Superbowl guacamole dip food safety tips

Superbowl pregame coverage started at something like 6:00 am this morning and it’s on in the background at my house. Between helping the kids with Lego building and coloring I’ve seen segments on a former player who is now a high school principal; an NFL player who chose listening to an hour of Nickleback over “swimming everywhere you go”; and, an insightful interview with half-time performer Katy Perry where she reported that Seahawks (and former N.C. State) Quarterback Russell Wilson likes pizza.

And I’ve heard about deflated balls about 900 times.Bill-Belichickx-large

Capitalizing on the Superbowl hysteria, Debbi Snook of cleveland.com has some football party food safety tips and a recipe for turkey chili from LeBron Jame’s former chef (how’s that for a title). The risk reduction tips aren’t bad (and are even in context for a party with guacamole). But the article fails to point to a safe temperature (165F) for ground turkey.

Did you know that fruit and vegetables pose 48 percent of foodborne illnesses? That means those veggie platters, dips and any cream-based foods deserve some extra scrutiny to keep your guests safe.

-Instead of refilling the same bowl of guacamole, divide it among a few smaller bowls to replace the one that becomes empty.

-Wash your hands frequently when cooking, and dry them on a clean towel.

-Ask someone else to cook if you’re under the weather.

– Wash your avocados with cold water and a scrub brush before peeling and slicing (for quality reasons, mainly -ben).

– Avert “double-dipping” violations by placing serving utensils such as spoons and tongs at each serving bowl.

A lunch of roast duck for Super Bowl Monday

I spent halftime of the Super Bowl asking Amy, what kind of damn music is this?

duck.feb.13And eating yummy duck.

I’m not so much of a fan, but the faux Frenchy is, so I attempt duck occasionally. After the power outages associated with the ex-cyclone, I secured an inexpensive duck, and thought it would be suitable for Super Bowl Monday, what with Sorenne at school.

I butterflied the bird, marinated overnight, then slow roasted for four hours beginning at 6:30 am, and finished up with an apparently too high shot of 450F to crisp things. The bird was basted near the end with a sauce of orange, soy, honey and ginger.

Temperature-verified to be safe.

And I made it back from the last Kansas visit with my groovy fat separator, a key tool when making gravy in a hurry.

Delicious.

duck.fat.seperator.feb.13