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Five Food Finds about Barbecue:

  1. Barbecues have been a White House tradition since Thomas Jefferson. Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th president of the United States, hosted the first barbecue at the White House that featured Texas-style barbecued ribs.
  2. The most popular holidays for barbecuing are, in order, July 4th (71 percent), Memorial Day (57 percent), and Labor Day (55 percent)..
  3. The most popular foods for cooking on the grill are, in order: burgers (85 percent), steak (80 percent), hot dogs (79 percent) and chicken (73 percent).
  4. The side dishes most commonly prepared on the grill are, in order, corn (41 percent), potatoes (41 percent), and other vegetables (32 percent).
  5. The most popular flavors of barbecue sauce are hickory, followed by mesquite, honey, and then spicy-hot.

 

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1828 The cornerstone was laid for the Tremont House in Boston, Massachusetts. It would be the first U.S. hotel to install bathrooms. It opened on October 16, 1829.

1845 Henry David Thoreau begins his 2 year experiment with simple living at Waldon Pond.

1848 Francois Auguste René Vicomte de Chateaubriand died. Chateaubriand was a French writer and politician. His chef, Montmireil, created a famous recipe consisting of a center cut from the beef tenderloin, grilled and served with béarnaise sauce and chateau potatoes. Montmireil named the dish Chateaubriand.

1906 Vincent Schaefer was born. A U.S. research chemist, he invented ‘cloud seeding’ with dry ice to cause rain or snow.

1918 Pauline Esther and Esther Pauline were born. Pauline Esther’s pen name was Abigal Van Buren and she wrote the “Dear Abby” newspaper advice column. Her twin sister Esther Pauline wrote the “Ann Landers” column advice column.

1943 Alan Wilson of the music group ‘Canned Heat’ was born.

1956 At a Fourth of July family picnic, Milton Levine came up with the idea for the Ant Farm. I wonder if he had dreams of fencing them in so they would not bother him at picnics?