Roast Beef 101

What's Happening

Grafton's Concert -- 7-9 p.m. today, The Grove Memorial Park, Main and Market streets, Grafton. Free. Jason "Gordo" Gordon, classic rock and folk. Bring a can of food to donate to the Grafton Food Pantry and get a free glass of lemonade.

Arts in the Park -- 8 p.m., Friday, Edwardsville's City Park bandstand. Free performance by Funky Butt Brass Band. 692-7538.

Swansea Concert -- 7 p.m., Friday, June 17, Schranz Memorial Park, 377 Honeysucke Lane, Swansea. Featuring The Belleville Community Band. Free. Hosted by the Swansea Chamber of Commerce.

Granite City Big Band -- 6-8 p.m., Friday, American Legion, 1022 Vandalia St., Collinsville. Front lawn, weather permitting.

Bluegrass -- 3-8 p.m., Saturday, Woodland Park, Collinsville. Free admission. Live performances by David Parmley and Continental Divide, Jerry Butler and The Blu-J's, Lonesome Road, The Harman Family, plus an All-Star mega jam session. Sponsored by Collinsville Area Recreation District. Free.

Free Carillon Concerts -- 2-3:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, Centralia Carillon Tower, 114 North Elm, downtown Centralia. Saturday's featured artists: Vera Wunsche and Trevor Workman, of Bourneville, Great Britain. Sunday's artists: Sue Bergren, of Naperville, and Carlo van Ulft, of Centralia. Free guided tours of the carillon both days.

Benld Concert -- 7-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Benld City Park. Band: The Fundamentals, pop/rock, oldies, rhythm and blues, Motown, country jazz and party classics. Free. Concession stand.

Music on Main -- 4:30-7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Public Square, downtown Belleville. Bring a chair, Free. Features Big Boss Blues Band.

Rock Concert -- 6:15-9:30 p.m. Wednesday, Miner Park, Glen Carbon. Bands: Juvenile Delinquents, Victory Friday, C'est La Vie, Exit 12, Equal Squeeze and Mellow Ds. Free.

Edwardsville Band -- 8 p.m. Sunday, Cleaon Etzkorn Bandstand by the Library, 112 S. Kansas St., Edwardsville. Featuring the Edwardsville Municipal Band under the direction of James Kerfoot. This weeks program features a Dixieland Band playing "Jazz Me Blues," "Ballin' the Jack" and more. Free. Bring chairs for seating. Concession stand at intermission operated by the League of Women Voters.

Dance

Swing Dance -- Sunday, Collinsville VFW. Lessons from 6-7 p.m., with DJ to 10 p.m. Partner not required. $7 guests. www.musicwingdance.com.

Square & Round Dance -- 7 p.m., Friday, Caseyville Township Building, 10001 Bunkum Road, Fairview Heights. Features Bud Cutter, caller, Dixie Fehrmann-Lohse, cuer. Ice cream float night. Sponsored by Dandy Dancers. Monte Wilhelm 538-7887 or Gil Topp 398-0239.

Life of a Farm Girl: Beef 101

For a Grilling Steak try Porterhouse, T-Bone, Sirloin, Strip Loin, Rib Eye or Inside Round steaks. They are best cooked over high heat like on a grill. For a Marinating Steak, try Round Steak, Sirloin Tip, Eye of Round, Flank and Skirt Steak. They are slightly tougher in texture, therefore benefit from marinating before grilling. For a Simmering Steak, try Blade, Brisket or Cross Rib Steaks. They are best cooked on low heat to increase tenderness. Oven Roasts, try Sirloin Tip Round, Eye of Round Oven Roast, Outside Round, or Inside Round. Pot Roasts, try a Blade, Shoulder or Top Blade. They are suitable for slow cooking methods. Rotisserie Roasts are cut for the barbecue, cook roasts either on a rotisserie or directly on grill using indirect heat method. Try either Prime Rib Roast or Top Sirloin Roast. Stewing Meat - usually can be purchased already cut into cubes, is best cooked using a slow, moist heat method. On those cold winter days, a pot of stew with a bun really hits the spot!

Thank you for commenting, what a great question! It is safe to eat steak rare as long as the kitchen utensils used are kept clean or use clean plates after touching the raw meat and having it cooked. A study done by University of Nottingham scientists was able to prove this. You can check out the full story at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3743657.stm. Born and raised on a farm in southern Alberta. I am an avid agricultural enthusiast and loves all things agriculture! In addition to grain farming, my family also has a herd of predominantely Angus cross cows and I have a small herd of purebred black and red Angus cows. Through this blog, I hope to show you what it is like living on a farm and advocate for the industry that is such a large part of my life - agriculture!

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