Toll-free hot lines and Web sites offer answers to cooking and food-safety questions for the holidays.

For poultry and meat prep and food safety:

U.S. Department of Agriculture Meat and Poultry Hotline » 888-674-6854 or www.fsis.usda.gov. Food-safety specialists answer calls 10 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays year-round -- except Thanksgiving Day, when hours are 8 a.m.-2 p.m. The Web site has a 24-hour automated response system; recorded information is available 24 hours a day. Service also available in Spanish.

And some food companies:

Butterball Turkey Talk-Line » 800-288-8372 or butterball.com. Home economists and nutritionists answer questions in English and Spanish. Nov. 3-26: 8 a.m.-8 p.m. weekdays; 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Nov. 22-23; 6 a.m.-6 p.m. Nov. 27 (Thanksgiving Day); 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Nov. 28. Check Web site for 24-hour automated assistance and info on other resources.

Crisco Pie Hotline » 877-367-7438 or crisco.com. Baking experts answer questions about pie-making 8 a.m.-6 p.m. weekdays, with extended hours (7 a.m.-7 p.m.) Nov. 13-22 and Dec. 18-22. Closed Thanksgiving Day and Dec. 24-25. Recorded information is available 24 hours daily. Online, click on "Articles and Tips," then "Pie Central" for more resources.

King Arthur Flour Co. Bakers Hotline » 802-649-3717. Baking experts answer questions 7 a.m.-8 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Sat.-Sun. through December. Exceptions: 8 a.m.-noon Dec. 24; closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day; 8 a.m-5 p.m. Dec. 31. You can also e-mail questions to bakerskingarthurflour.com or visit online, kingarthurflour.com. LiveChat is at www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes2008.

Perdue consumer help line » 800-473-7383 or perdue.com. Representatives answer cooking, storage and other questions about poultry. Regular hours: 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays. Holiday hours: 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Tues.; 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Nov. 26; 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Thanksgiving Day. Closed Nov. 23 and Christmas Day.

More help online:

eatturkey.com » The National Turkey Federation offers Thanksgiving recipes and cooking tips.

epicurious.com » Recipes and articles from Gourmet and Bon Appetit magazines, including a Thanksgiving primer.

foodnetwork.com » The cable food network site has tips, recipes and videos from their lineup of celebrity chefs and hosts.

kraftfoods.com » The food company's Web site offers recipes, cooking tips and a holiday entertaining guide.

landolakes.com » Land O'Lakes offers tips, techniques and recipes, for the feast.

recipezaar.com » Site where readers share recipes has plenty of those, and tips too.

www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/turkey/thanksgiving.html » The University of Illinois Extension offers a variety of cooking tips, carving information and holiday history. The site also is available in Spanish.