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Welcome back to Table Talk, where The Daily Memphian’s food and dining editor Jennifer Biggs sends the latest food news (along with a dash of this and that) to subscribers every Wednesday.
It’s four days until Christmas, and if you still have gifts to buy, ugh: You could place your online orders and hope your package is one that escapes the impending “bomb cyclone” — this once-in-a-generation weather phenomenon bearing down on us.
Or you could go mainstream shopping. Stand in line and enjoy dealing with people who are frantically trying to buy just one more perfect gift and make it home without getting mowed down on the streets, and before our temperature plunges to single digits. That sounds like fun: Go face humanity at its finest.
Or ... how about you give experiences instead of things?
 The Science of Beer event takes place Friday, Jan. 13. (The Daily Memphian file)
The Science of Beer is coming up at Museum of Science and History on Friday, Jan. 13, and it’s really a super event. Beer people are fun, and the Pink Palace will be full of them, from brewers to drinkers to educators, when Science of Beer rolls around.
There will be roughly two dozen, mostly local, breweries there to pour several beers each and about 15 food vendors ranging from Gus’s to Elwood’s to Garibaldi’s to Frost Bake Shop. Drink, eat, socialize and learn something, too — that’s the science part. Tickets are $50 for general admission and $70 for VIP; you can click here and buy from the comfort of your cozy chair.
Cooking classes? They’re always appreciated, and they’re missed, too — a real casualty of COVID. But they’re back at Melissa Cookston’s BBQ Allstars store in Southaven, and they’re not all barbecue classes (though you better believe some of them are). Winter 2023 classes start Saturday, Jan. 14, with Cookston teaching you how to cook pork, including ribs, and there’s a class roughly every week: Charcuterie, lamb, sous vide, grilled seafood and more. Classes are about $50 to $130, depending on the length and what you’re cooking. You get to eat, of course. Click here to sign up.
Kelly English resumes online cooking classes in January. It’s four cooking classes — Jan. 5, 9, 12 and 24 — for $100, and Inge Theeke, his pastry chef, teaches the last one. Click here to purchase for a gift (or yourself) and for all the information.
 Old Dominick’s products make great local last-minute gifts. (The Daily Memphian file)
No? OK, a few more ideas. If you just have to shop, treat yourself kindly and go to Winter Arts, this year at 1213 Ridgeway Road in Park Place Centre, where you can relax while you browse; click to get an idea of what’s there through Christmas Eve.
Or go to a liquor store and buy some local spirits. There’s a line of Old Dominick products, from gin to vodka to bourbon and Tennessee whiskey; click here and put in your zip code to find the liquor store closest to you.
B.R. Distilling’s Blue Note Juke Joint Uncut was recently named the seventh-top whiskey of 2022 by Whiskey Advocate, and you can find it at local liquor stores, too.
While the beer lovers are covered with the tickets above, you can always add to the gift by running in a local brewery and picking up something sudsy to go with them.
Just don’t stress too much. The buying is almost over, and the time to enjoy friends and family is here.
 The revamped Ciao Bella will open Thursday, Dec. 22, at 5101 Sanderlin Ave. in East Memphis. (Jennifer Biggs/The Daily Memphian)
Look at this hustling and bustling at the holidays: Ciao Bella opens Thursday, Dec. 22, at its new location at 5101 Sanderlin Ave., and the Tashie family is ready to welcome you to its new place, which will, down the road, also be home to the second location of the Tashie-owned La Baguette.
Ciao Bella, which opened in 2001 next door to Kroger on Mendenhall Road but moved a few years later to Erin Drive, is known for its Italian and Greek food as well as its popular East Memphis happy hour. The new restaurant will be open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday.
And Villa Castrioti is opening its second location on Dec. 23, this one at The Lake District. It’s a nice big spot, one that co-owners Brian Leith and Aron Pullen planned to open a year ago. But they’re ready to feed you and, after the holidays, will be open nightly for dinner. Lunch is forthcoming.
 Art and Janet Seessel share the recipe for their chocolate butter pie. The pie is made with Ghirardelli 100% cacao chocolate and Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
So let’s get this straight. If I tell you I have a surprise for you, believe me! I expected a big response to the recipe for Seessel’s Chocolate Butter Pie but was still happy to see that so many of you were thrilled about it.
And you definitely let us know which recipes you want to see in 2023. Don’t stop now — feel free to keep putting in your requests, and stick close. There’s plenty more to come. (And bake a few pies, if you’re still pondering last-minute gifts. Anyone would appreciate it.)
Mac Edwards has launched a new business, aptly called Mac of All Trades. If it involves food, he’ll do it, from cooking to teaching to showing you how to shop or stock your kitchen. If you want something else, just ask.
We let you know that Vinegar Jim’s closed last week, and here’s what’s coming to that building: The Kitchen Table, which should open in the next couple of months.
The Chilean is back at Pop’s Deli after a sad absence. It’s not exactly the same, but it’s welcomed back nonetheless, and, like almost all the menu at Pop’s, it’s a $10 Deal.
Chris Herrington and I talk about Christmas traditions on this week’s Sound Bites, from ones we don’t observe (fruitcake) to something we both hold close: Christmas morning breakfast. Have a listen and remember, no Sound Bites next week.
This is a wrap (what a dreaded word right now!). Please stay warm and safe. You know, of course, to bring your pets in, and don’t forget to leave some water running. No one wants to need a plumber over Christmas weekend.
Happiest of holidays to everyone. Be merry, be bright and enjoy the season.
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