NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
October 12, 2000
Fall always reminds me of colorful leaves, crisp air, football games and community dinners. In the small Minnesota town where I grew up, community dinners were highly anticipated events. The food was simple, never gourmet, unless you consider lutefisk and lefse haute cuisine. More likely the menu included hot dishes, meatballs, mashed potatoes, glorified rice, pickles and buttered bread. You always saved room for Jello with fruit cocktail and marshmallows and, of course, home-made bars.
Dishes clattered. The room was filled with talking, laughter and a delicious aroma. And the time was memorable. Who cared that few people outside the Midwest knew a hot dish was a casserole and a bar was a dessert?
The tradition of the potluck continues and so does the unusual variety that can fill your plate at the end of the serving line. When the weather seems more like Alaska but your heart is in Hawaii, try one of my personal favorites for your family or a larger gathering. This hearty recipe is tasty, easy to make and nutritious, too. Bring an extra copy of the recipe. Someone will ask for it.
Hawaiian Baked Beans
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. bacon, fried crisp and drained well
1 onion, diced
1/2 cup catsup
1 teaspoon salt
1 15-oz can butter beans
1 15-oz can kidney beans
1 15-oz can pork and beans
1 15-oz can pinto beans
1 15-oz can lima beans
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 tablespoon barbecue sauceProcedure:
Drain beans and mix all ingredients together in large casserole dish. Bake covered 1 hour at 350 degrees. Makes 12 servings.
A serving of Hawaiian Baked Beans (1/12 of the recipe) contains 330 calories, 11 grams of fat, and 6 grams of fiber. A serving also contains about 20 percent of the daily recommendation for iron and 22 percent of the daily recommendation for folate.Dry edible beans, or legumes, are an inexpensive source of protein, iron, folate and fiber.
Whenever there's a potluck, it's a good idea to bring tasty food -- and to keep food safety in mind. Keep beans and other high-protein foods hot during transporting and serving, because bacteria can grow well in moist, high-protein foods.
Potlucks and other community meals sometimes make headlines when people become ill after the event. Each year, foodborne illness claims 5,000 lives in the U.S. and causes at least 76 million people to become ill. Most cases of foodborne illness are traced to places where large numbers of people are served, and many community meals have been linked to outbreaks in the United States.
Whether you're cooking for yourself, your family or the entire community, follow safe food handling practices. These are some ways to spoil bacteria's chances of making your next potluck a newspaper headline:
Whenever possible, cook your dish on the same day as the potluck event. Cook food thoroughly and use a food thermometer to check doneness. Never partially cook a dish and finish cooking it the following day.
If you cook your casserole or other dish the day ahead, cool it quickly in shallow pans. Always reheat leftovers to at least 165 degrees.
Transport your hot items quickly to the site to maintain temperature and safety.
Don't serve home-canned food at potluck or community events. This is a state health department rule.
Chill salad ingredients and mixing bowls before preparing the salad. Keep salads cold during transport by placing in an insulated cooler with ice. Serve cold food on a bed of ice.
During serving, keep hot food hot (above 140 degrees) and cold food cold (below 40 degrees).
Encourage helpers to wash their hands carefully. Avoid bare hand contact with ready-to-eat foods like bread, donuts and cookies. This means wearing plastic gloves, using utensils or deli paper.
Opt for disposable dishes and utensils whenever possible to decrease the chances of contamination -- and reduce dishwashing, too. Arrange utensils handle-side-out.
When cleaning counters and other surfaces, follow these rules: wash, rinse, sanitize (one tablespoon bleach per gallon of water) and air-dry.
With a casual event such as a potluck, it's safest to discard leftovers.
For information about food safety, visit the NDSU Extension Service Food and Nutrition website: http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/food.htm.
###
Source: Julie Garden-Robinson, (701) 231-7187
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629