Lucky food

December 28, 2014 by
 |  One Comment  |  Leave Comment
Celebration food is often symbolic, whether due to a religious tradition or a secular one. The start of a new year, representing new beginnings and opportunities, is rife with symbolism in food, much of which is designed to auger wealth and good fortune in the coming months.  Leading the charge in this arena are black-eyed peas, especially in the American… read more

Break out the bubbly

December 27, 2014 by
 |  Leave Comment
Champagne has a long and rich history of being associated with special occasions. Next week, millions of people across the globe will celebrate the arrival of the new year with a toast of champagne or sparkling wine. But if you are in the mood for something a little different, try a champagne-based cocktail instead. First, let's brush up on our… read more

Christmas leftovers as timekeepers

December 25, 2014 by
 |  Leave Comment
Over the Christmas holiday, you don't need a calendar (or even a clock) to know what time it is. You can tell the time by the leftovers you are eating, and you can use The Guardian's reference for the seven stages of holiday leftovers as a gauge. The guide starts off with Christmas Day, after the main meal: "Despite the… read more

The Hanukkah latke story

December 10, 2014 by
 |  2 Comments  |  Leave Comment
Fried foods feature prominently in Hanukkah celebrations, and latkes are popular expressions of the tradition. The popularity of potato latkes is no surprise - what's not to love about the contrast between the crispy exteriors and creamy insides? They're so delicious, Epicurious dreams of a latke party with their five favorite latke and sauce pairings. But did you know that… read more

Gifts from your kitchen (and your heart)

December 3, 2014 by
 |  3 Comments  |  Leave Comment
  For millenia people have expressed their feelings through food. Feasts and festivals mark important milestones from the changing of the seasons to birth, marriage, and death. In addition to these celebrations, gifts of food play an important role in conveying sentiments of love and gratitude. Homemade gifts especially relay these messages, so it's no wonder many of us choose to make… read more

The intriguing history behind Thanksgiving food

November 27, 2014 by
 |  One Comment  |  Leave Comment
As people in the U.S. sit down to enjoy another holiday meal, they may not think about how traditional Thanksgiving dishes became tradition in the first place. Someone is, however, and is sharing the fascinating history behind ubiquitous food served at this time of year. Most Americans know the legend of the sharing between Native Americans and Pilgrims that inspires… read more

Load up for leftovers

November 25, 2014 by
 |  One Comment  |  Leave Comment
Cooks in the U.S. are in the midst of Thanksgiving meal preparations, and Twitter feeds are stuffed to the gills with holiday recipe ideas. We expect that most of you have already nailed down your menu, so we thought we'd give you a head start on what to do with the leftovers you'll be facing on Friday. These ideas may… read more

Get out your bundt pans

November 15, 2014 by
 |  3 Comments  |  Leave Comment
Today is National Bundt Day in the United States. Although cakes baked in ring shapes have been around for centuries, Bundt cakes got a boost after Minnesota-based cookware manufacturer Nordic Ware trademarked the name "Bundt" and began producing the pans from cast aluminum. The pan was nearly a flop until 1966, when the "Tunnel of Fudge" cake, baked in a… read more

The great holiday meal debates

November 12, 2014 by
 |  7 Comments  |  Leave Comment
In a recent Epicurious article, the writer opines that it doesn't matter what you put in your stuffing. Rather, she instructs that whatever flavoring agents you choose, you should put in more than you think you need to avoid a bland dish. That being said, the author notes that friendships are formed and "families torn asunder by painful debates over what ingredients belong in… read more

The foods of Día de Muertos

November 1, 2014 by
 |  One Comment  |  Leave Comment
On the heels of Halloween is the Mexican celebration Día de Muertos or Day of the Dead, celebrated November 1-2 each year. Day of the Dead celebrations date back to the ancient Aztecs, who felt that instead of mourning the deceased, people should celebrate their lives and welcome their spirits back to the land of the living once a year.… read more

The foods of Diwali

October 23, 2014 by
 |  Leave Comment
Diwali, a five-day festival of lights celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains across the world, celebrates new beginnings and the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness. The actual day of Diwali is traditionally celebrated on the third day of the festival, this year that day is Thursday, October 23. Diwali celebrations frequently include fireworks, candles, and other forms of… read more

Celebrate Oktoberfest

September 26, 2014 by
 |  Leave Comment
We're in the midst of Oktoberfest celebrations, which recently began in Munich. While people think of it mainly as a beer festival, Oktoberfest originated as a celebration for the wedding of Prince Ludwig to Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. Today it's celebrated across the world with delicious German foods like sausages, Käsespätzle (cheese noodles), pretzels, and sauerkraut. It's a special food holiday for me since I hail from a town that celebrates… read more

Celebrate International Bacon Day

August 30, 2014 by
 |  Leave Comment
Today is International Bacon Day, a relatively recent food "holiday" created by college students in 2000 in Boston or 2004 in Colorado, depending on which story you believe.  Market research firm the NPD Group reported that Americans ate 1.1 billion servings of bacon from April 2013 to April 2014 -- a six percent increase over the previous year. Baconmania may… read more

