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Families across America are prepping for Thanksgiving by searching for food favorites like sweet potatoes, green bean casserole and turkey tips.

One crucial Thanksgiving detail: how long to cook the turkey. A bigger bird needs longer to cook so don't make it a last-minute affair. While an unstuffed turkey up to 18 pounds takes 3 to 3-1/2 hours, a stuffed 25 pound bird may need more than six!

Side dishes are also important and each family has its favorites. I love sweet potatoes no matter how they are dished up and sweet potato casserole is a classic.

Green bean casserole is another popular dish and the Campbell's recipe calls for just six ingredients. Any shortcut while preparing Thanksgiving dinner always appreciated.

Hot Searches for November 24, 2010:
1. Thanksgiving Quotes – Thanksgiving thoughts from top celebrities
2. Butterball Turkey – Wackiest questions from Turkey Talk-Line
3. Brining A Turkey – How to brine a Thanksgiving turkey
4. USS George Washington – Aircraft carrier departs for South Korea
5. Green Bean Casserole – Campbell's Green Bean Casserole recipe
6. Jennifer Grey Wins – 'Baby' beats Bristol on 'DWTS'
7. John Travolta Baby – Travolta, Kelly Preston welcome baby boy
8. Sweet Potato Casserole – Casserole and other sweet potato recipes
9. Amanda Knox Appeal – Knox's mom says murder appeal taking its toll
10. Turkey Cooking Time – Find out how long to cook a Thanksgiving turkey

What is your favorite Thanksgiving food?

For more on today's hottest stories, check out our top searched list. Also check out AOL News Search for breaking news around the world. What other big stories happened today? Let us know! Come back for tomorrow's Hot Searches and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for daily updates.

Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough won 'Dancing With the Stars' last night, proving that despite controversy about audience votes, the best dancers won out overall.

Jennifer and Derek topped the season 11 leaderboard for 7 of 10 weeks, including two weeks of back-to-back perfect scores. Despite a ruptured disc that nearly kept her from dancing, Jennifer showed that nobody puts Baby in a corner -- even when Baby is 50 years old.

Kyle Massey and Lacey Schwimmer finished second, while Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas placed third. Mama Grizzly Sarah didn't attend the finale.

Derek is now the only three-time 'DWTS' champion, having previously won with Nicole Scherzinger and Brooke Burke.

Hot Searches for November 24, 2010:
1. Who Won DWTS? – Vote came down to Kyle & Jennifer
2. Thanksgiving Eve – Learn about Thanksgiving etiquette before big meal
3. Jennifer Grey – 'Baby' bests Bristol on 'DWTS'
4. John Travolta Baby – Travolta and Kelly Preston welcome baby boy
5. Amanda Knox Appeal – American makes brief court appearance
6. Oracle Lawsuit – Oracle wins $1.3B jury award
7. Cookie Monster Audition – Cookie Monster wants to host 'SNL'
8. Michael Brea Murder – 'Ugly Betty' actor murders mother
9. Butterball Turkey – Wackiest questions from Butterball Turkey Talk-Line
10. Maui Earthquake – Magnitude 4.7 quake hits Big Island

What did you think of this season of 'Dancing With the Stars'? Did Jennifer and Derek deserve to win?

For more on today's hottest stories, check out our top searched list. Also check out AOL News Search for breaking news around the world. What other big stories happened today? Let us know! Come back for tomorrow's Hot Searches and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for daily updates.

Ina Garten--aka the Barefoot Contessa--tempts tastebuds one farm-fresh meal at a time. Today she also dominates Google with a Thanksgiving-themed doodle.

A turkey with all the trimmings serves as Google's main logo and clicking through results in six recipes for popovers, smashed sweet potatoes, pumpkin banana mousse tart and more.

AOL Searchers are preparing for the upcoming all-you-can-eat holiday by seeking some of Garten's top recipes. Her 'perfect' roast turkey is especially popular and uses simple ingredients to create powerful flavor.

SlashFood has an entire database filled with Ina Garten recipes like citrus cake with orange syrup, which could be a light Thanksgiving dessert, and cheesy corn chowder for cold winter evenings.

Hot Searches for November 23, 2010:
1. Miley Cyrus Birthday – Miley celebrates her 18th birthday at club
2. Ina Garten Recipes – Recipes for chowder, cake, brownies, more
3. Natalee Holloway Bone – Bone found in Aruba is not Holloway's
4. Obama 'MythBusters' – See a preview of Obama's appearance
5. Westminster Abbey – William and Kate will wed at historic Abbey
6. North Korea Attack – North fires 100+ artillery shells onto South
7. Black Friday Ads – Get a sneak peek at Black Friday ads
8. Sweet Potato Casserole – Sweet potato recipes from sweet to spicy
9. Apple Black Friday – Apple teases Black Friday specials
10. NFL Power Rankings Week 12 – Patriots #1, Eagles & Falcons follow

Who is your favorite Food Network cook?

For more on today's hottest stories, check out our top searched list. Also check out AOL News Search for breaking news around the world. What other big stories happened today? Let us know! Come back for tomorrow's Hot Searches and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for daily updates.