Europe
-
All mischief comes after All Hallow; the Origins of Halloween, Samhain, and an Irish Feast
How fit our well-rank’d Feasts do follow/ All mischief comes after All Hallow -Richard Crashaw For this post, we made Shepards Pie a la Alton Brown, a dish commonly attributed to the United…
-
Macaroni *Doodle* Pie, insights into the History of Mac and Cheese
There is a lot of mythology around pasta. Macaroni was invented in Rome, pasta in Naples. Marco Polo introduced pasta to Italy. Thomas Jefferson brought Mac and Cheese to America. Like most topics…
-
Christkindle Markets Part 2: Lebkuchen-the gingerless gingerbread
Okay, on to part two-gingerbread! If you haven’t read part 1 yet, check it out. Traveling through the markets one of the most ubiquitous foods is lebkuchen, also known as German gingerbread. These…
-
Christkindle Markets Part 1: History and Ties to the Nazi Party
This first post ended up kind of long, so I decided to make it two. This post focuses on the history of the markets. The next post delves into ginger! This past winter…
-
Flaming cheese & copper all around the world
If an appetizer of fried cheese sounds good to you then you should definitely check out Saganaki. This Greek dish, named for the small two-handled pan it is cooked in (called sagani in…
-
Khachapuri (Georgian Curdled Cheese Bread) and Roman Frescoes
The New York Times recently came out with an article on a mural (actually, would have been a fresco) from Pompeii showing a proto-pizza. If our identification of the imagery is correct, then…
-
Spain: Mona de Pascua, Paella, and the Moors
There are two different topics in this post: (1) Mona de Pascua and (2) Paella and the Moors. They both stem from my recent trip to Spain. Enjoy! Mona de Pascua As Easter…
-
Poland, Pierogis, and the history of Archaeology and Spies
For this post, I decided to stick with Eastern Europe and explore Poland and the pierogi. Pierogis are small, stuffed flour-dough dumplings. These versatile dumplings are seen as comfort food, and can be…
-
Ukrainian Borscht and the Archaeology of Conflict
I wanted to take a trip to Ukraine with this post, in light of recent events. Instead of writing up my own version of Borscht, the National Dish of Ukraine, and Vushka (dumplings),…
-
Arancini and Cultural Identity in Sicily
Arancini, meaning “little oranges,” are fried rice balls with various fillings, both savory and sweet. They originated during the Islamic era of Sicily when North Africans controlled the island and parts of the…
