Carve a picture-perfect turkey like a professional by following these four simple steps from the turkey experts at Butterball.

1. Cut band of skin holding drumsticks. Grasp end of drumstick. Place knife between drumstick/thigh and body of the turkey and cut through skin to joint. Remove entire leg by pulling out and back, using the point of the knife to disjoin it. Separate the thigh and drumstick at the joint.

2. Insert fork in upper wing to steady turkey. Make a long horizontal cut above wing joint through to body frame. Wing may be disjointed from body, if desired.

3. Slice straight down with an even stroke, beginning halfway up the breast. When knife reaches the cut above the wing joint, slice will fall free.

4. Continue to slice breast meat, starting the cut at a higher point each time.

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By BETH BENCE REINKE
For Smart

Whether you’re at home or visiting relatives, the holidays are a great time to gather around a board game for some family fun and togetherness. Felton resident Jeanie Olson remembers playing cards and board games when she was a kid. “My sisters and I used to play 500 Rummy on Thanksgiving at my aunt’s house,” she said.

Olson and her husband, Jan (pronounced “Yon”), make board games a frequent part of family life for their children, ages 14, 13, 8 and 2. She says games provide a face-to-face opportunity to laugh, talk and build strong relationships, instead of sitting in front of a video game or computer screen.

“The kids can be scattered through the house, and if you get a game out, they all come running,” she said.

Every time they play a board game, they laugh a lot, especially when it’s the whole family, Olson said. Her husband’s job as an airline pilot takes him out of town often, but when he’s home, he jumps right in.

“I love that Jan, as the dad, gets involved and plays games with the kids.”

He has a wonderful ability to make each game memorable for them all, she said.
For holiday get-togethers, Olson recommends games that can be played in a short amount of time, like Whoonu, Scrabble, Racko, Parcheesi and Pictionary. Whoonu is a particular favorite with the Olsons.

“It helps you learn about your family members — what they like and don’t like,” she said.
Brandy Bosley, who managed Education Station in York before it consolidated with the Lancaster store, suggests games that are good for all age groups, from small children through grandparents.

A few she highly recommends are The Wrong Game, What’s in Ned’s Head?, LCR Dice Game and Charoodles. All four can be purchased or ordered from Education Station in Lancaster. Call 717-560-9628.

After-Thanksgiving-dinner games

After the turkey and pumpkin pie are gobbled up, break out one of these games. Who knows, you might start a new holiday tradition!

Racko (Parker Brothers Hasbro Games) $8.95, ages 8 and older. For two to four players. By drawing cards from the deck, be the first player to put all 10 cards in your rack in sequential order.

Parcheesi (Milton Bradley) $14.99, ages 8 and older. For two to four players. Be the first player to move all four pawns around the board without getting sent back to the start.

Scrabble (Milton Bradley) $13.95, ages 8 and older. For two-four players. Use your letter tiles to build words and earn points.

Charoodles (Thinkfun) $24.95, ages 10 and older. For four or more players. Similar to charades, but you use props provided in the game to act out 10 things while your team guesses.

Whoonu (Cranium, Inc.) $15.95, ages 8 and older. For three or more players. Using numbered tokens and cards with common things on them, win points by guessing the other players’ favorite things.

Pictionary (Hasbro) $26.95, ages 12 and older. For three or more players. Take turns sketching something and guessing what it is. Also available for ages 8-12 as Pictionary Junior ($19.95)

The Wrong Game (Imagination Entertainment) $24.95, ages 8 and older. For two to six players. Try to beat the clock while answering questions with alternating right or wrong answers.

Left, Center, Right Dice Game (LCR Dice Game) (Koplow Games) $5.95, ages 5 and older. For three or more players. Take turns rolling the three dice and passing tokens to the left, center or right to see who can collect them all by the end.

What’s in Ned’s Head? (Fundex) $24.95, ages 4 and older. For two to four players. Comes with a large stuffed head of Ned. Each player gets a card, then
reaches into Ned’s head to find the object pictured on the card by sense of touch only.

A few of our favorites

Staff members share their pick for fun family games.

