Posts tagged “henry david thoreau”

September 7 is National Beer Lover’s Day

Kick it into high gear! It’s time to celebrate beer!

Here are today’s five thing to know about Beer:

Germany serves beer ice cream in popsicle form. Its alcoholic content is less than that found in “classic” beer.
In 1962, Iron City beer was the brand used to test-market the concept of tab opening aluminum cans. By 1970, over 90% of all beer cans were self-opening.
Prohibition, beginning on January 16, 1920, lasted 13 years, 10 months, 19 days, 17 hours, and 32-1/2 minutes, and was rescinded on December 5, 1933, at 3:32 p.m.
Centuries ago in England, pub visitors used a novel innovation that enabled them to get their beer served quickly. They used mugs with a whistle baked into the rim, the whistle being used to summon the barmaid. It has been suggested this practice gave birth to the phrase “wet your whistle.”
A beer lover or enthusiast is called a cerevisaphile.

Today’s Pinterest Board : Beer

Today’s Food History

1840 Luther Crowell was born. He invented a machine to make square bottomed grocery bags.
1847 Henry David Thoreau left Walden Pond.
1912 David Packard was born. Founder with William Hewlett of the Hewlett Packard Company. Before they became famous for computers and printers etc., some of their early inventions were an automatic urinal flusher and a weight loss shock machine!
1971 The final episode of ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’ TV show is aired.

Categories: Food Holidays, September Food Holidays

Tagged: aluminum cans, beverly hillbillies tv, early inventions, facts, five food finds, food, foodimentary, fun, henry david thoreau, iron city beer, life, national beer lover's day, novel innovation, today's food history, todays food history

National Barbecue Day

Five Food Finds about Barbecue

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.

The most popular holidays for barbecuing are, in order, July 4th (71 percent), Memorial Day (57 percent), and Labor Day (55 percent)..

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).

The side dishes most commonly prepared on the grill are, in order, corn (41 percent), potatoes (41 percent), and other vegetables (32 percent).

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?

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.

Categories: Food Holidays

Tagged: abigal van buren, ann landers column, dear abby, facts, five food finds, food, henry david thoreau, may 16 holiday, may food holiday, national barbecue day

National Crepe Suzette Day

John-Bryan Hopkins

National Crepe Suzette Day

Five Food Finds about Crepe Suzette

The most common way to make Crêpe Suzette is to pour liqueur (usually Grand Marnier) over a freshly-cooked crêpe with sugar and light it.

This will make the alcohol in the liqueur evaporate, resulting in a fairly thick, caramelised sauce. In a restaurant, a Crêpe Suzette is often prepared in a chafing dish in full view of the guests.

The origin of the dish and its name is somewhat disputed. One claim is that the dish was created out of a mistake made by a fourteen year-old assistant waiter Henri Charpentier in 1895 at the Maitre at Monte Carlo’s Café de Paris. He was preparing a dessert for the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, whose guests included a beautiful French girl named Suzette.

Different sources (like the Larousse Gastronomique) however doubt that Charpentier was serving the prince instead of the head waiter because he would have been too young.

The other claim states Crêpes Suzette was named in honor of French actress Suzanne Reichenberg (1853–1924), who worked professionally under the name Suzette.