Category: Food tips
Posted by Kate Lawson on Tue, Jul 15, 2008 at 5:02 PMShop smart and save money
We don't need Consumer Reports to tell us that produce is the most thrown-out food in US households. But they can tell you how to prevent waste and save money. No matter how picky you are when you dig through those mounds of fruits and veggies at supermarkets and farm stands, you can still end up with a mealy peach or a tasteless tomato.
Experts who pick out produce for some of the country's top food markets judge ripeness based on tasting, sniffing, eyeballing, and squeezing their way around the produce department--and so should you.
ShopSmart, from the publisher of Consumer Reports, has tips to find the freshest produce. Here are 7 suggestions from the Sept. 2008 issue:
1. Have a taste. The real litmus test is does it taste good? So ask for a sample.
2. Take a sniff. Fruit should have a sweet aroma and veggies should smell fresh with no foul odors.
3. Do the bend test. To make sure veggies such as green beans, asparagus, celery and zucchini will be crisp and fresh, bend them. Anything that's even slightly soft and pliable is past its prime.
4. Give it a squeeze. The freshest, ripest produce has a slight spring to it.
5. Weigh it in your hand. The heavier the fruit feels when you pick it up or cradle it in your hand, the more juicy it will taste.
6. Ask what's good. Ask the produce clerk for recommendations.
7. Return the bad ones. With some foods, there's no way to tell until you slice it. Take bad produce back to the store--but make sure to check out their return policy.
Category: What's for breakfast
Posted by Kate Lawson on Wed, Jul 9, 2008 at 2:57 PMPanini in the morning makes everything better
During the week, breakfast at our house is either a fruit smoothie or a bowl of yogurt sprinkled with granola, fresh fruit and honey.
But the weekend is a different story. When I have more time to consider the options, it's always delicious.
For instance, I like to serve scones warm from the oven and dripping with butter alongside a bowl of fruit.
Last week as I washed the panini grill and prepared to tuck it away in the cupboard after lunch I thought what a waste that I didn't use it more often.
That's when the breakfast panini idea came to me. Instead of the cupboard, the grill went back to the countertop.
The next morning as I pushed "play" on the coffee maker, I plugged in the grill.
Then I sliced a couple of ciabatta rolls and lightly toasted them cut side down. When they were golden I smeared them with goat cheese, added some sliced peaches and strawberries and drizzle it with honey. I put the tops on the rolls and popped them back on the grill.
After a few minutes we had some crunchy, creamy breakfast sandwiches to enjoy with our coffee.
If you don't have fresh fruit, you can use any good jam or preserves. You can even toss on some sliced almonds before grilling.
With blueberry season upon us, I'm thinking of adding some lemon curd atop the goat cheese and adding a handful of berries to each sandwich.
Just another reason to love the weekend.
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Ohio's Dorothy Lane Market is truly out of this world
I've always thought of my friend Norman Mayne, owner of Dorothy Lane Markets in Dayton, Ohio, as being one of the classiest and smartest business guys around.
Always ahead of the curve, Norman was offering those gourmet sideshows of fresh-made sushi, paninis, artisan breads, in-store cooking classes and wood-fired pizzas along with exceptional wines long before the Metro Detroit markets even knew what a panini was.
When I moved here I mourned not having a DLM, and after 13 years I still miss him and his wonderful markets.
One of Norman's many clever ideas was the to offer a program called A Famous Name in a Famous Place, which encourages loyal DLM customers to send in photographs of themselves holding a Dorothy Lane Market bag in any internationally famous place they visit. Customers can earn a gift card for submitting their photos.
The bags usually visit Vegas, the Grand Canyon and Mount Rushmore, but they have also been to the North Pole, Mt. Everest, the Great Wall and the Brazilian rain forest.
I found an old DLM bag in the garage the other day and was considering taking it to the Henry Ford and putting it behind the wheel of a Model T for a photo just to let Norman know I hadn't forgotten about him or those fabulous Killer Brownies I was addicted to.
