It’s Friday! That means it’s time for my Friday Favorites and time for me to share with you a third way you can enter to win the shiny red grill I’m giving away… All week I have been promising you another entry in the giveway, so here it is!
Food safety is super important during the summer when you are grilling. Just because you’re cooking outside doesn’t mean you don’t have to be careful about cross contamination and keeping foods at the right temperature. Now, I’d like to hear your summer food safety tips. Do you have a trick or a gadget that makes grilling easier and helps you keep things clean and neat? To get you started, here are a few tips about food safety from Sam’s Club:
For another entry in my grill giveaway, please leave a comment with a tip about summer food safety (or something you learned from the video, if you prefer). Don’t forget that you have until Monday, May 24th at 10:00pm EST to enter! You can find all of the giveaway details here!
(Please note – The grill giveaway has ended and comments will no longer be accepted on this post.)
Ok, now on to this week’s Friday Favorites… Originally I had planned to pick posts about grilling to tie in with the giveaway. However, there were some non-grilling blog posts that I just couldn’t pass up, so I decided to skip the grilling theme and just go with my favorites. Here they are!
- I’m a fan of just about anything made with Nutella… So, I will definitely be trying this Nutella and Caramelized Banana Sandwich from Closet Cooking. I know it’s probably more of a dessert food, but I think it would make a fantastic breakfast… Kind of like coffee cake!
- I know there are plenty of you out there who like to put greens in your smoothies, so this one is for you. Check out this easy Alien Juice Smoothie (or Chic Chartreuse Smoothie, depending on who you ask) from Bake at 350. I have yet to find the courage to add spinach to a smoothie, but I think I’ll have to give it a try soon.
- I have a soft spot for shredded beef made in the slow cooker. Not only is it delicious, but it’s so easy to make! So, the next time I have a shredded beef craving, I will be making these Shredded Garlic Beef Tacos with Pickled Onions from Evil Shenanigans. In fact, if I had some beef in the house, I’d probably make them now.
- I have a lot of respect for Ina Garten, and I have had great success with her recipes. So, I was thrilled to see Ina’s Chive Biscuits over at Tracey’s Culinary Adventures. I love to make biscuits with a salad or soup for dinner, so they’re going on my weekly dinner menu very soon… As soon as the chives in my garden are ready to eat!
My Kitchen Addiction Product Review Policy and Disclosure– The patio grill being given away has been provided by Sam’s Club. I received this product (Sam’s Club Membership) at no cost from the manufacturer (or a representative PR firm) for the purpose of testing and reviewing the product. Unless specified otherwise, I do not accept monetary compensation for reviewing or writing about products. I only review products that I have personally tested and used in my kitchen/home, and all opinions expressed are my own.
Wear Safety goggles when grilling over high heat – you NEVER know what kind of oils splash you’ll encounter!
I can definitely be a bit paranoid about food safety and am a firm believer in “if in doubt, throw it out”. I like to shop at warehouse clubs too and deliberately schedule my shopping trips at times that will allow me to spend the necessary time after shopping, repackaging and freezing in smaller portions because I don’t like to leave that stuff in the refrigerator any longer than I have to. I have dedicated cutting boards just for meat and always clean them in my dishwasher at the hottest setting. I also like to use disposable gloves when working with meats, you can pick up big boxes at the warehouse clubs. For some things, especially bacon, it can seem hard to get your hands completely clean after.
I think you should make sure things are clean and ready to use every time. You don’t want to accidently set a bigger fire or anything!
I always like to make sure food is well covered up before and after it is cooked. That way it hot/cold better and keeps flies or dirt off!
cut meat on a separate board from veggies so you can toss it in the sink or dishwasher and continue on!
I am a FACS teacher in Kansas and always try to stress the importance of food safety and sanitation to my students during demonstrations in the kitchen. I tell them to watch out for foods made with mayonnaise, especially during the summer months when the temperatures are hot. There are so many delicious salads and side dishes brought to barbecues and picnics, but if the temperature is over 90 degrees, food should not be left out more than an hour. Microorganisms grow at a higher rate at the higher temperatures and that can lead to food-borne illnesses. I think people get busy or they start visiting and forget how long foods have been left out. Try to get those items back in a cooler, with ice or a cold pack, as soon as possible. :)
Always make sure you have a different (clean) platter to remove the meat from the grill than the one you used to carry the raw meat out to the grill.
Oh, I was going to mention the same tip as Carrie – my husband and I are much better about food safety now but when we were first learning to cook I shudder to think about how many times we used the same plate for raw meat and the cooked meat.
Thanks for including my biscuits :) You really can’t go wrong with Ina!
Grilling is an art form just as much as it is a science and one of the things that many people pride themselves on is their ability to judge the “doneness” of meat on the grill based on their own criteria, equations, and whatever witchcraft they come up with. My suggestion for grill safety is to keep a meat thermometer tied to your grill. If it is at arms length there is no excuse to not use it and keep everyone safe at the same time.
Two words…meat thermometer! After giving every one food poisoning a couple of year ago, I won’t cook meat without it, completely dependant at this point :) Oh, and I have my handy WS anti-b cutting board for meat…love it!