Author Archives: Catherine Lambrecht

Food: Gathering Around the Table + Church Supper

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Join Us on Saturday, July 12, 2025 @ 1 PM

DeKalb County History Center
1730 N Main Street | Sycamore, IL 60178
Saturday, July 13, 2024 at 1 PM Central

Highly recommended:
Church Supper at Kingston United Methodist Church 121 1st St | Kingston, IL 60145
Dinner will feature chicken dinner plus homemade pie! 

Saturday, July 12, 2025 at 5 PM Central Time
Cost: $20 including admission and supper

The food on the American table may not define exactly what we are as a nation, but the traditions surrounding our foods speak volumes about who we are. Rooted in centuries of borrowing and sharing, food traditions are staggeringly diverse and constantly evolving. The intersection of cultures in America is perhaps the most important factor in the mix that is America’s food. Continue reading →

Acre by Acre: Our Farming Heritage – Curator lead tour @ Elmhurst History Museum

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Join us on Monday, July 21, 2025, 10 AM at the Elmhurst History Museum

From 1850 – 1950, the area of DuPage County, located just 10 miles west of Chicago, was home to farming families and small towns. Acre by Acre: Our Farming Heritage will explore how settlers transformed the land into a thriving farming community and delve into the rich history of farming in the western suburbs. Despite facing challenges, these pioneering families supported themselves through subsistence farming before transitioning to commercial farming, contributing to Illinois’ agricultural legacy. Continue reading →

Preserving Your Family Recipes

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FREE Workshop: Preserving your Family recipes. When you dip your madeleine in your Proustian tea, make it more than a memory. This workshop, in partnership with Society life member the First Bank of Highland Park, will provide the tools to preserve your family’s culinary history whether the original format is digital, oral or on a file card! Limited seating, please reserve. Continue reading →

A Culinary Journey Through India: The Cuisine of Kerala

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Presented by Colleen Taylor Sen

Mintza Restaurant, 2245 West Devon Avenue | Chicago, IL 60659
Get Directions
Wednesday, April 23, 2025 at 6 PM Central Time

This series of dinners curated specially for members of the Culinary Historians of Chicago and Rogers Park West Ridge Historical Society features the cuisines of different regions of India.

At the first dinner we enjoyed the delicious cuisine of Hyderabad. This time we’ll savor the cuisine of Kerala, a small state on the southwest corner of India famous for its beautiful scenery, diverse communities, and delicious cuisine, prepared with aromatic spices (but not hot!) and coconut in various forms. Continue reading →

Preserving Family Heirloom Recipes

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Presented by Valerie J. Frey
Sock It To Me Cake

Heirloom dishes and family food traditions are rich sources of nostalgia and provide vivid ways to learn about our families’ past, yet they can be problematic. Many family recipes and food traditions are never documented in written or photographic form, existing only as unwritten know-how and lore that vanishes when a cook dies. Even when recipes are written down, they often fail to give the tricks and tips that would allow another cook to accurately replicate the dish. Continue reading →