Yahtzee and Uno. Especially with Uno, you could play with a bunch of people if you had a few decks. It was a game we always played when my huge family on my mom’s side got together at the beach or something.
— Laura Randisi

It’s so Central PA, but Dutch Blitz is a great card game. Four players rapidly shuffle through their cards trying to be the first to get rid of their respective cards displaying a pump, carriage, pail or plow in sequential piles according to color. Our family always ended up in shouts and screams of laughter because it’s so chaotic.
— Nicki Lefever

Apples to Apples is our favorite board game. Anytime we have people over or we have a big family gathering, we pull this one out.
— Cathy Hirko

Because I have a large family, a board game can get kind of hectic. We prefer to do VCR or DVD games, such as a classic called Doorways to Adventure and the newer Scene It! Everyone can find a way to be involved, and we usually split up into teams, which adds to the fun.
— Michele Canty

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Smart readers tell us about their holiday nightmares.

Hostess juggles mixed menu

Nightmares began for me several weeks before Thanksgiving 2002. I was planning to host my extended family, numbering 18, as I had done on previous occasions. We then got word that my husband’s sister and her spouse would be traveling up from Florida. Of course, we invited them to join us — in spite of their chosen vegan lifestyle. (Prior to meeting my in-laws, I had never heard of a vegan: as the strictest form of vegetarian, they eat no animal products at all. That’s no dairy, no eggs and no gelatin.) How do you make mashed potatoes without butter, milk or chicken broth?!

Although my sister- and brother-in-law kindly offered to bring their own “tofurkey,” placing them on the guest list added a new wrinkle to menu planning. My husband expected traditional fare, and my own family members had several special dietary needs. There’s my gluten-intolerant sister (no bread stuffing for her!), a mother and brother watching their cholesterol (no gravy for them!), one hypoglycemic sister-in-law (no sugar-laden cranberry relish for her), and another sister-in-law who gets migraines from caffeine (no coffee with her pumpkin pie)!
I decided to make enough dishes and variations of favorites so that everyone had at least three acceptable choices. After days of planning and cooking, the spread in my tiny kitchen resembled a second-rate smorgasbord more than an elegant holiday feast.

There were a few snide comments about the unappealing appearance of tofurkey and some mild evangelization regarding the benefits of being vegan. Yet, everyone managed to satisfy his or her appetite, with the added bonus that most had room to indulge their sweet tooth later that day.
We had a cookie crust, candy-topped “pizza” to celebrate my 7-year-old daughter’s birthday while so many relatives were present! My nightmare preparations ended with a sweet dream.

— Amy Graf, York Township

Family learns to follow instructions

I pride myself in making some pretty good Thanksgiving turkeys — I love to cook Thanksgiving meals and normally do two full meals, one for my family and one for my husband’s work family (White Rose Ambulance — they work 12-hour shifts over Thanksgiving, and I’ve been making them meals for 10-plus years).

I always know what size turkey to get for White Rose, but my husband always tries to get our family the biggest turkey he can find (he loves leftovers). It really wasn’t going to be a large event this particular year, just my family (three) and my mother-in-law.

The first turkey finished on time, and I started “our” turkey — first of all it was more than 25 pounds — I could hardly handle the thing! I got it to fit in my biggest roaster, but the lid was never going to fit — first time in my life, I was going to need to use aluminum foil.
Side note: If the instructions regarding turkey and aluminum foil say to make a “tent” — make a tent!

My logic was that I knew better than Reynolds Aluminum, a tent would never work properly. So I wrapped the roaster — the whole roaster — in aluminum foil.

Heavy duty aluminum foil.

I put the turkey in early in the morning, around 6 if I recall correctly, and I worked on the rest of the meal.

About noon, the mashed potatoes were about done, the sweet potatoes, the filling, the oyster filling, the mixed vegetables, the lima beans, the desserts, the table set, my mother-in-law at the house, and everything was shaping up for a beautiful meal (the gravy even looked good for a change).

My husband took the turkey out of the oven for me and I started unwrapping — it was beautiful! Golden brown, almost like a picture.

I got the meat platter and instructed my husband to lift it out and onto the platter — I took the sides, he went end to end and we lifted . . . something was drastically wrong. The bottom part of the turkey was completely raw, the top half was lovely.

My mother-in-law (God bless her) is legally blind, and she was poking at the side of the turkey saying it’s done, but blood was running from the turkey!

I got a little hysterical when my husband asked me, “What did you do to the turkey?”
When he saw the look on my face, it was like he understood why the emergency rooms are busy on holidays. Apparently, the aluminum foil wrapped around the bottom of the roaster reflected the heat away from the bird.

