F. Scott Fitzgerald circa 1920. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

The Roaring Twenties, the Jazz Age, and what F. Scott Fitzgerald would later describe as “the greatest, gaudiest spree in history” have all come to describe America under the influence of Prohibition. In Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, we are introduced to the opulent lives of wealthy east coasters during one of the rowdiest periods in American history. How accurate is this portrait of Prohibition America, and what influences led our country into an era of drunken excess?

In the early 1920’s World War I had just come to an end. A new generation flocked from small towns to big cities in search of excitement, opportunity, and a “modern” way of living. Electronics like radios became more common, particularly in metropolitan households. Flashy new car designs rolled down city streets. Women had finally earned the right to vote, and their hard-fought equality and independence was reflected in their fashion– shorter haircuts, higher hemlines, less curvy silhouettes. Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin were creating names for themselves on the big screen. It was an era of change—and that change was not welcomed by all. Alcohol flowed like water in homes across the country, and drunkards filled America’s prisons and poorhouses. A powerful group of activists made it their mission to eradicate liquor in an effort to help the country return to simpler times. The movement, known as Prohibition, may well go down as one of the biggest legislative backfires in American history.

Alcohol dependence was a growing problem in the U.S. for over a century before Prohibition came into law. In 1830, American boys and men aged 15 and older drank an average of 88 bottles of whiskey per year, 3 times what Americans drinks today. Drinking wasn’t a new thing; alcohol had been an important part of the American food culture since Colonial times. Americans routinely drank at every meal– breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In the early 1700’s, the most common drinks were weak beer and cider, which were only mildly intoxicating (around 2% alcohol content, compared to today’s beers which average between 4-6%). By the 1800’s, as American farmers began cultivating more grains, increasingly potent forms of distilled liquor became available, including rum and whiskey. Americans replaced weaker ciders and beers with these more potent distilled liquors. Before long, alcohol dependence became a widespread epidemic. Men lost their jobs and neglected their families, under the spell of “demon liquor.” Societies dedicated to sober living formed in several major cities. A movement began, and the groundwork was put in place for outlawing alcohol at the national level. A constitutional amendment to ban alcohol sales and production became law in 1920.

A Hooch Hound, a dog trained to detect liquor, sniffs at a flask in the back pocket of man fishing on the Potomac River. Source: Library of Congress

While Prohibition was meant to eradicate the temptation of liquor, it had the unintended effect of turning many law-abiding citizens into criminals. By barring liquor from the masses, the government unwittingly made it more desirable, more fashionable, and something eager consumers had to get their hands on. Prohibition gave birth to bathtub gin, cocktails, finger food and the elusive speakeasy. If you were able to provide your guests with an endless stream of libations, your popularity was assured. Better yet, if you were brave enough to invest in the illegal bootlegging business, your fortune might very well be sealed… as long as you didn’t lose your life in the process.

As the demand for illegal liquor increased, so did the methods for masking its production and consumption. Cocktails gained popularity—heavily flavored concoctions assembled to disguise the taste of potent bathtub gin with juices, herbs, sweeteners and syrups. Finger food became fashionable, which helped to increase liquor tolerance by ensuring that party-goers weren’t drinking on an empty stomach. Bootleggers, forced to produce liquor in secret, used questionable methods to ferment gin and other types of alcohol in their homes. Often poisonous ingredients, such as methanol (wood alcohol), were used. A government report from 1927 stated that nearly all of the 480,000 gallons of liquor confiscated in New York that year contained some type of poison. Jamaica ginger extract, also known as Jake, was sold in pharmacies as a headache remedy. It didn’t taste great, but it did contain high amounts of alcohol. Over time, more toxic ingredients were added that could result in paralysis, a condition often referred to as Jake Leg.

Confiscated barrel and bottles of whiskey circa 1921. Source: Library of Congress

Despite the reality of the situation, overall it seemed like Americans were having a lot of fun during Prohibition. No book captures this wild and carefree time period quite like Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. The character of millionaire Jay Gatsby represents the extremes of 1920s wealth and decadence. Gatsby devotes his life to accumulating riches in order to attract the attention of his romantic obsession, the lovely but spoiled Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby’s fortune is evident in the raucous parties he throws from his mansion on Long Island’s north shore. These decadent bashes, free flowing with food and liquor, represent the indulgent excesses of the “flapper” period:

At least once a fortnight a corps of caterers came down with several hundred feet of canvas and enough colored lights to make a Christmas tree of Gatsby’s enormous garden.  On buffet tables, garnished with glistening hors d’oeuvre, spiced baked hams crowded against salads of harlequin designs and pastry pigs and turkeys bewitched to a dark gold. In the main hall a bar with a real brass rail was set up, and stocked with gins and liquors and with cordials so long forgotten that most of his female guests were too young to know one from the other.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Gatsby character represents “new money;” he’s a seemingly overnight success with no known ties to family wealth. It is heavily inferred that Gatsby earned his fortune, at least in part, through bootlegging. How else could he afford his lavish parties with bottomless cocktails to spare? Daisy’s husband Tom gives voice to these suspicions during a heated argument, when he accuses Gatsby and his business partner Meyer Wolfsheim of illegally selling liquor through the drug stores they own. This fictional subplot is based in fact. For a small fee, doctors would prescribe their patients whiskey for just about any ailment, and sometimes no ailment at all. Crooked pharmacists would even sell forged prescriptions to their customers. As for Gatsby’s partner Meyer Wolfsheim, a character described as the man behind fixing the 1919 World Series, he was clearly influenced by a real gangster named Arnold Rothstein. The novel, at least in part, provides a reflection of the social issues and attitudes of the time period.

In honor of Gatsby, Fitzgerald and Prohibition, I decided to whip up a cocktail reminiscent of the time period. Gin is said to have been Fitzgerald’s drink of choice; he was under the impression that its scent could not be detected on his breath. This concoction was born during the years of Prohibition, when most liquor was low-quality bathtub gin that needed plenty of masking with other flavors. The cocktail is called “The Bee’s Knees,” a cute name and a popular phrase during the 1920s. To call something the “bee’s knees” is to say that it’s top notch and grand. The etymology of the phrase is unclear; it may be in reference to bees carrying pollen near the middle of their legs, or it could just be an idiom for “business,” since calling something “the business” was a similar compliment during that time period. Either way, the name represents this cocktail well, since it relies on the sweet flavor of honey to overpower the gin.

