Food
Potluck starts about 1:00 pm
All food is served Banquet Family Style on the tables provided in the picnic areas. Everyone that is able contributes a food item whether it be hordoeuvres, main dishes, desserts or other wonderful food dish. Many people also bring plates, cups and utensils along with their food. If you can great, if not that is alright as well. We'll see you are taken care of.
Feel free to bring your Reunion recipes to share.
The 2008 Reunion we had 100 family members at the picnic. That's a lot of food, fun and laughter!
Food Safety Tips
- To make freezer packs for your coolers, make juice and pour into plastic pop bottles, leaving room at the top for expansion. Freeze, then add to your cooler. Saves space you get to drink it when its defrosted. Perfect for hot sunny days.
- As much as possible, keep coolers in the shade while at the picnic.
- Reheat precooked meats until steaming hot
- Clean preparation is essential. Wash hands and work areas; be sure all utensils are clean before preparing food.
- Take-out foods such as fried chicken or barbecued beef, eat them within two hours of pick-up or buy ahead of time and chill completely before packing the foods into the cooler.
- Pack foods in the cooler in the order opposite of how you'll be using them. In other words, pack the food you'll need last at the bottom and so on
- When preparing dishes like chicken or cooked meat salads, use chilled ingredients. In other words, make sure your cooked chicken has been cooked and chilled before it gets mixed with other salad ingredients.
- Don't pack coolers in the trunk, carry them inside the air-conditioned car.
- It's a good idea to use a separate cooler for drinks, so the one containing perishable food won't be constantly opened and closed.
- When preparing chicken, egg, or cold meat salads, or anything other recipes featuring mayonnaise, refrigerate it as soon as possible, and keep cold right up until packing time. Sometimes, I will even give these types of items an extra shot of cold by placing in them in the freezer for about 5-10 minutes before packing. This is just to insure they are extra cold, do not freeze mayonnaise item as it tends to separate.
- A cooler chest can also be used to keep hot food hot. Line the cooler with a heavy kitchen towel for extra insulation and place weel wrapped hot foods inside. It's amazing how long the foods will stay not only warm, but hot. Try to use a cooler that is just the right size to pack fairly tightly with hot food so less heat escapes
- Do not partially grill meat to use later. Once you begin cooking meat by any method, cook until completely done to assure that bacteria are destroyed.
- If there are leftovers, throw them out unless you can safely keep them chilled until you get home. If there is still ice in the cooler when you get home, the leftovers should be okay to eat. When in doubt, throw it out! I hate to be wasteful, but when it comes to food poisoning, it's better to be safe than sorry.
- To be sure bacteria are destroyed, cook hamburgers and ribs to 160 degrees F (medium doneness) or until the center is no longer pink and the juices are clear. Cook ground poultry to 165 F and poultry parts to 180 F
- Foods that are cooked ahead need to be completed in plenty of time to chill thoroughly in the refrigerator before being packed (unless, of course you are taking measures to transport and serve hot food). Use an insulated cooler with sufficient ice or ice packs to keep the food at 40°F or colder. Pack food from the refrigerator right into the cooler.
Source: Fabulous Foods
Food Handling Links
Cooking For Groups
Meat Preparation
Poultry Preparation
Egg Products Preparation
Seasonal Food Safety
Foodborne Illnesses