Who would have thought? Hard lesson to learn.

We flipped the bird over, “tented” the bottom of the bird, threw it in the oven, sat down and ate our vegetarian Thanksgiving meal and headed over to my sister’s house for turkey sandwiches.
Took a little over 12 hours total for the turkey to eventually get done, and we had leftovers forever, but I learned to follow instructions.

— Jean Firestone, West York

A feast in four hours

Thanksgiving 2006 was a nightmare. The chaos began at 10 a.m. While still in my nightgown, preparing to put the turkey into the oven, our invited guests from Delaware arrived. I was stunned.
They then informed me that they would have to return home before dark. That meant they would have to leave our house by 2:30 p.m.

The turkey was 22 pounds!

While I got dressed, I asked my husband to entertain them in the living room. Being they got up so early, the husband was asleep.

Well now for the grand finale! I cooked the turkey in one of those aluminum throw-away pans. As I was taking the turkey out of the oven, the pan buckled in half and the hot grease ran down my leg onto my right foot and onto the floor.

I slipped on the grease and fell flat on my face holding the turkey up in the air, saying, “I saved it, I saved it.”

I didn’t have time to attend to my burned leg and foot, so we proceeded to hurriedly eat dinner, as 2:30 p.m. would be arriving soon. We didn’t even have dessert.

Well now, 10 months later, I am constantly reminded of Thanksgiving whenever I get a shooting pain in my foot and look down at the scar caused by the grease.

Needless to say, aluminum pans are history in this household! Maybe we’ll dine out this year.

— Kathleen Whittock, Airville

Grandmother hopes cruise is worth it

The horror to this story is we will not be having our traditional Thanksgiving dinner with our 18 immediate family members.

You see, in February 2007, for a Valentine’s Day surprise, my husband booked a cruise that is in November . . . Thanksgiving week!!

Little did we check, back in February, that Thanksgiving wasn’t the last Thursday in November as usual.

This will be the first Thanksgiving, a horror to us, that we won’t all be together at our house, in the McNamara home, for 47 years of togetherness.

It started out with three children, then their spouses, then 10 grandchildren. It has always been a great day; 2007 will be a horror on our part.

Hope the cruise measures up to the loss of family togetherness that day.

— Jeanette McNamara, York

Next issue:

Tell us your New Year’s resolutions. E-mail “New Years” to bvrabel@ydr.com.
Submissions are due by Nov. 19.

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BIL BOWDEN for Smart

When choosing an extra-curricular activity for your child, make sure to let them take the lead in choosing the activity.

Dance lessons, karate, art classes, sports, music lessons. It can be overwhelming for parents and kids to choose extracurricular activities.

Marie Bell, program director for the family life division of Family-Child Resources in York, said there are tremendous benefits for kids who participate in activities, including social interaction, confidence, independence and physical activity.

To find the right activity for your child-ren, Bell recommends observing them and talking with them about their interests.

“Go to the library or look on the Internet together for things that spark your child’s imagination,” Bell said.

Irene Burrill, assistant director of in-home services for Family and Children Services of Central Pennsylvania in York, said it could be beneficial for a parent and child to go to observe a class or a lesson before deciding on a particular activity.

“This way, the parent and child know what to expect,” she said. Even though some parents want their children to play a particular sport or instrument, it is better to leave the options open and let the child take the lead.

“Suggesting an activity is fine, but forcing kids to do something usually never works out,” Bell said.

Allowing children to feel they are in control means they will be more likely to pick activities they want to stick with. Once a child chooses something, it is important that a parent talks with him or her before running out and signing up.

“Kids change their minds a lot,” Bell said.

Make sure your children understand that by signing up for a sport or class they are making a commitment and that the parent will be spending money and time to support them.

Kids might want to quit at the beginning of a difficult task, such as learning to play an instrument, but can grow to like it later.

Bell said it’s a good idea to sign up for activities only on a monthly or seasonal basis. That way, if a child chooses not to continue an activity, he or she won’t have to stay with it for a whole year.
“This is a way that children can learn that there are sometimes consequences to the choices they make,” she said. She added that it also encourages kids to think through decisions.

Most parents want their children to be well-rounded, but one thing to avoid is activity overload — especially if there is more than one child in the household.

It’s easy for families to fill the schedule. This raises the stress level of parents who have to coordinate budgets and transportation as well as the younger members of the family.

