DISH: A weekly serving of food news and views
deconstructing pumpkin pie

It's not too late: 10 tips for Thanksgiving success
If you've read any magazines or watched any cooking shows in the last month, you've already been exposed to detailed battle plans for Thanksgiving Day.

Put leftover turkey to flavorful use
If you're lucky enough to have turkey leftovers, there are more ways to fix it than Turkey Day redux on Friday or in sandwiches slathered with mayo and cranberry relish. Though those aren't bad alternatives.

Uncorked: The all-American wine
Zinfandel -- the real red, not the pink -- is full of fruit and flavor, the equivalent of Thanksgiving in a bottle.

Call or click for cooking help
Toll-free telephone services and Web sites are available to help answer cooking queries during holiday preparation times. Here are some of them.

Lighten up that high-fat stuffing
Using whole grains and leaving out extra meat make for more healthful eating; texture and interest come from flavorful mushrooms, nuts and even fruits.

Vegetables are in their glory at Thanksgiving
No turkey? No problem. Vegetarian tables can be laden with the goodness of fall's harvest.

• Roasting times
  The following roasting times are for unstuffed turkeys cooked at 325 degrees:
• Brine your turkey for moist white meat
  The age-old problem with cooking a turkey is that the white meat is often dry compared with the moist, tasty dark meat. Thank goodness for gravy.
• Good gravy!
  There seem to be so many pitfalls to making smooth, robust gravy that many of us have turned to store-bought versions.
• dish
  explanations from the inside out: yams vs. sweet potatoes
• We'll be thankful for your holiday mishaps
  Thanksgiving is a special family time. By "special" we mean, of course, weird, comical and often fraught with complications.

Book features food editor's work
The work of St. Petersburg Times food editor Janet K. Keeler has been honored in the book Best Food Writing 2001, an anthology of stories about food, dining and life by American food writers.

Is the thought of cooking Thanksgiving dinner giving you hives? Maybe you're just stuck for side dish ideas or have an etiquette question. Food editor Janet K. Keeler will answer questions on these issues, along with providing help on finding recipes online, tips for making a cooking schedule and more in this special Thanksgiving feast chat. Transcript online now

Books That Cook: Take a U.S. taste tour with Bobby Flay
Bobby Flay Cooks American: Great Regional Recipes with Sizzling New Flavors

Food File
SOUTH AFRICAN WINE DINNER: 7 p.m. today, St. Larry's, 34980 U.S. 19 N, Palm Harbor. B-21 Fine Wines and Spirits pairs seven wines from South Africa, including De Trafford merlot, cabernet sauvignon and Vin de Paille, with complementing courses from chef Bill Schrems. $50. Call (727) 786-0077 to reserve.