This recipe comes from a reprint of a 1934 book of cocktails called Boothby’s World Drinks and How to Mix Them. The original recipe calls for honey, which I’ve made into a syrup so that it will mix into the drink more efficiently. The Boothby’s recipe calls for 1 spoon of honey, but I’ve doubled the amount due to the fact that my honey simple syrup is diluted to half the sweetness of plain honey. Today’s gin is much smoother and tastier than bathtub gin, so feel free to cut the honey syrup in half—it will still be drinkable and the sweetness won’t be quite so overpowering.

As you sip this flapper cocktail, raise a glass to F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby, two American classics.

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Research Sources

Altman, Linda Jacobs (1997). The Decade that Roared: American During Prohibition. Twenty First Century Books, Brookfield, CT.

Blumenthal, Karen (2011). Bootleg: Murder, Moonshine and the Lawless Years of Prohibition. Roaring Book Press, New York, NY.

Boothby, William T (1934). Boothby’s World Drinks And How To Mix Them. Recorder Print. & Publishing Company, San Francisco, CA.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott (1925). The Great Gatsby. Scribner, New York, NY.

Prohibition. Dir. Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. PBS, 2011.

Second only to oil, coffee is the most valuable legally traded commodity in the world. We love it, we rely on it, and we drink it in massive quantities. It is estimated that 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed each day worldwide. New Yorkers are said to drink 7 times the amount of any other U.S. city, which is why it may seem like there is a Starbucks on every corner of Manhattan. Famed French writer and philosopher Voltaire was rumored to have drunk 40 – 50 cups per day. Coffee is a daily ritual in the lives of millions of humans around the globe. Where exactly did this caffeinated phenomenon begin?

As with most foods that have been around for centuries, coffee’s beginnings are enveloped in mystery and lore. There is a popular Ethiopian legend wherein coffee is discovered by a goat herder named Kaldi, who found his goats frolicking and full of energy after eating the red berries of the coffee shrub. Kaldi tried the berries for himself and had a similar reaction. After witnessing their strange behavior, a monk took some of the berries back to his fellow monks; they too spent the night awake and alert. Of course, they would have been reacting to coffee’s high dose of caffeine. This natural stimulant also serves as an inborn plant pesticide, protecting the coffee berries from insects.

Before coffee became our morning beverage of choice, it appeared in a variety of different preparations. In its most basic, unprocessed form, coffee is a cherry-like fruit which becomes red when ripe; the coffee bean is found at the center of the red coffee berry. Early on, the berries were mixed with animal fat to create a protein rich snack bar. At one point, the fermented pulp was used to make a wine-like concoction; incidentally, a similar beverage was made from the cacao fruit, before the advent of chocolate, which goes to show that humans are especially adept at finding new ways to imbibe. Another drink that appeared around 1000 A.D. was made from the whole coffee fruit, including the beans and the hull. It wasn’t until the 13^th century that people began to roast coffee beans, the first step in the process of making coffee as we know it today.

The word “coffee” has roots in several languages. In Yemen it earned the name qahwah, which was originally a romantic term for wine. It later became the Turkish kahveh, then Dutch koffie and finally coffee in English.

The modern version of roasted coffee originated in Arabia. During the 13^th century, coffee was extremely popular with the Muslim community for its stimulant powers, which proved useful during long prayer sessions. By parching and boiling the coffee beans, rendering them infertile, the Arabs were able to corner the market on coffee crops. In fact, tradition says that not a single coffee plant existed outside of Arabia or Africa until the 1600s, when Baba Budan, an Indian pilgrim, left Mecca with fertile beans fastened to a strap across his abdomen. Baba’s beans resulted in a new and competitive European coffee trade.

In 1616, the Dutch founded the first European-owned coffee estate in Sri Lanka, then Ceylon, then Java in 1696. The French began growing coffee in the Caribbean, followed by the Spanish in Central America and the Portuguese in Brazil. European coffee houses sprang up in Italy and later France, where they reached a new level of popularity. Now, it is de rigueur for Parisians to indulge in a cup of coffee and a baguette or croissant at the numerous coffee cafes throughout Paris.

Coffee plants reached the New World during the early 18^th century, though the drink wasn’t really popular in America until the Boston Tea Party of 1773, when making the switch from tea to coffee became something of a patriotic duty. The Civil War and other conflicts that followed also helped to increase coffee consumption, as soldiers relied on the caffeine for a boost of energy. It may have started a bit later here, but Americans love coffee just as much as the rest of the world. Teddy Roosevelt himself is counted among America’s great coffee drinkers due to his rumored consumption of a gallon of coffee daily! Roosevelt is also said to have coined Maxwell House’s famous “Good to the Last Drop” slogan after being served the coffee at Andrew Jackson’s historical home, the Hermitage, in Tennessee.

By the late 1800s, coffee had become a worldwide commodity, and entrepreneurs began looking for new ways to profit from the popular beverage. In 1864, John and Charles Arbuckle, brothers from Pittsburgh, purchased Jabez Burns’ newly invented self-emptying coffee bean roaster. The Arbuckle brothers began selling pre-roasted coffee in paper bags by the pound. They named their coffee “Ariosa,” and found great success selling it to the cowboys of the American West. It wasn’t long before James Folger followed suit and began selling coffee to the gold miners of California. This blazed the trail for several other big name coffee producers, including Maxwell House and Hills Brothers.

In the 1960s, a certain awareness for specialty coffee started to grow, inspiring the opening of the first Starbucks in Seattle in 1971. Today, the grass-roots coffee movement continues to grow with the increase of small independently-owned cafes boasting sustainable, locally roasted, fair trade beans. Coffee has become an artistic trade that is valued for its complexity of flavors and terroir, much like wine.