“Recognize that kids at any age need downtime to daydream and relax,” she said.
Bell said that limiting each child to two activities per season could reduce the run-around.

“It is important to have a routine that is a balance of organized activities and free time,” she said.
Burrill said parents know their children and know what they can juggle.

“Some kids are able to do more than others,” she said. “Older children can usually handle a little more on their plates than younger ones.”

When things get too busy, Bell suggests clearing time on the schedule to help foster youthful creativity. “Kids sometimes need less-structured situations,” she said.

Planning at least one family night a week, when all members sit down and talk over a meal, is also important, Bell said.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are some children who don’t seem to be interested in anything.

Bell said that, with technology today, it is easy for kids to get used to sitting in front of computer and TV screens.

Parents can talk to teachers and counselors to find out if a child has special interests outside of the home. Bell said to give kids choices, but limit those choices.

“Let kids know that they have options, but being a couch potato is not one of them,” she said.
Burrill said another way to encourage reluctant children to try an activity is to talk to them about what friends and relatives are doing.

“Sometimes a child will be more comfortable doing an activity where they know someone else,” she said.

Help kids discover interests by encouraging them to run their own activities such as lemonade stands, backyard circuses and pick-up games.

“Parents usually want to jump in and coordinate everything themselves,” Bell said.

Staying hands-off can sometimes help kids find activities they love.

Unique activities Here are a few out-of-the-ordinary activities to consider:

Knitting: Drop-in beginner classes at Uncommon Threads, 294 W. Market St. in York. $10 for one hour, $15 for two hours. Call 866-323-9276 for store hours or visit www.uncommonthreads-pa.com.

Synchronized swimming: York Synchro-ettes is an all-girls team that meets at the YWCA. For details, call aquatics director Kathy Warner at 845-2631, ext. 14.

Language classes: Fluent Kids classes in Harrisburg, Hershey, Camp Hill and Lancaster. For locations and details, call 657-6190 or visit www.fluentkids.com.

Archery lessons: Available at Kinsey’s Outdoors, 1658 Steel Way Drive in Mount Joy. For details, call 653-5524.

Playwrighting and acting: “Once Upon a Time” class at Imagine! Studio of the Arts, 53 N. Main St. in Jacobus. Third- through sixth-graders write and perform their own fairy tale. For details, call 428-1402 or visit www.inspirestudioofthearts.com.

Fencing and Ultimate Frisbee (for older kids): YMCA of York and York County, 90 N. Newberry St. in York. For details, call 843-7884.

Tips to help a child choose an activity

Observe: Keep your eyes open for what sparks your child’s interest.

Give choices: Let your child choose from several activities instead of selecting one yourself.

Set limits: Don’t overload. Keep the family budget and schedule under control with two activities for each child.

Communicate: Talk to your children about the activities they choose before, during and after they participate in them. Let others in the family know when changes are made to the schedule.

Negotiate: Let a child know that a commitment to activities is important. Try to observe a class or lesson with your child before signing up for an entire year.

Tips to help children enjoy activities

• Encourage your kids to succeed, but don’t demand it. Let kids know it is important to do their best but they shouldn’t necessarily fear failure.

• Don’t praise dishonestly. If a child strikes out or messes up at a recital, don’t tell them they did a great job. Show that you love them whether they are performing well.

• Set performance goals that are in the child’s control and can help the child improve. These goals should be challenging but not too difficult to help create an enjoyable learning experience.

• Don’t forget family time: Talking and interacting with family members is important to a child’s development. Clear the schedule for a family meal at least once a week.

•Stay hands-off to a point: Give your child some time and space to discover what he or she likes.

Sources: YMCA, Marie Bell, program director for the family life division of Family-Child Resources in York, and Irene Burrill, assistant director of in-home services for Family and Children Services of Central Pennsylvania

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MCT

This marinated braised rabbit is a great recipe conflated from two sources, "The Joy of Cooking" and allrecipes.com.

By BRENT BURKEY
For Smart

E’ Tutto Qua is a lovely Italian restaurant nestled in the beatnik district of San Francisco.

French champagne there costs more than $50 a bottle.

Thankfully, not all the fare is that expensive, and, on some days, it is quite unique.
Like, ever wonder what Elmer Fudd would do with Bugs if he caught him?

Answer: Probably cook up savory braised rabbit.