Cook your way through the World Cup

June 12, 2014 by
 |  One Comment  |  Leave Comment
Football fans across the world are celebrating the 2014 World Cup, which begins today in Brazil. Although the games are exciting on their own, many people are amping up the celebration by cooking meals inspired both by the location of the games and by World Cup competitors. Epicurious features a Brazilian-themed World Cup menu, and the site also recommends this black-eyed pea… read more

Much better than a tie

June 9, 2014 by
 |  Leave Comment
On Sunday, fathers in many countries will open the obligatory Father's Day present and pull out a tie, a set of golf club covers, or maybe a new tool with an LED light on it. Being good-natured, loving fathers, they will profusely thank their sons and daughters, hang the tie in the closet with the dozen other ties received as gifts,… read more

Ice cream – summer’s dessert

June 1, 2014 by
 |  2 Comments  |  Leave Comment
June is Dairy Month in the U.S. Dairy month is celebrated proudly in the Upper Midwest, where states like Wisconsin (known as America's Dairyland) have a long tradition of small family dairy farms. Dairy encompasses such a broad array of foods that it would be nearly impossible to catalog all of them in one blog post, so today we'll concentrate… read more

Ladies and gentlemen, start your grills

May 21, 2014 by
 |  Leave Comment
The official Memorial Day holiday in the U.S. also marks the unofficial start of summer, and by extension, grilling season. Food websites are ablaze (groan) with grilling and barbecue recipes. Serious Eats gives the lowdown on how to make great kebabs and Saveur features a Memorial Day backyard cookout menu. Food52 shows you how to master your grill, and the L.A. Times  explains… read more

Forget flowers, get Mom something she’ll really like

May 7, 2014 by
 |  Leave Comment
This Sunday is Mother's Day in the U.S. Traditional gifts for Mother's Day are flowers, jewelry, and taking Mom to brunch. (Husbands who buy their wives vacuum cleaners or washing machines for Mother's Day may be the recipient of the cold shoulder for weeks.) Instead of the same old gifts, why not get Mom something she'll really like, such as… read more

Get ready for Cinco de Mayo

May 2, 2014 by
 |  One Comment  |  Leave Comment
Everyone appreciates a reason to celebrate, especially when the festivities involve great food. This is evident in the widespread celebration of Cinco de Mayo far outside the borders of Mexico. It's likely that many people who celebrate this day may not fully comprehend the history behind it: it is not, as many people believe, Mexico's Independence Day, which is September… read more

Celebrating Anzac Day

April 24, 2014 by
 |  One Comment  |  Leave Comment
While many "holidays" about food are completely fabricated events to promote a product, some foods are associated with real holidays that have a more noble purpose. This is the case with the Anzac biscuit, made to commemorate Anzac Day. According to EYB member and blogger Pat Churchill of Cooking Down Under, each year on April 25, Australians and New Zealanders mark Anzac Day… read more

Caramel knowledge

April 5, 2014 by
 |  6 Comments  |  Leave Comment
As we've discussed before, there is a "food holiday" nearly every day of the year, especially in the U.S. Today's holiday bears mention because it celebrates caramel, that fantastic transformation of a nondescription pantry staple into an exotic treat. Caramel has been part of the cooking lexicon since medieval times, if not before, and with good reason. The dark and… read more

Green, naturally

March 13, 2014 by
 |  One Comment  |  Leave Comment
St. Patrick's Day is drawing near, and that means green foods will soon be popping up everywhere. A lot of food (and beer) will be artificially colored green for the celebration, but there are plenty of green foods you can make that don't require a squeeze of the food coloring bottle. The EYB St. Patrick's Day Pinterest board has several interesting green… read more

Every day is a celebration

February 22, 2014 by
 |  Leave Comment
Today is National Margarita Day in the United States. This is, of course, not an official holiday, but a quick Google search turns up a plethora of similar food celebration days in the US and the UK. (My search for specific UK food holidays was hampered by the different use of the word holiday in these countries. I guess the… read more

Sometimes a guy just wants a sandwich

February 14, 2014 by
 |  3 Comments  |  Leave Comment
Tonight, thousands of champagne corks will pop and indulgent meals will be served as couples the world over celebrate Valentine's Day. This day of romance is named after a Christian martyr from the fifth century, but its modern-day incarnation as an ode to romantic love makes its debut in the writings of Chaucer and others in the fourteenth century. It is frequently… read more

Romantic recipes

February 10, 2014 by
 |  3 Comments  |  Leave Comment
Friday is Valentine's Day, so if you haven't yet planned the romantic dinner to sweep your significant other off his or her feet, you better start straight away. My romantic dinner will include a fried bologna sandwich (that's what he wants) and red velvet cheesecake (that's what I want). So many Valentine's Day recipes revolve around standbys like steak and… read more
« Older posts
Newer posts »
Seen anything interesting? Let us know & we'll share it!

Categories

Archives