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Beef Association offers free roast brochure

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Staff and wire reports | Wednesday, December 13, 2006 1:16 AM CST | () comments

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is giving away a brochure with tips on cooking roasts.

Included in the pamphlet are tips and techniques on making the perfect beef roast, four seasoning rubs that will add flavor to your meat and timetables to ensure that your roast will be cooked to the doneness you prefer.

To order a free copy of “Beef Favorite ... Holiday Roasts,” send a self-addressed, stamped, business-size envelope to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Dept. FC-07403, P.O. Box 670, Bloomingdale, IL 60108-0670.

Tips to keep you eating healthy during holidays

The Association for Dressings and Sauces, or ADS, is offering tips on how to maintain healthy eating during the holiday season.

* Substitute chopped vegetables for some of the bread in your stuffing recipe.

* Offer vegetables in addition to traditional side dishes such as stuffing or mashed potatoes at your holiday meals.

* Bowls of fresh fruit are a festive and sweet substitute for candy or chocolates. Serve with one of the many fruit dips available at your local grocery store.

* For a flavorful turkey, baste with one of the many tangy or smoky sauces available on your grocery store shelves.

* Take that leftover turkey and make a delicious turkey salad. Add a few pieces of turkey to a generous portion of mixed greens, cucumbers, mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers or any other vegetables you like. Sprinkle with dried cranberries or nuts for that authentic holiday taste. Top it off with your favorite salad dressing.

Now’s the prime time for oranges, grapefruits

Orange (and grapefruit) season begins in November, peaks in mid-winter and draws to a close in May. Here’s how to pick good citrus when it’s fresh at the supermarket:

* Weight is the primary indicator of an orange’s quality. A fruit should feel heavy for its size. If it feels light, that’s probably because it’s dried out. The heavier, the juicier.

* Except for tangerines, the peel should be firm and tight with no soft spots. Loose peels may mean dry fruit; soft fruit is a sign of possible fermentation.

* Don’t judge an orange by its color; many oranges are dyed, and those that aren’t still don’t offer any reliable clues. That green patch one occasionally finds at the stem end, particularly on early-season oranges, is a sign that the fruit hasn’t been exposed to enough cold to break down chlorophyll, but it has no bearing on the taste.

* Citrus fruits don’t ripen after having been picked; what you see is pretty much what you get.