Power Outage Food Safety: What To Toss And What To Keep

With the East Coast bracing for the wrath of Hurricane Sandy, an estimated eight to 10 million people are expected to lose power. And with prolonged power outages come serious concerns about food safety.

"It is important to keep our food safe when the power goes out to prevent our food from spoiling, which can put us at higher risk for food borne illness," Toby Smithson, RD, founder of DiabetesEveryDay.com and a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, tells HuffPost in an email. "Salmonella is the most common problem, but E. Coli with ground beef can be dangerous, as well as others."

According to FoodSafety.gov, the most important thing is to keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed. If they stay sealed, your fridge can keep food cold for about four hours, and a full freezer for about 48 hours (24 hours if it's half full).

For a full list of tips on food safety in the event of a power outage, including preparations to take ahead of time and precautions after an outage occurs, click over to HuffPost Taste.

But what do you really need to throw out? The general rule of thumb, according to FoodSafety.gov, is to discard any perishables that have been stored above 40 degrees F for more than two hours, no matter what their appearance or odor (and never taste the food). "Words to live by with food safety concerns are, 'When in doubt, throw it out,'" Smithson says. And if you're concerned about the wasted money? "Your health is most important," she adds. "You can lose a lot more money from becoming ill (missed work time, medication costs, doctor visit costs) by consuming spoiled food than the cost of the food itself."

Still confused? FoodSafety.gov advises checking each item individually to see if it's safe to eat. We put together some of the information from their chart on what to save and what to throw out from your refrigerator. Click over to them for the full list, and for the list of what to keep and what to toss from your freezer.

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San Francisco Sandwich Shop, Mocks Food Critic After 'Bored'

Here's one way to get back at a critic who wrote a lackluster review of your restaurant: re-name the specials board after her.

In her review of 1058 Hoagie, a newly opened sandwich shop in San Francisco, SF Weekly's Anna Roth took issue with what she perceived was a lack of creativity in the menu. Her piece ran with the headline, "Deli Bored":

[T]he hoagies follow the standard Italian sub playbook almost exactly, and when they do deviate from the expected, their flavors aren't special enough to seek out.

1058 Hoagie, not a restaurant to take such a slight sitting down, fired back in menu form by re-naming its daily specials board on Wednesday "anna roth is boring," and "anna roth, still boring" the next day. It seems the feud is lowering to a simmer, however, because Friday's specials board was named "onward. talking about anna roth is boring."

Let that be a warning, restaurant critics; if you're willing to dish it out, you've got to be able to take it.

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Herb-Stuffed Turkey Thighs with White Wine Sauce Tacchino Ripieno Con Salsa Al Vino Bianco

While turkey’s role on the Italian table is minimal, a poultry farmer down the road from Pietrantica rears the American birds. Marissa likes to de-bone and stuff the thighs with a pungent herb paste that embellishes the juicy meat.

Ingredients

• 2 skin-on turkey thighs (about 1 pound/453g each), boned
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus 2 sprigs
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary, plus 1 sprig
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped sage, plus 3 whole leaves
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, cut lengthwise into eighths
• 1 carrot, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 stalk celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup (118 ml) dry white wine

Directions

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
• Lightly season the turkey thighs all over with salt and pepper. In a large mortar, pound the chopped parsley, chopped rosemary, and chopped sage until crushed. Add the garlic and 1/2 tablespoon salt, and pound until a paste begins to form. Mix in the olive oil.
• Rub half of the herb mixture over the flesh of one of the turkey thighs. Repeat with the other thigh. Roll each thigh roughly into a cylindrical shape and tie it with two to four loops of twine to secure.
• Add the onion, carrot, celery, parsley sprigs, rosemary sprig, sage leaves, white wine and 1/2 cup of water to a 9 x 13-inch roasting pan. Add the turkey thighs to the pan, cover loosely with foil, and roast in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the foil, baste the turkey thighs with the pan juices, and continue cooking until the thighs register 165°F (74°C) on a meat thermometer, 35 to 45 minutes. Remove the thighs from the pan and set aside on a carving board, tenting loosely with foil.
• Heat the broiler to high and return the vegetables to the oven. Broil until the vegetables are nicely browned and remove. Transfer the veggies to a platter with a slotted spoon. Strain the juices through a fine-mesh sieve into a serving bowl.
• Remove the kitchen string from the turkey thighs and carve into slices. Transfer to the platter with the veggies and drizzle with some of the pan juices. Serve the remaining sauce on the side.