From a simple cup of black coffee to a complex, multi-adjective Starbucks order, each coffee drinker has their own favorite way of indulging in this caffeinated wonder-drink. Here are six coffee-inspired recipes that will give you some new ways to enjoy this ancient beverage.

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Coffee-Inspired Recipe Ideas

The Shiksa in the Kitchen – Coffee Cake Cupcakes

PBS Food – Mexican Coffee

 The Pioneer Woman – Perfect Iced Coffee

 Simply Recipes – Walnut Mocha Torte

 A Spicy Perspective – Vietnamese Coffee Popsicles

 Cooking on the Weekends – Grilled Coffee Balsamic Flank Steak

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Research Sources

“Coffee.” National Geographic. National Geographic Society, n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.

Davidson, Alan (2006). The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford University Press, UK.

The History of Coffee Culture in America. Dir. Devin Hahn. Smithsonian.com. Smithsonian Media, n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.

“Maxwell House Coffee – “Good to the Last Drop!” Myths, Legend or True Trivia on Theodore Roosevelt. Theodore Roosevelt Association, n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2013.

Ponte, Stefano (2002). “The ‘Latte Revolution’? Regulation, Markets and Consumption in the Global Coffee Chain.” World Development (Elsevier Science Ltd.), n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2013.

Smith, Andrew F. (2007). The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink. Oxford University Press, NY.

Before Betty Crocker was synonymous with boxed cake mix and canned frosting, she was a “kitchen confidante,” a maternal and guiding presence in kitchens across America. She was the “Dear Abby” of cooking, a woman people could trust with their most frustrating kitchen woes. She had answers to the questions that plagued so many home cooks—questions like, “Why won’t my cake rise?” or “Do you have a great recipe for blueberry pie?” or “How can I make my pancakes fluffy?” Betty was there to answer all of these questions and more. She encouraged women to get in the kitchen and try something new. Home cooks could take comfort in the fact that when problems arose, Betty would be there to help them along the way.

Surprising, then, that Betty Crocker isn’t actually a real person. She is the brainchild of an advertising campaign developed by the Washburn-Crosby Company, a flour milling company started in the late 1800’s that eventually became General Mills. Gold Medal Flour, a product of Washburn-Crosby, helped to kick-start Betty’s career. She was “born” in 1921, when an ad for Gold Medal Flour was placed in the Saturday Evening Post. The ad featured a puzzle of a quaint main street scene. Contestants were encouraged to complete the puzzle and send it in for the prize of a pincushion in the shape of a sack of Gold Medal Flour. The response was overwhelming; around 30,000 completed puzzles flooded the Washburn-Crosby offices. Many of the completed puzzles were accompanied by letters filled with baking questions and concerns, something the Washburn-Crosby Company hadn’t anticipated. Previously, the company’s small advertising department had dealt with customer mail and questions. The department manager, Samuel Gale, and his all-male staff would consult the women of the Gold Medal Home Service staff with customers’ baking and cooking questions. Gale never felt completely comfortable signing his name to this advice, as he suspected that women would rather hear from other women who knew their way around a kitchen. The pile of questions pouring in from the puzzle contest reinforced the need for a female cooking authority, somebody who could gracefully answer any kitchen questions that customers might have. The department’s answer to this issue was to invent a female chief of correspondence, a fictitious woman they named “Betty Crocker.”

The last name, Crocker, came from the recently retired director of Washburn-Crosby, William G. Crocker. Betty was chosen as a first name for its wholesome, cheerful sound. Samuel Gale asked the female employees of Washburn-Crosby to submit what they thought should be used as Betty Crocker’s personal signature. The winning signature was penned by a secretary named Florence Lindeberg. Her Betty Crocker signature was used at the closing of each response to all letters regarding baking, cooking and domestic advice.

In 1924, Betty went from signing letters to having a real voice when Washburn-Crosby began airing a cooking radio show, the Betty Crocker Cooking School of the Air, first on Minneapolis radio station WCCO and then nationwide. The first voice of Betty Crocker belonged to a home economist named Marjorie Child Husted, the writer and host of the show. In 1951, Washburn-Crosby put a face to the name and the voice when they hired actress Adelaide Hawley to act as Betty on television. Hawley was the first of many women to play the Betty Crocker role.

The face of Betty Crocker in print ads and on product labels has been depicted by various artists since the 1920s. In 1936, Neysa McMein created the first official portrait of Betty, a composite painting that blended the facial features of the female staff in Washburn-Crosby’s home service department. This portrait of Betty would be used for over 20 years; it was especially fitting, considering the women of Washburn-Crosby collectively had a hand in Betty’s success. Since 1955, Betty’s image has been updated seven times. In 1965, she was drawn with a slight resemblance to former First Lady Jackie Kennedy. Despite the periodic changes, she never appeared to age much…in fact, a woman’s magazine pointed out that she seemed to remain an “ageless 32.” For her 75^th anniversary in 1996, painter John Stuart Ingle gave her an olive skin tone that could belong to a wide range of ethnicities. Ingle created this version of Betty by digitally morphing photographs of 75 women that General Mills felt embodied “the characteristics of Betty Crocker.”

Betty Crocker’s first namesake grocery item was a soup mix, which became available in 1941. Her famous cake mix appeared on store shelves in 1947, and the bestselling Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book was published in 1950. It is still being sold today, millions of copies later, under the title The Betty Crocker Cookbook. In an effort to keep Betty current, she also has a website that features recipes, advice, gifts and more. The current red signature Betty Crocker spoon logo was first used on products in 1954. Today, we can find Betty Crocker pamphlet-style cookbooks in grocery checkout lanes across the country.

It is safe to say that Betty Crocker has become more than just a household name. In 1945, Fortune magazine declared her the second most popular woman in America, the first being Eleanor Roosevelt. Betty Crocker products are now sold worldwide… and it all started with a puzzle and a pincushion.

