Hot Stuffing & Cooled Leftovers: Food Safety Reminders for Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving, you want to give your guests plenty of good food, good company and good memories to last the year. What you don't want to give them is food poisoning. With that in mind, here are a few friendly reminders for safely cooking and serving a Thanksgiving meal.

Thaw your turkey safely. Safe meat thawing is done in the refrigerator, in the microwave or in cold water to keep the turkey out of the "danger zone" of 40F to 140F. To thaw in the refrigerator, plan on about 24 hours for every 4 to 5 pounds. Once thawed, it can be kept in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days before cooking.

To thaw in cold water, submerge the wrapped bird in cold tap water, changing the water every 30 minutes, for a total time of about 30 minutes per pound. Cook soon after thawing with this method.

Cook stuffing on the side. While it is possible to safely cook stuffing inside a turkey, the extra cooking time needed to get the stuffing to the safe temperature of 165F adds to the risk of dry, overdone meat. If a stuffed bird is one of your holiday traditions, be sure to use a thermometer and check the center of the stuffing for doneness before removing it from the oven.

Put leftovers away promptly. Shaking off your food coma to start putting leftovers away is never easy, but it must be done ideally within 2 hours of when the food came to the table. But don't load up your refrigerator with steaming containers of still-hot food, which will raise the temperature of the surrounding food into the danger zone. Instead, use ice baths to cool the leftovers to room temperature before putting them away. Leftover turkey, stuffing and gravy should be eaten or frozen within 3 to 4 days.

Keep clean. Not just on Thanksgiving, of course: Wash your hands and kitchen equipment frequently with hot soapy water, especially after coming in contact with raw meat. Sanitize your sink and kitchen counters before and after cooking. And thoroughly wash produce, especially if it will be eaten raw.

Do you have any food safety tips for the holidays?

Related: How Long Will Turkey Gravy Stay Good in the Fridge?

(Image: Emma Christensen)

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After a Power Outage: Important USDA Food Safety Guidelines and Tips

Hurricane Sandy tore a path through the the Northeast yesterday, and it's not over. If you're one of the millions left without power, we a) sincerely hope you get it back soon, and that in the meantime you stay safe and dry, and b) think it's a good time to refresh on basic food safety guidelines after you've had a power outage. What's safe to keep and what should you toss?

The USDA's food safety guidelines during a severe storm or hurricane are as follows:

Steps to Follow to Prepare for a Weather Emergency:

• Use appliance thermometers in your refrigerator and freezer to help determine if food is safe during power outages. Refrigerator temperature should be 40 F or lower and the freezer should be 0 F or lower.
• Freeze refrigerated items such as leftovers, fresh meat, and poultry that you may not need immediately--this helps keep them at a safe temperature longer.
• Freeze containers of water for ice to help keep food cold in freezer, refrigerator, or coolers in case of power outage. You can also use melted ice for drinking water.
• Purchase or make ice cubes and freeze gel packs in advance.
• Plan ahead and know where to purchase block ice and dry ice, just in case.
• Have coolers on hand to keep the refrigerator food cold in case the power is out for more than 4 hours

If the Power Goes Out:

• Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible.
• A refrigerator will keep food cold for about 4 hours if you keep the door closed.
• A full freezer will keep its temperature for about 48 hours (24 hours if half-full)
• If the power is out for an extended period of time, buy dry or block ice to keep the refrigerator as cold as possible. Fifty pounds of dry ice should keep a fully-stocked 18-cubic-feet freezer cold for two days.

When the Power Is Restored:

• Check the temperature in the refrigerator and freezer. If the thermometer reads 40 F or below, the food is safe.
• If no thermometer was used in the freezer, check each package. If food still contains ice crystals, it's safe.
• Discard any perishable food (such as meat, poultry, fish, soft cheeses, milk, eggs, leftovers and deli items) that have been kept in a refrigerator or freezer above 40 F for two hours or more.
• Never taste food to determine its safety!
• When in Doubt, throw it Out!

For up-to-the-minute food safety information, you can follow the USDA's Twitter feed @USDAFoodSafety. For tweets about food recalls and other weather-related food safety issues in your particular state, follow @XX_FSISAlert, replacing XX with your state or territory's postal abbreviation.

