AmericanTowns.com Blog

AmericanTowns.com Surpasses 1 Million Monthly Unique Visitors

AmericanTowns.com, where residents of every town in America can find and share rich local information about their communities, today announced continued progress in several key metrics for the first quarter of 2009.

Continue reading the full release:
AmericanTowns.com Surpasses 1 Million Monthly Unique Visitors - Highest Traffic of Any Network of Hyper-Local Community Websites

Earth Day Events by state for April 22, 2009

If you are looking for something to do on Earth Day this April 22, 2009, we have curated the best earth day events and activities for you. Check them out by state and find which earth day kids games, events and activities would be great for you to attend!

Local school delays and weather closing information

We have updated all our towns for the nasty winter weather with the best local links for all your school delays and closing. The 08/09 winter has shown to be a cold and icy one and to get the best up to date info all you need to do is visit any town on AmericanTowns.com and look in the right hand resources section under 'Winter Resources'.

Here is an example for Buffalo school closings that can be found on the town site for Buffalo, New York

As always if you have any additions or suggestions, email them to us here and let us know for what town you would like updated.

Thank you for using AmericanTowns.com

Mortgage rates falling across the country, find local rates in your area

We just posted an article on mortgage rates falling across the country. You can use this information to find local rates in all our local mortgage section. Check it out here:

Refinance Your Mortgage Locally, as Mortgage Rates Drop to 5% Level

California Profile and Statistics added

We have updated our California state page with new census information and statistics. We have housing, population and social information from the latest release of information.

You can view it here: California Profile and Statistics

Adam Sandler Thanksgiving Song

Adam Sandler Thanksgiving Song

And of course, no Thanksgiving would be complete without the classic Adam Sandler Thanksgiving Song - enjoy the holidays everyone!

Find Thanksgiving Turkey Day Events, Food Banks and more for your state at AmericanTowns.com

Fry A Turkey - How to do it so you don't end up with pizza for dinner!

Find Thanksgiving Turkey Day Events, Food Banks and more for your state at AmericanTowns.com

How To Fry A Turkey
Frying a turkey has become amazingly popular in recent years, maybe for how moist (not greasy) the bird comes out. Want to give it a try?

You’ll need…

A whole, thawed turkey. For frying, smaller is better – try not to go over 15 pounds.
A 40-60 quart pot with a basket or frying hardware.
Propane gas tank and burner
Candy or deep-frying thermometer, plus a meat thermometer.
Oil – and lots of it. Corn, peanut and canola oils work best. You’ll probably need 3.5 to 5 gallons. Fire extinguisher (just in case) and heavy duty pot holders.

Before you fry…
Set up your fryer OUTDOORS ONLY. Use a level, open, grassy area. Avoid wood decks (which can catch fire) or concrete surfaces which can stain. Make safety a priority; we’ve all seen those TV clips of Fried-Turkey-Gone-Wrong.

Before you do anything, determine how much oil you’ll need by placing the turkey in the fryer. Add water until it’s about two inches over the bird. Remove the turkey and, using a ruler, note the water level from the top of the pot to the surface of the water; empty and dry the fryer, then fill with oil to the level you just noted.

Using a candy thermometer, heat the oil to about 325°F and no higher than 350°F. It will take about 20-30 minutes. While you wait, inject the turkey with a marinade or rub with a dry spice rub. Plain turkey is fine too, but this gives it a little extra flavor. DO NOT FRY A STUFFED (OR FROZEN) TURKEY; it doesn’t work.

Once the oil heats, carefully place the turkey in the fryer. Overcooking is a common mistake: estimate cooking time at about 3 minutes per pound. Check the temperature with a meat thermometer: it should reach 170° F. in the breast and 180° F. in the thigh.

Don’t leave the hot oil unattended, and allow it to cool completely before disposing of it.

Find Thanksgiving Turkey Day Events, Food Banks and more for your state at AmericanTowns.com

Thanksgiving Recipes - How To Make Turkey Gravy and King Perfect Mashed Potatoes

Find Thanksgiving Turkey Day Events, Food Banks and more for your state at AmericanTowns.com

How To Make Turkey Gravy

Sure, you could always go for the gravy in a jar – but why not make your own? While the turkey cooks, do the following:

In a large pot, cover the giblets (the stuff that comes in that bag you find inside the turkey), the wing tips and neck bones with water. Throw in a stalk of chopped celery, some chopped carrot, parsley and a chopped onion (keep the peel on the onion to give the broth a pretty golden color). Add 4 cups of water and let simmer about an hour.