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Research Sources:

Marks, Susan (2005). Finding Betty Crocker: The Secret Life of America’s First Lady of Food. Simon and Schuster, New York, New York.

Smith, Andrew F. (2007). The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink. Oxford University Press, New York, New York.

“The History of Betty Crocker.” General Mills: History of Innovation. General Mills, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2013.

“About the Kitchens: Betty’s History.” Betty Crocker. General Mills, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2013.

Ferrero’s Italian Nutella spread has garnered something of a cult following in the U.S. It seems that Sara Rosso, creator of the blog “Ms. Adventures in Italy,” had a stroke of genius when she declared February 5, 2007 the first annual “World Nutella Day.” In an 2009 interview with the LA Times, Rosso observed, “I thought it would be great to have a day where we could eat and cook with Nutella without shame… a bit like a meeting of the Nutella minds, or an NAA: Nutella Addicts Anonymous meeting.” Of course, there is really nothing shameful about enjoying a little Nutella every once in a while. Celebrating the wildly popular spread with a national food holiday seems more than fitting. But what are the origins of this tantalizing sugary treat?

Pietro Ferrero, a patisserie owner and founder of the Ferrero company from the Piedmont district of Italy, invented the spread. Ferrero originally began adding hazelnuts to chocolate during WWII when cocoa was being rationed. Hazelnuts were plentiful in the Piedmont area, and they helped to stretch the amount of cocoa Ferrero was allotted during rationing. He called the resulting sweet treat Pasta Gianduja. Pasta meant “paste” in Italian, and gianduja was the name of an Italian carnival character that was famous in the Piedmont region. Gianduja appeared as a smiling cartoon in the first advertisements for the chocolate-hazelnut treat. The earliest version of Pasta Gianduja was sold as a foil-wrapped loaf that Italian mothers would slice and serve on bread. Clever children often ditched the bread and ate the gianduja alone (who can blame them?), so Ferrero altered the recipe a bit and began selling it in a jar as a spread, renaming it Supercrema Gianduja. The spread was eventually renamed Nutella in 1964.

Nutella was an immediate hit with children, for obvious reasons. Adults loved that the tasty treat was less expensive than pure chocolate. Italian markets caught on to the popularity, and began offering children a “smearing.” This meant that kids could show up at their local food store with a slice of bread and have it “smeared” in Nutella.

European families enjoyed Nutella as a breakfast and snack food for over 40 years before it was introduced to the U.S. In 1983, Nutella was imported from Italy to the U.S. for the first time, and it is now available worldwide. While there’s no denying that we love Nutella in America, it is even more popular throughout Europe. In French and Italian grocery stores, there are entire sections dedicated to Nutella, with nearly every variety of jar you can imagine – from snack size to king size.

Nutella was recently in the news after being sued by two mothers for false advertising. For years, Nutella has claimed that its simple recipe of “roasted hazelnuts, skim milk and a hint of cocoa” contributed to a balanced diet when eaten in moderation. After doing a little research, the mothers found that Nutella was about as healthy as a candy bar, it’s only real nutritional value coming from the whole grain toast it was served on. While their frustration is understandable, when something tastes as good as Nutella, chances are it’s not very healthy. That said, the ad campaign might better have focused on Nutella’s unique flavor rather than the nutritional value. While it’s very tasty, it’s most certainly not a health food, and it’s probably best not to eat it all day, every day.

That said, Nutella is a terrific treat every once in a while. It’s truly one of life’s sweet pleasures. And, like I always say… everything in moderation, including moderation.

Research Sources

Fabio, Michelle, and Sara Rosso. “World Nutella Day History & Hosts.” World Nutella Day. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2013.

“Nutella: Consumer Class Action Settlement.” ABC News. ABC News Network, 29 Apr. 2012. Web. 05 Feb. 2013.

“The History of Nutella.” Nutella USA. Ferrero, n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2013.

Scattergood, Amy. “Nutty for Nutella: Spreadable Joy.” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2009. Web. 05 Feb. 2013.

Super Bowl Sunday is just around the corner. For most football fans, that means covering the coffee table with a variety of miniature, caloric, tasty finger foods. This annual tradition was born of convenience; with a room full of people sitting on couches, it would be awkward to serve a multi-course meal. Finger foods, also known as canapés, are the perfect solution. They’re portable, easy to handle, and you don’t need a fork to enjoy them. They allow you to taste a large variety of foods in one sitting. As it happens, finger foods rose in popularity around the same time cocktail parties became fashionable. And, if you think about it, Super Bowl Sunday is sort of like a cocktail party… only instead of martinis and little black dresses, jerseys and beer rule the day.

The French have been calling finger foods canapés since the late 18^th century. Originally a term for sofa, canapés began as thin slices of bread that were toasted or fried and covered with various savory toppings. Similar to Italian crostini, canapés earned their name by their physical nature—toppings “sit” on top of the bread like people sit on sofas. Over time the word canapé evolved into a broader term for any small-sized finger foods served at catered parties.

In 1920, when American laws of Prohibition went into effect, most citizens responded not by abiding, but instead by taking their drinking habits underground. As bars and taverns were shut down, secret watering holes called speakeasies began popping up in their place. Most speakeasies were located in the basements and homes of people willing to provide the illegal libations. Some speakeasies catered to the urban “upper crust,” like New York’s notorious 21 Club. One way of ensuring that patrons didn’t leave inebriated, thus drawing unwanted attention to the secret saloons, was to serve patrons small amounts of food throughout the night. Canapés like finger sandwiches and stuffed mushrooms proved to be the perfect solution. These small bites could be carried in one hand, drink in the other, while guests socialized.

Another way Americans dealt with Prohibition was to host private alcohol-centric parties at home. Cocktail parties existed years before Prohibition, and the banning of alcohol may have actually helped these gatherings to rise in popularity. Canapés were a popular choice for these home-hosted parties. In Fannie Merritt Farmer’s The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, published in 1918, there is a section called “Sandwiches and Canapés.” Included are recipes for a number of finger foods including Bread and Butter Folds, Lobster Sandwiches a la Boulevard, Sardine Canapés, and Cheese Wafers. Cocktail parties continued to thrive even after Prohibition, and are now considered by some to be an American institution.