Download the PDF: A Consumer's Guide to Food Safety in Severe Storms and Hurricanes USDA

For more on what foods to keep and what to toss after a power outage, check out these posts on The Kitchn:

Power Outages: What To Keep and What To Toss
Power Outages: How To Tell If Your Freezer Defrosted
Power Out? A Guide to Refrigerator Safety When You Don't Have Electricity
Hunker Down! The Kitchn's Best Hurricane and Winter Storm Advice

(Image: Emma Christensen)

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Quick Tip: Freeze Marinara In Muffin Tins

We've been making pizzas (and rolled sandwiches) like crazy. They're quick, easy, and best of all use up random ingredients in your refrigerator. The hard part? We don't always want to whip up a batch of marinara each time we feel like some pizza pie! That's where the muffin tin comes in.

Whether you make your own sauce or pick up a jar of storebought unless you're making a family-sized portion of pasta, chances are you won't be using all the sauce you have on hand.

Instead of struggling to finish off what's in the refrigerator, simply freeze what's left in metal muffin tins. If your freezer is small (like ours) skip the tin and use muffin liners/wrappers instead and place them where you have room until frozen. Then transfer to a zip-top bag for easy storage.

Dip your trays in warm water to help your frozen marinara release from the tin if you don't use a liner. Alternately you can also use ice cube trays, but no matter what the vessel, thawing a small amount is super easy in the microwave, under warm water, or just by letting them sit out on the counter. It's a great way to get just the amount you need without the rest going to waste plus you'll always be ready for pasta for one!

Related: D.I.Y. Recipe: Pizza Sauce

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On Learning to Live With a Tiny Freezer

I never realized how much I relied on my freezer until I lost it. When I moved to Germany a couple months ago, I was prepared for life with a small, European-style refrigerator. Visions of farmers' markets and straw baskets and homemade ice cream danced through my jet-lag-addled brain, and I was convinced I could cook just like Julia Child. But then I saw the freezer. Somehow I had not made the connection that a miniature refrigerator would of course have only a tiny, baby-sized, vestigial freezer. My ice cream dreams melted.

My refrigerator is a few feet tall and would be a relatively luxurious appliance in a freshman dorm. The freezer is four inches tall by 14 inches wide, and it gets smaller when the frost builds up. While I'm sure many people deal with much smaller freezers than mine, it was a bit of a culture shock. My old freezer could easily have held a grown man, and I never realized how much that freezer affected the way I cook until I was confronted with one that could hold maybe a large-sized foot, tops.

The biggest hit was definitely to my cocktail program. My American freezer used to house trays and trays of ice, enough to make plenty of cocktails for any visitors who happened to drop by. I kept spherical ice cubes around in case anyone wanted ice with their scotch or bourbon, and I had a grand old time making hollow ice balls to serve cocktails in.

Now all ice must be rationed because only two small ice cube trays fit in my freezer, four if I forgo fitting anything else. I stopped using ice in my water or iced tea, and I've become a real ice miser. To shake a cocktail in a full shaker then strain it over fresh ice would use up every last cube in the house. When I shake a cocktail now, there's a significant chance I'll pour it over its own, shaken ice. (The chance increases dramatically if nobody else is watching me.)

If I need to rapidly chill a bottle of Champagne, I have to take almost everything out of the freezer, squeeze the bottle in at an awkward angle, then cross my fingers that the bottle chills before everything else melts.

While my cocktail making has definitely suffered, my cooking has just changed character. Without a sizable freezer, everything requires more thoughtful planning. I used to cook whatever inspired me at a given moment, then freeze any extra ingredients for later. Now whenever I cook dinner I have to stop and think, "What needs to be used quickly?" And I find myself planning several meals at once lest the spare ingredients go bad.

On the plus side, though, my cooking has evolved to become a much more sociable endeavor. Where I once relied on a freezer to let me turn one big meal into dozens of little ones, I now just have a party. I adore dumplings and lasagna, but making them for one or two is kind of a mess. They're fantastic in the freezer, where you can just cook them up for a later dinner or midnight snack. Without a freezer, though, they become party food. Instead of pinching a hundred dumplings by myself I can just declare a dumpling party, and all my friends will come help me make and eat them.