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Burger King Japan's Pumpkin Burger Is Pretty Genius

In New York magazine, Felix Salmon posited this week that pumpkin was the new bacon. We disagreed -- bacon is a year-round obsession whereas pumpkin just gets popular in the autumnal months. But maybe Salmon is right about one thing -- the pumpkin obsession seems like it is reaching new heights this year. More proof comes in the form of Burger King Japan's awesome new creation of a pumpkin burger.

Brand Eating reports that the burger contains two slices of kabocha (commonly known as Japanese pumpkin but yes we understand that it is technically squash), bacon, lettuce, a beef patty and a creamy nut sauce with sesame seeds, peanuts, almonds, cashews and hazelnuts. Also, the bun is meant to be shaped like a pumpkin!

The burger will be available for a limited time starting October 26 and will cost about $3.90. There's also a "pumpkin bomb" option which offers 10 slices of pumpkin for only about $1.25 more. Or, you can just order pumpkin slices as an optional topping for any burger for about $0.75.

While we admit that some of Burger King Japan's offerings may not be so successful in America (we're looking at you, black bun burger), a pumpkin burger seems downright genius. Could there be a better way to capitalize on pumpkin mania than to combine it with both bacon and ground meat? Burger King Japan, we tip our hats to you.

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Chinese Delicious Food _Popiah

Popiah  is a dish which my mum usually cook during Ching Ming Festival (April). I have yet to learn this dish because it is labourous and demanding. I must say that I am quite biased (and with good reasons) with Popiahs because to me, only mum’s Popiah is the best (and many others say so too). Her Popiah is unlike what is sold commercially as it contains more than 10 ingredients and the vegetables are painstakingly cut into fine slivers (just slightly thicker than a toothpick) rather than going through a shredding tool. It is no wonder then that relatives would “book” a few (or quite a lot) rolls of Popiah whenever they hear that she is making some.

According to mum, there can be no shortcut to making a good Popiah. The ones sold outside which are predominantly turnip and carrot filling just don’t do justice to how a good Popiah should be made and taste like. Even the sauce spread is sourced from southern Johor / Singapore – sweet flour sauce. I suppose this is because coming from Pontian, our tastebud is much influenced by what’s available down south. And that’s not all, Popiah skin which is specially ordered from the market is used rather than the ones sold in supermarket and kept frozen. Yes, we are very particular indeed in making a good tasting Popiah.

When I asked mum for the recipe for this Popiah, I was stuck actually because mum does not use a measuring type of recipe. Rather, just like how cooking is like second nature, the ingredients and seasoning are a matter of estimates or what we Malaysians call “agak-agak”. Hence, I had to help her to make a rough estimate of the ingredients used to make this delicious dish of Popiah. If you are game for a cooking challenge, try thisPopiah recipe especially if you can get your hands on the exact ingredients available. You won’t be disappointed.

This is mum’s recipe for Popiah

Ingredients
Filling (A)

• 1 bowl belly pork (3 layer pork) (boiled for 5 minutes, cooled and shredded finely)
• 1 bowl shelled prawns (cut into small pieces)
• 1 bowl turnip (cut into fine slivers just thicker than a toothpick)
• 1 bowl french beans (cut into fine slivers just thicker than a toothpick)
• 1 bowl carrot (cut into fine slivers just thicker than a toothpick)
• 1/2 bowl cabbage (cut into fine slivers just thicker than a toothpick)
• 1 bowl firm bean curd (cut into fine slivers just thicker than a toothpick and deep fried)
• 1 bowl bamboo shoot (cut into fine slivers just thicker than a toothpick)
• 1/2 bowl shallots (cut finely)
• 1/4 bowl garlic (cut finely)
• 5 tablespoons oil

