Tasteful Tuesday

Smells good... Taste good... But is it good?? -J.Davis

Your going out to eat and you see that the restaurant of your pick has an "A" letter grade in the window. Are you going to eat there?? OF COURSE!!! An "A" should mean everything is in order as it should be. However, what if that grade was wrong? How would you know? The food might taste amazing and the decor is so inviting. We guess thats were the saying " looks can be deceiving" comes into play. Don't you worry- not all hope is lost for your favorite burger spot and you don't have to deny the smell of that Italian food the makes your mouth water anymore. 1stClassLadies are here to help you understand and know whats going on with your favorite food spots.

Letter grading came about in July of 2010 when New York city required that certain food establishments place their letter grades up that correspond with the sanitary inspection score they received. It was created to insured that not only did restaurants get high marks for food safety but so that they maintained them as well. Letter grades are giving to any establishment that is required to have a Health Department Permit such as most restaurants, bars, nightclubs, coffee shops, etc.
A restaurants score depends on how well it follows city/state food safety requirements which consist of:

• Food Handling
• Food Temperature
• Personal Hygiene
• Facility & Equipment Maintenance
• Vermin Control

Each violation earns a particular amount of points. The inspector will total the points at the end of the inspection. The lower the score the BETTER. The violations are then factored into three category:

• Public Health Hazard (7pts. minimum) This is for example when food temperature is not correct and if not fixed by the end of inspection the health department can shut down the restaurant until this problem is fixed.
• Critical Violation (5pts. minimum) Such as raw food being served without washing it first like salad.
• General Violation (2pts. minimum) like not cleaning cooking utensils the proper way.

Additional points can be added later to which will reflect extended violation conditions level from a 1 (the least) to a 5 (the most.) The numbers are then added and from that a scored is formed.

• 0-13 is an A
• 14-27 is a B
• 28 & up is a C

"Restaurants have two chances," health department spokeswoman Susan Craig said to pass an inspection. "The first inspection is not a graded inspection ... All initial inspections are non-graded inspections unless you get an ‘A,’ " meaning restaurants would need to have failed two inspections before their grade would be lowered. With that being said, you could be sitting in a restaurant with an 'A' letter grade but the establishment is NOT on an 'A' level. Of the city’s 24,000 restaurants, 69 percent had been issued an A, 15 percent a B and 4 percent a C as of July 1, 2011. So how many of those are REALLY on an 'A' level. The second inspections more often then so can take several weeks. "It’s due process," Craig added. "This is what the restaurant industry is asking for."

But what about us, the customers who eat and spend our money in these places? We deserve to know.The health department is trying to meet us there. Restaurants are required to post their letter grades within five feet of the entrance and four-to-six feet above ground, but 100 eateries couldn't follow these instructions. The remaining 700 restaurants didn't post them at all. So now its time to take matter into our own hands. You can now go to the health departments website, entering the restaurants name and zip code and find out what really is going on there.City spokeswoman Erin Hughes confirmed that "the Health Department is exploring the possibility of putting bar codes on restaurant letter grades that would take consumers directly to a restaurant's latest [inspection] results."They would simply hold their smartphones up to the placard and read off the applicable violations.
So before you step back into your favorite spot, make sure that its worthy of your money!!

                                                 Thats My kinda Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 (18 pound) whole turkey
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 quarts turkey stock
• 8 cups prepared stuffing

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Place rack in the lowest position of the oven.
2. Remove the turkey neck and giblets, rinse the turkey, and pat dry with paper towels. Place the turkey, breast side up, on a rack in the roasting pan. Loosely fill the body cavity with stuffing. Rub the skin with the softened butter, and season with salt and pepper. Position an aluminum foil tent over the turkey.
3. Place turkey in the oven, and pour 2 cups turkey stock into the bottom of the roasting pan. Baste all over every 30 minutes with the juices on the bottom of the pan. Whenever the drippings evaporate, add stock to moisten them, about 1 to 2 cups at a time. Remove aluminum foil after 2 1/2 hours. Roast until a meat thermometer inserted in the meaty part of the thigh reads 180 degrees F (80 degrees C), about 4 hours.
4. Transfer the turkey to a large serving platter, and let it stand for at least 20 to 30 minutes before carving.

*courtesy of allrecipes.com*