Today, the terms canapés is usually reserved for fancier receptions and celebrations; these delicate bites are also known as “passed hors d’oeuvres.” “Finger foods” refers to more casual small bites, often served at small parties at home, potlucks, buffets, and… you guessed it… Super Bowl celebrations! One of the most famous Super Bowl finger foods is the buffalo wing. According to The Oxford Companion to Food, Teressa Bellissimo first created buffalo wings on October 30, 1964 at Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York. It is not clear whether Belissimo cooked them up as a snack for her son and his friends, as a midnight meal for Catholic diners who had spent the day abstaining from meat, or as a clever way of using up the wings that were delivered instead of the backs and necks they needed for stock. In 1980, journalist Calvin Trillin of the New Yorker wrote a magazine story on buffalo wings, cementing their fame.

Will you be serving finger foods on Super Bowl Sunday? Here are some recipe ideas that will fuel your cheering on game day!

The Shiksa in the Kitchen – Finger Food Recipes

PBS Food – Football Food and Finger Food Recipes

I’m always looking for ways to improve my website and your user experience. Many of you have asked if I can implement a recipe box feature, where you can easily access your favorite recipes from my site. Some have also suggested creating a “grocery list” feature that will allow you to easily create shopping lists from my recipes. That’s why I was so excited to discover Ziplist!

ZipList makes meal planning and grocery shopping a breeze. Create your weekly meal plan, organize your grocery list and get money-saving coupons, all with one slick, easy-to-use interface. Sync your list and recipes up with your cell phone and you’re off to the store in minutes.

Your custom Ziplist Recipe Box and Shopping List can be accessed from any page of my website on the top pulldown menu. It looks like this:

If you already have a Ziplist account, this new feature should work seamlessly for you on The History Kitchen. If you don’t yet have Ziplist, it’s super easy to sign up. All you need to do is click here and follow the onscreen instructions to get started. Then you’ll be able to use all of the new features on my site! Keep your login information handy, this recipe box will work on lots of different websites from a number of fabulous Ziplist partners.

You’ll notice that on every recipe on The History Kitchen, there is now a “Save Recipe” button next to the “Print Recipe” button. It looks like this:

Click on it to save a recipe to your custom Ziplist box. Once you have a recipe box, you’ll easily be able to create shopping lists, search for coupons, and more!

Just like my other site The Shiksa in the Kitchen, The History Kitchen has some great recipes for you to try! My hope is that this new addition will make the site even easier for you to use. Stay tuned for more site improvements in the future. Even though I may not be able to answer all of your comments and emails, I am always listening to your helpful suggestions. Thanks for reading!

If  you read my post about the History of Chicken and Waffles, then you might be craving a batch yourself right about now. No need to travel to Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles or Gladys and Ron’s… you can make it yourself at home! It’s easy. Here’s a Southern-style fried chicken recipe, inspired by Paula Deen, along with my family’s waffle recipe. On their own, they’re delicious treats. When paired together, with butter and maple syrup… wow! Seriously awesome eating. If you’re on a diet, don’t touch this meal with a ten food pole. If you’re looking for a serious dose of comfort food, press print immediately!

Note: An easy kosher modification appears below for those who find it useful.

If you’ve ever tried the unlikely pairing of chicken and waffles, you understand the appeal. It’s a delectable union of sweet and salty, soft and crunchy, maple and… chicken? I realize it might sound strange to the uninitiated. As somebody who has repeatedly enjoyed this improbable creation, I must insist– don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. Chicken and waffles are a dynamic culinary duo.

To explore the history of this dish, we can start by breaking it down into its two basic elements – fried chicken and waffles. Let’s start with fried chicken, which shows up in its earliest form as a fricassee—fried chicken pieces braised in sauce. Fricassee was popular in the Mediterranean basin during the medieval period. To make fricassee required an iron pot, meat, and fat, all of which were readily available during the time period. By the 1300’s, friquasée, a combination of the French words for “fry” and “break,” began appearing in French culinary writings. Early cookbooks like Le Viandier feature recipes for fricassee that can be made with any meat, not just chicken. By the 17^th century, recipes more frequently called for chicken. In fact, first lady Martha Washington had two recipes for fricassee in her recipe collection, one of which requires a half pound of butter to fry two cut-up chickens. Another popular cookbook of the colonial time period, The Art of Cookery by Hannah Glasse, features a recipe for “Brown Fricasey,” a dish of chicken pieces coated first with egg, then spiced breadcrumbs, then fried in butter. Starting to sound familiar? Once the chicken was done frying to a crispy brown, it was doused with a healthy serving of gravy, mushrooms and pickles. Glasse’s preparation went on to influence many other recipes, included the breaded and fried chicken we are familiar with today.

From the colonial period through the early 1800’s, African slaves were doing most of the cooking in Southern kitchens. At that time, chicken was considered a prestigious food within the African American community, and it was more expensive than some other meats. Enslaved cooks would make fricassee recipes from the popular cookbooks of the time period, or they’d take it upon themselves to fry the chicken in the way they knew best. When the Civil War began and men left their homes to become soldiers, fried chicken took on a new significance. The frying process made chicken less prone to spoilage, allowing women to send it to soldiers fighting in the battlefield. In 1881, in her book What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking, African American cook Abby Fisher shared a recipe for fried chicken. Her version involves flour, fat, and a finishing of thin gravy. By then, most fried chicken recipes had moved beyond the fricassee, and did not require an extra braise in sauce at the end of cooking.

With the advent of the automobile, roadside diners and restaurants began appearing in droves, and fried chicken was on most menus. In the 1940s, Harlan Sanders, better known as Colonel Sanders, developed his signature fried chicken recipe. By 1952, his popular Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise helped to make fried chicken a common treat in households across the country.

