Prevent kitchen disasters on Thanksgiving

Never having been the greatest cook the thoughts of the holidays none the less turn to the thoughts of food and the importance family and a chance to be thankful, even in these times of financial turmoil, for all of the things that we, as Americans, are blessed with and so many take for granted. In trying to come up with a topic today I wanted first to express my own thanks for the things that I have and for my own family and friends. I will be staying put here in Florida this holiday season, just unable to travel due to my declining health and grateful to have made it to another Thanksgiving.
While getting the important part established I still feel the need to leave you with some helpful information to, hopefully make your holiday safer. An article in today’s Fort Worth Texas Star-Telegram, by Alex Branch, reminds us of simple kitchen mistakes that can cause major problems while trying to make the day the best.
“After the big feast today, you might give thanks that your house is still standing and your kitchen sink didn’t overflow. Among firefighters and plumbers, Thanksgiving is known for spikes in fires and clogged pipes. Nationally, firefighters responded to 1,300 cooking fires on Thanksgiving 2007, more than three times the daily average, according to the National Fire Protection Association. Unattended food and items such as dish towels left too close to a heat source were the top causes. Also, food and grease put down drains and garbage disposals cause an unusual number of clogged sewer pipes on Thanksgiving.”
Clogs are easily avoided by collecting bones and meat trimmings in plastic bags and putting them out with the garbage, small amounts of oil should be sopped up with paper towels, try to avoid putting potato peels down the garbage disposal and generally just by using common sense that prevails all through the year that somehow slips our minds in the hurry of preparing the feast. With these reminders in place if you still end up with a clog, just research back through my blogs for helpful solutions or make a generous donation to your local plumber's Christmas fund.

HAVE A WONDERFUL, SAFE AND BLESSED THANKSGIVING.