Monte Melugin – Grub Americana

Wassail Recipe

A steaming bowl of wassail feels like Christmas wrapped in spice and old-world tradition. This warm cider punch has been part of winter feasts for centuries.

Here We Come A-Wassailing: A Toast, a Tradition, and a Winter Drink With Deep Roots.

A conversation about Christmas plans turned into an unexpected journey into the history of wassail — a drink once shared by orchard keepers, carolers, and families gathered on Twelfth Night. What began as curiosity became a rediscovery of an almost forgotten holiday ritual.

Hoppin’ John

Black-eyed peas and greens have carried more than flavor to New Year’s Day tables—they’ve carried hope. Long a symbol of coins, this humble dish has become a quiet ritual of resilience, prosperity, and new beginnings.

Country Style Collard Greens

For generations, greens have carried more than flavor to New Year’s Day tables. Rooted in history and strengthened by family tradition, this humble dish has long represented “folding money” and the hope of prosperity in the coming year.

Peas, Greens, and Hope: The New Year’s Tradition That Endures

For generations, black-eyed peas and greens have carried more than flavor to New Year’s Day tables—they’ve carried hope. Rooted in history and strengthened by family tradition, this humble meal has become a quiet ritual of resilience, prosperity, and new beginnings.

Potato Lefse

A traditional Norwegian flatbread—soft and delicate like a tortilla—made from a potato-based dough that’s rolled out into large, thin circles and cooked on a griddle. Often filled with butter and sugar (known as Kling) or used to wrap savory ingredients.

Meyer Lemon Bars

The ultra thick and creamy Meyer lemon custard, with its unique citrus flavor, atop buttery shortbread crust–the last lemon bar recipe you’ll ever need!

Pozole Rojo (Mexican Pork & Hominy Stew)

Rooted in centuries-old Mexican tradition, it’s a dish often shared during holidays and family gatherings, where the garnishes are as colorful as the company around the table.

Shrimp Étouffée

A classic, rich, and flavorful Louisiana dish featuring succulent shrimp smothered in a thick, spicy sauce and served over rice. The name comes from the French word “étouffer,” meaning “to smother”.

Ultimate Smith Island Cake

Born on the windswept shores of Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay, Smith Island Cake, has long been a sweet symbol of community and celebration. With its signature nine paper-thin layers and glossy chocolate icing, it’s the kind of dessert that feels both homey and grand—a cake meant to be shared, one slender slice at a time.

New England Clam Chowder

This thick, creamy soup filled with diced potatoes and tender clams makes a delicious appetizer. Or serve it with a fresh tossed salad for light lunch or hearty, stick-to-you-ribs supper.

A Taste of Christmas Across America: Regional Holiday Dinners from Coast to Coast

Discover how Christmas dinner varies across America—from New England seafood feasts to Southwest tamales—in this nostalgic look at regional traditions.

My Holiday Eggnog

One taste of this deliciously sweet, thick, and creamy holiday beverage, and you’ll never want the store-bought variety again.

Eggnog: A Holiday Tradition with a Spirited Past

Over the centuries, eggnog has traveled a long road from its European beginnings to its place on American holiday tables. Its story is one of adaptation, abundance, and tradition, reflecting how a simple mixture of eggs, milk, and spirits became a symbol of seasonal cheer.

Classic Green Bean Casserole

Born in the Campbell’s Test Kitchen in 1955, this recipe has stood the test of time. With just five staple ingredients and a mere 10 minutes of prep, it’s no wonder this dish has been a beloved family favorite for over six decades.

Polpettone di Fagiolini

This recipe comes from Liguria, Italy located on the north-western Mediterranean coast— also known as the Italian Riviera. The region’s capital is Genoa, a city famous for its many beloved Italian foods, including olive oil, focaccia, and mouthwatering confections.

Green Bean Casserole: How a Simple Side Became a Thanksgiving Icon

This year, an estimated 20 million American households will be serving Campbell’s classic green bean casserole as part of their Thanksgiving festivities.

Bologna Salad Sandwich Spread

This recipe is right out of the 1950s. The eggs, relish, and salad dressing—which can be adjusted to taste—round out the flavor of bologna in this simple and delicious spread.

Vienna Sausage Breakfast Rolls

These easy, made-from-scratch yeast rolls stuffed with Vienna sausage are perfect for breakfast, brunch, bringing to potlucks, or holiday parties.

Underwood Spanish Omelet

Adapted from a vintage Underwood Deviled Ham advertisement, this omelet makes a great start for your morning breakfast or brunch. Or serve it with a side salad for a light dinner option.

Liverwurst Meatballs

A blend of liverwurst and ground pork, these moist, flavorful, and delicious meatballs come with the added bonus of sneaking in healthy organ meat without anyone knowing it’s there. Perfect for your pasta dish or served on their own with a side of greens.

Slices of the Past—The Cold Cuts That Filled Our Lunchboxes

In the 1940s through the ’60s, a trip to the grocery store wasn’t complete without a stop at the cold-cut case. Bologna, olive loaf, and liverwurst were more than sandwich fillings—they were part of the rhythm of everyday life.