With hunting season in high gear, you can make a five-star-restaurant-worthy dish in your own kitchen with fresh game your family’s hunter brought home.

Fall is the season when wild game, including rabbits and the most-hunted Pennsylvania game animal — the white-tailed deer — is most readily available.

If you’re going to be on the receiving end of any fresh game, make sure your hunter knows how to keep the meat clean out in the field.

The first part of the pre kitchen care for the animal is obvious: Keep it cold after it is killed.
But the average hunter might not know that it is important to keep the animal dry, too, no matter how cold the weather might be, said Catherine Cutter, associate professor of food sciences at Penn State.

Cutter recommends dragging or carrying a kill out of the woods after it is gutted, then caring for it in a sterile environment, making sure it does not stay moist for too long and becomes wet
only at temperatures of 40 degrees or less.

As for that San Francisco rabbit, I didn’t order it. My grandfather always told me domesticated rabbit could be fatty.

That is the opposite problem of most game, which live their lives running around the wild or a suburban development. Either way, they are much leaner than something raised in a cage.

A few of the following steps might be in order once the game animal comes into your kitchen:

Salt water

Anything shot with a shotgun, might have several small pellets and pieces of hair inside the game animal. A quick way to draw them out of the meat is to soak the entire animal in salt water. Remember learning about osmosis in that biology class? This works the same way.

Marinade

While we’re on the subject, marinating game is important for at least two reasons: Game can taste “gamey” — and game can be dry. Fix both problems with marinades, including red wine for venison and bacon strips wrapped around a rabbit; the fat will draw into the meat. A favorite, come upon by accident, is a mixture of scotch whiskey, Worcester sauce and whatever dry barbecue seasoning is lying around your cupboard.

Meat thermometer
The biggest problem with game meat, because of its low fat content, is that it tends to dry out. This can be exacerbated by overcooking.But then again, processing hasn’t exactly gone through USDA testing, so you need to cook the meat to an adequate temperature.

Cook ground meat to 165 degrees; steaks and roasts to 145 degrees for medium rare, 160 degrees for medium and 170 degrees for well done; cook whole birds to 180 degrees and breast meat to 170 degrees.

Then just follow any favorite recipe for chicken (everything either tastes like beef or like chicken, so use recipes accordingly), and your gourmet meal awaits!

Marinated Braised Rabbit (Hasenpfeffer)

½ pound bacon, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 cups red wine vinegar or cider vinegar
2 cups water
6 cloves garlic, crushed
3 bay leaves
½ cup coarsely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon each: Dried thyme, dried basil, whole cloves, whole allspice, crushed black peppercorns
1 rabbit, 3 to 4 pounds, trimmed, cut into 6 pieces
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1. Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp; transfer to paper towels to drain. Transfer to food storage bag; refrigerate.

2. Add the celery, carrots and onion to the bacon fat in the Dutch oven; cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables soften, about 8 minutes. Pour in the vinegar; cook, scraping up browned bits, about 1 minute. Add the water, garlic, bay leaves, parsley, thyme, basil, cloves, allspice and peppercorns. Cover; heat to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer; cook 1 hour. Set aside to cool, about 1 hour. Add the rabbit pieces to the marinade. Transfer to food storage bags, if desired. Refrigerate 24-48 hours.

3. Remove rabbit from marinade; pat dry with paper towels. Set aside. Remove bacon from refrigerator; set aside. Combine flour, salt and pepper to taste in a large food storage bag. Add the rabbit pieces, in small batches, shaking to coat. Reserve remaining seasoned flour.

4. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook the rabbit, in batches if necessary, turning until golden brown on all sides, about 8 minutes per batch. Strain the reserved marinade through a sieve into the pan. Add cooked bacon; heat to a boil. Cover; place in oven. Cook until the rabbit is tender, about 2 hours. Transfer rabbit to a platter; keep warm. Place Dutch oven over medium heat; heat pan juices to a boil.

5. Meanwhile, combine ½ cup of the reserved seasoned flour with ¼ cup water in a small jar with a tight-fitting lid; cover. Shake thoroughly. Stir the flour-water mixture into the Dutch oven; cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens, about 2 minutes. Pour gravy over rabbit.

