Cheesy

I love cheese. If you put bread and cheese on the table and you could only pick one, I'd pick cheese, hands down. A few weeks ago, I got the opportunity to taste compare Sargento Cheese and any other processed cheese I wanted, just to see if their's was up to snuff. 

One of my favorite meals was the Plowman's Lunch at the Biltmore Estate. Seeing this cheese, I wanted to recreate that when some friends came over, just to see what they thought. I didn't tell them which was which to see what they said. 

They chose the left one, which happened to be the Sargento Swiss, over another brand. You can even tell the difference in the color! It just looks more natural.

Thanks Sargento for letting me taste test for you guys!

[I gotta tell you that I received this product for free to try via the Foodbuzz Tastemakers Program. I thank them for all they do!]

DC: A Recap

I've been back in Jackson from DC for about a week and a half and I have to say, uploading these photos makes me miss it. It's such a great city with so much to do! I know I haven't even scratched the surface of everything there is to do.

One of the things I was really excited to see was my dog child, Ballot, when I got to Sital's office. How sweet is this?

 That night, Sital and I may have had one of the most wonderful dinners I've ever had at Bistrot Du Coin. 

 We started off with the salmon tartine, which was wonderful. 

 Then, the real meal started. A pot of steamed mussels and a cast iron pot filled with nothing but sauteed mushrooms. It was amazing.

 Walking back around Dupont Circle and trying to digest, we talked into this interesting tea shop with so many different flavors of tea. I could have spent so much time and money in there.

The next day, we got up and walked to Eastern Market. I've never seen such a vibrant farmer's market. The colors of everything, like the different varieties of heirloom tomatoes was beautiful. The good thing about Eastern Market is that you know all of the restaurants around the market are going to have good produce straight from these stands. 

 After walking around the market, we sat down for breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien. I had to have my coffee fix, so I ordered an iced latte. Didn't disappoint.

 We struggled what to get, but I decided on the french toast. Just look at how beautiful...

When I came to DC, I said there was only one thing that I cared to see and it was the Newseum. Until the end of this week, the museum has an exhibit dedicated to the coverage of Katrina and how newspapers in South Mississippi and New Orleans were able to cover the storm after the hurricane. Going to USM, I had to go see it because I've seen, heard, and met many of these people while in college, so it was really cool to see.

 Right outside the exhibit on the balcony was a great view of the Capitol.

After walking through the six levels of the museum for a few hours, it was time for lunch. Not just any lunch... Founding Farmers. Because I don't want to leave anything out about how great they are, check out their website. We may have had a four hour lunch their without even noticing. This is why...

 My chicken pot pie. Perfect.

 Sital got the Southern Plate with chicken, waffles, and mac and cheese. She said it was great.

I'll definitely go back next time I'm in town.

Somehow after walking back to Sital's place and taking a much needed nap we ventured out for a little something to eat (again). This time, we tried Sticky Rice, a neat Asian restaurant a few blocks from her house.

I tried the curry fried rice, which was perfect and spicy, just the way I like it.

I could go on and on about how wonderful it was. I can't wait to visit again!

Busy

As I'm sure most of you know (or notice), I can't seem to slow down. Honestly, I like it that way, so there's no end in sight. But, it means that I definitely don't cook as much at home. Maybe once or twice a week (if I'm lucky), but with everything going on, I just don't have time to grocery shop or cook as much as I like. So, when the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program asked me if I'd like to try the new Birds Eye Voila! frozen meals, I eagerly said, "Yes!"

It's a meal in itself- the pasta, veggies, chicken and sauce are all there for you. All you've got to do is put in a skillet with 1/3 cup of water and you're good to go! After a day at work, workout and yoga class, I wasn't in the mood to make something from scratch. Voila, here this was to save the day (They may be on to something?).

I have to admit, I was worried that being pre-packaged would mean it wouldn't be fresh or it would taste too salty. Not true. I even had leftovers for lunch today, which I think tasted even better.

[Gotta tell you that I did receive the meal for free via the Tastemakers Program, but it did taste great. I'd consider these again.]

