Summer food safety tips

Memorial Day is Monday, May 26th, and with it comes Barbecue Season. But while you’re hanging out in the yard, loitering over the grill, sipping a cocktail, watching the kids run around, bacteria could be contaminating your meal. A watchful eye on a few key areas will go a long way to keeping your family and friend free from food-borne illness all summer long.

Thaw safely. It’s great to have food in the freezer — a spur-of-the-moment party always at the ready! But be careful how you bring it from the freezer to the table. Food safety experts recommend thawing foods in the refrigerator or the microwave oven or putting the package in a water-tight plastic bag submerged in cold water and changing the water every 30 minutes. Changing the water ensures that the food is kept cold, an important factor for slowing bacterial growth that may occur on the outer thawed portions while the inner areas are still thawing. It is not advisable to thaw meat, poultry, or fish on the counter or in the sink without cold water; bacteria multiply much more rapidly at room temperature.

Avoid cross-contamination. Grilling adds great flavor to meals, and makes summertime entertaining both fun and easy. However, once you’ve placed your raw meat on the grill, wash the plate thoroughly with hot soapy water, or get a clean plate for the cooked, ready-to-eat foods. Cooked foods should never be placed on a plate that held raw meat. Thoroughly cook all meat, poultry and seafood, especially shellfish.

Keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot. Once ready to serve, you don’t want your food’s temperature in The Danger Zone (40°F–140°F) for any longer than necessary. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration recommends that you keep hot foods hot (use a warming tray or Sterno or votive candle under your serving dish) and cold foods cold (use a bed of ice under your food) while you serve them. Do not leave food out for more than 2 hours (this includes preparation time and the time it was in the car after you left the grocery store).

The foods that are most likely to cause illness if left unrefrigerated are:

• meat, poultry, and fish (both raw and cooked;
• salads made from starchy ingredients such as pasta, potatoes, rices, and other grains;
• anything containing raw or cooked eggs such as mayonnaise and potato salad, cream pies; and
• anything else containing dairy products.

If serving sour cream– or mayonnaise-based dips, be sure to keep the bowl on ice and avoid direct sunlight if at all possible. If holding your party at the beach, a park, on a boat, or at some other remote location, bring a cooler full of ice and keep all foods that may spoil cold until they are ready to be cooked or eaten. If possible, use two separate coolers—one for drinks and snacks, which people will be dipping into frequently, and a second one for meat and other dishes that stay closed, and therefore colder, until it’s time for the meal. Also, if possible, keep raw meats separate from cooked meats.

If you’re serving snacks and appetizers that will likely be sitting out for a while, stick to foods that don’t need refrigeration, such as fresh veggies, fresh fruit, breads with oil-based dips, nuts, and chips (tortilla chips with salsa provide a healthful addition to your menu as well).

Prepare your foods well. Thoroughly wash raw fruits and vegetables with tap water. Even those fruits and vegetables that do not have pesticides grow very close to the soil—another key bacteria-causing agent.

Cover and store leftover cooked food in the refrigerator as soon as possible. Cooked foods can also breed bacteria. Make sure you refrigerate, or place in a cooler with ice, any unused portion of cooked food (again, keep cooked meats separate from raw meats). If this is not possible, discard the leftovers.

Hot foods should be refrigerated as soon as possible within two hours after cooking. Don’t keep the food if it’s been standing out for more than two hours. Don’t taste-test it, either. Even a small amount of contaminated food can cause illness. Date leftovers so they can be used within a safe time—generally, they remain safe when refrigerated for three to five days.

If in doubt, throw it out; it’s not worth a food-borne illness for the small amount of food usually involved. Eat Well, Live Well, Be Well!

USDA announces beef recall

JSM Meat Holdings Company, Inc., a Chicago, Ill., firm, is voluntarily recalling an undetermined amount of beef products intended for use in ground products because they may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced today.

The following products are subject to recall:

30-, 60- pound boxes, combo boxes or 47-gallon barrels of "MORREALE MEAT" beef products labeled as "Boneless Chucks," "Boneless Clods," "Flat Rounds," "Gooseneck Rounds," "Knuckle," "Heel Meat," "Scotties," "Trimmings 50," "Trimmings 60," "Trimmings 65," "Trimmings 70," "Trimmings 75," "Trimmings 80," "Trimmings 85," or "Trimmings 90."
The beef products bear the establishment number "EST. 6872" inside the USDA mark of inspection.

