Unlike many of the other recipes that I have delved into the histories of such as chicken Divan, chicken a la king or mock apple pie, this is a meal that was very popular in my household growing up. I chose to specifically to talk about it in October because it was often made by … Continue reading History of Sloppy Joes
Oh tuna noodle casserole. I am sure I am not the only one who grew up eating this dish. Actually it was known in my house as "Tuna Nuna" as my father had to give everything ridiculous names. This dish was one that was in constant rotation. As my mother worked full time as store … Continue reading History of Tuna Noodle Casserole
Quick recap for those who find the print too small: This is a 1940's tongue in cheek article written by newspaper man and short story writer, Damon Runyon. It was a witty intervention over Californians supposedly booing Florida orange juice while watching a travel short of the sunshine state that was shown before a feature … Continue reading California Boos Florida Oranges
Quick recap for those who do not want to read: This is a 1962 article written by food editor Mary Alice Powell about Mrs. Ahmet Esmailof of Toledo, Ohio who needed a hobby to distract from health issues. She decided to put her baking skills to good use and around every holiday she just bakes … Continue reading The “Cooky Lady”
While doing my research into the origins of popular dishes, cookbooks of the day as well as authors, I often come across random articles. These are interesting and often kind of hilarious being read in modern times. They are moments in history that while not destined to be written about in history books for all … Continue reading The Case of the Melba Sauce
Chicken Divan was one of the mid century dishes that my imagination went wild over. I mean what complicated swankiness must a dish called chicken Divan be with a name like that. It oozed elegance when the name left your mouth. So I was super surprised when I finally found out the dish is really … Continue reading History of Chicken Divan
My trip down into the history of mock apple pie was not planned. Sometimes during my research and planning, I come across recipes that for whatever reason stick in my mind. Mock apple pie was one of them. I randomly found it while flipping through one of my recipe boxes. I gave it a quick … Continue reading History of Mock Apple Pie
So confession time.....I HATED this dip. I know this dip as "the onion soup mix dip" and it was always at every family function when I was a kid in the eighties and nineties. The problem is that my mother loved it so every time there was a moment that called for a dip guess … Continue reading History of California Dip
When I was younger Peach Melba was a dish that held such mystery to me. What was a melba and how did it connect to the peach? I was quite surprised when I found out as I got older that it was a pretty simple dessert! Who and where was the Peach Melba created? … Continue reading History of Peach Melba
Chicken a la King was extremely popular in the 50s and 60s. So popular that you would think it was created during that time period but it was actually created in the late 19th century. It was such a prevalent dish during the mid century that writer Calvin Trillin was wondering where its whereabouts … Continue reading The History of Chicken A La King
