Though summer doesn’t officially hit until June 21, Memorial Day weekend has always been the unofficial start of summer in my book. That’s because the local swimming pool opens and I start eating lots and lots of grilled food! But do you know what Memorial Day is really about?

This holiday is observed on the last Monday of May and commemorates all the United States women and men who have died in military service. Usually, we host a small BBQ at my house or at my aunt’s every Memorial Day. We’re still debating if we’re going to do it this year since my grandmother passed away last week, but I still want to give you a fabulous meal planner to get you ready!

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Now that warm weather is finally hitting Chicago (yay!) I’ve started thinking about picnics, barbecues, and all kinds of summer food!  There are certain foods that I always have to eat every year, and I’m going to share them, plus my favorite recipes for making them, with you! Read the rest of this entry »

In a recent trip to Kansas City, I had the opportunity to try the very cuisine the Midwestern city is famous for: their barbecue! If you like dousing your food with lots of sauce like me, you’ll love Kansas City BBQ – a city and a cuisine that is more than liberal when it comes to sauce. Here in Chicago, we have various barbecue joints like Carson’s Ribs or Smoke Daddy BBQ but nothing near as fun or as tasty as Gates BBQ, a famous Kansas City barbecue chain.

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