These beef products were distributed to establishments for further processing in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

The problem was discovered by FSIS. FSIS has received no reports of illnesses associated with consumption of this product. Anyone with signs or symptoms of foodborne illness should consult a medical professional.

E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacteria that can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration, and in the most severe cases, kidney failure. The very young, seniors and persons with weak immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illness.

In general, the USDA recommends the following guidelines for preparing ground beef for safe consumption:

• Wash hands with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling raw meat and poultry. Wash cutting boards, dishes and utensils with hot, soapy water. Immediately clean spills.
  
  
• Keep raw meat, fish and poultry away from other food that will not be cooked. Use separate cutting boards for raw meat, poultry and egg products and cooked foods.
  
  
• Consumers should only eat ground beef or ground beef patties that have been cooked to a safe internal temperature of 160°F.
  
  
• Color is NOT a reliable indicator that ground beef or ground beef patties have been cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria such as E. coli O157:H7.
  
  
• The only way to be sure ground beef is cooked to a high enough temperature to kill harmful bacteria is to use a thermometer to measure the internal temperature.
  
  
• Refrigerate raw meat and poultry within two hours after purchase or one hour if temperatures exceed 90°F. Refrigerate cooked meat and poultry within two hours after cooking.

The quickest dinner

When I started this blog, I told you: “In my family, food is an event ... it inhabits and enlivens our conversations, our emails, our thoughts, our beings,” here’s some proof. My busy sister, Bridget sent this email on Thursday, within hours 2 of my busy sisters and my busy sister-in-law had weighed in. Now we're all mothers of busy families, so getting something healthy and quick on the table is always a concern. In fact, yesterday I was reading the book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs to my 2-year-old (the premise of the book is that the weather brings the food: It snows spaghetti and meatballs and rains marinara sauce), and I thought, wouldn’t I have so much more time in my day if I didn’t have to worry about getting food on the table for my family? Then I laughed out loud at the irony that I'm a personal chef and I do that for my clients regularly, I just need to practice it at home too. Being prepared is the best way to get dinner on the table quickly and easily.

That said, I have had 2 parties to prep this week, so I neglected my email and my blog. This morning I’m combining both:

Hi Sisters,

I need help coming up with some quick meal ideas for crazy spring weeks, especially Baseball nights. I don’t get in until after 4pm, [husband and son] are heading over to the field 2-3 nights a week by 4:45pm. [Son] doesn't usually feel like eating “dinner” beforehand, especially if he thinks he’ll be pitching. I don’t like to have to cook something at 8pm for us to sit down and eat together. Some nights [daughter] and I eat before we head over to the field. I have done some crockpot sandwich recipes (Pulled Pork and Beef, Meatball Subs, Beer Brisket and BBQ Beef, I’ll attach those recipes later.) I have also done BLTs, Turkey Clubs and tonight I’m trying Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad Wraps. I’d really appreciate any suggestions and recipes you have for the really busy nights.

Bridget

Maureen responded:

You are way more creative then I am! We had burritos and tuna sandwiches the last two nights since we were running out. I’d love some ideas too!

To which Sarah responded:

Not so creative but we do tacos which are easy to reheat and I put everything in a tupperware or ziplock and we usually have it again later in the week. I also marinate boneless chicken breast. I throw them in a ziplock with a bottled marinade in the morning and then throw it on the grill. They only take about 5 to 7 minutes. Then I serve with couscous or on a bun. Subway also comes in handy especially since they have footlongs for $5!! Also Italian beef sandwiches are quick.

I appreciate their dilemma and was struggling with it myself this week, when, even though I had made eggplant earlier in the day, I was waiting for the water to boil for the ravioli at 8pm. (Would have been a good night for eggplant subs.)

I have the additional dilemma of Son #1 coming in from his game or practice while we’re at another game. He can’t wait for us to eat (it’s 6:15 and he had lunch at 10:30 at school. Like Bridget, I can never get the boys to eat before the game, they're concerned about cramps. I can’t even get Son #1 to take an extra sandwich to eat before the game that starts at 3:45 (school gets out at 2, so he’d have almost 2 hours before he had to play, but he won’t). I can get the other two to have a more substantial after-school snack when they get home, so they still have a little fuel in them when the games start at 5:45. As for Son #1, his “dinner” of choice when he comes home is cereal, sometimes 3 bowls. I’ve gradually convinced him that an egg sandwich (or two) is a better choice, and he’ll do that on some nights. Regardless, he’s seldom hungry when we are eating at 8pm.

