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Rocky Official Trailer #1 - Burgess Meredith Movie (1976) HD Sylvester Stallone’s tale of a palooka from Philly who gets a lucky break contains a Thanksgiving scene where Rocky’s mousy girlfriend Adrian is preparing a turkey. Paulie, her asshole brother, throws the bird out the door while Rocky watches. Paulie is forcing his shut-in sister to come out of her shell and go on date with Rocky, so he’s not as horrible as it seems at first. ( Rocky is more complex movie than people know.) In keeping with the rule of sequels that declares everything must be bigger and worse, Thanksgiving plays a role in Rocky 2, but it’s not as the setting for a complicated familial relationship. Instead, it’s a boxing match: The big fight between Rocky and Apollo Creed that ends the movie takes place on Thanksgiving. But Rocky 2 is a seriously terrible movie, so don’t watch it on Thanksgiving or any other day. Where to stream: Available for rental only on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, and Yo...

Photo : Lost_in_the_Midwest ( Shutterstock ) Knowing when the turkey is “done” is the most anxiety-inducing part of cooking a turkey. You don’t want to food poison anyone, but you don’t want to serve dry, stringy meat (and shame) to you friends and family. A thermometer is imperative, but the little plastic “turkey timer” that comes stuck in your bird should be tossed directly into the trash. If you’ve been cooking turkeys for a while, you probably already know this, but first- time bird roasters might be tempted to lean on the built-in temperature indicator. The problem is that it sucks. It’s garbage. It’s not your friend. It is, however, a nifty little piece of technology; it’s just calibrated wrong. According to Cook’s Illustrated , it’s not that it doesn’t work, it just works at far too high of a temperature: A harmless compound with a known melting temperature is liquefied in the bottom of the timer device. A spring is compressed into the molten material as it cools and hard...

Meryl Streep’s Thanksgiving Disaster You don’t have to go it alone. If your guests offer to help out on Thanksgiving, tell them “hell yes” and take them up on it. Unless your friends and family are complete jerk-faces, at least one guest will at least offer to help clean up after dinner, and everyone else should be shamed into helping. Under no circumstances should you say, “oh, no, I’ll take care of the clean-up.” That’s what they want you to do, and they will leave you with a disaster area of a kitchen and some serious grudges to nurse. That said, if your friends and close family offer to help, and you take them up on it, don’t go too far with their services. You could end up with the people you care about most preparing and serving food to the people you only invited because you felt obligated to. https://www.tausiinsider.com/the-7-deadly-sins-of-hosting-a-big-thanksgiving-dinner/?feed_id=389931&_unique_id=649244a097958

Photo : wavebreakmedia ( Shutterstock ) If you have everything organized on the big day, you’ll have an easier time cleaning and keeping things neat as you whip up the best meal of the year. Make a shopping list now and get as much in advance as you can, provided it’ll keep until Thanksgiving. Identify the things that will be messy, like the turkey, and make a plan for how you’ll clean it up in a jiffy. For instance, have a garbage bag on hand that’s just for your big food messes, like your turkey container and bones. Plan your menu carefully, not only based on timing so it all comes together at once, but based on exactly how and when you’ll clean each element. Ideally, you want to clean as you go. (Last minute, you can also designate an old box to keep nearby as a dumping ground for large, dirty pots, pans, and casserole dishes to easily relocate to an unused room to get them out of the way until you’re ready to dive into a full clean-up.) https://www.tausiinsider.com/15-w...

Photo : FootMade0525 ( Shutterstock ) You can get in your head about Thanksgiving in a major way. You can start planning a meticulous schedule weeks out , do a bunch of prep to lessen how much you’ll have to clean afterward, and pore over recipe after recipe after recipe to make sure your meal is perfect . The day could go by more easily, though, if only you brought out a cooler (or two or three). A cooler is not just for chilling the beer and wine for your guests—it will solve more problems than you might imagine. Here’s everything you can use a cooler for to help you tackle the big meal. Brine your turkey The first thing you can do with a designated Thanksgiving cooler is brine your turkey. According to Life Savvy , it may not be cold enough where you are to brine your turkey outside, but this is not a problem! Fill that cooler with ice and grab “a heavy-duty plastic bag to park the turkey and the brine water in; then brine the old bird in the cooler instead of your fridge....

Image : DinerDrip.com If the Denny’s Everyday Value Slam is your particular breakfast jam, you’re going to want to get your hands on the diner chain’s new Everyday Value Tee that will be your ticket to a free meal every day through Dec. 31, 2023 . The T-shirt sports a QR code sewn directly on the sleeve that can be scanned in person (it cannot be used for delivery orders ) for a free breakfast of eggs, two bacon strips or sausage links, and your choice of two buttermilk pancakes, French toast, or a biscuit and gravy. You can wear the shirt to participating Denny’s locations in all 50 states, but not every Denny’s will be participating in the deal . Here is the complete list of locations that are not participating , so check to make sure your neighborhood location isn’t on it before you splurge on the $5.99 shirt. The company points out that your potential savings is upwards of $2,180 for the year—but that’s assuming you intend to eat there every single day. Remember t...