Now I've just learned that astronaut and space shuttle Endeavour Pilot Col. Gregory Johnson -- a Fairborn, Ohio native -- brought his Dorothy Lane Market's grocery bag with him aboard the flight, which left the earth's atmosphere on March 11.
The shuttle, astronauts and the grocery bag spent 12 days in space. Dorothy Lane figures its bag traveled 6.5 million miles.
Gosh, guess my photo of the DLM bag and the Model T is even more appropo. It shows just how far we've all come.
Congrats, Norman!
Category: Cocktails
Posted by Kate Lawson on Wed, Jul 2, 2008 at 2:24 PMServe a super Sparkler for the 4th
Fireworks, firecrackers, pyrotechnics, bottle rockets, sparklers, fountains and candles all enhance Fourth of July festivities but the one thing missing is the sizzle of flavor.
This year, Hpnotiq, that beautiful blue blend of premium vodka, fruit juices and Cognac, spices up America's favorite holiday with its Signature Fourth of July Cocktail... The Fourth of July Sparkler. This take on the margarita is served at a number of locations including New York City's Battery Gardens and is the ultimate libation for a relaxing Fourth overlooking the New York Harbor, floating on your favorite lake or just sitting on your deck and staring at the stars.
Hpnotiq's Fourth of July Sparkler
1 oz. Hpnotiq
2 oz. super premium tequila
1 oz. Gran Marnier
1 oz. fresh lime juice
Splash of Sour Mix
1/2 cup crushed ice
Rim a Margarita glass with red (food coloring) salt.
Blend Tequila, Gran Marnier, Sour Mix and Lime Juice.
Poor margarita into margarita glass.
Top the margarita with 1 oz. of Hpnotiq
Garnish with a sparkler. Makes 1 cocktail
Summer time is cooking time
Wondering what to do with all your free time this summer? Why not learn to cook or hone your already accomplished culinary skills?
Williams-Sonoma stores are offering regularly scheduled
demonstrations that focus on seasonal foods and entertaining.
Each of these hour-long technique classes will be led by culinary experts and offered at no charge.
Learn how to make your own pizza at home, marinating in minutes, make no-knead breads or pies and even how to create the perfect pina colada (July 4).
William-Sonoma stores are located in Twelve Oaks in Novi, Somerset Collection in Troy, Briarwood in Ann Arbor and in the Village of Rochester Hills.
Check out the demonstration calendar to plan your visit but be aware, class size is limited, so be sure to reserve your space today.
Category: Health and Food Safety
Posted by Kate Lawson on Wed, Jun 25, 2008 at 10:33 AMBeware the rare burger and have a safe summer
The news this week of yet another outbreak of E. coli found in ground beef sold in Kroger stores in Michigan and Ohio comes at an unfortunate time when grills everywhere are being fired up for the 4th and folks are flipping on the burgers.
If you don't take care in preparation and storage of your food, you won't have anything to celebrate and that's no joke.
There are 10,000 to 20,000 cases of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in this country each year and it's only one of hundreds of strains of the bacterium Escherichia coli.
People who become infected with bacteria can remain perfectly healthy or can develop symptoms ranging from mild stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and fever to severe dehydration and death.
And although most strains are harmless and live in the intestines of healthy humans and animals, this particular strain of E. coli produces a powerful toxin and can cause severe illness.
Most outbreaks have come from eating undercooked, contaminated ground beef.
E. coli can be passed from animal to animal, animal to man, from man to food and from person to person. E. coli can be found on cattle farms and can live in the intestines of even healthy cattle. Meat can become contaminated during slaughter, then organisms are thoroughly mixed into beef when it is ground. Eating ground beef, that has not been cooked sufficiently to kill E. coli O157:H7 can cause infection. Contaminated meat looks and smells normal.
You can also be exposed to this type of E.coli through other sources, including fermented (culture added) meats, unpasteurized milk, unpasteurized apple cider, unchlorinated water, and contaminated vegetables. In addition, you can spread the bacteria just by touching an infected surface, such as a cutting board in your kitchen, and then touching another surface.