Nutrition information per serving: 757 calories, 43 percent of calories from fat; 33 g fat, 9 g saturated fat, 207 mg cholesterol, 25 g carbohydrates, 76 g protein, 845 mg sodium, 1 g fiber

Source: The Chicago Tribune

Easy Venison Marinade

½ cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon hot sauce
½ cup orange juice
6 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons grated orange zest
6 (6 ounce) venison steaks

Stir together the soy sauce, hot sauce, orange juice, garlic, and orange zest. Marinate the venison steaks at least 2 hours.

To prepare: Preheat a grill for medium-high heat.
Remove steaks, and discard marinade. Grill to desired doneness, about 7 minutes total for medium, depending on thickness.

Venison with Sherry-Mushroom Sauce

½ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon ground sage
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1 cup chopped Vidalia onion
2 cups sliced mushrooms or baby bellas
6 (3 ounce) venison tenderloin steaks
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
¾ cup sherry
¼ cup water

Combine ½ cup flour, sage, salt, and pepper in a resealable bag, set aside. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large pan over medium heat. Stir in onion and cook until almost soft. Add mushrooms, and continue cooking until soft. Remove from pan.

Turn heat to medium-high and melt 2 tablespoons of butter in pan. Toss the venison steaks in the seasoned flour and shake off the excess. Sear venison in butter for 6 to 7 minutes per side and remove.

Reduce heat to medium-low, and melt the remaining tablespoon of butter. Whisk in 1 tablespoon of flour, followed by the sherry and water. Return the vegetables and meat to the pan. Increase heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Easy Pheasant Casserole

1 (6 ounce) package dry bread stuffing mix
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 ½ cups hot water
1 (10.5 ounce) can chicken gravy
1 pound cooked pheasant, cubed
1 (16 ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables
¼ teaspoon dried thyme

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large bowl, combine the seasoning packet from the stuffing mix with the butter and water. Stir in the stuffing crumbs until all the liquid is absorbed.

In a separate 2 quart casserole dish, combine the gravy, pheasant, vegetables and thyme. Stir all together well , then spoon the stuffing mix over the top.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

Submitted to allrecipes.com

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By BETH BENCE REINKE
For Smart

For many people, Thanksgiving means mouth-watering smells wafting from the kitchen and the table laden with delicious foods. But the season isn’t about abundance for everyone. Many folks in York County could use a helping hand to make their holidays a little brighter.

Volunteering at Thanksgiving has become a family affair for Amy Gehly of York. For the past three years, Amy and Ted Gehly, their daughters (ages 13, 12 and 10) and Amy’s parents have helped pack potatoes for the Thanksgiving basket project at York Rescue Mission.

Amy Gehly and her mother got involved with the project when they were looking for some type of volunteer activity to do with the fifth- and sixth-graders they teach at Grace Baptist Church in York.

“A friend from church made the contact with York Rescue Mission, and we found out what kinds of things they did,” Gehly said. Packing potatoes for the food baskets was something everyone in their group could do.

Between 30 and 40 volunteers show up at the East Prospect Fire Hall, with Gehly’s family and kids from church making up about 15 of those, she said.

Several thousand pounds of potatoes are unloaded from a truck, then the volunteers count out potatoes into clear plastic bags for the food baskets.

Gehly said her daughters and the children from her church always have a good time packing the potatoes. “We have a good group of kids, so we enjoy taking them,“ she said. “We make it a fun event.”

Getting involved in a charity is something Gehly has wanted to do since her daughters have gotten older. “It’s a good idea to have them helping somebody else who is less fortunate than they are,” she said. Gehly believes that fostering thankfulness in her girls is important, especially at Thanksgiving, she said.

This year, the family will have a bit of Thanksgiving history to think about as they volunteer. “We actually got to visit the little village where the Pilgrims came over at Plymouth Rock, and we saw how hard they really had it,” Gehly said.

Volunteering at Thanksgiving helps her family to remember where our country came from and how hard they had to work back then, she said.

The potato-packing event usually takes place on a Friday night about two weekends before Thanksgiving. York Rescue Mission gives out between 1,300 and 1,600 boxes of food at Thanksgiving, said Kathy Jones, director of volunteer services.

Volunteers are needed for various steps in preparing the food baskets, she said. The mission also serves a holiday meal on Thanksgiving Day for those in need.

Where to volunteer

Want to volunteer around the holidays? Here are some local agencies that need helpers:

• The Pentecostals of York Church, 1550 E. 11th Ave., York
Needs volunteers for Community Hope Dinner on Nov. 21.
Contact the Rev. Robert Pichardo at 755-7202.

