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Chef James

“The duty of a good Cuisinier is to transmit to the next generation everything he has learned and experienced.”
 
Fernand Point, 1941

FEATURED FOR DECEMBER

Updated: Over 9,000 Food Festivals

Football Food  ---  Turkey Recipes

Christmas Articles  ---  Ham Recipes

Christmas Food Trivia

Christmas Tree Trivia

Other Christmas Trivia

Holiday Recipes

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus

The Christmas Goose

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FEATURED RECIPES & TIPS

· Guacamole & Avocado Dips

· Original Frank's Redhot Wings

· Ultimate Party Wings

· More Appetizer Recipes

· Deep Fried Turkey

· White Castle Turkey Stuffing

· Turkey Stuffings & Dressings

· Classic Green Bean Casserole

· Fresh Cranberry Relish

· Turducken Recipe

· Candied Sweet Potatoes

· Christmas Wreath Cake

· English Mince Meat (1896)

· Cranberry Cheese Bars

· Perfect Gingerbread Men

· Gingerbread Whoopie Pies

· Pfeffernusse Cookies

· Texas State Fair Pecan Pie

· Florida Pecan Pie

· Pumpkin Pie

· Southern Sweet Potato Pie

· Virginia Sweet Potato Pie

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December Food Holidays:

For Details, History and more DAY, WEEK and MONTH Food Holiday designations, including LINKS to Holiday Origins and Additional Information:
SEE Detailed DECEMBER Food Calendar

DECEMBER is:

• Grain of the Month: Buckwheat
  · Buckwheat Trivia & Facts

• National Egg Nog Month
  · Eggnog Trivia & Facts
  · Egg Nog Recipes

• National Fruit Cake Month
  · Holiday Fruit Cake Recipe
  · Fruitcake Trivia

• Root Vegetables Month
  · Root Vegetable Articles

• National Pear Month: Many fruits are out of season during the winter months. Pears are available fresh during this time.  · Pear Trivia    · Pear Quotes

•  Worldwide Food Service Safety Month
created in 1994 by the National Restaurant Association

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DID YOU KNOW?

POLAND: The traditional Christmas Eve supper consists of 12 non-meat dishes, representing the months of the year and featuring fish such as pike, herring and carp. Other typical Polish dishes are fish soup, sauerkraut with wild mushrooms or peas and Polish dumplings with various fillings.

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Saturday, December 20, 2025

Daily Trivia Questions are below

TODAY’S FOOD QUOTE

“Messy muddy streets and damp wool notwithstanding, there is something about snow at Christmas which brings out the child in the hardest of hearts.”  Carolyn Wheat
 

FOOD HOLIDAYS - TODAY IS:

• National Sangria Day

• St. Dominic of Silos' Day, patron of shepherds.
  (Sheep Trivia & Facts  ---  Sheep Quotes)

• Dec 17-23: Saturnalia - Ancient Roman festival honoring Saturn, the god of agriculture and harvest.
 

TODAY IN FOOD HISTORY

1790 A water-powered mill with machinery for spinning, roving, and carding cotton, began operating on the banks of the Blackstone River in Pawtuket, Rhode Island.  (Rhode Island Food Trivia)

1803 The Louisiana Purchase was completed as France turned over New Orleans, and the U.S. acquired 828,000 square miles of territory from France. The Louisiana territory included all or part of 15 U.S. states. (A formal ceremony was held March 10, 1804)

1880 In New York City, Charles F. Brush lighted up Broadway with his arc lights, giving the street its nickname, 'The Great White Way.'
(New York Food Trivia)

1893 The official opening of the Chateau Frontenac hotel in Quebec, Canada.

1922 David Tallichet, founder of Specialty Restaurants Corp, was born (died Oct 31, 2007).  A former WW II pilot, many of the restaurants have aviation themes, or are located on prime waterfront or hilltop properties. (I was Executive Chef at one of his restaurants, 'Britanny Hill' in Denver, Colorado in the 1980s - Chef James)

1928 In Guiseley, northern England, Harry Ramsden opened what would become the most famous fish and chips restaurant in the world.

1928 Mail delivery by dog sled began from Lewiston, Maine, arriving in Montreal Canada on January 14, 1929.

1946 Uri Geller, psychic spoon bender, was born.

1949 Thomas Carvel of Hartsdale, New York, received a patent for an Apparatus for Agitating and Dispensing Frozen Foods [frozen custards, ice creams etc.] in semi-solid condition.

