Neil Rome of the “901 Mafia” team entered his mouth-watering “Italian Muffuletta Meatloaf” in “Anything Italian,” one of the categories at the Memphis Italian Festival, held May 30th through June 1st at Marquette Park.
Rome begins making the dish, based on his grandmother’s take on an old Justin Wilson Cajun recipe, by creating a paste out of breadcrumbs, tomato sauce, eggs, seasoning, and parsley. He then adds ground beef and smoked ham, which he forms into a big ball before laying it out flat. He spreads a mixture of onions, black and green olives, Parmesan cheese, and pepperoncini peppers over it and slowly rolls everything up “like you would a jelly roll,” Rome says. Finally, he pours his gravy, which he makes out of tomato sauce, red wine, olive oil, and seasonings, over everything and slides it into the oven.
Rome’s team’s entry didn’t win Anything Italian, but his team won the Father Milton Guthrie “You Are Great” award.
Forty-three teams participated in this year’s Memphis Italian Festival, which drew more than 15,000 people, says Richard Ranson, who along with his wife Vickie, is the cooking teams and judges co-chair.