Our friends at Fidelity National Home Warranty wrote a piece with Thanksgiving 2013 tips we wanted to share this month. The article has lots of info about Thanksgiving 2013 Tips, holiday history, turkey tidbits and a few things to check on around the house to make your Thanksgiving day so smoothly. We hope this both entertains and educates.

History of Thanksgiving Holiday in the U.S.

In a 1789 proclamation, President George Washington called on the people of the United States to acknowledge God for affording them “an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness” by observing a day of thanksgiving. Devoting a day to “public thanksgiving and prayer,” as Washington called it, became a yearly tradition in many communities.

Thanksgiving Became a National Holiday in 1863

In that year, during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln made his Thanksgiving Day Proclamation. He asked his fellow citizens to “to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise…”
It was not until 1941 that Congress designated the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day, thus creating a federal holiday.

Turkey Trivia 

• The average person in the United States will eat 15 pounds of turkey this year.
• A male turkey is called a tom, a female is a hen, and a youngster is a poult.
• Only male turkeys, or toms, can gobble, and they mostly do it in the spring and fall. It is a mating call and attracts the hens.
• At maturity, the average turkey shows off 3,500 feathers.
• Turkeys have great hearing, but no external ears.
• Ben Franklin wanted the Turkey to be the National bird rather than the eagle.

Pre-Holiday Appliance Check

How to check your oven temperature: If you are worried about your oven not properly heating, you can quickly check it yourself. Buy an oven thermometer and place it in the oven. Set the oven thermostat to 350 degrees F. The oven should heat to between 325 degrees and 375 degrees. In most cases it is considered acceptable if the actual temperature is within 25 degrees of the set temperature. It is often possible to adjust the thermostat knob or to recalibrate the electronic range control if the oven is not reaching the right temperature.
Clean Filters Make for a More Efficient Dishwasher: Filters protect the pump and motor seals. Many dishwashers have a filter located under the spray arm, near the bottom of the appliance. The filter can get clogged with sediment from hard water, food residue, or even detergent build-up. It is important to check the condition of the filter to make sure it is intact, has no holes in the screen and is free of debris. If the filter has been damaged you can purchase an inexpensive replacement.
Say goodbye to a smelly garbage disposal: If your kitchen doesn’t smell its best, check your garbage disposal. Food particles easily collect inside the disposal blades. The fact that you frequently run water through your disposal isn’t enough to prevent this collection of food debris. Freshen up a disposal by grinding half a lemon or lime.

Avoid the Plumber This Holiday Season!

The day after Thanksgiving is the busiest day for plumbers. You can avoid an emergency call to the plumber by following these DON’TS:

• DON’T overload the garbage disposal with large amounts of starchy foods.
• DON’T place heavy foods like pasta, potatoes, rice or coffee grounds in the disposal.
• DON’T place stringy foods such as celery or rhubarb in the disposal; the strings are hard on the disposal blades. Use the garbage can instead!
• DON’T dump grease directly down the drain—it solidifies in the drain! That includes poultry skins.

What to use when you run out of an important ingredient. 

• No buttermilk? Use plain yogurt or thinned sour cream or crème fraîche instead. Or add 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar to 1 cup milk and let stand 5 minutes.
• No dry bread crumbs? Just get some bread, tear it up into small chunks, saute in a skillet with a little butter until browned.
• No eggs? If it’s for baking, substitute 1/4 cup applesauce for 1 egg.
• No cake flour? For 1 cup of cake flour, sift together 7/8 cup all-purpose flour and 2 tablespoons cornstarch.
• No sweet potatoes for a casserole, soup or gratin-type dish? Use butternut squash or pumpkin.
• No granulated sugar? For every 1 cup needed, use 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar or 3/4 cup honey.
• No parchment paper? Use brown paper or waxed paper (not over high heat), or just grease and flour the pan.No kitchen twine to truss the turkey? Use unwaxed, unflavored dental floss.

How To Cook A Two Hour Turkey?

A few years ago we read an article on fast cooked turkeys. Being the Brave sort we gave it a try. We not only cooked a 24 pound turkey in about 2.5 hours, it was probably the juiciest bird we’d ever tasted. If you want to give it a try we’ve included a link to the recipe we used (and still do.) Here is the recipe for your 2 hour Turkey.

We certainly hope you have a great holiday month and an exceptional Thanksgiving.

Gene Urban & Ron Urban
The Urban Team at Realty Executives
602-234-5777
Gene@UrbanTeamAZ.com or Ron@UrbanTeamAZ.com

connecting people to the perfect place for over 20 years.