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Local Flavour 22_Final

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Saturday, October 8, 2022 2 LOCAL FLAVOUR A MANITOBA FOODIE'S GUIDE TO DELICIOUS DISHES Dressing over stuffing Choosing to cook dressing over stuffing prevents the risk of salmonella. But it also has its benefits. Dressing can be cooked separately, hence lessening the overall cooking time of a cooked turkey. Dressing also offers your vegetarian guests another dish from which to choose, because it has not touched the turkey. And to ensure your vegan friends and family are kept happy, create your dressing with a good quality olive oil rather than butter. Frescolio not only has a great deal of options to match the style of dressing you wish to cook, but their website offers plenty of recipes including options for those just venturing into the world of vegan entertaining. Plan to keep leftovers at a minimum The days of a week's worth of turkey leftovers are gone. Not only have food and safety experts deemed it unsafe to eat refrigerated cooked poultry after three days, but loving leftovers seems to have largely gone out of style. This doesn't mean you should toss the entire lot. Instead, change things up. If your guest list is smaller than six people, perhaps a chicken is a better protein source. Jazz it up with woven slices of bacon or a mushroom hunter sauce to make it seem festive. And if every year you plan on making soup, but the bones seem to have moved into your fridge for good, this year try a boneless option instead. Keep food hot so you can keep it as a leftover After two hours at room temperature, food should be disposed of — especially poultry. According to the Canadian Institute of Food Safety, any buffet food should be thrown out, even if it was kept hot. Cross-contamination can occur. To save on this food waste, there are other options. Keep your items in your stove on low. Refill your buffet regularly (rather than placing all items out at room temperature). And serve buffet items in heated serving dishes, with individual serving utensils. Once dinner is done, don't linger If you wish to keep leftovers, have your storage containers handy so that you can swiftly transfer them to the fridge. hanksgiving is here. And you might need to create a modern game plan. Game plans aren't just for sports and sport aficionados; households need them, too — especially when it comes to holidays. The meal plan starts with the guest list. These have changed over the years. Many families are smaller. And modern hosts often have to swap tradition to keep in tune with guests' food requests. From allergies, vegetarian, gluten- free and vegan dietary restrictions, the Thanksgiving menu has changed. This doesn't mean we must ditch the stuffing and turkey. Nor does it mean home chefs must serve 87 courses. We can just adjust how we cook items or what we add to them. For instance, to make your sausage, apple and pecan stuffing gluten- friendly, swap the bread cubes for grains such as wild rice and brown rice. And making a side dish a bigger part of the show is a great idea for your vegetarian and vegan guests. That broccoli and brown butter side dish can be swapped for a roasted head of cauliflower covered in vegetable gravy. While you carve the turkey, your vegan guest can carve the cauliflower. As far as the main protein goes, few of us require a bird the size of an ostrich to feed our families. Things have changed in the post- pandemic world. We purchased smaller turkeys or chose a different protein all together. And continuing this practice is a good idea for those who dislike leftovers. After all, the main reason most of us enjoy this holiday is gathering with those we care about. The best way to show you care is to refrain from poisoning your guests. This may seem obvious, but safe food handling must be part of your overall game plan. Some still make food preparation errors. For instance, the practice of thawing poultry on the counter still exists in some households. According to the Canadian Institute of Food Safety, thawing on the counter can cause food-borne illness. The best way to thaw a bird is in the fridge (the length of thawing depends upon the size of the turkey). Microwaving is also an option (but it must be cooked directly thereafter). A fresh turkey may be the better option if defrosting in a fridge or microwave is not feasible. Also, washing poultry in the kitchen sink is not advisable. But washing your hands thoroughly is essential before and after working with poultry. Any surfaces that it touches should be thoroughly cleaned. Cooking times vary based upon the size of the turkey and whether or not it has been stuffed (which requires a longer cooking time). The internal temperature must reach at least 82°C / 180°F at its thickest to be safely served to your guests. And your food safety plans shouldn't end once the turkey is cooked. Food should not be at room temperature for longer than two hours. So, keep this in mind when planning the meal if you want to enjoy leftovers. Either keep the food hot or put it away within that two-hour window. The fridge can only keep food for a limited time. Cooked poultry must be used within three to four days. So, if you know you aren't going to enjoy your culinary masterpieces before this, have a storage system in place ahead of time. Heck, you can create your own custom fast-food bowls by placing them in containers and freezing them for future use. Safely entertaining on Thanksgiving should be part of everyone's holiday game plan! T Tackling THE TURKEY PRO-TIPS: Drink tips to add to your Thanksgiving game plan: • Ensure you have enjoyable non-alcoholic beverages available. Many pair well with food, too. Manitoba's Liquor and Lotteries site has suggestions and recipes that are palate pleasing. www.liquormarts.ca • If you are serving vegetarian or vegan dishes, some of the vegetables may be more difficult to pair. Consult your local MBLL product consultant for suggestions. "Safe food handling must be part of your overall game plan." I N BUSI NESS S IN C E 1 9 4 3 WE DELIVER QUALITY SERVING WINNIPEG SINCE 1943 When it comes to unique, delicious and thoughtful gifts, we've got you covered this holiday season! Shop our carefully selected gift packs in-store or online. Curbside pickup and $5 delivery available. frescolio.ca The best gifts are local 929 Corydon Avenue 1604 St. Mary's Road 1530 Regent Avenue W. Further information: • Additional information on food safety: www.foodsafety.ca • And to plan your defrosting and cooking, the Canadian Turkey site has a calculator: www.canadianturkeyca/ whole-bird-turkey-calculator/

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