#Foodgram

Austin-based Jeanine Donofrio loves vegetables. She’s a veggie food blogger. Still, her blog and new cookbook bear the moniker Love and Lemons. Guess that sounds more a-peeling than Love and Broccoli.

High Five: Willy’s Trades $5 Coupons for $5 Donations to Boys & Girls Clubs during $21K in 21 Days through June 21

The second $21K in 21 Days race began June 1, but Willy’s Mexicana Grill Burritoheads can still run to their favorite Willy’s location to give and receive through June 21. For every $5 Willy’s guests donate to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta (BGCMA), they will take home a $5 coupon valid on a return visit through July 21. All that green goes toward funding the Healthy Lifestyles Positive Sprouts and Gardens program at the BGCMA Carver House and teaching kids about nutrition and daily physical activity. Eating healthily is easy at Willy’s, where veggies, salsa and guac are prepared fresh daily, and grilled chicken, beef and pork have never seen a freezer’s interior décor. Peek behind the burrito bar to see the fresh ingredients that go into Willy’s burritos, tacos, quesadillas and salads.

Search for Your Lost Shaker of Salt at The Big Ketch Buckhead Margaritaville Beach Bash June 12

Engulfed in beach vibe, swaying out to a Jimmy Buffet cover band, downing $5 margaritas and $3 Coronas and eating a $5 quarter-pound cheeseburger…it’s paradise. Who cares if you can’t locate that lost shaker of salt? The Big Ketch Saltwater Grill Margaritaville Beach Bash is Buckhead’s little corner of paradise on Sunday, June 12. Party surfs from 2-6 p.m.

Lick Quickly! Seed Churns at Slow Food Ice Cream Social, Chilling Peachtree Road Farmers Market June 11

Slow Food Atlanta’s 10th annual Ice Cream Social transforms Child Hall at The Cathedral of St. Philip into one giant ice cream parlor on Saturday, June 11 between the hours of 12:30-2:30 p.m. Grab your special spoon and prepare to sample the plethora of traditional and creatively flavored homespun ice creams and sorbets that renowned local chefs and ambitious amateurs will crank out for the big chill. House-made ice cream and sorbets are staples on the dessert menu at Seed Kitchen & Bar in Marietta. No telling what Seed owner/chef Doug Turbush will dish out, but it’s guaranteed to be melt-in-your-mouth delish. Scooping up tickets in advance is a must-do for this cream-of-the-crop fundraiser: $15 per adult, $5 per child (plus small service fee). Event proceeds support the work of Slow Food Atlanta and Peachtree Road Farmers Market.

What do Lobster and Lavender Have in Common? The Big Ketch Lobster Rolls Rock at 6th Annual Roswell Lavender Festival June 11

There are lobsters in the sweet-smelling pot-pourri of lavender-centric activities at the sixth annual Roswell Lavender Festival blooming Saturday, June 11 on the grounds of historic Barrington Hall. Roswell’s The Big Ketch Saltwater Grill and Gate City Brewing Company are pairing up to anchor a booth amid the food trucks where guests can buy lobster rolls and lavender beer. Set claws on those goodies before watching demonstration classes, exploring aromatherapy at the Zen Zone and sampling lavender-laced foods such as cookies, popsicles, bread pudding, fudge and both honey and lemon lavender ice cream. Live music, vendors selling arts, antiques, foods and garden goodies, yoga and children’s activities stock this 10 a.m.-5 p.m. field of fun.

Milton’s Sets the Long Table in Milton’s Acre for Garden Dinner June 12

Ditch the pitchfork because only dinner forks will successfully wield every home-grown morsel to mouth when Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails hosts this month’s Garden Dinner on Sunday, June 12 at 6 p.m. Executive chef Derek Dollar relies on Milton’s Acre, the backyard garden area, for seasonal ingredients and menu inspiration. Upon arrival at the historic Crabapple restaurant, guests will mingle at a reception featuring libations and passed hors d’oeuvre of zucchini bread toasts with Asiago and ricotta-yellow squash spread and grilled citrus shrimp and heirloom cherry tomato skewer. Touring Milton’s Acre is sure to be a conversation starter carrying over to the communal dinner table where guests sit down like peas in a pod for a four-course dinner. Served family style, the menu opens with chilled zucchini and cucumber noodles with red satin radish, English peas, yellow squash ricotta, Marcona almonds, sundried tomato and herb white balsamic vinaigrette. Summer vegetable lasagna with arugula-pistachio pesto follows. Honey-braised pork shanks with honey-chipotle glaze are next, accompanied by summer squash bread-and-butter pickles, apple slaw, Silver Queen corn and edamame succotash. A dreamy dessert caps the meal -- banana pudding ice cream sandwich. Buy nonrefundable tickets online; $135 per person, including wine, tax and gratuity. Upcoming Sunday Garden Dinner dates are July 17, August 21, September 18 and October 9.

