Set out the compostable plates, light the citronella Tiki torches and turn on the Bluetooth speakers, July is National Picnic Month. Whether you’re picnicking in your own backyard or packing a cooler for an outdoor lunch or dinner destination, you’ll find oodles of Perfect for Picnics ideas and recipes on our Pinterest board. Take a stab at assembling wedge salad or Cuban sandwiches on a stick, walking tacos, mini lasagna cups and individual seven-layer dips. For more hand-helds, slice spiraled turkey, spinach and cranberry spread pinwheels, tie pressed Italian sandwiches or turn out a platter of BLT sliders with vine-ripe tomatoes. Basket case? In the most delicious way.
“Top Chef” alum Kevin Gillespie and his own top chef flankers Joey Ward of Gunshow and Andreas Müller of Revival go three deep teaching the July 11 Simple Abundance class“Cooking with Red Beard” at The Cook’s Warehouse Midtown. Eager learners and Atlanta Community Food Bank supporters will learn how to prepare home-cooked dishes from Gillespie’s popular cookbook “Fire in My Belly.” On the board: cornbread pancakes with sliced Brandywine tomatoes and bacon mayonnaise, kung pao Brussels sprouts, and roasted chicken with golden raisin and sweet onion jus with spring greens. The red-bearded chef will stay after class to autograph his cookbooks. Bring yours or buy one or more that evening. To attend the 7-9 p.m. class, buy tickets on the ACFB website or call 404-892-3333 ext. 1444; $65 per person.
Imparting superior taste and nutrition, enjoying a humane, less stressful life and leaving a positive environmental footprint are a few of the outstanding characteristics of pastured poultry. Georgia’s fifth-annual Pastured Poultry Week, July 11-18, shines the spotlight on these happy, sustainably raised campers and their poultry prowess. Restaurants across the state are flocking to join in by featuring pastured poultry on their menus. Here in the metro area, wing it to Aria, Bellina Alimentari, Gunshow, Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails and Seed Kitchen & Bar to gobble specialty dishes centered on pastured poultry.
Those hungry to learn more can attend the White Oak Pastures Pastured Poultry class at Bellina Alimentari on Monday, July 11. Bellina’s own chef Gizzy Barton will demo how to break down and cook a whole chicken during the 6:30-8 p.m. class. Buy tickets online. As they say, a pastured bird in the hand is, well, going to be delicious.
Instead of sweating out broiling hot summer days and nights, give thanks. According to the HOBNOB Summer Forkcast, HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern guests enjoy 20 percent off food and drink when the temperature rises to 90 degrees Fahrenheit or above. Stipulations apply: HOBNOB-ers must mention Summer Forkcast to their server to redeem; cannot be combined with any other offers. Sweat beads dissipate when confronted with frosty brews, chillin’ cocktails or your favorite tall iced beverage in HOBNOB’s air-conditioned comfort or sunset-savvy outdoor patio. Go withs? The Midtown watering hole serves crisp salads such as the BLT, the BASE, Mother Nature and tomato and burrata with the upcharge option of adding shrimp, grilled chicken, steak or salmon. Guac, pico de gallo, Colby Jack cheese, HOBNOB beer cheese and sour cream temper spicy chili on Mother Lode nachos. A duo of hummus and goat cheese spreads with carrots, celery and fresh baked pizza crust points are another cool app to share. Of course, those wanting more heat can savor chicken wings with hot or Asian sweet and spicy sauce (milder sauces available). And it’s just not summer in the South without biting into a fried green tomato BLT. Seriously.
Focus. Or have a friend do the honors of snapping a picture of you biting into your bodacious burger during the “Burger & Brews” celebration at Marlow's Tavern. Your pixels might win a dinner for four ($100 value) if you submit it to The Big Burger Bite contest using the Marlow's Facebook form or #MarlowsBurgerBite to post on Instagram and Twitter. Friends' mouths will water when they witness your burger joy and juicy drips on your chin -- and maybe they'll dash over to join you...especially if you win the prize. Entries accepted until July 19.
Chef, restaurateur, speaker and author Kevin Gillespie will join Mara Davis and Steven Carse (King of Pops) to judge a midday team competition for Quality Care for Children. As part of the organization’s July 8 Health and Field Day at Trinity Presbyterian Church on Atlanta’s Westside, teams composed of two adults and 10 children each will go toque to toque, “Top Chef”-style, to create nutritious and innovative dishes. The catch is Play-Doh stands in for real ingredients! Quality Care for Children focuses on creating excellence in child care and early learning by providing quality training and resources to child care providers and ensuring affordable, quality care for early learning experiences.
