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While people think most of the cooking happens on Thanksgiving day, turkey preparation begins three to seven days before the big meal—when you shop for and begin to thaw the turkey. Thinking ahead and planning a turkey-cooking schedule will help your Thanksgiving dinner go on without a hitch. It’s always better to allot more time, rather than less, to prepare and cook your turkey—a hungry crowd will certainly not be pleased if you delay the start time of your Thanksgiving feast....

Sweet, mild, and gently-acidic, kiwi makes a delicious addition to smoothies, fruit salads, salsas, and any number of other dishes. While the bulk of American kiwi growth happens in California, it’s also very possible to cultivate thriving kiwi plants in the South, giving you an ample supply of this refreshing fruit. But if you’re looking to use kiwi for any type of cooking project, you’ll need to learn how to cut kiwi first....

When helping homeowners who are desperate to declutter, celebrity organizer Marie Kondo often poses the question, “Does it spark joy?” But more than 100 years ago, British textile designer William Morris had advice of his own: “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” And while we won’t deny there’s something magnetic about Kondo’s brand of “life-changing magic,” we love Morris’s approach, especially since he gives us two ,more concrete categories to contend with when downsizing: “useful” means the plastic laundry hamper (which has never, not once inspired joy) makes the move; “beautiful” qualifies your uncle’s collection of antique oyster plates to score a spot in your new, smaller pad....

One of the many highlights of the fall season is taking a trip to an apple orchard and lugging home bushels of fresh fruit. And, just like earlier in the summer when you picked blueberries, strawberries, and peaches, you are left wondering what to do with all that produce. If you plan on making fresh apple pies, apple breads, and apple cakes throughout the coming months, one way of storing apples is to freeze the fruit....

The face of San Angelo has changed significantly over the years—in its latest iteration, it stands as a bastion of creativity in the middle of Texas. In its earliest days, the region was home to the Jumano Indians, followed by Spanish missionaries. In the 1860s, San Angelo was a Western frontier town known for illicit activities like prostitution, saloons, and gambling. Later, sheep and cattle ranchers and cotton growers prospered until the oil boom....

Just six weeks after Hurricane Laura devastated Lake Charles, and Cameron Parrish, Louisiana, Hurricane Delta slammed ashore Friday night as a powerful category 2 storm just 12 miles away. Wind strength ranged from 86 to 100 mph, and heavy rain hammered the region for hours. The people of southwest Louisiana had not even begun to recover from the destruction caused by Laura, and most homes in Lake Charles had blue tarps for roofs ahead of Delta’s arrival....

When it comes to Ina Garten’s repertoire of go-to dinner recipes, her perfect roast chicken (the culinary maven’s signature dish), will always be number one—in her kitchen and ours. And with good reason. Garten’s magical chicken dinner even had a hand in Prince Harry’s proposal to Meghan Markle! But, try as we might, we can’t cook and eat a roast chicken every night. So, when Garten recently shared her second-favorite dinner on social media, you better believe we took note....

Faith Hill’s original recording of “Breathe” is hard to top, but Kelly Clarkson recently came close. During the “Kellyoke” segment of Monday’s episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, the songstress performed a soulful piano cover of the 1999 country hit that, pardon the pun, left the audience breathless. Clarkson, dressed in all black, created a dramatic vibe by appearing on a darkened stage illuminated by only a ring of yellow uplights....

Once you’re ready to un-deck your halls, it doesn’t mean your Christmas tree’s life has to come to an end. If you’ve got an artificial fir, you’ll probably pack it away until next year. But for those with live trees, a little extra effort can provide positive effects to one of the South’s greatest natural treasures for years to come. For almost 40 years, Gulf State Park on Alabama’s Gulf Coast has hosted a Christmas tree recycling program that aids dune restoration....

Whether you stash one in your bag (swag), keep one on the table in an unnecessarily fancy decorative holder, or store in the console of your truck, Southerners never stray far from their beloved bottles of hot sauce. It has been our time-honored secret weapon to help out a helping of under-seasoned collards or to add vinegary verve to fried chicken. Such devotion often leads to fierce allegiances. Are you a Tabasco traditionalist?...