The tiny freezer has required a lot of adjustment, but I think it's working out now. Though I do have pages of freezers bookmarked on my computer in case I ever find myself with a chunk of spare cash burning a hole in my pocket. I really do miss those cocktails.

Do you have any suggestions for dealing with a tiny freezer? Let us know in the comments.

Related: Freezer Frenzy: My Favorite Tools for Freezing

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No Refrigerator? No Problem: 8 Ideas for Vegetarian Lunches From the Freezer

I recently returned to school full-time, which means that instead of keeping my lunch cool in the workplace refrigerator, I'm now toting it around with me until midday. I've turned to my freezer to help provide healthy, filling vegetarian lunches every day with frozen meals that thaw out in my bag over the course of the morning and are ready to heat and eat by the time lunch arrives.

Whether you're running all over campus or working in an office without access to a fridge, here are eight ideas for straight-from-the-freezer vegetarian meals to make lunchtime easier.

1. Calzones: Bake a big batch of vegetable calzones and freeze them individually for later. I've been using half whole wheat flour in the dough and stuffing the calzones with roasted eggplant, mushrooms, kale, tomato sauce and a little ricotta.

2. Soup: Portion your soup and freeze it in muffin tins, canning jars or plastic containers and warm it up at lunchtime.

3. Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich (Pockets): For a simple lunch on the go, make and freeze PB&J sandwiches in bulk, or try this recipe for extra-portable Whole Wheat Peanut Butter and Jelly Pockets.

4. Enchiladas: Make a pan of enchiladas you can even do it in the slow-cooker, as in this recipe for Slow-Cooker Black Bean Enchiladas and portion them into individual containers.

5. Vegetable Wraps: These Roasted Sweet Potato Wraps with Caramelized Onions and Pesto freeze well and can be made with any type of roasted vegetable.

6. Burritos: Making your own frozen burritos is simple, economical and totally customizable.

7. Vegetarian Meatballs: Meatballs made with vegetables, legumes and grains in place of the usual ground meat are a light yet filling lunch option.

8. Chili: Try freezing recipes like this Black Bean, Sweet Potato and Quinoa Chili in portions for a hearty fall lunch.

Do you have any ideas for great lunches from the freezer?

Related: Cook Once, Eat Twice! 15 Dinner Recipes to Double and Freeze

(Image: http://www.thekitchn.com/authors/echristensen">Emma Christensen)

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What Can I Do With a Tub of Korean Red Pepper Paste? Good Questions

Q: While clearing out my refrigerator, I discovered a whole tub of gojuchang which I had picked up earlier for bibimbap. I love the hot-peppery taste but don't know what else to make with it. Any suggestions?

Sent by Amit

Editor: Amit, gochujang (Korean red pepper paste) can be added to stir-fries, sauces, dressings and marinades anywhere you want to add some flavor and spice!

Here's a little more about how we like to use it:

Ingredient Spotlight: Gochujang

Readers, how do you use gochujang?

Next question?

Related: Recipe: Korean Fried Chicken Wings

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You Spin Me Right Round: Organize the Fridge with a Lazy Susan Turntable! Martha Stewart

Although I'm tall enough to reach everything in my refrigerator that doesn't mean I'm stoked to pull half the items out to get to the ones in the back. Instead, maybe I should give this easy storage and organizational solution a go!

The folks over at Martha Stewart might take organization to the extreme, or rather, make it a fine art, but that doesn't mean we can't learn a thing or two. This idea allows you to reach all corners of your fridge without moving a hundred items out of the way (which will all be strategically balanced in a ridiculous manner of course).

To help your refrigerator, try adding a turntable or lazy Susan to the corner of your fridge. That one small step can mean the difference between finding your salad dressing and not! Have you ever tried something like this? Let us know in the comments below!

Read More: Fridge Turntable from Martha Stewart

Related: A Checklist to Help You Speed-Clean the Refrigerator in 20 Minutes!

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