Thanksgiving Day Survival Guide: What's Open in Oak Lawn?

Patch takes the guesswork out of which restaurants and businesses are open on Thanksgiving Day.

  Are you still undecided about what to do on Thanksgiving? Or ready to embark on your annual search of a pumpkin pie that you stayed up all night baking at Baker's Square or Jewel? So you don’t have to call or drive around, Patch has compiled a list of restaurants and businesses open on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 22). We’ve included supermarkets, liquor stores, conveniece stores and other businesses for those last minute dinner emergencies or alcohol to put your relatives in a happy mood. READ: Where Do You Go For A Much-Needed Cocktail? Many local restaurants are open for business for walk-in guests or are accepting reservations for Thanksgiving Day. If you’re familiar with one of these restaurants or businesses, click on the link and leave …

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Get Your Black Friday Game On!

Patch's guide to Black Friday deals and store hours for stores and malls in Oak Lawn or nearby.

It's Thanksgiving night. You've told your relatives to go home, except for your crazy sister. The dishes are stacked up in the sink ready to be washed on Friday afternoon. You have your attractive sports outfit on, your runnings shoes, and your commuter mug is filled with coffee. That time-honored tradition of "Black Friday" begins on Thanksiving night at some stores, and midnight on Friday at many others. Whether you're looking for a door-buster or are merely into the fun frenzy of Black Friday, Patch has broken down hours of operation for stores and shopping malls in or near Oak Lawn. Don't forget these other Patch holiday survival guides" Whether you call the mall at 95th Street and Ridgeland Avenue "the Westfield Mall" or are a member …

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How to Avoid an Exploding Turkey When Using a Deep Fryer

Underwriters Laboratories offers safety tips for deep frying your turkey without burning your garage down.

  If you’re like 88 percent of the rest of the country you’re probably going to eat some turkey this Thanksgiving. While most of us will enjoy an oven-roasted turkey, some hardcore Thanksgiving aficionados have been deep-frying their birds in turkey fryers despite their inherent dangers. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, more than 2,000 residential fires are reported on Thanksgiving. A number of these fires are caused by botched turkey fryer mishaps. WATCH THE UL VIDEO of a turkey fryer bursting into flames. UL (Underwriters Laboratories), a global product safety organization, discourages the use of outdoor gas-fueled fryers that immerse whole turkeys into hot oil. UL still won’t certify turkey fryers as they are designed. And …

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Science Guy

6:28 am on Wednesday, November 23, 2011

And when you're done with the oil... http://homewood-flossmoor.patch.com/blog_posts/update-additional-location-for-used-oil-drop-off   more ›

Southland Stories

Who's More Likely to Use Stuffing From a Box?

Where does your town rank on the likelihood of using a packaged stuffing mix this Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving Day turkey dinner just wouldn't be complete without a savory stuffing. And who doesn't have a homemade stuffing recipe to look forward to? But would it surprise you to learn that most Southland communities are more likely than the average American to use a stuffing mix than to make stuffing from scratch? Who's more likely than the average American to use a stuffing mix? Evergreen Park residents are far more likely than any other south suburban resident to use a stuffing mix, followed closely by those who hail from Oak Lawn, Matteson and Lemont, according to Crain's Chicago Business Market Facts. Flossmoor and Chicago Heights residents are closer to the national average, which is represented by a rating of 100. In fact, there …

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Patch Talks Turkey About Thanksgiving's Favorite Side Dish

Once again, Patch dips into its favorite vintage Oak Lawn community cookbooks and comes up with some holiday recipes from the past good enough for today.

It's that time of year again when talk turns to turkey and all the trimmings. But in this week leading up to that most American of meals—Thanksgiving Dinner—we focus our attention not on the bird, but on the stuff that goes inside. Animals of all sorts have most likely been stuffed since man discovered fire and began using it to barbecue his wooly mammoth spareribs. After all, what else does one do with the hollow left behind after the cleaning, but fill it? The first recipes for stuffing date back to sometime between the 2nd century BC and the 1st century AD, to the kitchen of Apicius, a sort of celebrity chef of ancient Rome. He put together an anthology called De re Coquinaria that contained a collection of recipes for stuffed chicken, …

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