Waffles, believe it or not, are related to the wafer that is offered during communion. During the Middle Ages bakeries began to make communion wafers, attempting to compete with monasteries. The secular waffle was developed using the same method that was used to make wafers, by baking a thin cake between two metal plates. Waffles quickly became a popular street food, given they could easily be made with flour and water. More exclusive versions for the wealthy would add honey or eggs. Waffle irons were engraved with various designs, from coats of arms to the plain honeycomb pattern we recognize today.

The Pilgrims are responsible for bringing waffles to America in 1620 after discovering them during their brief stop in Holland. Dutch immigrants popularized the dish in New Amsterdam, before it became New York. Thomas Jefferson reportedly started a mini American waffle craze during the 1790s when he returned from France with a goose-handled waffle iron. At the 1964 World’s Fair, Americans were introduced to the Belgian waffle, made fluffy with the help of yeast and egg whites. Once electric waffle irons replaced those inconvenient metal plates, waffles officially became an American favorite.

The earliest American chicken and waffle combination appears in Pennsylvania Dutch country during the 1600’s, when home cooks made waffles and topped them with pulled chicken and gravy. A different, decidedly soul food approach to the pairing worked its way into popular culture much later with the opening of Wells Supper Club in Harlem, New York. The restaurant, known simply as “Wells” to regulars, opened in 1938. Wells became a late night hotspot for jazz musicians, who would stop by late at night after their various gigs. The musicians, arriving too late for dinner but too early for breakfast, enjoyed the appetizing compromise of fried chicken and waffles. Before long, Wells was frequented by the likes of Sammy Davis Jr. and Nat King Cole (who held his wedding reception there).

Wells managed to inspire a nationwide trend. In 1976, a Harlem native named Herb Hudson opened a Los Angeles restaurant dedicated exclusively to the pairing: Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles. Hudson’s Motown connections helped to launch the restaurant, making it a popular destination for music industry professionals and performers in the Los Angeles area. Over the years, the restaurant has become an established part of the Hollywood food landscape. Roscoe’s is so well known, in fact, that President Obama took time out of his busy schedule in 2011 to make an unscheduled stop there. In case you’re curious, he ordered the “Country Boy,” Number 9– three wings with choice of waffle, potato salad or French fries. Here’s hoping he chose the waffle.

Gladys Knight, a patron of the original Wells, started her own chain with gospel singer Ron Winan in 1996—Gladys and Ron’s Chicken and Waffles. Other soul food restaurants feature chicken and waffles on the menu, including Lo-Lo’s in Arizona and Lucky J’s in Texas. Thomas Keller’s famed restaurant Ad Hoc in Napa has been known, on occasion, to serve lemony fried chicken with crispy and delicate waffles. And in Harlem, Melba’s Restaurant serves up eggnog waffles with strawberry butter and buttermilk fried chicken. While it may sound strange, Melba’s combination is so tasty that she beat out celebrity chef Bobby Flay in a chicken and waffles “Throwdown” on Food Network.

So what is it about chicken and waffles that has caused such a stir over the years? Is it that crispy seasoned chicken skin? The fluffy waffles enveloped in melting pads of butter? That warm, sweet syrup drizzled over the top? Or is it that first bite, when all of the ingredients come together in perfect, soul-stirring harmony?

While you ponder that, I’m headed to the kitchen to whip up a homemade batch of chicken and waffles.

To check out my  recipe for Chicken and Waffles, click here.

Research Sources

Edge, John T. (2004). Fried Chicken: An American Story. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, NY.

Kanter, Larry (1997). Serving Up Chicken and Waffles to Hungry Town. Los Angeles Business Journal, Sept. 22-28.

Smith, Andrew F. (2007). The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink. Oxford University Press, New York, New York.

Stephey, M.J. (2009). A Brief History of Waffles. Time Magazine Online

You know you’ve got a favorite one. The one that makes your stomach growl just looking at it. The one that you’d like to sink your teeth into. Maybe it’s a hot pastrami on rye with spicy mustard, or perhaps a grilled cheese is more your style. Or maybe you can’t resist a French Dip with tender, juicy meat on a French roll… yeah, THAT one. Americans eat close to 200 sandwiches per year on average, so chances are you have a favorite of your own. Whatever sandwich happens to float your boat, the basic components are bound to be the same. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a sandwich as “an item of food consisting of two pieces of bread with a filling between them, eaten as a light meal.” Seems like a simple enough concept. So, who came up with this innovative way of serving food? While I’m sure the Earl of Sandwich would like all the credit, the true history of the sandwich goes back much further.

Most of us have heard of the fourth Earl of Sandwich, otherwise known as John Montagu. In the late 1700’s, French writer Pierre-Jean Grosley recounted his observations of English life in a book called Londres (translated to English under the name A Tour to London). In the book, a few lines were written that forever tied this food invention to the Earl of Sandwich:

A minister of state passed four and twenty hours at a public gaming-table, so absorpt in play, that, during the whole time, he had no subsistence but a piece of beef, between two slices of toasted bread, which he eat without ever quitting the game. This new dish grew highly in vogue, during my residence in London; it was called by the name of the minister who invented it.

While it is not clear if this anecdote is completely true, the book gained popularity and the story took hold. Soon the name was official—when you ate two pieces of bread with something in the middle, you were eating a “sandwich.”

Edward Gibbon, author of The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, is credited with being the first person to write down the word “sandwich” using its modern culinary context. On November 24, 1762, he wrote in his journal:

That respectable body, of which I have the honour of being a member, affords every evening a sight truly English. Twenty or thirty, perhaps, of the first men in the kingdom, in point of fashion and fortune, supping at little tables covered with a napkin, in the middle of a coffee-room, upon a bit of cold meat, or a sandwich, and drinking a glass of punch.

During the time this journal entry was written, Gibbon was First Lord of the Admiralty. The Earl of Sandwich, Montagu, was entrenched in London’s social scene. It’s possible that Montagu introduced the sandwich concept to his high society London friends, including Gibbon, who helped it to gain quick notoriety. In 1773, the word sandwich was used in a recipe for the first time, in Charlotte Mason’s cookbook, titled… now, stay with me here… The Lady’s assistant for regulating and supplying her table: Being a Complete System of Cookery, Containing One Hundred and Fifty Select Bills of Fare. That’s the condensed version of the title, if you can believe it.

