A Little Taste of Italy in Memphis

You know what I love about Memphis? I love the fact that we branch out to so many different cultures, and try to include everyone in the celebrations. There’s always so much going on, that you can hardly be bored in Memphis? What’s going on this week to keep you culturally inclined? Why, the Memphis Italian Festival of course.

For those that don’t know, the Memphis Italian Festival, held at beautiful and convenient Marquette Park in East Memphis, is a community celebration, demonstrating the values of family, faith and fellowship in the Italian-American tradition, for the benefit of the children of Holy Rosary Parish School.

There’s so much going on at this festival: arts and crafts, a cafe and wine garden, bocce tournaments, pizza tossing, and plenty of food concessions and music. I love food, especially Italian, so I’m pretty sure would be my  favorite part of the festival. The pizza tossing sounds interesting, and I’m a big fan of little crafts and knickknacks from around the world.

The festival starts this Thursday, June 3 at 5 pm, and continues through Sat. and Sun. at 11 am. Be sure to come out and experience the Italian-American culture for yourself!

So, We Have a Burger But No Restaurant?

Okay, Cheesecake Factory, what’s the deal? You have a Memphis Burger on the menu, but  you don’t have a restaurant here? Well, don’t we feel cheated. :-I From the few times that I have been to a Cheesecake Factory (mainly in GA when visiting friends), I’d say the food is pretty good. A little pricey for the quantity but good. The cheesecake is amazing, however, which kind of makes the name make sense.

FYI: Try the White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle if you get the chance. Words can’t describe the decadence of that cheesecake!

Back to the topic at hand, the cheesecake connoisseur has launched a new line of hamburgers called the Glamburger. The Memphis Burger is a beef patty topped with shredded pork, melted cheese, cole slaw, pickles, and mayo. I don’t get the reference, maybe the shredded pork and cole slaw are a BBQ reference??? Either way it goes, I don’t know if I’ll be ordering it the next time I’m in Cheesecake Factory.

Have you ever been to a Cheesecake Factory?

Photo credit: burgerbusiness.com

Meatless Mondays?

Where’s the beef? Well, it’s obviously not gracing some households’ plates on the first day of the week. Meatless Mondays is an increasingly popular trend for meat-eaters in which they cut out eating meat for a day for health and environmental reasons.

Why Monday? Well studies show that people are more likely to maintain behaviors begun on Monday throughout the week. Some school systems in Boston have even jumped on the Meatless Monday trend, to much criticism.

Though the proteins in meats are an important part of our diet, we don’t necessarily have to eat meat everyday. What do you think of this? Will you participate in Meatless Mondays?

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• It’s meatless Monday for some (cnn.com)

Southern Hot Wing Contest and Festival!

Okay! Now this sounds like something right up my alley! There’s nothing I like more than a good hot wing! Well, mild wings, because I can’t really take that “burn your tastebuds off” sauce. But at this festival, I think that’s the name of the game!

The 8^th Annual Southern Hot Wing Contest and Festival is being held at the South Main Arts District on South Main Street. If you want to compete, just fill out the eligibility form, and bring it to officials on April 17^th, the day of the Festival. They are only accepting the first 20 entries.

I don’t know how many I could eat, I doubt I’d get past one. How about you?

School Lunches: Bad Then, More Than Likely Worse Now

When I was in elementary school, I ate school lunches. I did all the way until my sophomore year of high school. After that, my friends and I would go to the Wendy’s down the street for lunch. The nutritional value of the foods was never what I considered when I would push my tray away; it was the taste.

Being that elementary school was a good bit of time ago for me, I don’t exactly remember the types of food that was served, but I DO remember that we used to have pizza every Friday. The pizza was always served with corn, a brownie, and a bag of chocolate milk. Now, I don’t know who’s bright idea it was to put milk in a bag and give it to a bunch of 5 -12 year olds, but let me tell you, there was guaranteed to be at least milk splotch on the wall by the end of the lunch period.