And getting dinner on the table the millisecond you walk in the door with a hungry brood is never easy, especially at 8pm when you’d rather be crawling up on the couch yourself. If I didn’t have the kids to feed, and I’m truthful, many nights I'd opt for cheese & crackers.

Tips I use for getting dinner are the table are very similar to my sisters’:

• I keep sub rolls in the house and try to always have meatballs, Italian sausages, eggplant, chicken cutlets, prepared so subs are always an option. I add veggies and dip as a quick side (and something the kids can snack on while the meatballs are heating in the microwave, if they weren’t in the crockpot that day). Because if I don’t have the veggies and dip, they’ll find something else (cereal or cheese & crackers) that they can nosh on immediately, because even 3 minutes in the microwave is too long to wait to eat at 8pm.
  
• Hot dogs are always an option. Can steam really fast. Same rules as subs:
  Keep buns in the house, and
  Give them veggies and dip while you’re steaming or nuking the hot dogs.
  
• Bridget’s right about the other crockpot sandwiches too. I also make chili in the crockpot, and make the rice ahead. This way, just heat the rice quickly (or in a pinch, serve the hot chili over cold rice and mix them together), and dinner's on!
  
• Egg sandwiches, omelets, or huevos rancheros are a very quick option. Huevos rancheros makes them think they're having something other than “breakfast for dinner” think scrambled egg tacos on a soft tortilla. We always add refried beans, there’s a recipe below, but the No-Fat Casa Fiesta canned brand is very good, just mix in a little Tabasco and light shredded cheese.
  
• Dinner salads are great on a warm night. It's been a little cold here in Newburyport, so after freezing at a baseball game for 2-3 hours, we’ve been looking for a little hot food, and the chilis and meatballs, even eggs, have been winning out, but in warmer weather, we love a dinner salad. If I have time to make it up before we go out, it simply has to be pulled from the fridge & dinner is ready. If it’s not already put together, I pull out all the ingredients and everyone gets to assemble their own custom salad. It’s a great way to get veggies into the family, since that's basically what the meal is. I always make sure to have some protein: Leftover grilled steak or chicken, black beans, chick peas, cheese, hard-boiled eggs, a can of tuna, are all good options.

A client recently told me, “Forget 30-Minute Meals, even that’s too long; we need 15 minutes from walking in the door to sitting at the table.” This is a tall order, but at 8 pm on Baseball Nights, I am in full agreement. I'll be developing some meals that you can get on the table, from beginning to end, in 15 minutes, and I’ll post them here for you.

In the meantime, how do you feed your family on a busy night?

Refried beans
This is a great building block recipe, substitute black beans for the pinto beans, use it as a side for any meal, place it between soft taco shells and hard taco shells to change up taco night a little (and add some fiber to the family diet), add to eggs with some salsa and cheese for huevos rancheros, or serve with chips for a fiber-rich dip.

1 can pinto beans
2 T butter
1 T onion, minced (or ½ t onion powder)
1 garlic clove, pressed (or ½ t garlic powder)
2 dashes hot pepper sauce (like Tabasco)
1/3 c shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

Melt butter in saucepan. Add beans with liquid, onion, and garlic. Simmer until beans are soft, about 10 minutes. Mash with a potato masher until most beans are mashed, but some remain whole. Remove from heat, add Tabasco, cheese, stir, and serve. Great to make ahead and heat in the microwave or on the stovetop.

Cinco de mayo quick bites

Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone! I'm pretty sure this is just another American excuse to turn any day into a party ... and I have no problem with that! Bring it on! In fact, tonight we’re going from one son’s baseball game to the other’s, so I sent out a call to the baseball team — how about we all bring appetizers to the game (and forget about the dinner rush before or after the game). Like I said, any excuse for a party.

But Cinco de Mayo got me thinking about the beauty of Mexican food. First, it’s quick. For the most part, you roll some unsuspecting ingredients into a tortilla, and you’re done. Second, it’s kid-friendly. Think tacos: Kids get to make their own and customize by adding what they like most, so it’s less work for you in the kitchen, and they’re happy. Win-win. The same is true for most varieties of Mexican foods: Enchiladas, burritos, quesadillas, nachos (no, we’re not above having a big plate of chili or chicken nachos for dinner). Third, it’s adaptable. Any taco recipe you like, you can turn into burritos, and burrito recipe you like, you can turn into enchiladas, etc. Also, don't like chicken? Substitute pork or beef or beans. Very adaptable, use what you have on hand. Fourth, it’s quick. (You know that that is so important, I can’t state it strongly enough.)

