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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 22, 2000)
Page 8 ^ìovthuiù ffibseruer November 22, 2000 The Focus Holiday Entertaining Made Simple Safe m eals make for happy holidays Thanksgiving turkey dinner requires safe handling, preparation & storage of food Food safety is a concern 365 days a years. But during the holi days, m any people are faced with cooking a lot o f food for a lot o f people. W ith T hanksgiving ap proaching, it’s a great tim e for O regonians to renew their ac quaintance w ith good, safe food handling techniques. “ M ost people a re n ’t used to cooking for large num bers o f people, are probably not used to cooking turkey, and are generally o u t o f th e ir c o n f r o n t zone,” says Leslie Lowery, fo o d s a fe ty educa- t i o n special ist with the Or- e g o n D epartm ent o f A griculture. The traditional big bird o f holi day feasts can be safe and deli cious provided that a few com mon sense steps are follow ed closely. It really starts at the gro cery. That means a 15 pounds frozen turkey w ill need three days to thaw. M ethod is ju st as im portant as timing when it com es to thaw ing. That still means well over seven hours for that 15-pound turkey. There is alw ays the option o f de frosting in the microwave, but only if the bird is sm all enough to fit. Following the defrost instructions printed by the m icrow ave m anu facture is im portant. U nder that sc e n a rio , a d e fro s te d tu rk e y should be placed directly into the conventional oven for cooking to avoid any bacterial grow th in the m eantim e.“The next step is prop erly cooking the turkey. Check tem peratures w ith the use o f a m eat th erm o m eter.P artially or even fully cooking as it m ight take a long time to cool. It’s that period o f time when the tem perature o f the turkey is passing through the danger zone those bacteria can multiply. If the whole bird is going to be cooked the night before, it should be cut into sm all pieces, stored in a shallow pan, and cooled thoroughly. G randm a may have cooked a turkey slow ly overnight at a low tem perature, but prob ably didn ’t realize setting the oven below 325 degrees doesn’t kill the bacteria cross-contamination is al ways a concern when it comes to food preparation. D inner is served. Rarely is all the food consum ed. Resist the tem ptation to get up from the table and let everything else sit. Left overs should be dealt with quickly. Letting the food stay on the table fo r m o re th a n tw o hours after serving is asking for trouble. Be sure to re- f r ig e r a te all salads, the pum p kin pie, the w hipped cream used as topping practically everything that was on the table. That means the turkey too. Each time left overs passes through an optimal b acteria-g ro w in g tem perature, there can be an explosion o f m i croorganism s. Many times, the host will want to send home left overs w ith, the guests, I f the re turn trip is going to take some time, m ake sure there is some m ethod o f refrigerating the food. An ice chest or some kind o f con tainer that can keep the leftovers cool is the safest ways to bring home safe food. There is also the popular axiom em ployed by O D A ’s Food Safety Division when it comes to leftover food: W hen in doubt, throw it out. A special U.S. D epartm ent o f A griculture hotline fields num er ous calls this time o f year. Among the most common mistakes offered by consum ers are D efrosting the turkey at room, tem perature, pre-stuffing a turkey the day before, cooking at low tem perature overnight, partially cooking the turkey the day be fore, and cooking a turkey ahead o f time and leaving it whole in the refrigerator. O bserving the com m on-sense rules o f proper food handling, preparation, and stor age can make the holiday meal, safe and satisfying. How to Savor the Season, Not Just Get Through It The holidays are often a time o f extra stress, if only because o f all the extra tim e they seem to re quire, both at w ork and at home. Friends, fam ily and co-w orkers, all o f the positive things about the holiday season also seem to ask ju st a little bit more o f you than you may have to give. This do esn ’t have to be the case. Those endless parties, com plicated gifts and elaborate menus aren’t a requirem ent - the holiday spirit is as m uch about spending time with the four people you really care about as the four hun dred to whom you feel obligated. This year, try and sim plify the holiday season by rem em bering that you deserve an extra m ea sure o f com fort and joy, no matter w hat the tim e o f year. Honor the smaller moments, the process o f the h o lid ay s, and they’ll seem less overw helm ing. And celebrate the year gone by. Drinks made w ith distilled spirits are easy to add to your holiday tradition. Sim ple to prepare at home, they provide a well-earned, w ell-deserved little luxury in the middle ofholiday furor. Add fam ily and friends and holiday ne cessities becom e holiday plea sures. Here are a few simple ideas for the season: A lw ay s th e T h a n k sg iv in g host? This year, sim plify it: order in or suggest a pot luck T hanks giving dinner with each guest bringing his or her favorite dish. Serve up some special drinks o f distilled spirits, such as a smooth Hot Buttered Rum made o f 1.5 oz o f dark rum, '/j teaspoon brown sugar, a pat o f butter, boiling w ater and freshly ground nut meg. Put sugar into a w arm ed mug and fill tw o-thirds with boiling water. Add rum and stir. Float butter on top and finish w ith a sprinkling o f freshly ground nut nutm eg. G a th e r around yo u r friends and give thanks during the special holiday season. Forget about the traffic and chaos. Get together with a friend or two and go holiday shopping on the internet. W hile your fin gers are doing the w alking, sip a Jack Rose m ade o f 1.5 ounces o f calvados, 1 ounce sweetened lime juice and 0.5 ounce o f grenadine. Shake with cracked ice and strain intoacocktail glass. Garnish with a lime wheel. No crowds, no lines, no sore feet. Holiday shopping was never this simple or delicious. Prioritize those social obliga tions and cut out the ones you d o n ’t really have to attend. In stead, plan a holiday evening with som eone special and share a toast with his/her favorite mixed drink. Try a M exicana, an easy mix o f 1.5 ounces o f tequila, 1.5 ounces o f pineapple juice, 0.5 ounce o f lime juice and a dash o f grenadine. Shake with cracked ice and strain over ice cubes into a chilled high ball glass. It’s the perfect reminder o f sunny sum m er days without the holiday hustle and bustle. The m ost im portant thing to rem em ber when consum ing dis tilled spirits is that if you choose to drink beverage alcohol, drink responsibly. And remember, stan dard servings ofbeer (12 oz.), wine (5 oz) and 80 proof distilled spirits (1.5 oz) all contain the same amount o f alcohol. Rem em ber to choose carefully and drink responsibly during the holidays and all year long. CARPET CLEANING For The Holiday Reason Martin Cleaning Service Additional Services C arpet cleaning includes 1 Hall Over ten feet extra Pre-Spray Traffic Area • Stairs SI.50 Ea. Upholstery Cleaning • • • • Sofa under 6 ft. $69.95 * Ottoman $20 Sofa over 6 ft. 79.95 * Dining Chair $20 Loveseat $49.95 * Chair $24.95 Recliner $39.95 * Sectional $79.95 Auto * Boat R.V. Cleaning * Deodorizing Pet Odor Treatment Dirt Resistant (Teflon) Protection Spot & Stain Removal Carpet C leaning riTreasTyrKiore |2R oom M in. |_Includes¿H al[F ree________________ _ _ "* I _j $^^00 I Soiled Carpet Areas i____________________________ «JjhkZ___ Each. Aiea_ j I-------------------------------- | Sofa (under 6 ft) $69.00 Upholstery JLoveseat Or Chair $49.00 *109"°: VdditionalServices leather Cleaning Sofa (under 6 ft.) $100.00 ($10.00 each additional Foot) Heavy Soiled extra *100°’ ! MARTIN CLEANING SERVICE Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Commerciai A Residential Services Martin Cleaning Service , Carpet & Upholsters ( leaning /( \ppointnient (503) 2X1-3949 I at Xj
