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Help for the hapless Thanksgiving host

By JANET K. KEELER
Published September 29, 2005

It's your turn to host Thanksgiving dinner. Problem is, you can't cook.

Never learned, never wanted to. Until now.

Oh, why didn't you pay more attention to Grandma, an expert if there ever was one at pie making. And aren't you sorry now that you know nothing about meat thermometers and, worse, don't even know why you should.

Welcome to Wishbone U., where several lucky readers will get free one-on-one help mastering such Thanksgiving favorites as pie, roast turkey and gravy, stuffing, macaroni and cheese, and cranberry sauce. Lessons in turning on the oven and proper equipment will also be included.

Here's how it works: Write a few paragraphs about what Thanksgiving dish you want to perfect and why. If you've tried and failed, tell us about that. Describe your biggest fear about cooking a holiday meal. A panel of judges will read your tales of woe, then pair the most desperate cases with accomplished home cooks. Cooking classes may be at your home or theirs; details will be worked out after students are selected. We'll pick up the tab for groceries.

Please include your name, age, city of residence and daytime phone number. Send entries to Wishbone U., c/o Taste, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731 or e-mail krieta@sptimes.com Put WISHBONE U. in the subject line.

Deadline is Oct. 7. Nominations of bad cooks by good cooks will be accepted, but they cannot be submitted anonymously.

Participants must be willing to have their lesson photographed and observed, because it's not just their skills we want to improve. The experience will be shared with Times readers in a series to be published in Taste in November.

[Last modified September 28, 2005, 08:38:02]