Mid-football season – tailgating is in full swing. On Saturdays all around the country fans are thinking of new, unique foods and table decorations to please their friends.
In our part of the country, tailgating is a major event. There are some universities around who have made tailgating into an art form with chandeliers, Oriental rugs, linen tablecloths and silver serving pieces in their tailgating tents. Eating from the tailgate of a truck or “station wagon” (SUV’s in the 21st century) is quite passé. It seems the food and presentation are more of a one-upmanship contest these days.
More important than the menu and the presentation of the food, however, is the matter of food safety. Here are several recommendations to prevent a fun day from being ruined by a case of food-born illness.
Important things to remember when moving food and serving it outside:
• What is cold needs to stay cold (below 40 degrees) and hot food needs to stay hot (above 140 degrees). Ice packs are preferable to cube ice because they melt more slowly. Consider using a double container for cold dishes – the bottom container could contain frozen ice packs wrapped in attractive fabric with the food in the top container. To keep hot foods hot, consider investing in a chafing dish or a small single eye stove powered by a butane canister. Look in cookware shops or in camping departments. Take chilled items already at the proper temperature directly from a refrigerator into the ice chest. The ice packs are not designed to cool down food, only to keep it cold.
• Take food in smaller amounts — i.e. divide a recipe into two parts — one to serve early and one to serve after the game. Package separately. The “later” food should stay in the ice chest until time to serve.
• When replacing food, always wash out the container, sanitize it with Clorox wipes, then rinse again. NEVER put “new food” into “old food”. Throw away any uneaten portions that have been in the heat after an hour.
• Keep uncooked food away from cooked food. A good idea is to take smaller ice chests, one for cooked food and one for raw food. Remember that cross contamination of raw to cooked food can happen just by using the same utensil in both containers. It is critically important to keep utensils and containers separated. Cross contamination is one of the quickest ways the dreaded bad food bugs can make your outing end poorly. Using paper platters for hamburgers and other raw items to be grilled can assist in prevention of the bad bugs jumping over. The paper platter can be discarded when the meat is on the grill.
• Consider your menu items carefully. Avoid salads containing mayonnaise, using instead an oil based dressing. As much as possible, do all of the prep, even making sandwiches in your home kitchen. Make sure that grilled meats are cooked thoroughly.
• Be creative with serving pieces.... find ones which can double as storage as well as serving. Always check to see if the containers are food safe. Often pieces manufactured overseas contain lead or other dangerous materials.
In thinking about packing safely for a tailgating adventure, there are a few necessities to include. Some of these items are paper towels, garbage bags, Clorox wipes, and at least a gallon of water. These things will come in handy in your substitute kitchen.
Roasted Corn Dip
(serves 8)
• 4 ears Sweet Corn, Shucked
• 1 package 8 Ounces Cream Cheese, softened
• 1 cup Sour Cream
• 4 whole Green Onions, white and green parts, chopped
• 12 ounces Queso Fresco, white Mexican crumbling cheese
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon Paprika
• ½ fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced (wear gloves)
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• Juice Of 1 Lime
• Several Dashes Hot Sauce
Shuck and silk the corn. Either grill it on a charcoal grill or on a stove top grill pan. Let cool to touch and slice the kernels from the cob.
Reserve.
In an electric mixer, mix cream cheese, sour cream, and green onions. Whip until it's totally combined. Add the cumin, paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper, lime juice, and hot sauce. Stir in the crumbled cheese and fresh jalapeño. Mix on a slow speed. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Fold in the corn. Allow the flavors to blend for several hours before serving. This is ideal to make the day before.
Fran Ginn is former chef/owner of The Back Door Café, who retired after 31 years in the food industry to be a grandmother. She can be contacted at fran@franginn.com.
