How Misunderstood Expiration Dates Contribute to America’s Food Waste Problem
Forty percent of all food produced in the U.S. is wasted and ends up in the landfill, although much of it is perfectly fine to eat.
Potatoes: America’s Leading Vegetable Crop
Grown commercially in thirty states, potatoes are the leading vegetable crop in the United States, with Idaho producing the most by far.
The American Diner
Diners can be traced back to Walter Scott, a newspaper pressman at the Providence Journal who, in 1872, left the presses to sell late night coffee and sandwiches from a horse-drawn wagon.
Take me out to the ball game . . .
If all of the Cracker Jack sold during that time were laid end-to-end they would circle the earth more than seventy-one times.
Pumpkin Pie: America’s Favorite Holiday Pie
The first pumpkin pies were likely made by hollowing out the shell, filling it with milk, honey, and spices, then baking it in hot ashes.
Okra & Tomatoes with Gulf Shrimp
This popular New Orleans dish is made with fresh okra and shrimp.
Okra: Ladies’ Fingers of the South
Okra, or ladies’ fingers as the pods are sometimes referred to because of their long, tapered, finger-like shape, is thought by many historians to have originated in east Africa.
Fresh Fig Tart
The sweet tart crust is layered with almond cream, fig jam (either homemade or store-bought) and fresh figs.
Figs
The fig was believed to be one of the earliest plants cultivated by the human race.
Persimmons
Persimmon fruit, when ripe, is delicious eaten fresh. But they make wonderful pies, cakes, cookies, and breads.
Yam or Sweet Potato?
Almost all reddish-orange fleshed tubers eaten in the good ole’ US of A are sweet potatoes—not yams.
TV Dinners
Although it was the Swanson Company of Omaha who coined the name “TV dinner,” they were not the inventor of the frozen meal.
Chimichangas
The chimichanga is said to have been created not in Mexico but in Phoenix, Arizona.
Shepherd’s Pie
Shepherd’s Pie was created as a way thrifty housewives could utilize their leftover roasts and meats to prepare hearty, tasteful meals . . .
Shepherd’s Pie: Winter’s Quintessential Comfort Food
Shepherd’s pie came about in the late 1700s as a way for frugal peasant housewives to use their leftover lamb, mutton, and other meats.
Why Turkey?
Exactly when and how turkey came to be the centerpiece of our Thanksgiving table remains a time-lost food mystery.
Italian Ricotta Cheesecake
This cake is very rich, therefore the following recipe will make one 9-inch cheesecake from which you should get 14 slices.
New York Style Cheesecake
This classic New York cheesecake is the ultimate cheesecake. It’s dense, rich and creamy and so incredibly easy to make.
The Cheesecake Story
The first cheesecakes, known as “plakous,” were simply made using only flour, wheat, honey, and cheese.
Bread Pudding, the frugal dish turned trendy dessert
Bread pudding can be traced back to the early 11th century as a way for frugal cooks to utilize leftover bread.
Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce
A delicious bread pudding, studded with raisins, and covered in a decadent, boozy rum sauce.
Ham and Sausage Strata
This strata needs to be refrigerated for at least 4 hours or overnight before baking, so plan accordingly.
The Gingerbread House, a Christmas Tradition
Well-decorated gingerbread houses became popular following the 1812 publication of the Brothers Grimm fairytale “Hansel and Gretel.”
America’s Favorite Condiment
One of my all-time favorites is a tuna salad sandwich–canned Albacore tuna packed in water with minced celery and onion, hard-boiled egg, a touch of garlic, and lots of America’s favorite condiment, mayonnaise. And though some of you may dislike, even hate mayo, I’m among the majority who wouldn’t think of having a ham and […]
Homemade Mayonnaise
This creamy homemade Mayonnaise can be made in just minutes with fresh ingredients! So easy you may never buy mayonnaise again.
The Club
My first exposure to a club sandwich was at the Rexall drug store next to the supermarket, where I worked after school and weekends. One Saturday the lunch counter waitress (yes, back then drug stores had lunch counters), a young hottie with whom I was totally infatuated suggested I buy the "daily special" to help […]
Icons of Summer: Kool-Aid and Popsicles
While my childhood was one of humble existence, we were not without some of the middle-class niceties of the times, thanks to a an extremely hard working father and a mother with the uncanny ability to stretch a dollar further than anyone I’ve ever known. Growing up, I loved just about everything that summer had […]
Homemade Cake Mix
Why buy boxed cake mix when you can make your very own using simple ingredients you probably already have in your pantry?