Quesadillas are a quick grilled cheese sandwich with other fun fillings tucked in. They’re a great use for leftovers, too. When making the chicken quesadillas below, make it quicker by using leftover chicken if you have it (a roasted chicken from the supermarket is also a great way to get a quick meal on the table). If you don’t have the leftover chicken, it’s still pretty quick to poach the chicken as directed. (Whenever I need quick cooked chicken, I use this method for poaching, it’s so quick and easy, it’s a real “building block” recipe.)

The other great thing about quesadillas is they may be made ahead. Think impromptu party: Guests knock on your door, you’re covered, you have appetizers or dinner in the freezer already. Just serve with some good-quality salsa, and, if you have it, sour cream.

A word about cooking the quesadillas, electric quesadilla grills are available. They press the tortillas and ingredients together and leave nice indentations so you can cut the quesadilla into 6 professional-looking pieces. I don’t have this gadget, so I use two cast-iron frying pans (any frying pan or skillet will do, the heavier the better). Heat them both over moderate heat, spray one with cooking spray and layer the first tortilla, ingredients, and second tortilla in the pan, place the second skillet on top and apply a little pressure, this will press and cook the quesadilla more evenly. If necessary, you can turn the quesadilla to finish cooking before cutting with a pizza cutter or sharp knife and serving.

Poached chicken

1½ lb chicken breast halves
1 t lime juice

Arrange chicken in a glass pie plate with thickest sides at edge of plate; sprinkle with lime juice. Cover with plastic wrap (make a vent hole) and cook in microwave on high power 6 to 8 minutes, turning breasts over after 4 minutes. Cool slightly, then shred meat.

Chicken quesadillas
serves 4

3½ c chicken, cooked
¾ t salt
½ t pepper
1 large onion, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise
2 T vegetable oil
2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
5 oz Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese, grated
8 large flour tortillas (fajita sized)
optional toppings: sour cream, salsa, cilantro, lime wedge, guacamole

Sprinkle chicken with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

Cook onion with remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper in oil in a 10- to 12-inch skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute, then transfer to a large bowl. Add chicken to onion mixture along with cheese.

Heat a second similarly sized skillet. Layer one tortilla, 1 cup chicken mixture, and a second tortilla in the skillet, place the second skillet on top and apply a little pressure, this will press and cook the quesadilla more evenly. Cook, turning once, until cheese is melted and quesadilla is golden brown, about 4 minutes total. Assemble and cook remaining quesadillas in same manner. Transfer with a spatula to cutting board and cut in half. Quesadillas may be served or refrigerated or frozen for later use at this point.

To reheat quesadillas: Remove from freezer and defrost in refrigerator the day before you plan to eat them. Heat in 325° oven for about 15 minutes, until cheese is melted, but tortilla is not too crisp. Cool 5 minutes.

To serve: Slice with pizza wheel or large serrated knife.

Black bean quesadillas
serves 4

1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
3 green onions, finely chopped
½ red bell pepper, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1½ T jalapeño pepper, seeded, minced
3 t cumin
5 oz Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese, grated
8 large flour tortillas (fajita sized)
optional toppings: sour cream, salsa, cilantro, lime wedge, guacamole

In a large bowl, coarsely mash beans with a potato masher or the back of a spoon. Add green onions, peppers, garlic, jalapeños, and cumin. Add cheese.

Heat a second similarly sized skillet. Layer one tortilla, 1 cup bean mixture, and a second tortilla in the skillet, place the second skillet on top and apply a little pressure, this will press and cook the quesadilla more evenly. Cook, turning once, until cheese is melted and quesadilla is golden brown, about 4 minutes total. Assemble and cook remaining quesadillas in same manner. Transfer with a spatula to cutting board and cut in half. Quesadillas may be served or refrigerated or frozen for later use at this point.

To reheat quesadillas: Remove from freezer and defrost in refrigerator the day before you plan to eat them. Heat in 325° oven for about 15 minutes, until cheese is melted, but tortilla is not too crisp. Cool 5 minutes.

To serve: Slice with pizza wheel or large serrated knife.
Serve quesadillas with sour cream, salsa, chopped cilantro, lime wedges, and guacamole, if desired — and of course a large margarita, on the rocks with salt.