Category Archives: Culinary Historians of Chicago

What’s behind Italy’s ingredients?

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Podcast

Event at Eataly on October 11, 2023

Recipes:
Spicy ziti with eggplant, capers, and mint (Ziti piccanti ai capperi, melanzane e menta)
Swordfish of love (Pescespada dell’amore)

Come join us as Viola Buitoni (yes, she’s a member of that illustrious pasta-manufacturing family) shares the history and geography of Italy’s most iconic ingredients, and gives tips on how we can incorporate their vibrant flavors and techniques into our kitchens. (Think balsamic vinegar, flakes of parmigiano reggiano, fresh ricotta and creamy grains of risotto.) As a native Roman raised in the Umbrian countryside, Viola grew up savoring these artisanal foods. Continue reading →

Much ado about masalas—a deep dive into Indian Cuisine

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Masaleydaar Spice Blends with Recipes

Podcast

Come join us as a maven of masala, Nandita Godbole, explores India’s complex and delicious regional cuisines through its culinary backbone – its masalas (which, by the way, are a vast number of spice mixtures ground into a paste or powder for use in Indian cooking). Continue reading →

Alex Prud’homme, Dinner with the President

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Presented by Alex Prud’homme

Podcast

Links to Recipes:
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Reverse Martini
Lady Bird Johnson’s Pedernales River Chili
Martha Washington’s Preserved Cherries

You all probably know of Alex Prud’homme as co-author of Julia Child’s best selling memoir, My Life in France. Come join us as Alex takes us into the White House to talk about his latest book, Dinner with the President. Alex will serve us a capsulated history of American food and politics, from the grim meals eaten by George Washington and his starving troops at Valley Forge, to Donald Trump’s burger banquets and Joe Biden’s “performance enhancing” ice cream—what they ate, why they ate it, and what it tells us about the state of the nation. Continue reading →