Stay Heathy While Cooking for Thanksgiving

ATI Physical Therapy offers tips to stay healthy while cooking that big meal.

This week, it's time to cook the turkey and all the fixins that go with a Thanksgiving feast. All that cooking is hard work. Chefs, even those working in a home kitchen, need to take steps to make sure that all that cooking does not take its toll on his or her body. ATI Physical Therapy has some tips that can help keep you pain-free. “Activities such as standing too long while cooking, meal preparation, and lifting heavy objects like turkeys and boxes can cause back, shoulder and neck pain,” says Tara Smith, physical therapist at ATI. “There are simple things that can be done to help decrease the effects of the added stress on our bodies.” In addition to muscle aches and pains, injuries to the hand are all too common during the holidays. …

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Add the Punchline to Our Talking Turkey Cartoon

If you've got wit, add your caption to Patch's weekly comic challenge and win a personalized print.

Are you blessed with insight and good humor? Or just bored today? Share your wit with your neighbors by entering Patch's comic caption challenge. Just add your dialogue for today's comic in the comment section of this post. Our only requirement is that you keep it clean! At week's end, we'll pick the winning punchline based on how many of us here at Patch giggle and smile at your contribution. The user who produces the winning punchline will get a personalized proof of the comic, with the winning words and a credit line, from cartoonist Chuck Ingwersen and Patch. Congratulations to LW Sagan, who provided the winning punchline to last week's Thirsty Horse cartoon: I don't think going dancing later is such a good idea. I really do have 2 …

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Sunday Cartoon: Forget the Turkey?

While he gets his fill of Patch, a gobbler gets out of dodge.

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Fun Facts and Trivia for Thanksgiving

Canadian Turkeys, carving the lobster and a turkey the size of a dog.

No need to worry about conversation topics around the Thanksgiving dinner table. Let your guests fill up on these Thanksgiving fun facts.

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Deep-Frying the Holiday Bird? Here Are Some Safety Tips

A Loyola Hospital trauma and burn surgeon gives tips to keep the cook out of the harm's way.

Deep-fry is the only way to cook a turkey that is flavorable and moist, some aficionados say. But accidents can happen, and doctors at Loyola Hospital in Maywood who specialize in trauma and burns warn that caution should be taken when cooking the holiday bird. In the United States, more than 141 serious fires and hot-oil burns have been reported from the use of turkey fryers over the last decade, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Serafino Alfe of suburban Chicago knows. He was deep-frying turkeys for an annual fundraiser dinner recently and ended up at the Loyola Burn Center with third-degree burns—the worst—on his leg. “I tripped and fell right into the deep fryer,” he said in a prepared statement. “Thirty quarts …

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Mike Sandrolini

9:20 am on Wednesday, November 23, 2011

I've had deep-fried turkey before, and it's delicious. I wonder how the turkey fryers advertised on those half-hour long TV infomercials work. Admittedly, I've never wanted to invest time watching an informercial on a turkey fryer, but maybe these do work and might be the safest route to go.   more ›

Patch Poll: Has Black Friday Gone too Far?

This year, Black Friday was marred by violence and crime. Is it time for retailers to dial back the hype and promotion?

Should Black Friday be renamed Bloody Friday? Insane Friday? What-Has-This-Country-Come-To Friday? For some shoppers, Black Friday is all about the hunt for a good deal, and even a fun night, or early morning, out. However, in addition to a good deal on the latest electronics, Black Friday brought incidents involving pepper spray, shootings, looting and beatings. “Instead of a nice sweater, you need a bulletproof vest and goggles," Betty Thomas, 52, told the Associated Press Saturday while shopping with her family at a mall in Raleigh, N.C. Has this sales strategy gone too far? Should retailers be encouraged to dial back Black Friday hype and promotion? In addition to Black Friday, football is part of the Thanksgiving tradition, according …

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Joe Parkmoor

12:30 pm on Tuesday, September 18, 2012

God bless you, gina. You have my sympathies. I would never go shopping on Thanksgiving day or evening. Nor would I stand in line to shop before the crack of dawn the following day. I refuse to participate it an event which essentially robs people like you of their holiday.   more ›

Avoid Food Poisoning This Holiday Season

Food is a big part of the holiday season, but it's no fun when someone gets sick. There are some easy steps to take to ensure a happy and healthy season.

Parties and family get-togethers are great fun until someone gets sick from eating contaminated food. The symptoms aren't pleasant—the usual flu-like symptoms that involve a lot of time in the bathroom.  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cautions that food illnesses can be severe and even life-threatening for older adults, babies and young children, pregnant women, people with immune system illnesses such as cancer or HIV/AIDS, and those who take medications that can suppress the immune system, such as those prescribed for rheumatoid arthritis. The FDA recommends a few easy tips—clean, separate, cook, chill—for a food-poisoning free holiday. Use care when making stuffing. Whether inside or outside the bird, stuffing should be cooked to…

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Moms Talk Poll: What's Your No. 1 Fear When You Host Thanksgiving?

We have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, and a lot to do, with all those relatives coming over the river and through the woods. What could go wrong? Take our Patch poll.

Let's face it, moms get the brunt of Thanksgiving. While the men folk watch football and await their annual, carefully prepared sumptuous feast, moms are—still too often—the ones stuck with the cooking and cleaning and happy hosting. Yes, there are men folk, lumpier than your worst mashed potatoes. Yes, there are noisy children. Yes, there are siblings and in-laws. They are company—and with company, there is angst. What could possibly go wrong? Right? Take our Patch poll or share your pet peeves, anecdotes and legendary family tales in the comments field.

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Sandy Kaczmarski

2:53 pm on Wednesday, November 23, 2011

I was thinking more along the lines of "will my gravy turn out right?" Although politics and religion do sometimes come up often revealing a surprising side of someone with a full belly and some wine. Maybe it's a good thing Jeff won't be here!   more ›