So, to keep you and your family safe, here are some guidelines to follow so you can avoid spreading harmful bacteria in your kitchen. They're in no particular order but each is important for a safe holiday and indeed, a safe summer.
1. Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly, especially those that will not be cooked.
2. Keep raw meat separate from ready-to-eat foods.
3. Wash hands, counters, and utensils with hot soapy water after they touch raw meat.
4. Never place cooked food back on the same plate or cutting board that previously held raw food - people often make this mistake when cooking on the barbeque.
5. Cook all ground beef thoroughly. Because ground beef can turn brown before disease-causing bacteria are killed, use a digital instant-read meat thermometer to ensure thorough cooking. Ground beef should be cooked until a thermometer inserted into several parts of the patty, including the thickest part, reads at least 160 degrees F.
6. Wash meat thermometers in between tests of patties that require further cooking.
7. Wash hands thoroughly after using the bathroom to keep down the spread of germs when handling food.
8. Bacteria grow quickly at room temperature, so when you are running errands, make grocery shopping your last stop.
Buy perishable foods last, and refrigerate or freeze them as soon as you get home.
9. Never defrost food at room temperature; thaw food in the refrigerator, in cold water, or in the microwave if you are going to be cooking it immediately.
10. Marinate food in the refrigerator not on the kitchen counter.
11. Never use left-over marinade for basting or as a sauce, unless you boil it first to kill bacteria.
12. Set your refrigerator to 40 degrees F and your freezer to -0 degrees F.
13. Always wash your hands for at least 20 seconds before handling food, and after handling raw meat, poultry, seafood or eggs.
14. Use paper towels to wipe kitchen surfaces, or change dishcloths daily to avoid the risk of cross-contamination and the spread of bacteria. Avoid using sponges, as they are harder to keep bacteria-free.
15. Separate raw meat, poultry, and seafood from other foods in your grocery cart. Then store these raw foods in sealed containers or plastic bags on bottom shelves in your refrigerator to keep their juices from dripping onto other foods.
16.Use one cutting board for produce, and a separate one for raw meat, poultry and seafood.
Category: Food tips
Posted by Kate Lawson on Thu, Jun 12, 2008 at 1:52 PMWhen the power fails, what's safe to eat?
So, last week I wrote about cleaning out the fridge and tossing food that is way past the expiration date. Little did I know that Mother Nature was going to give me an extra push. As I write this I am enduring Day Three (and counting) of a power failure at home thanks to last week's storms.
By now my freezer has completely warmed sending a drippy mess all over everything including the floor. I have pitched the contents and am grateful that today is trash pick-up day.
For weeks I've been wanting to clean out my freezer, I just didn't plan on something this massive. Fortunately there were few expensive cuts of meat, mostly frozen fruits for my smoothies and way too much bread. Although some duck bacon and proscuitto I had planned to prepare this weekend are now toast -- literally.
If you are among the several thousand people left without electricity you'll want to be sure to know what's safe and what's not after the power is back on.
Partial thawing and re-freezing does reduce the quality of foods, particularly fruits, vegetables and prepared foods. Red meats are affected less than many other foods. You may safely re-freeze some foods if they still contain ice crystals or if they have been kept at 40 degrees F or below for no more than 2 days. If the temperature is above 50 degrees F throw food away.
Here are some guidelines to eliminate the guessing game. My best piece of advice however, is when in doubt, toss. And be grateful.
Treat completely thawed foods as follows:
Fruits. Re-freeze fruits if they taste and smell good. Such fruit could be used in cooking.
Frozen dinners. Do not re-freeze frozen dinners that have thawed.
Vegetables. Do not re-freeze thawed vegetables. Bacteria in these foods multiply rapidly. Spoilage may begin before bad odors develop. Such spoilage may be very toxic. Re-freeze vegetables only if ice crystals remain throughout the package.
