the Moonrise Hotel, offices from across the St. Louis area will gather to drop off their donations, network with other St. Louis professionals and enjoy a free turkey lunch – all while tweeting about it. Attendees will use the hashtag #TurkeyTweetup to chat turkey, thanks and volunteer opportunities during the event … and drum up some friendly competition, pre-event. One office has already gotten an artistic start to …

• Photos (1)

Black Friday News and Updates

Find the latest on Black Friday lines, deals and news as it happens. If you see something we should know about, send us a tip at Lindsay.Toler@patch.com or tweet @StLouisLindsay.

•  1 Comment
• Photos (3)

Brandon Fry - Local Volunteer

9:38 am on Friday, November 25, 2011

We got in and out with all of our video games in about 1 hour. We got some great deals and little hassle with long lines this year. Of course we avoided the big box stores. Once we left the mall and went to McDonald's it was a different story.   more ›

Fry Your Bird Safely for 2011's Thanksgiving Feast

Deep-frying a turkey can be delicious but dangerous without the right safety tools.

Each year, families gather around a roasted or baked turkey for the holidays. Some families decide to go outside of the box and deep-fry turkeys for the holidays, which is when things get more serious. I grew up with my dad frying turkeys for the holidays. As newlyweds, my wife and I will fry a turkey for our first Thanksgiving together and may continue the tradition. Several dangers can mount from deep-frying a turkey, though. More than 4,000 fires occur on Thanksgiving across the country, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. Therefore, in order to ensure a safe holiday season, we’re showing how to safely deep-fry a turkey. In order to reinforce the safety issues, we teamed up with Florissant Valley Fire Protection District to give …

• Videos (1)

'Tis the Season To Volunteer

Check out these opportunities to volunteer in the area this Thanksgiving.

As Thanksgiving approaches, remember not only to be thankful for what you have, but to give to others. Below is a list of nearby opportunities to volunteer. Stella Maris Child Center 5183 Raymond, St. Louis      9:30-11:30 a.m. Monday and Tuesday Volunteers needed to help with arts and craft activities for the kids. Call 314-367-7950 for more information. Jewish Community Center 2 Millstone Campus Dr., St. Louis 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Tuesday Volunteers needed to set up tables, serve children in the Early Childhood Center a holiday meal and clean up afterward. Call 314-442-3454 for more information. Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry 10950 Schuetz Rd., St. Louis 9 a.m.-noon or 1-4 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday or Monday Volunteers are needed to …

• Photos (1)

Skip the Clean Up: Thanksgiving Dine Out Options in Maryland Heights

Maryland Heights Patch rounds up area restaurants that are serving dinner on Thanksgiving.

While Thanksgiving Day means for many families getting up before sunrise to put in the turkey and start cooking, some people prefer to avoid the cleanup and eat out instead. If you’re not in the mood to turn on the oven this year, there are several restaurants in the area ready to accommodate you. Fun, Fast and Frugal All-You-Can-Eat Options Sit-Down Dinners The Night Life

• Photos (1)

Thanksgiving Turkey Tactics

This year, expand your turkey repertoire and try brining, frying or smoking this Thanksgiving bird.

The Thanksgiving countdown has begun. Time to tackle the turkey. It’s a task many avoid, since the thought of preparing a whole turkey seems to be an unattainable culinary feat. However, cooking turkey isn’t difficult, it just takes a little planning. Begin by deciding on the cooking style: traditionally roasted, brined or fried. For those looking to save time, consider fried turkey. Frying takes about 60–90 minutes as compared to the hours it takes to roast a stuffed whole turkey. If you’ve never deep-fried a turkey, here are the basic rules. Follow the operation directions on the fryer/cooker and check with your local fire department for safety tips. While electric turkey fryers are available and are safer, most gobblers are still fried …

• Photos (1)

Thanksgiving Countdown: Three Easy Sides

We show you how to make baby pumpkins and basil green beans - using your microwave.

I'm here to tell you a secret: your microwave is your friend. Microwaves are a terrible thing for meat, but they're a great tool for tender-crisp green beans, firm but full cooked baby carrots and edible baby pumpkins. I have two recipes for you that I promise no one will know came out of a microwave. Better yet, they're almost criminally easy yet look like fancy holiday food. EASY MICROWAVED BABY PUMPKINS Baby pumpkins are just as edible as the normal sized varieties. They're also just as tasty. Just hollow those suckers out and add a dollop of brown sugar and a dollop of butter. Cut the tops off your baby pumpkins. Don't throw them away - these are your fancy garnish. Now use a kitchen spoon to scoop out the seeds and strings. If you …

• Photos (3)

Thanksgiving Countdown: Stuffing vs. Dressing

Whether you call it stuffing or dressing, our national Thanksgiving side dish is a great use for leftovers. Maryland Heights Patch contributor Chris Rachael Oseland discusses the holiday food.

Pink Floyd may have bemoaned the tragedy that British kids can't have their pudding if they don't eat their meat, but here in America we've come up with a clever form of bread pudding that we eat right along side our meat. Some people call it dressing, other's call it stuffing. At Thanksgiving, everyone eats it. Technically, the difference between stuffing and dressing is simple - one is cooked inside a bird, the other is cooked alongside it. Realistically, the difference is mostly regional semantics. In the northeast, regardless of whether it goes inside a bird, most people eat stuffing at Thanksgiving. One of the best things about stuffing or dressing is how much it still reflects local traditions.  Here in Missouri, where we grow some …

• Photos (2)

Thanksgiving Countdown: How to Carve a Turkey

No one taught you how to carve a turkey? Don't worry. Maryland Heights Patch contributor Chris Rachael Oseland gives you the secret handshake and teaches you how to present gorgeous slices for your Thanksgiving feast.

You know you're in trouble any time Martha Stewart says something is simple. Sometimes it seems like she combines her own raw oxygen and hydrogen in order to make pure artisan water. Here in the real world, plenty of gorgeous golden brown Thanksgiving turkeys end up looking like nothing more than hunks of mysteriously shredded meat, surrounding a sad carcass. No one is ever taken aside to learn the Secret Holiday Rites. We're all bluffing it. This year, pretend you got a secret handshake lesson and a signet ring when you impress the in-laws with elegant slices worthy to grace the cover of a magazine. WHAT YOU NEED SHARP KNIVES If your family brings out the family silverware with the tong and knife set Mom and Dad use once a year, you might…

• Photos (4)

An All-American Thanksgiving

Maryland Heights resident Sohail Alvi, who immigrated from Pakistan, discusses why Thanksgiving is his favorite holiday.

While the civil war raged in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln created a national secular holiday for Americans of all backgrounds, races and religions. It was called Thanksgiving. Most people's Thanksgiving narrative goes back to the Plymouth Colony, where indigenous people offered food and comfort to starving European settlers. Roughly two hundred years separate our national holidays' founding and the meal between Mayflower sailors and Native Americans. But in every tradition, a meal of thankfulness focused on uniquely American foods. Sohail Alvi, an information techonology systems analyst from Maryland Heights, has been an American citizen since emigrating from Pakistan 1995. He is a man who loves turkey day. "At the core, we are all the …

• Photos (2)