Fill your guac tank with real fuel food this summer, and you could win free burritos for a year. Accept Willy’s challenge and visit 27 Willy’s Mexicana Grill locations before August 14 (not counting the soon-to-open Lawrenceville location). Stash all those receipts in a handy place -- they’ll serve as a sort of passport stamp, recording your purchase at each stopover. After collecting a receipt from each Willy’s, email community@willys.com to pass along the good news and set up a time to show off those receipts to the Willy’s team. For fun, post a social selfie “wishing you were here” or “greetings from” each time you swing through a different Willy’s location. Use #WillysRoadTrip to help build one giant social scrapbook. Why take on the challenge? Prizes! The first five fans to complete the tasty task will win free burritos for a year (a.k.a. 52 free burrito cards). An additional $50 gift card will be awarded to travelers who visit the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta
International Airport location as an extra 28th stop on their adventure. Other prizes include a catered party with the Willy’s food truck and an opportunity to go burrito-to-burrito in a roll-off against Willy himself for a grand prize. So what are you waiting for? Keep this list of Willy’s locations open by your map app:http://www.willys.com/locations. Hit the road, Jack (and Jane), and do drive safely. The car in front of you also may brake for burritos.
Stem Wine Bar pays homage to the homeland this month, going firecrackers over wines from the U.S.A. From east to west and north to south, our spacious skies shine on grapevine trellised hills as well as those amber waves of grain. Owner/chef Doug Turbush prepares six small bite plates to harmoniously unite with sommelier Chris McNeill’s selections of wines. It’s your patriotic duty to meet these all-American wines in Stem’s unpretentious and fun atmosphere. Wednesday night wine tastings begin at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $40 each (plus $3.19 service fee; gratuity added at in-store checkout). Seats are limited. Click on the date to buy tickets online: July 13, July 20, July 27.
Raise the flag (cake). Light the night with glow cotton candy. Shoot off “fire rocket” cocktails. Our 4th of July board is red, white and blue to the core and absolutely the place to muster up party plans, patriotic decorations, Old Glory-themed treats and timesaving BBQ hacks for kitchen independence, such as skewer doers and make-ahead shrimp boil foil packets. When air and grill temperatures rise, douse them with doses of spiked iced tea for grownups and fizzy watermelon ice cream floats and patriotic punch for the young ‘uns. And this might seem like an American folktale, but it’s true and beaming on our board: a Paula Deen fast-and-easy peach cobbler recipe calling for only two tablespoons of butter for each cup of fresh peaches.
Break out of summer’s pizza at the pool or patio and opt for the air-conditioned comfort of culinary learning experiences at Bellina Alimentari in Ponce City Market. Browse and click on the following offerings to save your seat. Sales tax added at check out.
How will boxed pasta find its way into the grocery cart after participating in Bellina’s hands-on Pasta Making class? Taste your freshly made pasta and take some home. Offered Thursday, July 7 from 7-8:30 p.m. and Tuesday, July 26 from 6:30-8 p.m. ($45 per class).
White Oak Pastures wings up from Bluffton to lead a Pastured Poultry class during Pastured Poultry Week. Discover the delicious health and environmental virtues of these free-to-be birds and watch as chef Gizzy Barton demos how to break down and cook a whole chicken; Monday, July 11, 6:30-8 p.m. ($32).
Mama, Mia! Let’s plan, shop for, prepare and eat An Italian Meal. Source fresh, local ingredients while touring the Ponce City Farmers Market with Kenan Hill, shop for artisanal Italian ingredients at The Market at Bellina, then cook and eat a family style meal. Tuesday, July 12, 6:30-8 p.m. ($45).
Get a charge out of charcuterie when Kevin Ouzts from The Spotted Trotter leads guests through a guided tasting of four cured meats paired with natural Italian wines on Wednesday, July 13, 6:30-7:30 p.m. ($28).
Bond over dough-drenched fingers while cracking eggs, mixing and rolling out pasta and relishing the results with your 8-12 year-old youngster at Kids Kitchen on Tuesday, July 19, 5:30-6:30 p.m. ($45 covers parent and child).
Explore some of Italy’s finest natural wines paired with local, artisanal cheeses on a guided 3 Wine 3 Cheese tasting tour on Wednesday, July 20, 6:30-7:30 p.m. ($28)
Summer Sauces really pan out as a way to lightly enliven meals on hot summer nights when Bellina Alimentari chef Gizzy Barton shows students how to make three easy sauces and how to cook the perfect pasta. Sampling the trio of dishes is encouraged at this class on Thursday, July 21, 6:30-7:30 p.m. ($38).
An Introduction to Amaro familiarizes guests with amari, herbal spirits that have been a longtime part of Italian culture. Visiting friends this summer? Italians often present a local amaro as a host gift. Light bites from Bellina’s kitchen accompany spirited tasting on Wednesday, July 27, 7-8:30 p.m. ($28).
