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Get Thanksgiving dinner without cooking at home
For those who aren't avid cooks, all the hype about Thanksgiving can be intimidating. Think about it: From gorgeous turkey photos in food magazines to Food Network shows, the ideal is a home-cooked meal.
But some folks just don't like cooking or don't have time to prep a mid-week feast. Luckily, there are plenty of options for a no-cook Thanksgiving. Diners can sit down at hotel restaurants or go to supermarkets for take out. Here's a guide to these options, as well as other restaurants and delis that have plans for Turkey Day.
All of the information won't fit here. For full menus, go to my blog at fresnobeehive.com/author/joan_obra .
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Diverse dining opportunities abound in Valley
There are so many events with food and drink this weekend that my fellow reporters helped write about them. Donald Munro has the dish about the Tamejavi festival on the arts pages. And Mike Osegueda gave Falltini as one of this week's 7 Things to Do.
But that's not all of the foodie news this week. Check out these events and restaurants:
The Crayfish and Jazz Festival returns to Kingsburg's Swedish Village on Saturday. Kingsburg restaurants and caterers will serve crayfish dishes, such as crayfish tacos from Los Pepe's Authentic Mexican Food, crayfish chowder and crayfish cocktail from Diane's Village Bakery and Café, and a Swedish crayfish boil from Jonathan's restaurant.
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Where's the beef? In land of cowboys, pig thrives
The president of the National Pork Producers Council - the person who represents the people who represent the nation's pigs - appeared recently before Congress to talk about sales in the swine flu era.
He wasn't happy. "Things look bleak going forward," Don Butler told America's lawmakers.
Around the same time, the following events transpired:
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The road to a healthy family is paved with organic food
Cary, Ill., mother Laura Weaver juggles a part-time job as a teacher, 3-year-old twins and a 7-year-old son, but she still manages to serve healthy organic dinners on a regular basis.
How does she do it?
The same way many busy moms get meals on the table: a service that helps customers assemble and take home a month's worth of food for freezing and reheating. But the one Weaver relies on uses organic and natural ingredients.
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A journey across time aboard the Queen Mary
LONG BEACH, Calif. - As my husband, our nephew and I made our approach to the Queen Mary Hotel in Long Beach, it occurred to me what an odd setting this was for a luxury hotel. We were passing through a hard-core industrial area that was none too fragrant.
Then again, when you book a stateroom on a giant former ocean liner that calls itself "one of the most haunted locations on the West Coast," you can expect something a little out of the ordinary.
Once we had parked in the lot next to the ship and taken the elevator to the A deck to check in, though, the ship's neighbors faded away. From that moment - when we heard the sound of jazz singer Billie Holiday singing "These Foolish Things" over the sound system - until we checked out 20 hours later, we basked in a palpable sense of the past. As we checked in and then made our way toward our stateroom, Holiday's haunting voice followed us.
With two young children and a small business to run, Craig and Gena Kirby don't have time to cook every meal at home. But these owners of Mommy Matters, a parenting resource center in north Fresno, also can't afford to eat out often. They face the same problem many other families have: Higher food and gasoline prices limit their dining dollars.
The Kirbys try to go to restaurants "probably three or four times a month," Craig Kirby said. But events that disrupt their routine may prompt them to eat out more.
To stick to their budget, the two rely on tricks they learned in the restaurant industry. Craig Kirby is a former manager of restaurants such as Campagnia and Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley. And Gena Kirby was a manager at Max's Bistro & Bar and the Rio Grill in Carmel.
What to do
- Eat out for breakfast and lunch — meals that are cheaper than dinner. "Generally, portions are a little smaller for lunch, but a lot of times it's only the side dishes ... that are smaller," Craig Kirby said.
- At upscale restaurants, ask about specials. Examples include $2 Tuesdays at Flamenco Tapas of Spain at Friant and North Fort Washington roads ($2 off some drinks and most tapas) and the family-style meal at Giulia's Italian Restaurant at Shaw and Marks avenues ($18.95, $9.95 for ages 12 and younger, for salads, pastas, entrees, dessert and drinks).
Craig Kirby likes Campagnia's happy hours, which offer discounted beers and free appetizers, such as pizza. "You can have one cocktail and a couple of pieces of pizza, and then you can split an entree," he said.
Feel free to split, but tip as though you ordered full meals, Gena Kirby says. Your servers will treat you well on return visits.
Or split food by creating your own family-style meal. At Mexican restaurants, ask for more rice and beans and fewer entrees. In Asian restaurants, you can order fewer entrees, then "plan on eating a little more rice or noodles with the meal," Craig Kirby said. "Starches are cheap." Head south. "The further south you go, the cheaper food will be," Craig Kirby said. "They have to charge a lot more up \[north\] because they have double the rent." Remember the common-sense ways to save. Drink only water, or choose between an appetizer or dessert, Craig Kirby said. Fill up on the bread basket, chips and salsa, or other complimentary items. And select the value menus at fast-food joints.What to avoid
- Buying a lot of groceries if you don't have time to cook. You'll just waste food and money.
- Ordering the traditional restaurant dinner of appetizers, entrees, desserts and drinks. You'll overeat or waste food if you don't save leftovers for another meal.
- Ordering sodas and alcohol while eating out. The longer you linger, the more you drink, causing the bill to creep up. Also, these items have a high markup.
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