Monday, November 19, 2012
AAA is forecasting that 43.6 million people will be driving to their Thanksgiving feast. And here's some good news - gas prices are expected to drop by Thursday.
AAA projects 43.6 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. That's an increase of 0.7 percent over the 43.3 million people who traveled last year. This increase marks the fourth consecutive year of growing holiday travelers since 2008 when Thanksgiving travel fell by 25 percent. The Thanksgiving holiday travel period is defined as Wednesday, Nov. 21, to Sunday, Nov. 25. “Thanksgiving travel hit a decade low in 2008 when only 37.8 million Americans traveled,” said AAA President and CEO Robert Darbelnet in a news release. “Since that year we have seen a steady increase in the number of travelers taking to the roads and skies for the holiday. Americans continue to find ways to economize …
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Make this year's Thanksgiving a little easier. Consider cooking a little less and doing part of, or the entire, Thanksgiving Day feast as a carry-out.
For Thanksgiving next week, the question for many remains. Are you cooking this holiday or not? Perhaps the better question is: How much of this year’s Thanksgiving dinner do you plan on cook yourself With over-extended schedules, cooking anything—let alone Thanksgiving dinner—has become an overwhelming task. Thankfully there's help. If you can’t or don't have time to cook, or just don't want to cook, hire it done. Chefs, caterers and grocers have taken note and are ready to provide the elements of a Turkey Day dinner for the time-crunched, weary and/or culinary challenged. “People don’t have the time to cook like they used to,” said Joe Weinmann, co-owner of Kenrick’s Meats and Catering who explained how he offers his customers a variety …
Turkey may be Thanksgiving's star, but for many, what makes the annual holiday feast special is pie. Harvest are pies made easy - thanks to the invention of ready-made pastry crust.
Turkey may be the headliner at the Thanksgiving table, but what I give thanks for is pie. Whether it’s pumpkin, pecan or apple, baking pies is a Thanksgiving tradition worth continuing. Thankfully, refrigerated pastry crusts have made baking anything with a crust easy. However, that hasn't always been the case. Making pie crust from scratch is an art that few home bakers ever mastered, leaving countless home tables pie-less. Until the miracle of pre-packaged fresh refrigerated rolled-out and ready-to-use pastry dough, home bakers struggled with pre-mixed pie sticks or frozen pastry shells. While refrigerated piecrust/pastry remains a modern marvel, it still needs a little special handling to ensure success. First, bring the crust to room …
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Thousands are signing an online petitions against Black Friday store opening hours that have been pushed into Thanksgiving Day.
The trend for stores to open earlier and earlier to take advantage of Black Friday sales—even to the point of opening in the evening on Thanksgiving Day—has prompted an online petition drive to give Thanksgiving back to employees and their families. - - - - - Read More: Black Friday Shopping in St. Louis to Start Earlier Than Ever - - - - - The original petition was reportedly created by a Target employee upset that the retail giant is opening on Thanksgiving and requiring employees to work instead of spending time with their families. Target stores, including the one in Mehlville near I-270 and I-55, will open their doors at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving. As of Wednesday morning, there are more than 208,830 signatures on the petition. (Check …
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Walmart announced a Thanksgiving Day start to its sales. Target, Toys R Us, and Best Buy aren't far behind.
Serious shoppers know Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is the day for bargains. Retailers are opening earlier than ever this year with sales to entice holiday shoppers. Walmart has set the bar at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day for 2012 sales to start. Will other stores follow? Macy’s, Target and Toys R Us are among a growing number of shops kicking off Black Friday sales at midnight, the St. Louis Business Journal reports. Area mall doors will open at various times, though some of their stores may or may not be open then. Many sales haven't been announced yet. Target offers a signup to receive text messages of sales, and previews a 40-inch Toshiba TV, a Samsung laptop computer, a Playstation 3 and other sale items on its website. Want…
Friday, November 9, 2012
The retail giant has said it will open its doors at 8 p.m. Thanksgiving Day.
For traditionalists, it may be an unwelcome encroachment on a holiday normally focused on family, but for shopping enthusiasts it's all in good fun. Walmart has announced that it will begin running "Black Friday" sales at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, the earliest time yet as the shopping holiday increasingly becomes "Black Thursday." Although the retail giant did hold sales on Thanksgiving Day last year, they started later in the evening. The 8 p.m. push will be one of three sales "events" for Walmart with others occurring at 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. the next day. Walmart in Mehlville, on Telegraph Road, confirmed that they will be participating in the Black Friday events. According to the St. Louis Business Journal, Walmart earns more than a …
Sunday, October 28, 2012
From fudge to soup to bread, pumpkin has a lot of opportunities for the home cook.
Stacked in seasonal displays at Herman's Farm and Orchard, at local grocery stores and in piles at roadside stands, fall pumpkins are hard to miss. And while you might see them merely as Jack' O'Lanterns or as a pumpkin pie ingredient, I see more. Pumpkin has potential. Pumpkin is perfect for recipes ranging from soup to breads as well as cooked into candy to slow-roasted around a pot roast. The fact is, few vegetables offer as many culinary options as pumpkins. The only trick is knowing how to prepare the pulp. To cook a fresh pumpkin cut them in half (larger pumpkins cut into pieces) then, scrape out the seeds and stringy fibers. Brush cut side with oil and place cut side down in a shallow baking dish. Pour about 1/2 inch water in the …
Friday, November 25, 2011
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.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Thanksgiving in St. Louis brings back all sorts of emotions. Here are some of those emotions expressed in <140 characters. Keep tweeting, and we'll keep adding you to our list.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
All MoDOT work to stop at noon on Wednesday.
Traffic Troublemakers A local Patch employee relates an airport horror: It took an hour to get through security in Terminal 2 at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, and everyone had two, three, four bags plus carry-ons and laptops along with several of hollering kiddos in every other aisle of the packed plane. Another Patcher recalls a road trip back to college (Michigan State) after the long weekend, driving the Ford LTD wagon on two-lane roads. His brother was driving, the Patch guy was dozing in the shotgun seat, until he's awakened by the roar of the V-8 automatically downshifting to second, taking off like a rocket. The brother was passing, uphill, across a double-yellow. The adrenaline rush lasted a while. The good word from …
Melissa Muldoon
1:10 pm on Wednesday, November 14, 2012
I am all for a great deal, but I feel for these employees who now need to work on Thanksgiving Day. Can we not wait until Friday and let everyone have one day with their family? more ›