There’s so much to keep track of when the holiday cooking season begins to ramp up, but special holiday hotlines have long been a secret weapon for anyone finding themselves in a pickle!
Have a look through these resources and drop us a note in the comments if your favorite cooking helpline is missing from the list!
Online Cooking Resources
Cook’s Illustrated - Always a top-quality resource on all things kitchen-related, Cook’s Illustrated has a site full of answers related to the basics of cooking for Thanksgiving. You’ll have to be a member to view some articles, but these basic tips for Thanksgiving are available free.
Seasoned Advice - A question and answer site for professional and amateur chefs. Search for topics to find previous answers or start a new question.
Food52 Hotline - A forum from Food52 where you can find help from other home chefs.
Cooking on Reddit - Reddit is another forum site where you can go to ask/answer questions or just discuss cooking with others. There are many subsections of Reddit, such as cooking, baking, or even the general food category!
Become a Better Baker - Learn baking basics and get help every step of the way! A great resource to read through beforehand to ease the stress of holiday baking.
Land O’ Lakes Holiday Bakeline - Tips and tricks for holiday baking.
Betty Crocker - General cooking info and tips for including prepared Betty Crocker ingredients in holiday baking.
Perdue Tips from the Kitchen - Get help cooking that Thanksgiving turkey with Perdue’s rules of thumb. Also available at 1-800-4PERDUE® (1-800-473-7383).
Tofurky instructions and recipes- Learn how best to prepare Tofurky or try one of these recipes that are variations on the classic Tofurky.
Field Roast - For a really adventurous vegetarian alternative, cook up one of these recipes using the Field Roast Celebration Roast.
Holiday Recipes
Nestlé Recipes - Recipes using Nestlé products like Libby’s canned pumpkin and Toll House chocolates.
AllRecipes Holiday section - A never-ending treasure trove of recipes, no matter what the holiday! Try not to get too lost in all the possibilities and forget to cook!
Cooking Light’s Ultimate Holiday Cookbook - Try out some new, healthier recipes this year!
Winter Acre’s Christmas Food and Cooking Pinterest Board - We’ve collected many fun Christmas recipes and ideas for Christmas Day snacks.
Toll-Free Holiday Helplines
Feel more comfortable speaking to someone on the phone? Give these toll-free numbers a try:
Ohio State University Food Safety Hotline – 1-800-752-2751 offers answers to questions regarding food safety concerns.
USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline – 1-800-535-4555 or online at USDA.gov offers information to make sure you stay safe in the kitchen.
Betty Crocker Hotline - 1-888-275-2388 offers information on everything from baking cookies to making gravy.
Butterball Turkey Talk Line - 1-800-288-8372 and Butterball.com - The classic Thanksgiving helpline has been offering live help to callers for over 30 years!
Fleischmann’s Yeast Baker’s Help Line - 1-800-777-4959 answers all your questions about breads and rolls.
Hershey’s Consumer Hotline - 1-800-468-1714 offers help and recipes for everything chocolate.
Ocean Spray Consumer Helpline - 1-800-662-3263 or OceanSpray.com Information and recipes using Ocean Spray cranberries.
Reynolds Turkey Line - 1-800-745-4000 or online offers tips about cooking using Reynolds products.
Honeysuckle White How-Tos - Turkey tips and cooking questions online; pre-recorded help at (800) 810-6325
Crisco Pie Hotline - Online guidance for the perfect pie and live pie help available at (877) 367-7438
Foster Farms - Kitchen safety and turkey preparation. Answers also available at (800) 255-7227
Shady Brook Farms - Step-by-step instructions and how-to videos about every aspect of turkey preparation
(Image via Robert Couse-Baker on Flickr)