Page 8
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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.
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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
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