Whaddya Think, Doctor Fink?

In America we call it the humble grilled cheese sandwich. Bread has been a staple for a very long time – as far back as 8000 BC (over ten thousand years ago). Cheese is “newer” – dating back to 7200 BC or over nine thousand years. Bread making probably began when humans shifted from nomads to farmers. The oldest bread remains were found by Amaia Arranz-Otaegui, in an archeological site where she was collecting dinner remains from hunter-gatherers in Jordan.

  Every year three billion fortune cookies are made. The largest, according to Guinness World Records, weighed over three pounds. The average sits in the palm of your hand. Whether dining at a fancy restaurant or munching from white-and-red takeout cartons, fortune cookies are the beloved “dessert” after a Chinese dinner. Chinese? Brace yourself. While Chinese fortune cookies have many different stories, one fact remains uncontested. Chinese fortune cookies are Japanese. Riddles, April fools’ jokes, and fake news aside, people

Say what? In 1897 dentist William Morrison wanted to boost his income. He joined forces with candy maker John Wharton to invent a machine that made what was originally called spun sugar. Spun sugar had been around since the fifteenth century. Chefs melted sugar and used a fork to flick strands over a broom stick. It took a lot of time. Sugar was expensive – too costly for the masses. According to Harry Sherrin in HistoryHit, “spun sugar was by no

Politics and pancakes are running mates. The only one who has more names than politicians are pancakes. Think Johnnycakes, Flapjacks, and Slapjacks. Feast on hotcakes, silver dollars, and griddlecakes. There are allies like French crepes, Israeli latkes, Australian pikelets and rivals like Russian blini and Iranian khagineh. Pancakes and politics are mixed in the batter. Consider popular Pancakes and Politics events held throughout the U.S.  How about National Pancake Day or free pancake breakfasts sponsored by candidates running for election?

Mac ‘n cheese is a win-win. Bake it, cook it on the stovetop, or get it from a box. Feast on basic, gourmet, or potluck. Win for taste. Win for comfort. It’s a foodie chameleon. Whether in America, Canada, Israel, or anywhere around the world, everyone loves mac ‘n cheese. The magic is in the recipe – it shifts to fit individual, family, and cultural tastes. Most people believe that the American version came from foodie Thomas Jefferson after he

There’s a war going on that’s not breaking news. It’s between the Israelis, Greeks, and Palestinians. Add Coptics, Lebanese, and Jordanians in addition to the Middle East or Mediterranean advocates. They’re battling for the rights to falafel and politics has crept into the recipe. Israelis call falafel their “National Food.” Palestinians insist that the Israelis stole it from them. Lebanese claim it as their own. The bottom line – all falafel is not the same. Basic falafel is a ball

I remember mom taking me to the local market. It was an old store with stained wood floorboards, sagging shelves, and barrels filled with two types of pickles – new (half sour) and dill (sour). My job was using tongs to fish out the best dill in the barrel, garlicky pickle juice running deliciously down my arm. I was fishing into history. Pickles have an impressive story. Think Shakespeare, Columbus, Napoleon, Thomas Jefferson, and Cleopatra. Cleopatra? She swore that pickles

What cookie is over one hundred years old, has a National Day, socks, and a street named for it? According to author Catherine Gilbert Murdock, “Heaven is paved with Oreos.” Impressive for a cookie that began as a knock-off. In 1908, Sunshine Biscuits introduced the Hydrox sandwich cookie. It was a hit. Looming in the background was a group of bakery companies who formed the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco). Sound familiar? They introduced Barnum’s Animal Crackers in a small colorful

Peanut butter. You can gobble it like Presidents Jefferson, Carter, and Clinton, or consume enough (along with fellow Americans) to coat the floor of the Grand Canyon every year. Peanuts (and peanut butter) don’t grow on trees like pecans and almonds. They’re not even a nut. Peanuts are legumes like beans, lentils, and peas that grow in pods (peanut shells). The peanut bush is green, knee high, with tiny yellow flowers.  When the flowers wilt, the stem goes underground and

  Maybe buffalos don’t fly but their numbers are sky-high. Nearly 1.42 billion Buffalo wings are eaten on Super Bowl Sunday – a lot of wings for a critter that isn’t air-borne. So where do Buffalo wings come from?     It began with a mistake. The year was 1964. Teressa Belissimo ordered chicken parts for her small Buffalo, New York restaurant, Anchor Bar. Instead of chicken backs and necks that her husband used for the pub’s famous spaghetti sauce,