Though the Earl of Sandwich (or, perhaps, his cook) deserves credit for helping sandwiches gain a name and popularity, variations of the concept have been around for centuries. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when or where they first appeared. Farm laborers in rural France had been eating meat between sliced bread long before it had a name, though the sandwich likely started even earlier than that. The earliest recognizable form of a sandwich may be the Korech or “Hillel sandwich” that is eaten during Jewish Passover. Hillel the Elder (born circa 110 BCE), a Jewish leader and rabbi who lived in Jerusalem during the time of King Herod, first suggested eating bitter herbs inside unleavened matzo bread. The herbs symbolized the bitterness of slavery, and the bread resembled the flatbreads made in haste by the ancient Israelites as they fled Egypt. Hillel’s simple recommendation of sandwiching the two foods together may indicate that this was already a popular way of serving food in the Middle East.

Sandwiches first appeared in American cookbooks in 1816. The fillings were no longer limited to cold meat, as recipes called for a variety of things, including cheese, fruit, shellfish, nuts and mushrooms. The years following the Civil War saw an increase in sandwich consumption, and they could be found anywhere from high-class luncheons to the taverns of the working class. By the end of the 19^th century, sandwiches earned new names for their many different forms, like the triple-layered “club sandwich” and the corned beef “Reuben.”

In the late 1920s, when Gustav Papendick invented a way to slice and package bread, sandwiches found a new audience. Mothers could easily assemble a sandwich without the need to slice their bread, and children could safely make their own lunches without the use of a knife. The portability and ease of sandwiches caught on with families, and the sandwich became a lunchroom staple.

The Earl of Sandwich’s legacy lives on today in more than just the name. John Montagu’s great-great-great-great-great-great grandson Orlando Montagu founded a chain of sandwich restaurants called—what else?—Earl of Sandwich. The menu features an homage to the Earl’s first, most famous sandwich called the “Original 1762.” The sandwich includes hot roast beef, sharp cheddar, and creamy horseradish sauce served on warm bread.

Sandwiches are now popular all over the world, and it seems like every region has their own take on the concept. In Cuba, restaurants serve ham and cheese on Cuban bread. In the Middle East, falafel or shawarma in a pita pocket is the fast food of choice. In France, a Croque Monsieur or Croque Madame can be found in most cafes. In Italy, bread is toasted and placed in a hot metal press to make panini sandwiches. Vietnamese immigrants to the U.S. brought bánh mì with them. New Orleans celebrates the po’ boy. In New York, pastrami on rye is king, though the Reuben takes a close second. In Philadelphia, it’s all about the cheesesteak. Sandwiches come in endless varieties, making them one of the most popular foods worldwide.

So come on, fess up! What’s your favorite type of sandwich?

 —

Research Sources

Bonnard, Georges (1966). Edward Gibbon: Memoirs of My Life. Thomas Nelson and Sons, London, UK.

Grosley, Pierre-Jean; Nugent, Thomas (tr.) (1772). A Tour to London; Or New Observations on England and its Inhabitants, by M. Grosley. Lockyer Davis, London, UK.

Rodger, N.A.M (1994). The Insatiable Earl, Fourth Earl of Sandwich 1718-1792. W.W. Norton, New York, NY.

Smith, Andrew F. (2007). The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink. Oxford University Press, New York, NY.

Trager, James (1995). The Food Chronology. Henry Holt and Company, New York, NY.

Wilson, Bee (2010). Sandwich: A Global History. Reaktion Books Ltd, London, UK.

The moment Scrooge’s hand was on the lock, a strange voice called him by his name, and bade him enter. He obeyed. It was his own room. There was no doubt about that. But it had undergone a surprising transformation… Heaped up on the floor, to form a kind of throne, were turkeys, geese, game, poultry, brawn, great joints of meat, sucking-pigs, long wreaths of sausages, mince-pies, plum-puddings, barrels of oysters, red-hot chestnuts, cherry-cheeked apples, juicy oranges, luscious pears, immense twelfth-cakes, and seething bowls of punch, that made the chamber dim with their delicious steam…

- Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol (1843)

As a young girl, my library card was my best friend. I read piles and piles of fiction in junior high and high school. There was nothing I loved more than escaping to the past by burying my nose in a classic novel. Some of the books I remember most are the ones with tantalizing food imagery, with passages so colorful they made me salivate in their luscious detail. Of all the fiction I enjoyed growing up, no author captured the sensory experience of a holiday meal better than Charles Dickens.

Charles Dickens circa 1867, Wikimedia Commons

Dickens was a true Victorian foodie, a man who took serious pleasure in eating and drinking. His culinary interests likely stemmed from surviving meager times during his youth. As the son of a man who often lived beyond his means, young Dickens was saddled with the task of making money for his indebted family. After his father was sentenced to prison for his debts, 12 year-old Dickens was forced to leave school and take a job in a boot-blacking factory. Being a naturally intelligent and creative child, this unpleasant factory work was tantamount to a prison sentence for young Dickens. He only worked in the factory for a few months, but the difficult experience helped to shape his personality. Dickens had a flare for championing the everyman in his stories, a writing style that eventually became known as “Dickensian.” His novels stir compassion for the overworked and underpaid. Having lived through lean times, Dickens equated food and drink with abundance, a feeling made evident in nearly every story he wrote.

Dickens got his first taste of success when his novel Oliver Twist was published in 1838. The story, revolving around the life of a downtrodden orphan, was inspired by Dickens’ own childhood. It also contains one of the most famous lines in Victorian literature, which happens to be directly related to food:

Oliver Twist by James Mahoney (1810-1879). Wikimedia Commons

The master, in his cook’s uniform, stationed himself at the copper; his pauper assistants ranged themselves behind him; the gruel was served out; and a long grace was said over the short commons. The gruel disappeared; the boys whispered each other, and winked at Oliver; while his next neighbours nudged him. Child as he was, he was desperate with hunger, and reckless with misery. He rose from the table; and advancing to the master, basin and spoon in hand, said: somewhat alarmed at his own temerity: 

“Please, sir, I want some more.”

- Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist (1838)

This heartbreaking line, bravely delivered by the starving orphan Oliver, has touched readers for nearly two centuries. Perhaps it is because we feel the echo of Dickens’ own struggle in Oliver’s story—the misery of his childhood, and the tenacity it took to rise above the situation he was born into. I find it fascinating that this timeless line revolves around hunger. Gruel is hardly a satisfying meal—a porridge-like mixture that has been thinned down with milk or water and boiled. It’s not very appetizing, but Dickens had a way of treasuring food, no matter how simple.

Dickens paid remarkable attention to detail when describing food in his stories. In Great Expectations, when young Pip describes his sister buttering bread, Dickens manages to turn a simple snack into something far more indulgent.

My sister had a trenchant way of cutting our bread-and-butter for us that never varied. First, with her left hand she jammed the loaf hard and fast against her… Then she took some butter (not too much) on a knife and spread it on the loaf, in an apothecary kind of way, as if she were making a plaister — using both sides of the knife with a slapping dexterity, and trimming and moulding the butter off round the crust. Then, she gave the knife a final smart wipe on the edge of the plaister, and then sawed a very thick round off the loaf: which she finally, before separating from the loaf, hewed into two halves, of which Joe got one, and I the other.

- Charles Dickens, Great Expectations (1860)

Alcohol was also a recurring theme in Dickens’ stories. Though drinking was largely frowned upon in Victorian society, Dickens was known to enjoy visiting taverns and public houses. He strongly opposed the Temperance Movement, believing that the struggling lower classes deserved, at the very least, the opportunity to enjoy an innocent drink. Dickens’ fondness for spirits can be seen in the character of Mr. Micawber, in David Copperfield, whose troubles were quickly forgotten with a dose of Gin Punch (one of Dickens’ favorite drinks).  In Martin Chuzzlewit, a nurse named Mrs. Gamp is clearly drawn as an alcoholic. And in A Tale of Two Cities, attorneys Stryver and Carton (known as the Lion and the Jackal) guzzle punch while working on a case.

The Lion and The Jackal, A Tale of Two Cities. Wikimedia Commons

The lion then composed himself on his back on a sofa on one side of the drinking-table, while the jackal sat at his own paper-bestrewn table proper, on the other side of it, with the bottles and glasses ready to his hand. Both resorted to the drinking-table without stint, but each in a different way; the lion for the most part reclining with his hands in his waistband, looking at the fire, or occasionally flirting with some lighter document; the jackal, with knitted brows and intent face, so deep in his task, that his eyes did not even follow the hand he stretched out for his glass–which often groped about, for a minute or more, before it found the glass for his lips.

- Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, 1859

Dickens loved Christmas, evidenced by his many holiday-themed stories. His daughter, Mamie, remembered their family holiday celebrations with great affection. The Dickens family “looked forward to it with eagerness and delight, and to my father it was a time dearer than any part of the year. He loved Christmas for its deep significance as well as for its joys…” (Dining with Dickens, pg. 79). Christmas in the Dickens home was described as an elaborate celebration. He favored goose and plum pudding, and loved to engage in family games and dancing. To drink, there most certainly would have been Gin Punch or Smoking Bishop, a mulled wine and citrus punch with port.

A Christmas Carol – Title Page, First Edition. Wikimedia Commons

Dickens’ most memorable holiday character, a curmudgeonly old man by the name of Ebenezer Scrooge, is the centerpiece of his classic novel A Christmas Carol. Since its original publication in 1843, it has become one of the most beloved holiday stories of all time. Dickens uses food to demonstrate the key transformation in Scrooge’s character, when he learns the importance of generosity and kindness. To make amends for his past mistakes, he offers a prized turkey to the underprivileged Cratchit family, and chooses to attend his nephew’s holiday meal.

Mrs. Cratchit made the gravy (ready before­hand in a little saucepan) hissing hot; Master Peter mashed the potatoes with incredible vigour; Miss Belinda sweetened up the apple-sauce; Martha dusted the hot plates; Bob took Tiny Tim beside him in a tiny corner at the table; the two young Cratchits set chairs for everybody, not forgetting themselves, and mounting guard upon their posts, crammed spoons into their mouths, lest they should shriek for goose before their turn came to be helped. At last the dishes were set on, and grace was said. It was succeeded by a breathless pause, as Mrs. Cratchit, looking slowly all along the carving-knife, prepared to plunge it in the breast; but when she did, and when the long expected gush of stuffing issued forth, one murmur of delight arose all round the board, and even Tiny Tim, excited by the two young Cratchits, beat on the table with the handle of his knife, and feebly cried Hurrah !

- Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol (1843)

With the holiday season upon us, A Christmas Carol and other Dickens stories remind us that kindness, generosity, and compassion are the values we should honor most. Dickens had a strong moral character, a love for life, and an appreciation for simple pleasures like food and drink. In this, the bicentenary year of Dickens’ birth, what better way to celebrate the holidays than by revisiting his  literary classics? I recommend curling up with one of his books while sipping on this warm holiday drink inspired by the life of Dickens.

To try a Victorian Dickens-inspired drink recipe for Smoking Bishop, click here.

Research Sources

Broomfield, Andrea L. (2007). Food and Cooking in Victorian England – A History. Praeger, Westport, CT.

Dickens, Cedric (1984). Dining with Dickens. Elvendon Press, UK.

Dickens, Cedric (1980). Drinking with Dickens. Elvendon Press, UK.

Dickens, Charles (republished 2011). The Complete Works of Charles Dickens, Kindle Edition. Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Herbst, Sharon Tyler and Ron (2009). The Deluxe Food Lover’s Companion. Barron’s Educational Series, Inc., Hauppauge, NY.

Pool, Daniel (1993). What Jane Austen Ate And Charles Dickens Knew. Touchstone, New York, NY.