1952 'Jambalaya (On The Bayou)' by Hank Williams was number one on the country music charts.

1968 John Steinbeck died.  American novelist, some of his titles were:  'The Grapes of Wrath,' 'Tortilla Flats' and 'Cannery Row.'

1972 Canada bans whaling on Canadian east coast, due to declining numbers.

2017 The United Nations General Assembly, in its 72nd Session, has officially adopted  the Decade of Family Farming 2019-2028. This Decade aims to serve as a framework to promote better public policies on Family Farming, and offers a unique opportunity to contribute end hunger and poverty as well as to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). [details]

 

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A FEW FEATURED FOOD FESTIVALS
(See All 9,000 Food, Wine & Beer Festivals)

Nov 18, 2025-Jan 4, 2026  National Gingerbread House Competition & Display - Asheville, N. Carolina

December 1-31, 2025  55th Annual Christmas in Newport - Newport, Rhode Island

December 10-22, 2025  The Bracebridge Dinner
Yosemite National Park, California

December 19-20, 2025  Winter Beer Festival
Seattle, Washington

December 20-29, 2025  NOLA Christmasfest
New Orleans, Louisiana

NEW YEARS EVE EVENTS

(SEE ALL FOOD FESTIVALS and OTHER FOOD EVENTS)
 

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FOOD TRIVIA QUIZ    (new DAILY questions)

1) All of the following events took place in the same year.  What year is it?
· The first use of the Del Monte name on a food product: a premium coffee for the Hotel Del Monte Hotel in Monterey, California.
· California oranges are first shipped East by rail.
· Coca-Cola was invented by pharmacist John Styth Pemberton at Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia.
· Horlick's of Wisconsin offered the first malted milk for sale to the public.
· The first commercially successful dish washing machine was patented.
· In San Francisco, Ristorante Fior d' Italia opened, America's oldest Italian restaurant.

2) What is the difference between coconut water, coconut milk and coconut cream?

3) All citrus fruits originated in the Old World except one. Which one?

4) What is the most eaten fresh fruit in the world?

Click Here for Today’s Quiz Answers

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Read an article about Chef James and the FoodReference.com website published in the Winona Daily News, Minneapolis StarTribune, and numerous other newspapers: Click here for the Article
 

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Dedication
This website is dedicated to:
· Gladys Ehler, my mother, who taught me patience and how to make Sauerbraten (it is still my favorite)
· Edward Ehler, my father, who taught me a love of books and history.
· Barbara Saba, my sister, who taught me how to dance.
· Cpl. Thomas E. Saba, my nephew.  Died in action on Feb. 7, 2007 in Iraq.  He was 30 yrs. young.

          Chef James
 

TOP

DID YOU KNOW

· Turkey Tips

· Cranberry Tips

· Sweet Potato Tips

· Stringy Sweet Potatoes

· Pecan Tips

· Mashed Potato Tips

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A FOOD LIFE

"There are those who say that a life devoted to food -- cooking it, eating it, writing about it, even dreaming about it -- is a frivolous life, an indulgent life.  I would disagree.  If we do not care what we eat, we do not care for ourselves, and if we do not care for ourselves, how can we care for others?"
Fictional cookery writer Hilary Small, in episode 6, series 2 of 'Pie In the Sky'

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Click Here for
Food Emergency
Websites, Phone #s, E-mails, etc.

 

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Classic Fish and Seafood Recipes
 

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DID YOU KNOW?

NORWAY: The big festive feast takes place on Christmas Eve. Most people around the coastal regions eat fish - concoctions of cod and haddock and a variety called lutefisk. Inland they go for pork chops, specially prepared sausages and occasionally lamb.

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IN SEASON FOR AUTUMN

VEGETABLES
(Recipes  --  Tips)
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cauliflower
Celery
Collard Greens
Cranberries
Green Beans
Kale
Mushrooms
Okra
Onions
Parsnips
Peas
Potatoes
Pumpkin
Rutabagas
Spinach
Sweet Potatoes & Yams
Swiss Chard
Turnips
Winter Squash

FRUITS (Tips)
Apples
Bananas
Grapes
Kiwifruit
Lemons
Limes
Mangos
Pears
Pomegranates
Raspberries

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DID YOU KNOW?

NORWAY: Julekaka, Christmas Bread, is a favorite in Norway. It is a sweet yeast raised bread flavored with cardamom, citron and raisins.

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Website last updated on Saturday, December 20, 2025