Photo : zoryanchik ( Shutterstock ) Wrestling a whole turkey body into a roasting pan (or   rather, onto a wire rack ), isn’t for everyone. Even I, a seasoned professional, have to steel myself for the gory moments of cutting through bone when I spatchcock a bird, and I would be totally OK with never having to smash in a breast bone again. If you have similar feelings about strong-arming poultry, it might be time for you to ditch the whole bird, and join me for a holiday turkey roulade. It’s still got the flavor and goodness of a home-roasted turkey, but it’s juicier , faster to make than cooking a whole bird, and allows you to avoid most of the grim details of deboning poultry. I t’s also damn fancy looking . If you’ve ever been impressed by a Swiss roll or had a slice of a holiday yule log , you’ve already got the concept. The idea is to roll a large, seamless piece of turkey around succulent filling, forming a log shape , and roast it. When you slice individual servings f...

Photo : Elena Veselova ( Shutterstock ) The United States Department of Agriculture might not be the first place you think of when you’re unsure whether it’s okay to stuff the turkey the night before, but they have a hotline built to answer exactly these sorts of questions. Add 1-888-MPHotline to your contacts to be the hero everybody needs for Thanksgiving prep—and, yes, they will be taking calls on the big day. The hotline is properly known as the Meat and Poultry Hotline , and you can call it year-round for any food-safety questions related to meat, poultry, or eggs. The line is staffed by humans from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET Monday through Friday. On Thanksgiving day this year, it will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET. And if you’re phone-phobic, they can give you answers by email, too. Send your questions to MPHotline@usda.gov. You can also use the live chat at Ask USDA . They have also pre-answered many of your common Thanksgiving questions, which you can access at the website ...

Photo : Africa Studio ( Shutterstock ) People on Facebook posting a recipe for “popcorn stuffing” reminded me of the following true story: When I was 16, I attended Thanksgiving at my religious aunt and uncle’s house. They’d also invited an ancient Irish nun. As a budding reprobate and dirtbag, I was uncomfortable in the presence of a fully- habited representation of Catholicism. Before dinner, Sister Mary Katherine cornered me in the den and said , “Excuse me, son, do you know if they put popcorn in the stuffing?” I said, “I’m not sure, sister, but why would they do that?” She paused and then replied, “Because that way, when it’s finished, it’ll pop its ass off !” Then she clapped me on the back and guffawed loud and long. It was the funniest joke I’d ever heard. (After dinner, we snuck outside and smoked cigarettes and she told me she didn’t believed in God anymore but didn’t regret becoming a nun because of the good work she had done.) Anyway, it was a joke when that nun sai...

Photo : etorres ( Shutterstock ) During the Great Depression , peanut butter’s low cost and high protein content made it an indispensable ingredient in countless meals and sandwiches. The nut spread—and newer, more allergy-friendly variantions —remain a popular food to this day. But peanut butter has plenty of uses outside of cooking and eating. In fact, it can come in handy for several jobs around the house. Here are a few to know about. Household uses for peanut butter Most people know that peanut butter can be used to help remove a piece of gum stuck in someone’s hair, but that’s only the beginning. Generally speaking, smooth peanut butter is preferable for these household tasks, but in a pinch, you can make chunky work if you have no other options. Some of the ways to use it include: Lubricating tools Home and garden tools that open and close —like wrenches, pliers, and shears—typically need some lubrication in order to work properly. If you don’t have any lubricant around,...

Photo : Marta Maziar ( Shutterstock ) After watching a TikTok on pancake flipping , I got to thinking about whether or not I had been doing it wrong my whole flippin’ life. I turn with my wrist but I don’t get a horrible splash, like in the video. It turns out, it’s more about the power behind the move than if you’re using the correct part of your arm. A gentle flip from the right height is all you need for the perfect non-splattered pancake. It doesn’t matter what recipe you use, we’re all searching for the same thing–fluffy, light, round pancakes. If you didn’t know it already, the little bubbles that form while cooking are essential for your success. Most pancakes are leavened with chemical leaveners (baking powder or baking soda), or whipped egg whites, and while the bubbles they create are abundant for a while, they’re also delicate. With most recipes, the right time to flip is after the outer edges dry up and the center is still gooey with plenty of bubbles present . A too...

Photo : Claire Lower People love cheese. So much so that they get kind of weird about it. I know vegans are tired of hearing “I could probably give up meat but I could never give up cheese,” but it’s true. I really never could give up cheese. I need it. It works out well, then, that I am paid to think and write about food, and one of those foods is cheese. It gives me a creative outlet, and a good excuse to eat as much cheese as I want. Here are a few of my favorite cheesy things we published this year, in no particular order. https://www.tausiinsider.com/15-of-our-favorite-ways-to-eat-cheese-in-2022/?feed_id=326240&_unique_id=63ff9a0336da2

I love Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. I enjoy it when prepared according to the package instructions, but I’m also prone to tweaking it by substituting buttermilk for regular, browning the butter , adding crème fraîche , or—as of this morning—stirring in an egg yolk. Mixing an egg yolk into a steaming pile of carbs is not a new concept. The Japanese dish tamago kake gohan is a straightforward and delicious example of the form: Crack a raw egg (or egg yolk) over a pile of hot rice, mix it in, and season with soy sauce. The heat from the rice lightly cooks the egg, creating a saucy, custardy, comforting mixture. I’ve applied a similar method to a bowl of grits —to excellent results—and thought I’d try it with a bowl of Kraft. The impulse was a good one. The macaroni didn’t taste eggy, but it did taste better— a little creamier, noticeably richer, and a touch glossier. Much like tamago kake gohan, it developed a custardy quality. The results tasted a little more homemade, which make...