Seasoning (B)

• Salt to taste
• Sugar to taste
• 1 teaspoon white pepper powder
• 4 tablespoons light soya sauce
• 2 tablespoons brandy

(C)

• 4 large eggs (beaten, fried thinly omelette-style in non-stick pan and cut into thin shreds)
• 1 cup bean sprouts (tailed and blanched)
• 1 cup finely shredded cucumber
• 1 cup pork loin (boiled till cooked, allow to cool and shred finely using fingers)
• Lettuce and chinese celery
• 1 cup peanut sugar (toast peanut in wok till brown, remove peanut skin, ground it till almost fine and mix with sugar on 1 peanut:1/2 sugar ratio)
• Sweet flour sauce
• Chilli spread (optional. Blend red chilli with garlic)
• Popiah skin

Method

Separate the following into 5 equal portions:- pork belly, prawns, shallots, garlic and cooking oil.

Heat 1st portion of oil in wok and fry 1st portion of shallots and garlic till aromatic. Add pork belly and prawns and stir well for 2 minutes. Add turnips and stir till turnips slightly limp. Remove from wok and place in a big pot.

Cook the rest of the ingredients (french beans, carrot, cabbage and bamboo shoots) one by one just like how the turnips were cooked above and layer them in the pot.

After the 5 main ingredients were cooked and layered in the pot, heat up the pot and add the fried bean curd. Add seasoning and mix the ingredients thoroughly. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and keep the ingredients warm till required.

To serve the Popiah, place a piece of Popiah skin on a flat round plate. Spread a teaspoon of sweet flour sauce (and chilli spread if desired) in the centre of the skin and sprinkle some peanut sugar on the sauce. Tear a piece of lettuce and place over the peanut sugar. Using a tablespoon and fork, place 2 to 3 spoonfuls of filling ingredients (A) on top of the lettuce after squeezing out excess gravy. Arrange the ingredients like a sausage / roll. Top with a little fried egg, bean sprouts, cucumber, pork loin and chinese celery. Fold the sides, tuck in firmly then roll up tightly.

Serve immediately.

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World's 10 most delicious foods

What are the world's most delicious foods? We thought we knew. Apparently we don't.

Our list of the World's 10 most delicious foods stimulated some impassioned debate about the conspicuous lack of French dishes and the merits of ketchup over mayonnaise.

“Ketchup? Pop Corn? Chips? Plenty of Thai but few Malay food? What about Chinese (Sichuan, Cantonese, etc)? No Brazilian or Argentinean?” queried commenter Max. 

Reader LoveFoods wrote, "OMG why are people hating? If you don't like the list, make your own! I love Thai and Japanese foods."

And now, after more than 35,000 votes, it appears we got it all wrong. The world’s most delicious food is not Massaman curry, as we suggested, but a meaty, spicy, gingery dish from west Sumatra. 

Couscous and lemon curd cake both took scores of votes, but didn't make the list. Some 439 people thought gelato deserved a place in online history.

The top 10 foods according to CNNGo readers are below. Bon appetit. 

10. Massaman curry, Thailand 

Although not the world's most delicious food, it is still emphatically the king of curries. Spicy, coconutty, sweet and savory, its combination of flavors has more personality than a Thai election.

Even the packet sauce you buy from the supermarket can make the most delinquent of cooks look like a Michelin potential. Thankfully, someone invented rice, with which diners can mop up the last drizzles of curry sauce.

8. World's loudest food?

“The Land of Smiles” isn’t just a marketing tag-line. It’s a result of being born in a land where the best curry is sold on nearly every street corner.

9. Peking duck, China 

"Peking duck! its a wonder....." wrote Shan Cao on ourFacebook page.

We can only guess Shan Cao was in the middle of forking a piece of this maltose-syrup glazed duck dish into his/her mouth and forgot to finish the sentence. Slow-roasted in an oven, the crispy, syrup-coated skin is so good that authentic eateries will serve more skin than meat, and bring it with pancakes, onions and hoisin or sweet bean sauce.

