Another Salmonella Outbreak

Not a great way to start a holiday weekend: 87 people are sick and 1 person is dead due to a Salmonella outbreak in Canada (read the article here). The source of the outbreak, which is centered in Quebec, is tainted cheese.

The three brands of cheese were produced by Fromages La Chaudiere Inc., which is a family run business who sells cheeses and dairy products in Quebec. Officials said the cheese was bought between July 24 and August 24.

This follows on the heels of a listeriosis from a processed food producer, Maple Leaf Foods, in Canada. That outbreak is being linked to 15 deaths. It also follws this summer’s Salmonella outbreak in the United States which is being linked to peppers from Mexico.

So make sure you clean all your produce and fully cook all of your food this holiday weekend. And if you do start to feel sick, get medical attention.

Happy Hour and Happy Customers

So this will probably come as no surprise to most, but happy hour is a very popular tradition at lots of bars across the country.  After all, who doesn’t love a good deal?  (Especially when it’s cheap beer…)

So it should also come as no surprise that a recent Technomic survey found that over 70% of bartenders say the best way to bring in sales on a new drink is to use a price promotion.  So if you are planning to give a new cool drink a try in your bar, consider testing it out with a tempting price tag.  Once your customers taste how great your latest concoction is, the idea is that they’ll continue to buy it even after the price promo is over.  And DO make sure the promotion is for a limited time.  Otherwise, your guests may come to expect bottom barrel prices and become resentful when you finally have to raise them.  Best just to make it clear that you’re having a limited time promotion, hype it up a bit, hook your audience, and then bring prices up as expected.

If your bar needs updated bar equipment to go with your updated drink menu, be sure to stop by www.servu-online.com to get everything you need!

Dangerous peppers still on the shelves

Despite being cited as a source of the salmonella outbreak earlier this summer, jalapeno and Serrano peppers from Mexico are still turning up on store shelves. The peppers, which the FDA cited as the cause of the outbreak last month are frequently turning up on the shelves of many smaller grocery stores. The reason for this: the peppers, which are from Mexico, are the cheapest options and making them an enticing option for many small grocery owners.

A distributor quoted in this article says that he has been selling the peppers to grocery stores and restaurants all over. This is technically still allowed because the FDA has not actually banned the peppers, they have simply issued warnings about them. However, they have said that all peppers entering the country now are being tested more thoroughly for salmonella.

So in the mean time, make sure you are washing your jalapeno and Serrano peppers and cooking them before serving and eating them. Now that the source is know, it is important to take all necessary steps to avoid salmonella illness.

Don’t Throw Out the Scraps!

It’s got great history, and a sense of exoticism, while still a very frugal dish; we’re talking about rillettes.

 

The Nation’s Restaurant News website reports that this traditional French food is making its way back onto the American culinary scene.  But what, exactly, are rillettes?  As the article says, “Larousse Gastronomique, the French food bible…[describes] rillettes in the 1961 edition as ‘a French preparation made of pork, both lean and fat, cut into very small pieces, gently cooked in lard with the usual seasonings and condiments, allowed to cool and pounded in a mortar.’”

 

Pork cooked in lard?  Sounds like a match made in heaven—but the best part about rillettes may be that it is a fantastically economical dish:

 

“In times of economic malaise, the use of scraps to create an interesting dish is not lost on anyone watching the bottom line. After all, rillettes, like most charcuterie, were created as a way of turning waste into something delicious.”

 

So don’t throw that scrap of pork away!  Instead, put it to good use as a tempting little dish called a rillette.  What are some ways you put “scrap” foods to use in your kitchen?  Please share your ideas!