Mother's Day & Market Day

Since Mother’s Day became a national holiday in 1914, tradition suggests that it’s mom’s day off. But a Market Day online survey found that of those families that celebrate Mother’s Day at home, 38 percent of moms will prepare their own family’s Mother’s Day meal this year. The online survey was conducted with more than 945 respondents.

If you think the economy is contributing to the rise in keeping mom in the kitchen to conserve expenses, so far that does not seem to be the case. In fact, 73 percent of respondents indicated that the economy will not affect their Mother’s Day celebration this year at home. However, for the 27 percent who are feeling the economic pinch, 51 percent will not opt for restaurant dining or will go to a less expensive restaurant. This despite the fact that Mother's Day is the busiest day of the year for restaurants.

This is not to say that moms will be doing all the food preparation at home themselves since 34 percent will get help from family members, and 19 percent will enjoy their meal prepared by a spouse.

For moms who do prepare Mother’s Day meals, 42 percent prepare dinner, equal to the 42 percent that prepare a lunch/brunch.

A family-oriented trend is that 46 percent of moms indicated that in the past, their kids helped prepare a special meal for them on Mother’s Day. Of these kid-inspired meals, 62 percent served mom breakfast (45 percent were served in bed). Fourteen percent helped make dinner, while seven percent helped make a cake, cupcake or cookies.

Kid-prepared meals for mom seem to be a newer tradition, since only 39 percent of today’s moms say they prepared a meal for their own mothers. Most impressive, is that 73 percent of spouses or partners either played a very involved role or supervised the production of the meal. A brave 27 percent let their kids manage the entire preparation.

Mother’s Day continues to be a special time for women family members as evidenced by the 56 percent who consider the day a time for the women in their family to bond.





About Market Day

Market Day, the Original Fundraising Food Cooperative®, is the nation’s largest food fundraising company. In addition to its flagship monthly food program, Market Day offers a variety of fundraising options including a gift brochure, restaurant-quality desserts, beverages, cookie dough, and a gourmet food catalog. Market Day is dedicated to providing high quality products at a value, and its consultative approach provides custom fundraising solutions for organizations across the country. Since its inception over 30 years ago Market Day has helped raise more than $450 million for kids and communities. For more information visit www.marketday.com.



Join me on Saturday, March 28th at 11-2 at Citizen's Bank Park in Philadelphia for Gourmet Women & Wine. I will be signing copies of my best selling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking. Look forward to seeing you then..

Join Me April 4th at Whole Foods in Jenkintown for a book signing and The Basic Art of Italian Cooking Cooking Class-Cooking on A Budget! Email events@marialiberati.com


Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene
Maria
http://twitter.com/marialiberati
http://www.marialiberati.com/blog2

Slow Food, Slow Living

In the US we call it 'being frugal' but in Italy we call it the Slow Food movement . It is all about appreciating what you have and not wasting anything...a lot of the recipes come from the 'cucina povere' or peasant kitchen of Italy... healthy, authentic foods.
Here is one of my favorite recipes that was invented in Naples during the heyday of the cucina povere..Pizza Margherita
http://www.marialiberati.com/blog 2

Join me at the Gourmet Women & Wine Event on March 28th at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia from 11-2. I will be signing copies of my best selling book and sharing stories of my cooking school in Italy and culinary tours. For more info email us at events@marialiberati.com
Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene,
Maria

My Weekend with Pizza

This weekend we filled The Basic Art of Italian Cooking Kitchen here in Italy with the smell of pizza..follow our adventures here at http://www.marialiberati.com/blog2 and find many more tips on pizza making at http://tinyurl.com/djd29w

For more great recipes get your copy of the best selling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking at http://www.marialiberati.com

New Year's Day in Italy or PLEASE STOP FEEDING ME!

New Year's Day started off with a real bang from the fireworks in the piazza at 12 midnight and and lots of food ..of course!! You know I am in Italy. New Year's Eve began with one dinner of (for good luck) lentil soup, frittata di carciofi (Italian omelette made with artichokes), stuffed zucchini and peppers, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, fresh fruits and panettone.
The second dinner began at midnight.. it was a buffet not to be believed.. from lasagne, to roased vegetables and roasted chicken to any seasonal fresh fruits to panettone, pan d'oro and torrone but some wonderful Christmas specialties local to this region-Abruzzo- ferratelle or you may know them as pizzelle and sbriciolana (a cake I had heard about and never tasted). The top has cake crumbs on it that are arranged like bits of wool and the name sbriciolana means 'bits of wool'. Then of course champagne,prosecco, braccheto d'acqui...all popped opened up at 12 midnight..
Check back soon for a recipe for sbriciolana, it is now one of my favorite cakes..

The economy & its' problems have hit somewhat here in Italy too. Less people opted to go to organized dinners in expensive restaurants.This year was marked by dinners held in small neighborhood halls and family homes and the buffet courses were all home cooked..but no one really noticed the economy with all the delicious food to be had..as I looked around I realized that even if for one night we all felt rich!-With all this exceptional food, excellent wines & champagne ,great friends and family around...how could one help but not feel rich..Rich with good friends and family and thankful to have great food that we could all share with each other.
And today we have so many of these riches to enjoy for New Year's Day dinner..
Although I will be glad the long week of festa is over, I feel like screaming to anyone that will listen at the many hosted dinner events....PLEASE STOP FEEDING ME!! I can't eat anymore!
But then that artisan chocolate torrone is set out in front of me and I am under its' spell..