• York’s Helping Hand for the Homeless, 412 W. King St., York
Needs volunteers to serve lunch on Thanksgiving Day.
Contact Cynthia Kemp, director at 846-9275.

• York County Food Bank, 254 W. Princess St., York
Needs volunteers to help with food baskets.
Contact Deb Eichelberger, assistant business administrator, at 846-6435, ext. 101.

• Southern York County Food Pantry, St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, 315 N. Constitution Ave., New Freedom
Needs volunteers to deliver holiday food boxes.
Contact Ed Smith at 235-5928.

• York Rescue Mission, 367 W. Market St., York
Needs volunteers for meal on Thanksgiving Day and various Thanksgiving and Christmas projects.
Contact Kathy Jones, director of volunteer services, at 845-7662, 812-8007 or 812-1692.

• Calvary United Methodist Church, West Market Street and Richland Avenue, York
Needs volunteers for setting up and serving meal on Thanksgiving Day and for preparation the day before.
Contact the church office at 843-2990.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

A girl looks for the perfect pumpkin. Field, neck, pie and cinderalla pumpkins are the best varieties to cook with.

By NICKI LEFEVER
for Smart

When the fall breeze blows in the smell of cinnamon and cloves, it’s clearly time for pumpkin pie.

But there are many other pumpkin-filled dishes to bring comfort this autumn. From pumpkin roll to pumpkin soup, the savory squash is a great ingredient to add to fall cooking.

Mary Sue Shaw at Shaw Orchards in Hopewell Township said her family eats pumpkin pancakes with bacon or sausage on Sunday evenings.

Pumpkins make her think, “Come on fall.”

“It’s just a fun time,” she said. “I love the season, and the whole fall excitement has grown over the years, and it’s right up there with Christmas.”

When the plump orange produce comes popping up from the third week in September through November, the oven is burning for the sweet scent of baked goods. The lighter-colored and larger-neck pumpkin varieties are most commonly used for pumpkin pies.

With the orchard harvesting apples and hosting tours, Shaw doesn’t have much time to be baking in the kitchen, but when she does, pumpkin is one of her ingredients of choice.

Pumpkins come in many shapes and sizes, so if you go to the patch, Shaw said, you can choose exactly what you are looking for. Many families enjoy a day looking for the perfect carving, baking and decorating varieties.

While the season lasts only through November, Shaw said cooking down a pumpkin and freezing it is the best way to enjoy local pumpkin all winter long.

Here are some recipes to try:

Pumpkin Pancakes
½ pound cooked pumpkin
1 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
Dash nutmeg and/or cinnamon (optional)
½ cup water
1 large egg, beaten
2 tablespoons browned butter, or bacon fat plus extra for frying
Maple syrup

Puree pumpkin in blender and drain if necessary. Should yield ½ cup of puree. Mix cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking soda in large bowl. Add spices if desired. Add pumpkin puree, water and egg. Mix well. Stir in melted butter or bacon fat. Grease griddle; heat until very hot. Drop heaping tablespoons of batter onto pan. Fry until lightly browned on each side. Serve with maple syrup.

Recipe provided by Mary Sue Shaw, Hopewell Township

Pumpkin Brownies
¾ unsweetened cocoa
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter plus some for pan
2 large eggs
1 ½ cups cooked pumpkin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 9-inch square pan. In a medium bowl, combine cocoa, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. In a large bowl, cream brown sugar and butter with mixer at medium speed. Continue beating until mixture is pale brown and thick, about five minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, adding the second only after the first is thoroughly incorporated. Add pumpkin and continue beating until smooth and creamy, about three minutes. With a wooden spoon, stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Do not beat. Pour batter into pan and bake 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool at least 30 minutes.

Recipe provided by www.shaworchards.com

Fettuccini with Pumpkin Cream Sauce
16 ounces fettuccine
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoon butter
1 ½ cups cooked pumpkin
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon dried sage
Parmesan cheese to taste

Make pasta according to directions. Keep warm. In medium saucepan, whisk milk and cornstarch together. When cornstarch is completely dissolved, place on stove at medium heat. Add ¾ cup water, butter and pumpkin. Stir. When pumpkin is dissolved, add onion powder, salt, garlic powder and sage. Stir until mixture comes to a low boil and thickens to the consistency of Alfredo sauce. Toss sauce with pasta, and sprinkle with Parmesan.