Meat and Poultry. Examine each package of thawed meat or poultry. If odor is offensive or questionable or if the freezer temperature has exceeded 40 degrees F for 2 hours or longer, don't use. Discard all stuffed poultry. Cook immediately thawed but unspoiled meat or poultry. After cooking, meat can be re-frozen.
Fish and Shellfish. These are extremely perishable. Do not re-freeze unless ice crystals remain throughout the package. Seafood may be spoiled, even if it has no offensive odor.
Ice Cream. Do not re-freeze melted ice cream. Discard or consume it in the liquid form before off-flavor develops.
Cook thawed frozen foods and frozen dinners immediately if they are still cold. Do not re- freeze. If any foods have an offensive or questionable odor, do not eat.
Category: Food tips
Posted by Kate Lawson on Thu, Jun 5, 2008 at 12:12 PMHow long will it last?
If you're like most consumers, you've got a ton of stuff in your fridge that is way past its expiration date (jams, cheese and salsa just to name a few).
Unlike milk, which unquestionably lets you know when the freshness ship has long since sailed, these jarred and packaged items need a close eye.
Most products have a sell-by date to tell grocers when to pull the product (that mean you have a few days past this date to use).
Then there's the use-by date, which means exactly that -- use or toss.
It's a good idea to give your fridge a once-over every week and throw out anything that's past expiration or even questionable.
If you don't see a date on the package, here are some guidelines to help you decide how long to keep items in your fridge:
Eggs in shell: 3-5 weeks
Eggs hard cooked: 1 week
Cream cheese: 2 weeks
Butter: 1-3 months
Cheese: 3-4 weeks
Milk: 1 week
Ketchup: 6 months
Salad dressing: 3 months
Pickles: 1-2 weeks
Salsa: 1 month
Category: Grilling
Posted by Kate Lawson on Mon, Jun 2, 2008 at 1:15 PMBest Pig in Macomb County
So, you think you're the Grill God when it comes to barbecueing or do you just have an appreciation for ribs?
You can put your skills to the test Saturday at the 2nd Annual Rib Cook-Off at Freedom Hill County Park and not only win some status but a trophy and even some cash.
Come show off your special rib recipe and help the Macomb County Sheriff's Bicycle Division raise funds for equipment and training. Bring your team in to cook or just come to sample the tasty ribs.
Teams are responsible for all of their own supplies, utensils, ingredients etc. and ribs will be the only item provided for the teams.
There will something for the whole family including raffles, dunk a deputy and moonwalks, face painting and cotton candy!
Competition begins at noon, dinner is at 4:30 p.m. Judging is at 5 p.m. Dinner includes ribs, baked beans, Texas cole slaw, potato salad and a beverage.
Team entry fee $30. Dinner admission $10 pre-registered and $12 at the door.
Freedom Hill County Park is located at 15000 Metropolitan Parkway in Sterling Heights.
For more information or to register go www.macomb-sheriff.com.
Category: Grilling
Posted by Kate Lawson on Tue, May 27, 2008 at 12:22 PMLight the grill, it's time for summer school
School will soon be out but not for grill cooks.
Critically acclaimed chef, author and TV personality, Chef Bobby Flay, is set to teach you how to make the most of the outdoor cooking season.
Hellmann's and Best Foods Mayonnaise is partnering with Flay to create the "Real Food Summer School."
"Thrilling grilling" will be the theme of the summer classes, showcasing recipes and techniques.
Real Food Summer School kicked off with Memorial Day and offers segments timed for key grilling occasions all season long including the Fourth of July and Labor Day.
The class will take three self-proclaimed kitchen-challenged home cooks and give them a crash course with hands-on instruction from Flay.
The site will also feature Bobby Flay tutorials, behind-the-scenes contestant auditions, show trailers, recipes and more.
And you can also enter the Real Food Summer School Sweepstakes for a chance to win a $20,000 grilling package complete with a Weber grill, patio set and hot tub for six, 32" outdoor TV, a $4000 cash card for food and beverage, tableware and backyard games.
