Whaddya Think, Doctor Fink?

Fingers and chopsticks are welcome. Forks and knives are not. Sushi has names and customs that challenge the imagination. Creative sushi chefs (Itamae) are always coming up with something new and different. People love it. In the U.S. alone, the sushi industry is worth $22 billion, with over 4,000 sushi shops around the country. A sushi chef is highly skilled – those individuals go through up to ten years of rigorous training to become a master itamae. Where did this

  April, 1930. There were no home microwaves or McDonald’s. Herbert Hoover was President, and everyone was listening to Duke Ellington, Judy Garland, and Cole Porter. A Canadian-born baker, James Dewar, worked at the Continental Baking Company in Illinois. He noticed that machines making cream-filled strawberry shortcake were left idle after the season was over. Dewar came up with the idea of making a mini-snack cake filled with readily available banana cream. On his way to a marketing meeting, Dewar

Is there a Kentucky Cordon Bleu in your future? How about a Coney Filet or Pigs in a Poncho? Twenty billion hot dogs are eaten every year in the U.S. They are the stuff of movies, music, baseball, barbecues, and busy street vendors. Basically, a hot dog is a thin sausage. It’s hard to find a cuisine, ethnic group, or country that doesn’t have its own version. In Brazil they eat cachorro quente, in Argentina they love choripán, and in

  Do you shout or just think, “Me want cookie!” when you pass a bakery or stroll down the cookie aisle? We’re all secret cookie monsters. And it’s been going on for over 1,400 years. According to Wikipedia, “cookies appear to have their origins in seventh century AD Persia, shortly after the use of sugar became relatively common in the region.” It probably began when bakers needed to test the temperature in their ovens – without thermostats and electricity. They

Do you love pretzels? You’re in good company – over $7.2 billion are sold each year. Soft or hard, flavored, baldie, dipped, or salted – the world adores pretzels. In Israel you might eat pretzel beigales; Icelanders snack on kringla; and the Dutch have krakeling. The average American gobbles two pounds of pretzels every year. If you’re from Philadelphia – the “pretzel capital of the U.S.” – you will consume 12 times that amount. What’s so great about twisted “bread?”

  They are thousands of years apart and equally delicious. It’s up to you – enchiladas, nachos, or both? They go together like an old married couple. Let’s start with the old. An enchilada is a corn tortilla filled with cheese, meat, or veggies, and covered with sauce. There are dozens of variations from super spicy to mild, a wide range of fillings, and even colors like verde (green), red (chili), and brown (molé). Enchiladas are an old Mexican dish

  Imagine a hamburger without ketchup. How about French Fries? Ketchup is loved around the world. 97% of Americans own a bottle of ketchup. 11 billion single-serve packets of Heinz ketchup are used worldwide each year – almost two packets for every person on the planet. Where did one of America’s most iconic foods come from? Imperial China. Say what? Think 2300 years ago. According to History “as far back as 300 BC texts began documenting the use of fermented

Everyone loves a sandwich. There are so many choices, so many breads, and so many fillings. It’s a finger food made in heaven. Sandwiches have been with us for a long time. The first recorded sandwich was by Hillel the Elder, the ancient Jewish sage. He lived in the first century, during the time of King Herod and the Roman Emperor Augustus. Known for his intellect and love of humanity, Hillel wrapped meat from the Paschal lamb with bitter herbs,

  Legend says it began as an accident. It was winter in Oakland, California (1905). The sun was warm during the day and the night was cold. 11-year-old Frank Epperson was having fun. Using a wooden stick, Frank mixed a popular fruit-flavored soft drink powder with water. He accidently left it on the porch overnight. The temperature dropped to record lows. In the morning Frank discovered his concoction was frozen solid. Using the wood stick as a handle, he tasted

The first time I met a cherimoya was at a Farmer’s Market in Los Angeles. “Try it,” the farmer grinned. “You won’t be sorry,” Accepting his challenge, I took the green, grenade-looking fruit home. Not sure what I would discover, I cut it open and found a white, creamy fruit with inedible large black seeds. I spooned one bite and understood why Mark Twain called it the “most delicious fruit known to men.” It’s like eating pudding – chill it,