Other than flying or floating, this is the only way you want your duck.

7. Family lunches are fun again.

8. Ramen, Japan 

Japanese protocol says the tastier your ramen is, the louder you should slurp it up to show respect to your chef. Not that they need more respect. One mouthful of this most Japanese of noodle broths will quickly tell you that either you have a ramen trigger in your brain, or Japanese chefs are geniuses. 

Also on CNNGo: 40 delicious Japanese foods

7. Dim sum, Hong Kong 

Equally fun and delicious to eat, a trip to Hong Kong isn't complete without trying this traditional Cantonese lunch food. Popular with everyone from pass-through tourists to local kids and the elderly, most dim sum come in bite-size pieces so you don't have to waste time cutting the stuff up.

Bring a few friends and wash the food down with the free-flow tea.

5. Even better when it's messy.

6. Som tam (Papaya salad), Thailand 

After reading reader Kun Chotpakdeetrakul's comment, "Papaya salad and som tam [are] the same thing. You should combine vote for these two together," we did just that, pushing som tam to just 80 votes shy of the top five.

To prepare Thailand's iconic salad, pound garlic and chilies with a mortar and pestle. Toss in tamarind juice, fish sauce, peanuts, dried shrimp, tomatoes, lime juice, sugar cane paste, string beans and a handful of grated green papaya.

Also on CNNGo: Everything you need to know aboutsom tam -- including where to find it

4. Do you eat or drink soup? Either way just get it inside you.

5. Pad thai, Thailand 

Here's a food Thai people can't live without. 

Similar to Bulgogi (see #22), pad Thai is packed with nutrients stirred into one glorious fried-noodle dish.

The secret's in the sauce -- tamarind paste. If anyone ever creates a Hall of Food Fame, that should be first on the list.

3. Rice, salmon, wasabi -- world's greatest trio?

4. Tom yam goong, Thailand 

Reader Supot Sakulwongtana made it clear that "delicious includes a little bit hot." A little bit hot is right because you need room for a load more flavors too.

This Thai masterpiece teems with shrimp, mushrooms, tomatoes, lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime leaves. Usually loaded with coconut milk and cream, the hearty soup unifies a host of favorite Thai tastes: sour, salty, spicy and sweet. Best of all is the price: cheap.

2. More rice -- a common factor in many of these dishes.

3. Sushi, Japan 

When Japan wants to build something right, it builds itreally right. Brand giants such as Toyota, Nintendo, Sony, Nikon and Yamaha may have been created by people fueled by nothing more complicated than raw fish and rice, but it’s how the fish and rice is put together that makes this a global first-date favorite.

This perfect marriage between raw fish and rice has easily kept sushi in the top five. And like one reader, Nymayor, wrote, "Now to be fair, DELICIOUS can be simple."

The Japanese don’t live practically forever for no reason -- they want to keep eating this stuff.

 Also: How to eat sushi properly

2. Nasi goreng, Indonesia 

"I like rendang and nasi goreng, two of most popular food in Indonesia!" Reader Rizky Ramadhika's got it. And thousands of other voters agreed. 

The wonder of combining rice with egg, chicken and prawns strikes again. The second fried rice to make the list, this Indonesian delight received more than 10 times the vote of its Thai counterpart (see #23), propelling the former from non-runner to runner-up.

1. No. 1 as voted by you.

1. Rendang, Indonesia 

Reader Kamal F Chaniago showed great foresight when he wrote, "Rendang is the best." A clear winner with a loyal following, this beefy dish can now rightfully claim the title of "World's Most Delicious Food."

Beef is slowly simmered with coconut milk and a mixture of lemongrass, galangal, garlic, turmeric, ginger and chilies, then left to stew for a few hours to create this dish of tender, flavorful bovine goodness.

The Indonesian dish is often served at ceremonial occasions and to honored guests. It's not only delicious but also comes with a simple recipe. If you haven't already, go ahead and take reader Isabela Desita's advice: "Rendang should be the first! It's really nice, you should try!"

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