First of all, I stay up to date with all of the icons on NHRA.com. So I would like to comment on the Geiger Counter this week. I don’t know how everyone else feels about Rob’s update, but I do not care how many weekends a year I travel, if someone says a Hawaiian vacation, I am all in! Rob, I hope that the exception to travel that you made this week has a great payoff. You deserve it! (This being said with just a touch of dry sarcasm.) Bring me back a whole roasted pig if you get a chance; just make sure that you keep it hot until you get here. I do not want to get food poisoning!

Tips for Holiday Meals

Most families eat relatively the same types of foods during the holidays. Some people are cooking hams, some turkeys, some prime rib, and there are lots of leftovers. I would like to share with you a few tips for when you are cooking this year.

The main thing in food preparation is that you keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot. There are several books that list tons of guidelines for cooking in a safe and sanitary manner, but I am going to hit on a few that you will definitely experience this time of year.

Tips:

• Cook turkey to at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit. I sometimes take the turkey apart before cooking it because I like to cook the legs and thighs to 170-175 degrees Fahrenheit because I think they taste better when they cook longer.
   
• If you are going to stuff a turkey, do not stick hot stuffing in the turkey and then refrigerate it overnight. The stuffing inside the turkey will take too long to chill, and there will be a high potential for food poisoning to occur.
   
• If you have leftover turkey and stuffing, remove the stuffing from the turkey and refrigerate it separate. Leaving the stuffing in the turkey when chilling will slow the chilling process.
   
• Put raw meat, poultry, and seafood in a place in your shopping cart where it does not touch the other foods.
   
• Store raw meat, poultry, and seafood on the bottom shelf of your refrigerator so that the juices do not drip on other foods.
   
• Never place cooked food on a plate that previously contained raw meat, poultry, or seafood.
   
• Do not cover hot food and place it in the refrigerator to chill. I like to chill my leftovers in an ice bath to make sure that they are cold before refrigerating.
   
• Wash your hands before and after handling any food.
   
• Minimize touching ready-to-eat food. Wear single-use food-safe gloves or use utensils when handling food that is going from your hands to someone’s mouth.
   
• Never taste food that is questionable.
   
• Because food is being packed in carbon monoxide these days to help in the color process, be sure to check the dates of all food that you purchase to ensure freshness.
   
• Do not use ice for consumption that is being used to hold any products that need to be chilled (beverages, fruit, etc.).
   
• Make sure that your knives are sharp.
   
• Reheat food to 165 degrees Fahrenheit, stirring to ensure even heating. Soups and other liquids should be taken to a rolling boil.
   
• Wash all of your fruits and vegetables, and then wash them again.
  
  Happy holidays!
  
  Enjoy.