Smokebelly BBQ Cues Up Anniversary Party Number Two June 11

Smokebelly BBQ in Buckhead is turning two, and like any two year old, the place is barreling full throttle into party mode, eager to have some fun. The Saturday, June 11 party begins at 4 p.m., and porky pickings are especially good for on-time barbecue lovers. Smokebelly divvies out free, succulent servings of a whole hog roast until 5 p.m. or while the grub lasts. Toast the occasion with $5 Tito’s mule and well drinks or $3 drafts of Bud Light and Miller Lite. Get your yeehaw on with the Sandy Creek Band out on the patio from 5-9 p.m. and keep those toes tapping when DJ Mynd moves the music inside from 8 p.m-12 a.m.

“Top Chef” Fave and Gilbert’s Underground Kitchen Chef Kenny Gilbert is Gunshow “Hired Gun” June 12-13

The 2016 “Hired Guns” series at Gunshow packs heat with a powerfully hot guest chef roster. Bryan Voltaggio and Vishwesh Bhatt have already stirred the pot, and June opens the kitchen to chef Kenny Gilbert of Gilbert’s Underground Kitchen in Fernandina Beach, Florida, on Sunday, June 12 and Monday, June 13. “Top Chef” fans are already keen on Gilbert, who became one of the most likeable contestants in the show’s history during season seven. Most recently, he championed in The Food Network’s “Beat Bobby Flay.”Gilbert has cheffed for the five diamond The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, the G8 Summit, “The Today Show,” the Sports Illustrated Super Bowl party, the James Beard House and for numerous celebrities. Gilbert will buddy up with chefs Kevin Gillespie and Joey Ward to prepare his innovative blend of traditional and tropical dishes, and they’ll have his back when he takes a kitchen break to hobnob with dining room guests. Read more about Gilbert on our blog. To save seats, buy tickets online; $95 per person (not including drinks, tax and gratuity). Seatings sell out so snag them while you can.

Sip & Savor to Benefit LLS with The Southern Gentleman, Gypsy Kitchen and More at The Shops Buckhead Atlanta June 7

Slowing down to Sip & Savor at The Shops Buckhead Atlanta Center Plaza beats coming to a halt in stop-and-go traffic any weeknight, especially when the three hours between 6-9 p.m. involve eating, drinking, retail experiences and live music. And, it’s all for a great cause, aiding the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) in its mission to find a cure for blood cancer while improving the quality of life for patients and their families. Gypsy Kitchen, The Southern Gentleman and other eateries at The Shops Buckhead Atlanta will offer food demonstrations and tastings, drink stations, hand-crafted cocktails and Champagne at the Tuesday, June 7 event.Tickets are $50 per person, and proceeds will be donated to LLS. 

Appetizing Aperture

Can’t wait to get our claws on the lobster taco at Tin Lizzy’s Cantina. Beer-battered lobster, honey-chipotle sauce and bacon-cilantro slaw fill your choice of flour, whole wheat or corn tortilla. Order one for $5.99 or add a lobster taco to “The Trifecta” of any three tacos, served with rice and beans ($9.99, $2 upcharge per lobster taco).

What’s New on Pinterest

As Southerners, we think we know a thing or two about iced tea. Come to find out it’s deeper than sweet or unsweet. June is National Iced Tea Month, and we’re devoting our Time for Tea board to the ocean of iced teas out there. Perfect sweet tea is at the top of the list along with easy fridge-brewed iced tea. Then there are the minted green teas such as matcha, honey and blackberry and fruity blends like five-minute raspberry, Hawaiian pineapple and orange vanilla. Vegan Thai iced tea with coconut milk proves the whole iced tea thing goes beyond our borders. Love them all. Guess that makes us tea-totalers.

School’s NOT Out for Summer at Bellina Alimentari. June Culinary Club Classes are in Session

Permission granted to put down the textbooks. Bellina Alimentari cooking classes are hands on, interactive and involve tasting instead of testing. View the list of June class offerings online and knead in some new-found knowledge. Click on each class below for more information and registration. Sales tax added at checkout.
 
Negroni Class, 6:30-7:30 p.m. on June 7 ($28)
Introduction to Fermentations, 6-7:30 p.m. on June 8 ($28)
Orpheus Beer Tasting, 6:30-7:30 p.m. on June 21 ($32)