Pinto Bean Pie

This quick and easy Southern-style pie is an Appalachian favorite—the perfect alternative to pumpkin or sweet potato pie. Who knows, you may find it even tastier. I know my momma would.

Muslim Navy Bean Pie

This traditional Muslim bean pie—made with navy beans—can be served warm or cold. Either way, it’s a sure to be a hit with family and friends.

Bean Pie: The Forgotten Poor Man’s Delight With a Twist

Pinto bean pie, a uniquely Southern dessert that found a home in Appalachian cooking, is reminiscent of sweet potato or pumpkin pie.

Chicken and Dumplings

This was my grandmother’s recipe for chicken and dumplings, as handed down to my mom. Please note the the substitutions at the end of the recipe.

Chicken and Dumplings: Comfort Food with Deep Roots

Chicken and dumplings carries a history as rich as the broth it’s cooked in. From European kitchens to Southern farm tables, this humble yet celebratory dish has been simmering in American culture for generations.

Brunswick Stew

Born from Southern tradition Brunswick Stew is made with already-cooked meats, it comes together quickly—just the thing for feeding a crowd or warming up a chilly day.

Kentucky Burgoo

This thick, hearty stew is as much about fellowship as it is about flavor. While most often linked to Kentucky, you’ll also find folks in Indiana and Tennessee calling it their own—each with a slightly different spin.

Brunswick Stew: A Southern Classic

Brunswick stew’s rich history blends folklore, regional pride, and a good dose of friendly rivalry over who made it first—proof that a bowl of stew can be as much about heritage as it is about flavor.

White Potato Pie

This recipe has been passed from one generation to the next, remaining a special holiday treat in Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

Perfect Pie Crust

Adapted from a recipe in the November 2021 issue of Southern Living. The combination of butter and shortening produces an extremely flaky yet sturdy pie crust.

A Maryland Classic: White Potato Pie

White potato pie has been a cherished Maryland dessert, particularly on the Eastern Shore, for generations.

Grandma’s Watermelon Pickles

My mother’s sister Mattie claimed this was Grandma’s recipe for pickled watermelon rind, though the claim can’t be fully substantiated. Several years before his passing, my father used this very recipe to make himself a batch and swore they tasted just like grandma’s. Try it out—I’m sure you’ll enjoy the results.

Edna Lewis’ Watermelon Rind Pickles

Adapted from Edna Lewis’s recipe in her landmark1976 cookbook The Taste of Country Cooking. Born in Freetown, Virginia, Lewis was the granddaughter of an emancipated slave who helped establish the town. She left home to make her way in New York, first as a skilled seamstress and later as a writer, before finding her true calling in the kitchen. Over the years she become a beloved chef, the author of four influential cookbooks, and one of the most important voices in preserving and celebrating Southern food traditions.

Grandma’s Watermelon Rind Pickles

From family farm gatherings to centuries of culinary tradition, watermelon rind pickles tell a story of resourcefulness, resilience, and sweet-sour summertime flavor.

Marlborough Pie

An elegant, one-time holiday favorite in New England, Marlborough pie boasts an apple-infused custard flavored with lemon and sherry.

The Forgotten Apple Pie of New England

Before apple pie became the patriotic symbol we know today, early American cooks baked something far more old-world and unexpected: Marlborough Pie. This forgotten New England favorite was made, remarkably, with apples on the verge of spoiling.

Gooseberry-Ginger Jam

When the warmth of ginger pairs with the tartness of gooseberries the results are a delicious jam.

Gooseberry Pie

This is a delicious introduction to gooseberries for anyone unfamiliar with these tart summer berries.

The Lost World of Gooseberries

Gooseberries live in that curious category of half-memory, passed down through family stories of a past I never knew. And though gooseberries have all but vanished from most American kitchens, the memory of them lingers.

Raspberry Cottage Cheese Ice Cream

This high-protein cottage cheese ice cream is made with whole milk (4% fat) cottage cheese, honey, fresh or frozen raspberries, and crushed graham crackers.

Once a Dairy Darling, Cottage Cheese Makes a Comeback

From farmhouse kitchens to 1970s diet plates, this humble, curdy concoction has long been a quiet staple of American food culture. Though it fell out of favor during the yogurt craze, its story is one of surprising resilience, and its comeback is nothing short of remarkable.

Baked Pork and Beans

Have a rooten, tooten good time making these delicious homemade pork and beans.

Pork ’n Beans: the more you eat, the more you….

In America, baked bean dishes, including pork and beans, are thought to have began with the indigenous Penobscot, Narragansett, and Iroquois tribes, who slow-cooked beans in clay pots buried in holes filled with hot stones.

How to cook pokeweed

You should only use the leaves and stems for young plants — those under two feet tall, with no signs of purple on the stalks or stems. Absolutely no roots!**

Pokeweed, America’s forgotten vegetable

American pokeweed is a flowering herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the Phytolaccaceae family. And while the leaves and stalks of this species are a nutritional powerhouse, high in vitamin A, C, iron, and calcium, its high toxicity will make humans extremely ill (perhaps even fatal) if not properly cooked.

All Articles

Popular Articles