Newspaper Page Text
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
Firing up
the grill
'mr ' ‘
By Peggy Bledsoe
Houston County
Extension Coordinator
What’s better than a steak
right off the grill? Barbecuing
is a popular pastime espe
cially during the spring and
summer. Since warm tem
fieratures can cause bacteria
o multiply quickly, we have
to be extremely careful to
make sure we handle foods
properly when we are out in
the heat. We want to stop
foodborne illness before it
stops our summer fun. Here
are some hot tips to help you
grill your foods safely.
KEEP CLEAN! Keeping
clean can stop the spread of
harmful bacteria or viruses
to foods. Wash your hands
with soap and warm water
at least 20 seconds before
handling food and after
handling raw products like
meats, poultry, fish, seafood
and eggs. Use clean uten
sils. Keep work surfaces
clean. Outdoors, this may
mean taking along hand
wipes to clean hands and
surfaces; and tablecloths,
paper towels or foil to cover
work areas.
KEEP SEPARATE! Raw
products may have bacteria
on them. Keep raw prod
ucts away from foods that
are ready to be eaten. Have
plenty of extra utensils and
platters on hand when grill
ing. Always put cooked foods
taken off the grill onto clean
plates using clean utensils.
If grilled foods are placed
back onto platters with raw
juices, harmful bacteria may
find their way back on the
cooked food. If you are using
a marinade or sauce, set
aside a portion before plac
ing the raw products into
it. Use this portion to brush
on the foods as it is cooking.
If you use the liquid that
contained the raw product,
you could be adding bacteria
back to the cooked food.
KEEP OUT OF THE
DANGER ZONE! Keep
foods out of the temperature
danger zone between 40 and
140 degrees F. Cold foods
should stay cold (at or below
40 degrees F). Frozen meats
should be thawed in the
refrigerator ahead of time,
thawed under cold water or
thawed in the microwave
oven just before cooking.
Don’t thaw or marinate
foods at room temperature.
After preparation and cook
ing, foods should be served
immediately. If not, cool the
food quickly (to 40 degrees
F or below) or keep the food
hot (above 140 degrees F)
for serving. For outdoor buf
fets, put out small batches of
each food and replace them
often with new batches in
clean dishes.
If you are packing a cooler
to take along, always keep
cold foods cold by taking
foods directly from the
refrigerator or freezer to
the cooler. Make sure raw
meats are well wrapped and
keep them separate from
ready-to-eat foods. Use ice
or gel packs to keep your
cooler cold and check the
food with a food thermome
ter every two hours to make
sure it does not get above 40
degrees F. Try to fill up the
cooler because the items will
stay colder that way. If the
food gets-above 40 degrees
F for more than two hours,
See GRILL, Page jC
FOOD&HOME
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NEW WAYS WITH NECTARINES
Some surprising gourmet twists for California nectarines
Nectarine Melba Salad
1 (5-oz.) bag mixed greens
salad
2 green onions, sliced
1 California nectarine, pitted
and sliced
1/4 cup toasted, chopped
pecans
1 cup fresh raspberries
Nectarine Vinaigrette
1/3 cup pureed or finely mashed
California nectarine (about 1
small nectarine)
3 tablespoon extra virgin olive
oil
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/3 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
When you’re awash with squash
My husband has a green
thumb, and his summer
garden is thriving. If you
have a garden or live with
a gardener, you know how
fast summer squash comes
in. Summer squash, unlike
winter
«
■*!
squash, is
harvested
when it
is young
and
imm a -
ture. In
fact, you
have
to keep
picking
it before
Yvonne
Sutherland
yvonnes@windstream.net
it matures. The more you
pick, the more you have. At
first you are delighted to
have fresh vegetables, but,
eventually, you are pleading
with friends and neighbors
to take them off your hands
This is my current situ
ation-seemingly unending
yellow squash and zucchini,
zucchini and yellow squash.
I have made squash casse
role and squash and onions.
1 have sliced small tender
squash and put them into
salads. Now I am trying
new recipes. These are
some good ones:
Zucchini Bread
2 cups grated zucchini
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups white sugar
Directions
Place the mixed greens, onions,
nectarine slices and pecans in a
large salad bowl. Whisk togeth
er the dressing ingredients and
drizzle over the salad; toss well
to coat. Top with raspberries and
toss very lightly.
Honey and Lemon
Grilled California
Nectarines
1/4 cup honey
1/4 tablespoon fresh lemon
juice
Pinch cinnamon
2 ripe fresh California nectar
ines, cut into 8 wedges each
2 tablespoon tablespoons melt
ed butter
4 small scoops vanilla ice cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cin
namon
2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking pow
der
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pecans
Preheat the oven to 350
degrees. Grease and flour
two 8 x 4-inch loaf pans.
Put the zucchini in a col
ander and press out all the
liquid you can. Beat the
eggs in a large mixing bowl.
Stir in the oil and sugar and
vanilla. In another bowl,
whisk together the flour,
cinnamon, soda, baking
powder and salt. Beat into
the egg mixture. Stir in the
zucchini and pecans. Divide
the batter between the two
prepared pans.
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes,
or until a skewer inserted in
the middle comes out clean.
Yellow Squash and
Bell Pepper Soup
This is a great soup if you
enjoy unusual flavor combi
nations like I do; Be sure
and use a yellow bell pepper
to maintain the yellow color.
You could use a red one, but
the soup would be a warm
orange color. Do NOT use a
green bell pepper. The taste
Fresh mint sprigs to garnish
Directions
Prepare grill for medium-high
heat. Stir together honey, lemon
juice and cinnamon in a small
saucepan over high heat. Bring
to a boil; reduce heat and sim
mer for 5 minutes. Set aside to
cool until warm. Brush nectar
ine wedges lightly with butter.
Grill for 2 to 3 minutes on each
side to lightly char. Remove from
grill and carefully stir into warm
honey and lemon mixture. Spoon
over ice cream and garnish with
mint sprigs.
Sweet Summer Fruit
Bruschetta
24 1/4-inch baguette slices
1/4 cup butter, softened
6 tablespoon brown sugar, divid
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will be fine, but the color will
be an unappetizing yellow
green. (I confess that I know
because I tried it.)
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons unsalted
butter
Nectarine Melba Salad
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Lemon and Honey Grilled Nectarines
1 large yellow bell pepper,
thinly sliced (about 1 1/2
cups)
3/4 pound yellow summer
squash, sliced thin cross
wise (about 3 cups)
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
SECTION: C
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 2008
ed
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped peaches and/
or nectarines
1/2 cup chopped plums
2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoon chopped glazed
walnuts
Lay the baguette slices in a
single layer on a large baking
sjneet. Stir together the butter,
4 tablespoons brown sugar and
cinnamon and spread on one side
of each baguette slice. Broil for 1
to 2 minutes or until bubbly and
bread is lightly browned on the
edges. Stir together the remain
ing brown sugar, fruit and lime
juice in a small bowl. Spoon equal
amounts over the bread slices and
sprinkle with walnuts.
Photos and recipes from
eatcaliforniapeach.com
1 cup low-salt chicken
broth
1 teaspoon grounfi cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground cori
ander
Sour cream (optional)
See SS&ASH, Page jC