Big Apple Inn

I ate a pig ear sandwich this week. I know, I know. You're thinking I'm crazy. Maybe I am, but all I have to say is, Anthony Bourdain's got nothing on me. [Don't tell him I told you that, because then he might go crazy on me like he did Paula Deen]

I've eaten the pig ear sandwich once before, when I first started working at my job and people told me I just had to try it once. So, now it was my turn to tell somebody they just had to try it. 

So, watch and enjoy...

PM Taco

Pop-up restaurants are a niche market. Mostly, and maybe it goes without saying, because they are a quick one day jaunt away from the usual menu where restaurants get to be different, if not a little whimsical. Jackson restaurants have just started to scratch the surface of the limitless possibilities of pop-up restaurants and PM Taco, a pop-up restaurant for Parlor Market did not disappoint yesterday.

By noon, tacos were calling my name. Being a block away, a few of us from the office gladly skipped over. Tables were full, so we found three seats at the bar. We were quickly served drinks, salsa, and guacamole.

What did we get? A lot of food. Parlor Market can be on the expensive side, but each taco order only ran $7-$8. While I cannot tell you everything in the tacos, we did order the Big Mac, Pulled Chicken, and Blue Mountain Oyster tacos. Each was great all it's own. We also sampled the black eyed peas, which weren't my favorite, but as I've said before, I'm not a big fan of black eyed peas.

Pulled Chicken Tacos

Because I saw more on the menu we wanted to try and I happened to see them mixing up the sangria behind the bar at lunch, I just had to go back for dinner. Thank goodness my gym is also across the street, so I was able to work out before I went back, right? Right.

The wait was MUCH longer for dinner. The crowd, especially around the bar, was a little crazy. Our group grabbed drinks and headed outside to hear the band while we waited.

When we finally got seated, I knew what I wanted to try: The Gyro Taco. Lamb, pearled cous cous, and feta wrapped in pita. I'm still thinking about it. I was nervous ordering it, but it was hands down my favorite. If Parlor Market ever puts this on their regular menu or decides to venture into taco trucks, this would be my regular order.

Here's a hat tip to Parlor Market for making pop-up restaurants work in Jackson. Sure, there are bumps along the way and big crowds to feed, but that's exactly why Jackson needs restaurants to push us into uncharted culinary boundaries. I can't say it enough: People are ready for good food. It's also why I'm waiting patiently for that Gyro Taco to go on their regular menu.

Happy Birthday!

You know my family loves to get together for no other reason than to get together and birthdays are just one of those times you've got to have dinner as a family. This weekend we had a birthday celebration for my sister cousin, Cary!

This cake was amazing in a I-should-ever-ever-eat-this kind-of way. Ignore that fingerprint in the icing...

Happy birthday, Cary!

Of course, the McNeil's had to draw on our stars. One of these days, we'll all have these on permanently...

I hope you had a great weekend!

Cosmopolitan Cafe

There's a new kid in town and I like it. I like it a lot. So much so, I've even lunch there two days in a row. It's name is Cosmopolitan Cafe (Part of Cosmopolitan Catering by Macy) and it's right in the heart of Fondren.

I have to admit, my first time in yesterday was out of necessity because our organization was writing about them for our advertorial of the week, so needless to say, we've got to try the product. Boy, was it good.

The menu is fairly simple: a few plate lunches where you pick a meat and two sides. The hard part: choosing which one because they all sound so good.

I settled on the poppy seed chicken, broccoli salad and sweet and sour green beans. Everything was so flavorful. While I was worried about it all being too heavy, I didn't feel bogged down at the end like I sometimes do with Southern-style meals.

 We had to try the dessert. All of them in fact. Banana pudding, chocolate chess pie and strawberry shortcake. I was skeptical that the chess pie could match the recipe my family holds dear, but I was impressed. Macy said herself she uses her family's recipe and I think it's a winner.

After telling the office, more people wanted to go today. This time, I tried the meatloaf, corn salad and sweet and sour green beans (because I may or may not have dreamed about them).

If you need a good, quick lunch, this is the place to go. If you need a casserole to pop in the oven after work or a dip for a party, Macy's got that too. Tell her I sent you.