Recipe provided by www.shaworchards.com

Pumpkin Five-Spice Butter
1 cup (two sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup canned or fresh pumpkin puree, strained
1 tablespoon orange or lemon zest, finely grated
1½ to 2 tablespoons Chinese five-spice powder
Salt to taste
Confectioners’ sugar for sweeter
applications (optional)
¼ cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Place the butter in a medium mixing bowl and with an electric mixer (fitted with a paddle) or wooden spoon, beat until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides. Add pumpkin puree, zest and five-spice powder, scraping down the sides of the bowl, and beat to incorporate all ingredients. Taste for the five-spice powder and salt. Add confectioners’ sugar if desired. Stir in nuts, if desired, and taste again for salt. Scrape into a small bowl, serving crock or butter mold and cover tightly; or shape into a long roll in grease-proof paper (plastic, wax or parchment) for storing and slicing as needed.

Recipe provided by Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board

How to cook a pumpkin

Slice one medium-sized pumpkin into two or three manageable pieces. Remove seeds. Place on cookie sheet and roast at 350 degrees until done. Cool. Remove from rind by scraping. Store up to one week in refrigerator, or freeze.

Best pumpkins for cooking

Field, neck, pie and Cinderella pumpkins are good choices.

Posted in Cooking From this issue

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In general, my memories of life in elementary school have always been positive.

Instead of groaning about summer being over, I celebrated days spent reading, spelling and laboring over long division.

Well, mostly celebrated.

While life as a model student was something I reveled in, life as the cool kid was out of the question.

Nowhere was this reaffirmed more than in the school cafeteria, where hierarchy was quickly established on the basis of which table you sat at and what you brought for lunch.

I was a pretty shy kid. And because I was prohibited from watching TV during the week and didn’t have cable, I couldn’t really contribute much to conversations about “Double Dare” and “Thundercats.”

I was what some might call “a nerd.”

The lunches my mother lovingly prepared for me each day didn’t help.

Generally she’d make me a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich on bread she made from scratch, which always crumbled at the first bite.

Sometimes she’d include applesauce in a small Tupperware container. My parents made applesauce in the fall, and because they didn’t peel the apples, it was not the golden color of Motts fame, but reddish-brown, which really grossed out my table mates.

Now grossing out your table mates may have been common practice at the boys’ table, but where I sat with the girls, it was terribly uncouth.

My mother also packed some tortilla chips in a plastic baggie, which often got crushed.

The other kids’ lunchboxes were filled with Twinkies, air-filled snack-sized bags of potato chips, and store-bought white bread — a luxury I coveted.

I was always embarrassed by the pile of crumbs that amassed at my seat and by my lack of name-brand food.

Of course now that I’m living off of cereal and yogurt, I crave my mother’s hearty homemade bread, crumbs and all. And I’ve always found that store-bought applesauce pales in comparison to the tastiness of the kind my parents made.

As usual, she was spot-on, packing me a healthful lunch, often with a napkin which had notes on it like, “Have a good day! love Mom.”

In this back-to-school issue of Smart, you can learn how to pack a great lunch for your kids, just like Mom made. We also take a look at how to help your children deal with classroom jitters.

We realize your kids aren’t the only ones who are stressed out this time of year, so there’s also advice for you on everything from organizing your time, to starting a cooking exchange, to quick makeup tips.

And if you have a little extra time while your kids are at school, try making my mom’s homemade bread. Find the recipe under “Mom’s Bread” at www.smartmagpa.com.

Just make sure to eat it over a napkin.

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OK, I know it's not even Halloween yet, but I couldn't help but notice that Christmas items were creeping their way into the costume aisles at Target.

While I'm sure none of us are quite ready to tackle the stresses of the holiday seasons, I'm sure we are at least a little giddy for some of the fun parts.

Like decorating the tree, baking cookies, and watching "It's a Wonderful Life" for the 96th time.

In this spirit we're inviting you to share your favorite holiday movies with other Smart readers.

It could be anything you want (one guy I dated watched "Die Hard" every Christmas because it took place on Christmas Eve or something). Tell us what the movie is, and why you like it so much. E-mail shaller@ydr.com with the subject line "holiday movies." Deadline for entries is Oct. 22.

We'll print your responses in our special holiday edition of Smart, which comes out in November.

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