Remove from heat and strain the broth; discard the vegetables. You can toss the giblets too – but some folks like to pick the meat from the neck and wing tips, finely chop it with the giblets and add it to the stock. Your call.

Once the turkey is done, transfer it to a platter or board to collect the juices. You’re going to make your gravy in the same pan you used to roast the bird, so place it over 2 burners on the stove, on medium heat.

For every 2 cups of gravy you want, you’ll need 3 T fat (or butter), 3 T flour and 2 cups of liquid (meat juices or broth, vegetable juice, bouillon, and/or water). In a separate, lidded container, shake the flour with 2 cups of cool water; adding the flour this way keeps lumps from forming.

Skim excess fat from the pan juices and discard; using a heavy spoon, scrape up all the dark drippings and crunchy bits (which add the delicious flavor), then add the stock you just made. Once this starts to lightly bubble, add your flour mix a little at a time, stirring constantly. If the gravy starts to thicken up, stop adding the flour/water mix; you may not need to use it all, depending on the amount of pan drippings. If any lumps do occur, use a whisk to remove them.

Simmer for about 10 minutes; salt and pepper to taste. Pour into a warmed gravy boat or wide-mouthed pitcher; your gravy will continue to thicken after its been removed from the heat.

Helpful Tip:
This easy 1-1-1 formula helps ensure the right consistency for gravy: to thicken 1 cup of stock, use 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon flour.

Making King Perfect Mashed Potatoes

Yukon Gold spuds are the choice of true mashed potato lovers. Peel and remove the eyes on about 6, then cut them into cubes. Submerge in cold water to keep them from turning brown while you work.

Place in a pot of water, large enough to cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cooking (covered) about 15-20 minutes. The potatoes are done when a knife tip meets no resistance. Remove from heat and drain; you may want to save the water if you’d like to use it in place of butter or cream.

Let the potatoes sit for a minute in the colander as you heat 1 cup of heavy cream and a ½ cup salted butter in a small saucepan at low heat.

Pass the spuds through either a food mill or a ricer, both of which ensure a smoother, fluffier texture than using an electric mixer. If you DO need to use another tool, avoid over-mixing which can result in a gummy texture.

Drizzle the hot cream mix over the potatoes and gently stir. If the potatoes are too thick, add more cream.

NOTE: To reduce the fat content, use low-fat sour cream in place of butter, and milk or broth rather than cream.

Find Thanksgiving Turkey Day Events, Food Banks and more for your state at AmericanTowns.com

How To Carve A Thanksgiving Turkey

AmericanTowns.com, which has pulled together the best Thanksgiving Turkey Day Events, Food Banks and more for your local area, continues it's Thanksgiving tips with the age old question, how to carver a turkey:

How To Carve A Thanksgiving Turkey

Start with a sharpened, straight-edged knife. Take a deep breath and…

• 1) Cut the thin band of skin holding the drumsticks, then, grasping the end of the drumstick, place the knife between it and the turkey body and cut through to the joint. Remove the leg by pulling it out and back. Use the point of the knife to help.
• 2) Insert a fork in the upper wing to hold the turkey steady. Then make a long, horizontal cut above the wing joint through to the body frame.
• 3) Starting halfway up the breast, make a long, even slice straight down. When you reach the wing joint, the slice should fall on its own. Continue slicing the breast meat by starting the cut at a higher point each time.

Find Thanksgiving Turkey Day Events, Food Banks and more for your state at AmericanTowns.com

Turkey Cooking Temperature - Don't Forget, Thaw Out that Turkey!

Find Thanksgiving Turkey Day Events, Food Banks and more for your state at AmericanTowns.com

Turkey Cooking Temperature

Most people will have a frozen turkey on Thanksgiving so you may want to think about a plan to thaw it out. A big turkey in the range of 20 to 24 pounds can take five to six days to thaw in the refrigerator. If you use the cold-water method remember you will need to change the water every half-hour-ish and it will take about 10 to 12 hours. You need to make sure you get the turkey temp right for cookie.

When you start to cook, you will need to monitor the turkey temperature so you know when that Thanksgiving turkey is done. For it to be safe to eat your turkey should be about 165-degrees in middle of the bird. A good place to take the turkey's temperature is the part of the thigh and wing or thickest part of the breast. Be sure to use a meat temperature thermometer so you get it right.

Find Thanksgiving Turkey Day Events, Food Banks and more for your state at AmericanTowns.com