At times, the lunches were so bad that I would tell the cafeteria workers that I was allergic to certain ingredients just so I wouldn’t have to eat them. Sometimes this worked out in my favor and I would get something else on the menu, sometimes it kicked me in the head. For example, I once told the cafeteria ladies that I was allergic to cheese, and they happened to remember this little tid-bit of information, and gave me tuna casserole on pizza day. I went hungry that day. And little kids are brutal! I couldn’t get one person to share with me!

High school was slightly better. We had more options. If I didn’t want what was being served in the lunch line, I could go to a little kiosk on the other side of the cafeteria and get a decent chicken sandwich and cookies. (I had a lot of those). There were patterns I would recognize however: if we had spaghetti one day, the next day would bring nachos, and the next chili cheese fries.

However, I can honestly say that I haven’t eaten school lunch everyday for an entire year. A teacher in Illinois has taken on this task to protest the value and nutrition of school lunches. I think she’s very brave to face that food on a daily basis. She keeps track of each and every meal by pictures that she places on her blog. I just hope that people take notice.

How did you feel about your school lunches?

The 30 Worst Sandwiches in America

Don’t you just hate when these lists come out and your favorite sandwich is on there? Maybe even in the top 10? Or 5? Well in this list, one of my favorite sandwiches, the Chicken Caesar wrap from Chick-fil-A, is number 20. Why must everything that taste good be bad for you?!

At least with this list, instead of telling you that you’re slowly headed toward obesity, they give you an alternative sandwich or product at the same place, that’s just as good. For example, the alternative to my Chick-fil-A Chicken Caesar, the list the alternative as the Chargrilled Chicken Club Sandwich. I’ve had it before, and it’s pretty good. I would just prefer the Caesar. Apparently, if I want to watch my figure, I need to start eating wisely.

Smart eating isn’t fun for me. What about you? Is your favorite on the list? How do you go to your favorite restaurant and not eat your days worth of calories in one sitting?

Recipe of the Week: Smoked Salmon Alfredo

Hey Arbors River Oaks! Are you looking for something new to make for dinner with a little bit of a twist? Try this out and let me know how you like it!

Smoked Salmon Alfredo

Ingredients:

* 1/2 pound(s) fettuccine
* 2 tablespoon(s) (extra-virgin) olive oil
* 3 clove(s) (large) garlic, minced
* 8 ounce(s) (fresh) snow peas, stems trimmed
* 1 package(s) (8-oz. sliced ) mushrooms
* 1 whole(s) (roasted ) red pepper, sliced
* 1 1/2 cup(s) (heavy) cream
* 3 tablespoon(s) butter
* 8 ounce(s) (smoked sockeye) salmon, cut into 1-inch pieces
* 3 tablespoon(s) (chopped) fresh parsely
* 1 1/2 cup(s) (freshly grated ) Parmesan cheese
* 1 handful(s) (freshly ground) black pepper, optional

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and set aside. Meanwhile, heat large skillet over medium heat.
2. Add oil, garlic, snow peas, mushrooms and red pepper to skillet and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add heavy cream and butter; stir, then bring to a boil and cook until reduced slightly. Add salmon, parsley and salt, stirring. Add cooked pasta and 1 cup grated Parmesan; toss to coat evenly.
3. Spoon pasta onto warmed plates, and serve with remaining Parmesan and a few fresh grinds of black pepper, if desired.

Super Bowl Party Recipe for You to Try!

The big game’s coming up this weekend. Needs ideas for the huge shindig you’re throwing? Well here’s a recipe that’s sure to satisfy any Saints (or Colts) fan!

Chili and Cheese Shooters

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped 
• 1 15-ounce can kidney beans
• 1 10-ounce can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers
• 1 1.25-ounce package chili seasoning mix
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons chili powder, or to taste
•  1 cup beer, or more as needed
• 1 bag corn chips, for serving
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese, for serving

 

• In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, cook beef and onion until meat is brown. Stir in beans, diced tomatoes, chili seasoning, salt, pepper, chili powder and beer. Reduce heat and simmer 2 hours. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt and pepper if desired.
• Place a heaping teaspoon of chili on top of each corn chip and top with a sprinkling of cheese. Serve warm.