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T-Day hot lines get social

Phones are nice, but also look to laptops and iPads for quick answers to cooking questions.

By Kim Ode

November 14, 2014 at 8:33PM

300 dpi Chris Ware color illustration of dad in Christmas sweater talking on phone about turkey dinner as child looks on. For counting down the days til Christmas; Day 19. Lexington Herald-Leader 2007 19 christmas countdown illustration days til thanksgiving sweater turkey dinner phonecall relatives phone calling call order 10000000, 12000000, 10011000, FEA, krtholiday holiday, LEI, public holiday, 12025004, religious event, rite, ritual, 12014000, 12014001, krtchristianity christianity, krtchristmas christmas, krthanukkah hanukkah chanukkah, krtjudaism judaism jewish jew, krtwinter winter, krtxmas xmas, religious festival, religious holiday, krtfeatures features, krtlifestyle lifestyle, krtnational national, krtreligion religion, krtworld world, leisure, LIF, REL, krt, mctillustration 2007, krt2007, lx contributor coddington ware mct mct2007, lx contributed (Randy Salas — MCT/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

There will always be a Butterball Turkey hot line for those critical moments when you really need to talk to a human being (who is not your mother). But social media has even more ways to get answers fast while trying to avoid lumpy gravy or soggy pie crusts, or for those first-time cooks encountering that small parcel of turkey innards. Between website live chats, YouTube videos and well-staffed Facebook pages, here are some of the top lifelines:

Butterball Turkey Talk-Line: 1-800-288-8372, or visit www.butterball.com for videos, recipes and tips weekdays 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., or follow Butterball on Twitter, or go to Butterball's Facebook page.

Crisco Pie Central: 1-877-367-7438, or visit www.crisco.com for tips, recipes and step-by-step visual instructions for making pie crusts, or go to YouTube and search for Crisco pie crust. Also on the webpage, a live chat with pie experts weekdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 14-23 and Dec. 12-22.

Land O'Lakes: Its Facebook page seems nimbly staffed for all sorts of baking questions.

Nestle: The maker of Libby's pumpkin pie filling fields questions at www.verybestbaking.com. Click on "Thanksgiving collection" for a live chat 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.

USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline: 1-888-674-6854, or for more food safety questions, visit www.fsis.usda.gov. There's also a 24-hour automated response system where you can ask "Karen" for food prep advice.

Martha Stewart: Martha is available to solve viewers' last-minute dinner dilemmas via e-mail at martha@marthastewart.com or Twitter hashtag: #AskMartha. She's also hosting her annual "Thanksgiving Hotline Show" at 9 a.m. Nov. 23 on the Hallmark Channel.

Lynne Rossetto Kasper will host her annual "Turkey Confidential" from 10 a.m. to noon Thanksgiving Day on MPR, 91.1 FM; call 1-800-537-5252 with questions. Or check the webpage at splendidtable.publicradio.org/turkey-confidential. Or follow the new Lynnebot on Twitter, twitter.com/#!/Lynnebot. It's worth it just to see Kasper's icon looking like a Borg, a la Star Trek.

Star Tribune Taste: See our videos on how to carve a turkey, how to make a pie crust and how to make a pumpkin roulade at startribune.com/taste.

Finally, there are a bunch of Thanksgiving smartphone apps. Forbes magazine noted these: iFeast, which helps "synchronize your meal prep work"; Thanksgiving planner: The Android version of iFeast; and Thanksgiving recipes from iPhone, which also has ideas for leftovers.

Kim Ode • 612-673-7185