And Betsy makes three! The Corolla Wild Horse Fund (CWHF) is celebrating the third foal of 2021, a spirited filly named Betsy. “Her mom is a mare we call M&M and her dad is Rocky. The whole family is doing great— including Betsy’s 3-year-old half-sister and the other two mares in the harem,” the non-profit organization wrote on Facebook Monday. “M&M is an experienced mom, but as far as we know this is Rocky’s first foal....

We all need an extra dose of Christmas joy this year. And hearing from Santa sure might raise our spirits given the stressful, tumultuous year it’s been. Well, Portable North Pole has just the remedy for you: Personalized video greetings from Ole Saint Nick himself. That’s right, you can get a customized video message from Santa without plopping down any cash or coal, as we recently learned from SimpleMost.com. To get your hello from Mr....

Ree Drummond is mourning the loss of her “one-of-a-kind” father-in-law, Chuck Drummond. In an emotional blog post, the television personality shared the news that Ladd’s father, a.k.a. “Pa-Pa,” died Friday morning at the age of 79. “He had been declining over the past two months and we knew his time was limited. He died peacefully in his sleep, thank God,” Ree wrote. “After feeling pretty miserable for the past two or three months, he was finally ready to go....

Every classroom has one—that one kid who is constantly making wisecracks, pulling silly pranks, and making all the kids (and sometimes the teachers) laugh. Turns out those class clowns aren’t just comic relief for the kids or the bane of the teacher’s classroom existence, they may also be incredibly smart. A study looked at the connection between humor and intelligence among schoolchildren and found that kiddos who got the joke were generally smarter....

Two young Texans who would have otherwise been forced to sit this Halloween out due to medical reasons were gifted an unforgettable night of trick-or-treating by MedStar ambulance service over the weekend. MedStar staff decked out two ambulances and dressed in costumes to escort 12-year-old Max Morrison and 11-year-old Noah Villalpando around Fort Worth’s Berkeley Place neighborhood Saturday night. “I’ve been trick-or-treating as Post Malone,” Max, who has a rare heart defect, told CBSDFW....

Even in the face of a global pandemic, for The Atlanta Opera, the show must go on. Members of the prestigious opera company are putting their talents to good use amid the COVID-19 crisis by providing special “Singing Telegrams” for those in need. Artistic Director Tomer Zvulun told CNN that once the opera stopped production on shows, they started focusing on how they could help the community. Members of The Atlanta Opera Chorus and The Atlanta Opera Studio are recording these “Singing Telegrams” for those in senior living facilities, health care workers, hospital patients, and anyone in need of emotional support....

Valerie June joins Sid Evans to discuss growing up between the rural towns of Humboldt and Jackson, Tennessee, picking crawdads and connecting to other wildlife around her, making music, open mic nights, and the jobs she had during the day at the start of her career. Get to Know Valerie June Valerie June has a range that spans from rhythm & blues to Appalachian and bluegrass, penning songs for Mavis Staples and The Blind Boys of Alabama and even writing a new book of poetry titled Maps for the Modern World....

For as long as I can remember, the cranberry sauce that’s served on my family’s Thanksgiving spread has come from a can. Each slice is cut into a perfect half-circle donning ridges on the side from being packed into a can. As I’ve been introduced to different variations of cranberry sauce over the years, none has ever been able to take the place of the stuff that comes from a can....

The red radio tower on Ponce de Leon Avenue has always been a point of intrigue in Atlanta. The floors beneath have housed everything from 1920s apartments to modern day celebrities. The basement is the origin of some of the city’s seediest stories–a quirky point of civic pride. Word of resident ghosts even spread while the building’s top floors were shut down. But ask any Poncey-Highland regular over the past decade, and you’ll hear the same story: The entire neighborhood daydreamed of the shuttered Clermont Hotel’s potential....

The sun is shining, the temperatures are rising, and summer is very nearly here. With this turn of season comes one of our favorite warm weather treats. Blue Bell’s Southern Blackberry Cobbler ice cream has returned to grocery store shelves. The Brenham, Texas-based Blue Bell Ice Cream originally introduced this delicious seasonal flavor in 2007 and it has remained a limited edition seasonal flavor ever since. “It always returns to store shelves around spring time and is only available in half gallons for a limited time,” Blue Bell told Southern Living in an email....