Keeping your Super Bowl party safe

Millions of Americans will be attending Super Bowl parties Sunday. If you are one of those people, it can be the next best thing to being there.

Little is needed for a successful Super Bowl party; a television and plenty of food and drink. It is OK to keep the food simple for this occasion; remember that most of it is going to be scarfed down while everyone’s eyes are glued to the television and not to your refreshments.

Serve an array of snacks and allow everyone to graze to their heart’s content. If you want to go the extra mile and offer a full-fledged meal to your fellow football fans, a buffetstyle meal is the best choice for the occasion. Everyone loves a “buildyour-own” buffet, whether the main attraction is hero sandwiches, burritos and nachos, baked potatoes or pizzas.

Use your slow cooker, or warming plates, to keep the hot food hot on your buffet table, as well as trays full of ice to keep cold food cold. This is no time to forget about food safety.

Whatever you decide to serve, remember that the best refreshments are those that can be prepared ahead of time, requiring a minimum of last-minute fuss.

As you plan the menu for your party, keep safety in mind and plan a good defense for your Superbowl party with four food safety tips from the USDA.

Clean. Wash hands and surfaces often with hot, soapy water. Because bacteria can grow well on the cut surface of fruits or vegetables, be careful not to contaminate these foods while slicing them up on the cutting board, and avoid leaving cut produce at room temperature for many hours. Use clean serving plates, utensils, etc.

Separate. Separate raw meat and poultry from cooked foods to avoid cross-contamination. Avoid crosscontaminating foods by washing your hands, utensils and cutting boards after they have been in contact with raw meat or poultry and before they touch another food. Put cooked meat on a clean platter, rather than back on one that held the raw meat.

Cook. When cooking, use a food thermometer to ensure raw meat and poultry are cooked to a safe internal temperature to destroy harmful bacteria that may be present.

Chill. Store leftovers in the cooler within two hours of taking the food off of the heat source.

It is essential that cold foods are kept cold and hot foods are kept hot. If you’re serving take-out foods such as fried chicken, barbecue or pizza, eat within two hours of purchase or refrigerate until you’re ready to serve. In addition, make certain that luncheon meats, pastas, tuna, chicken and potato salads are kept cold.

If you would like more information on keeping your Super Bowl party safe, contact the University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture in Miller County for your free copy of Feeding a Crowd? Do it Safely! You may visit our office In the Miller County Courthouse, call 870-7793609, or e-mail me at Chaley@uaex. edu. You can also follow me on Facebook.

Instead of the usual cheese dip and chips, this time serve Corn Dip. It can be ready in about 45 minutes and will make 6 cups, which should yield about 48 servings.

CORN DIP

1 (15 ounce) can white corn, drained

1 (15 ounce) can yellow corn, drained

1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers, drained

1 (8 ounce) package low-fat cream cheese, diced and softened 1/2 teaspoon chili powder 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder chopped fresh cilantro to taste 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350˚F. In a medium baking dish, mix all ingredients, except shredded cheese. Top with shredded cheese before baking for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Tried and True Tip: This can also be prepared and placed in a slow cooker. Just allow more cooking time. You may also want to sprinkle 1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese on the top 30 minutes before end of cooking time to allow it to melt.