Sunday, October 3, 2010

A Tailgate Pasta Recipe


It's Football season!!!! Today The Eagles welcome their former Quarterback ,Donavan McNabb back in town..Only he will be in a Red Washington Redskins Uniform....My Heart is torn...But my stomach is not....There will be a lot of tailgating parties today...My fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi (Abington Ambler Alumni Chapter) is hosting one today...Instead of bringing the normal tailgating food...Here is a recipe I got from the New York Jets tailgating recipe book!

Ingredients:

1 pound(s) rigatoni
1 pound(s) bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces across the strips
3 clove(s) garlic, sliced
13 tablespoon(s) (or more as needed) olive oil
1 large onion, cut to 1-inch dice
2 tablespoon(s) fresh oregano
2 tablespoon(s) fresh thyme
1 tablespoon(s) fennel seeds
Grated Asiago cheese (optional)
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
1 quart(s) non-fat or low-fat plain yogurt
Sumac, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Pregame preparation: Cook the rigatoni al dente and refrigerate in a 1-gallon ziplock bag. In a pan over medium-low heat, cook bacon together with sliced garlic and a generous amount of black pepper. Remove before fully cooked and set aside.

2. Wipe out the bacon pan and add 5 to 6 tablespoons olive oil, onions, and a pinch of salt, and sauté 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat, add onions to bacon/garlic mixture, and refrigerate.

3. Clean Herbs (if using fresh ones) ,then put them in the refrigerator.

4. Tailgate Cooking: Place an iron skillet on the grates of a medium-hot grill and allow the skillet to warm for a minute or two. Make sure your skillet doesn't get too hot. To the warm skillet, add 8 to 10 tablespoons of olive oil, the precooked pasta.

5. To the warm skillet, add 8 to 10 tablespoons of olive oil, the precooked pasta, bacon-and-onion mixture, oregano, thyme, and fennel seeds and toss to combine. Sauté and stir frequently to cook evenly until pasta begins to brown and get crunchy (15-18 minutes). Be patient — it will smell great and your audience will simmer with anticipation. Optional: Sprinkle some grated Asiago cheese while browning; add salt and pepper to taste (keep in mind there is plenty of salt in the bacon and cheese) while everything is cooking in the skillet. Open and gently stir yogurt until it has a smooth and creamy texture.

6. When the dish is colorful and sizzling nicely, remove skillet from heat and distribute the pasta on small plates for your tailgaters. Top each portion with 2 to 3 tablespoons yogurt, sprinkle with sumac, and serve immediately.

Enjoy this and the game!
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1 comment:

Arlene said...

Sumac?? From the tree?? I thought sumac was a poison. What does it taste like? Does it have nutritional value? Who sells it?

This recipe looks good eventhough I'm not a tailgater. I prefer the climate controlled comfort of my own livingroom. No flies, no ants, no rowdy revelers. And instant replay from multiple vantage points.

I may try this next Sunday since there will be a late game!! Yumm-O

October 4, 2010 at 9:26 AM

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Food Safety Tips
Protect yourself against food-borne illnesses.


1. Use a "refrigerator thermometer" to keep your food stored at a safe temperature (below 40 degrees fahrenheit).

Cold temperatures slow the growth of bacteria. Ensuring that your refrigerator temperature stays at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or colder is one of the most effective ways to reduce your risk of food-borne illness. You can buy a refrigerator/freezer thermometer at appliance stories, home centers (i.e. Home Depot), and kitchen stores including online ones, such as Cooking.com.

2. Defrost food in the refrigerator, the microwave, or in cold water... never on the counter!

Perishable foods should never be thawed on the counter for longer than two hours because, while the center of the food may remain frozen, the outer surface may enter the Danger Zone, the range of temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees fahrenheit, in which bacteria multiply rapidly. If you’re short on time, use the microwave or you can thaw meat and poultry in airtight packaging in cold water. Change the water every half-hour so it stays cold and use the thawed food immediately.

3. Always use separate cutting boards for raw meat/poultry/fish and cooked foods/fresh produce.

Bacteria from uncooked meat, poultry, and fish can contaminate cooked foods and fresh produce. An important way to reduce this risk is to use separate cutting boards for raw meat/poultry/ fish, and cooked foods/fresh produce.

4. Always cook meat to proper temperatures, using a calibrated instant-read thermometer to make sure.

One effective way to prevent illness is to use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of meat, poultry, and egg dishes. The USDA Recommended Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures are as follows:

* Beef, veal, and lamb (steaks and roasts), fish - 145 degrees fahrenheit

* Pork and ground beef - 160 degrees fahrenheit

* Poultry - 165 degrees fahrenheit.

Cook meats like roasts and steaks to lower temperatures, closer to medium-rare, so that they retain their moisture. It is recommended that those who are at high risk for developing food-borne illness (i.e. pregnant women and their unborn babies, newborns, young children, older adults, people with weakened immune systems, or certain chronic illnesses) should follow the USDA guidelines.

5. Avoid unpasteurized/raw milk and cheeses made from unpasteurized milk that are aged less than 60 days.

Raw milk is milk from cows, sheep, or goats that has not been pasteurized (heated to a very high temperature for a specific length of time) to kill harmful bacteria that may be present. These bacteria, which include salmonella, E. coli and listeria, can cause serious illness and sometimes even death. The bacteria in raw milk can be especially dangerous to pregnant women, children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems or chronic illnesses. Raw milk cheeses aged 60 days or longer are okay, since the salt and acidity of the cheese-making process make for a hostile environment to pathogens.

6. Never eat "runny" eggs or foods, such as cookie dough, that contain raw eggs.

Even eggs that have clean, intact shells may be contaminated with salmonella, so it’s important to cook eggs thoroughly until both the yolk and the white are firm. Casseroles and other dishes containing eggs should be cooked to 160 degrees fahrenheit and you can use an instant-read food thermometer to check. Eggs should always be cooked fully and those who are at high risk for developing foodborne illness (pregnant women and their unborn babies, newborns, young children, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems or certain chronic illnesses should follow the USDA guidelines. If you can’t resist runny eggs or sampling cookie batter, use pasteurized eggs. They’re found near other eggs in large supermarkets.

7. Always wash your hands in warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds before handling food and after touching raw meat, poultry, or eggs.

You can pick up a lot of bacteria out in the world, so it’s important to always wash your hands before you eat or prepare food. You should also wash your hands after touching any uncooked meat, poultry, fish, or eggs, as the bacteria from these foods can contaminate cooked foods and fresh produce. Use soap and warm water and wash thoroughly for at least 20 seconds.

8. Always heat leftover foods to 165 degrees fahrenheit.

The USDA recommends heating all cooked leftovers to 165 degrees fahrenheit in order to kill all potentially dangerous bacteria.

9. Never eat meat, poultry, eggs, or sliced fresh fruits and vegetables that have been left out for more than two hours or more than one hour in temperatures hotter than 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you leave perishable foods out of the refrigerator or freezer for more than two hours they may enter the Danger Zone—the unsafe temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, in which bacteria multiply rapidly.

10. Whenever there’s a food recall, check products stored at home to make sure they are safe.

You should discard any food that’s been recalled because it’s associated with the outbreak of a food-borne illness. But, according to a survey conducted by Rutgers University during the fall of 2008, only about 60% of Americans search their homes for foods that have been recalled because of contamination. For more information on food recalls, visit the website Recalls.gov






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Courtesy of The Lady (Bug) of the Household