Cake Mix: Redefining Baking in America
Growing up in the mid-twentieth century, I observed first-hand a number of food innovations and convenience products that directly affected how the American housewife prepared the family meal. Arguably, the one product that brought about the biggest change was the invention of boxed cake mixes. I can remember when every pie and cake my mom […]
My Favorite Breakfast Food – Pancakes
A lady recently asked me, “Chef, what’s your favorite food?” My reply was, “Breakfast foods. Bacon, eggs, omelets, biscuits and gravy–you name it.” Then, after a brief pause, “And pancakes. I love pancakes!” I’m not sure when my affinity for pancakes began. You’d think it would have been as a young child, but I don’t […]
Dutch Baby Pancake
These large, fluffy pancakes are excellent for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dessert at any time.
Double Chocolate Pancakes
These are decadent double chocolate pancakes are a perfectly indulgent way to kick start your day? They would also make a pretty sweet late night snack.
Buttermilk Griddle Cakes
The recipe for these delicious griddle cakes originated with Mrs. Charles Henry Cooper, mother of the famous Hollywood actor Gary Cooper, on their 7 Bar 9 Ranch in Helena, Montana.
Jell-O! The Jiggly, Wiggly American Icon.
Growing up, I was exposed to Jell-O in just about any way and every way one can imagine–molded, sliced, cubed up, chopped up, plain or mixed with fruit, cottage cheese, and all sorts of vegetables. It seems that every grandmother, mother, and daughter had their favorite Jell-O dish and an extreme compulsion to bring it […]
Granny’s Green Jell-O Salad
Granny’s Green Jello Salad (with Cottage Cheese & Pineapple) is a delicious retro dish that my father’s mother made for just about any special occassion including church dinners, Thanksgiving and Christmas meals.
The Reuben: New York or Omaha Born?
I’m not exactly sure when I had my first Reuben sandwich, although I believe it was at the lunch counter of a Skillern’s Drug Store when I was about 17 years old. What I do know is that it was love at first bite–the nuttiness of toasted rye, the sweet and sour sauerkraut mixed with […]
Classic Rachel Sandwich
This is the sister sandwich to the Reuben.
Classic Reuben Sandwich
A good ole’ fashioned Corned Beef Reuben Sandwich. Pile it high and serve on rye.
Sloppy Joe: America’s Quintessential Loose Meat Sandwich
The sloppy joe began making its appearance in food columns, advertisements, and cookbooks in the early 1940s.
Sloppy Joes
This homemade sloppy joe recipe is quick, easy, and inexpensive.
Dairy Queen: A Small-Town Texas Icon
Dairy Queen got its start in 1938 in an ice cream store in Kankakee, Illinois owned by Sherb Noble.
An American Favorite – Carrot Cake
Several years ago, I did a stint as executive chef at a busy Texas hotel. Once or twice a month, usually after a busy Friday night, the kitchen staff and I would meet at Evelyn’s Café for a late-night breakfast before going home. Evelyn was known miles around for was her delicious three- layer carrot […]
Tomato Soup Spice Cake
Based on a classic retro 1950s recipe created by the Campbell Soup Company. You can’t taste the soup, just a deliciously moist and fluffy spice layer cake.
Evelyn’s Carrot Cake
Evelyn’s famous carrot cake is so moist and delicious your family is sure to ask for second’s.
Ranch Dressing: America’s Favorite
Although it first began showing up on supermarket shelves in the early 60s where I grew up, I really don’t recall its popularity soaring until some twenty years later while I was cooking in New York City. It was there in the “big city” that I started to think, “Folks are so crazy about this […]
Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
One taste of this recipe and you’ll know why Ranch is the most popular dressing in America.
A St. Louis Original: Ooey-Gooey Butter Cake
A few weeks back, I was watching Martha Stewart Bakes during which she made something I had never heard of in my forty-plus years as a chef–a Gooey Butter Cake. It seems this cake was invented during the Great Depression in the 1930s by a German-style bakery located on the St. Louis South Side. And […]
Killeen’s St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake
This recipe is said to have come from the original bakery of gooey butter cakes.
Paula Deen’s Gooey Butter Cake
This recipe for Gooey Butter Cake is by Paula Deen.
Eggnog: The Yuletide Drink
A couple of weeks ago while putting away the grocery order, my wife discovered the market had included two bottles of eggnog without her knowledge. When contacted about the error, the store manager explained they were given as apology for the unusually large number of out of stock items in our order. So later that […]
