Turkey Talk Time

Thanksgiving is a week away, let’s talk turkey.

It’s time to defrost your bird, says Mary Clingman, director of the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line (1-800-BUTTERBALL).

Clingman and her fellow Turkey talk specialists field about 100,000 panicked calls from home cooks each year and have dubbed this Thursday ”national thaw day.”

To avoid a “turkey-cicle” Butterball competitor Foster Farms (1-800-255-7227) suggests that cooks allow two days to defrost a 12-lb bird in the refigerator and about five days for a turkey twice that size.

Check Out Line: Frugal fatigue?

Check out what women buy when they get tired of being a frugalista: boots, plaid and outerwear. 

Those were some of the products that helped October U.S. retail sales improve from a year ago, when the unfolding financial meltdown had shoppers fearing a second Great Depression.

“Frugal fatigue is setting in,” said NPD Group analyst Marshal Cohen. After a year of scrimping, he added, the numbers suggest that some women are going in for a little retail fix.

“Women (not only moms) are shopping their closets, discovering new and fresh looks and filling in with some key updates,” he said.

Restaurants fight recession with wine

Wine sales at restaurants and bars are falling as diners trade down to less expensive options or skip wine altogether to save a buck.  But some restaurants are cooking up contrarian strategies to squeeze sales from the vine.

California Pizza Kitchen took its wine list more upscale and wine sales followed.

The pizza chain launched the new wine list on Oct. 5. It includes Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay, La Crema Pinot Noir and Stags’ Leap Merlot for around $10 a glass.

“This is us going back to our roots. When we first opened CPK, (in 1985) part of the concept was we that we would have familiar wines at unfamiliar prices,” said Rick Rosenfield, CPK’s co-chief executive officer.

The U.S. recession ends, but not for you

Talk about a disconnect.

Experts say U.S. economic growth has returned, signaling the end of the longest and deepest recession since the Great Depression.

But the good news for Wall Street — where shares have been running up — is showing no signs of trickling down to Main Street, where unemployment is flirting with 10 percent, foreclosures continue to rise and record numbers of families now depend on government-issued food stamps to make ends meet.

“For every person out of work, for every family facing foreclosure, for every small business facing a credit crunch, the recession remains alive and acute,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in testimony to a congressional committee.

Check Out Line: What goes around comes around

Check out what’s coming around again this holiday season.

It’s that gift you gave someone last year.

According to a holiday shopping poll conducted by Consumer Reports in October, 36 percent of Americans say they have “recycled” a holiday gift. That’s up from 31 percent in 2008 and 24 percent in 2007.

Those more likely to re-gift include women, adults under 55 years old, residents of the U.S. West and people with children under the age of 12.

Applebee’s and Nutrisystem share pitchman

Celebrities often lend their name recognition to big brands, but sometimes such advertising can be downright confusing.

Take the companies ESPN anchor Chris Berman is pitching these days: Applebee’s restaurants and weight loss center Nutrisystem. 

Restaurant meals often have more calories than we expect, so we were surprised to see Berman add Applebee’s commercials to his repertoire. 

In his ads for the weight-loss company, Berman brags about all the weight he’s lost (41 LBS) on Nutrisystem’s calorie and portion-controlled meal plans.

Starbucks: Decaf Via coming soon

Starbucks says it will start selling a decaf version of its Via instant coffee in the United States on Nov 17.

The coffee chain, which in the middle of a corporate turnaround, hopes that Via will help it grab a big piece the $21 billion instant coffee market from established players like Nestle’s Nescafe and Kraft Foods Inc’s Sanka.

Borrowing from the old Pepsi vs. Coke taste challenges, Starbucks baristas for four days invited customers to do side-by-side comparisons of Via and its regular brew.

Starbucks says early indicators show that Via is exceeding expectations with regard to sales and customer and employee response.

Liz picks Penney; Isaac takes TV

JC Penney stores in the United States and Puerto Rico are going exclusive with Liz Claiborne Inc’s namesake brand and celebrity designer Isaac Mizrahi will sell his upscale Liz Claiborne New York line only on QVC, a TV shopping network.

The moves from Liz Claiborne were seen by some as a downward shift to mass-market retail channels and came as department store orders for Liz Claiborne’s products have fallen during what has become the longest recession since the Great Depression.

Analysts said the JC Penney deal is more lucrative for Liz Claiborne and signals the end of a decades-long relationship between Liz’s main brand and the Macy’s department store chain – which didn’t exactly go quietly.

“The Liz Claiborne brand has sold poorly in recent years and has continued to decline. As a result, we could not justify expanding it at Macy’s,” a Macy’s spokesman said.

Carl’s Jr CEO sees gold in Lone Star state

Andy Puzder, chief executive of Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s parent CKE Restaurants, is not a man to mince words and on Thursday he shared his views on “socialist type” state governments in California and Oregon.        Many of the company’s Carl’s Jr restaurants are located in the Golden State, and Puzder has plans to lessen that exposure over time. 

“As such, we’re targeting a large percentage of our growth in Texas. It is deemed to be more business friendly,” Puzder told analysts on a conference call.        “Oregon has a higher minimum wage and a similar regulatory structure as California and also has a similar socialist type government at the state level so business there actually can be as bad or worse than California,” he said.        “Texas is doing really well,” he added.

(Photo\Reuters)

Thrifty tips from Starbucks

In its battle to end the myth of the $4 Starbucks coffee — the world’s biggest cafe chain is offering tips on how to save money in its cafes, which are lowering prices on some beverages as they battle market newcomer McDonald’s.

Here are some tips from Susan Nodilo, manager of a popular Starbucks in West Hollywood.

1. Bring your own cup and save 10 cents — and the environment.

2. Order a smaller, unadvertised “Short” (8-ounce) espresso drink, which costs less than a “Tall” 12-ounce drinks, but contains the same amount of espresso.