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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 OCTOBER

• Updated: Over 9,000 Food Festivals

• BBQ & Grilling Articles & Recipes

• Outdoor Grilling Tips

• Halloween: Off With Their Heads!

• Halloween Recipes

• Equivalents and Substitutions

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FEATURED RECIPES & TIPS

· Alcohol in Cooking

· 79 Potato Salad Recipes

· 62 Slaw Recipes

· 91 Chicken Salad Recipes

· Guacamole & Avocado Dips

· Original Frank's Redhot Wings

· Ultimate Party Wings

· Meatball Appetizer Recipes

· Crunchy Snack Mixes

· More Appetizer Recipes

· Kick Off Kabobs Recipe

· Sloppy Joe Biscuit Cups

· Avocado Parmesan Potato Bowls

· Bacon Stuffed Portobellos

· Pig Skins

· Cheddar Cheese Straws

· Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Dip

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FREE Magazines and
other Publications

An extensive selection of free food, beverage & agricultural magazines, e-books, etc.

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October Food Holidays:

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

OCTOBER is:

· Fair Trade Month

· Grain of the Month: Corn

· National Cranberry Month

· National Apple Month

· National Applejack Month

· National Caramel Month

· National Chili Month

· National Cookbook Month

· National Cookie Month

· National Country Ham Month

· National Dessert Month

· National Eat Better; Eat Together Month

· National Farm to School Month

· National Kitchen and Bath Month

· National Pasta Month

National Pickled Peppers Month
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· National Pizza Month

· National Popcorn Poppin' Month

· National Pork Month

· National Pretzel Month

· National Seafood Month

· National Spinach-Lovers' Month

· National Toilet Tank Repair Month

· Non-GMO Month

· Squirrel Awareness Month

· Vegetarian Awareness Month

· New Zealand Cheese Month

· UK: Seed Gathering Season

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DID YOU KNOW?

Drambuie is a liqueur made from Scotch Whisky and heather honey. The secret formula has been in the Mackinnon family since 1745, when it was given to a Mackinnon by Prince Charles Edward (or his French attendant) as a reward for services rendered.

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Saturday, October 18, 2025

Daily Trivia Questions are below

TODAY’S FOOD QUOTE

“My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today, I have finished two bags of M&Ms and a chocolate cake. I feel better already.”   Dave Barry
 

FOOD HOLIDAYS - TODAY IS:

• National Chocolate Cupcake Day
  (Cupcake Recipes  ---  Cupcake Trivia)

• National Meatloaf Appreciation Day
  (Meatloaf Recipes)

• National Mashed Potato Day
  (Mashed Potato Recipes)

• International Raw Milk Cheese Appreciation Day (Oct 18, 2025) An international celebration of raw-milk cheese and the individuals who bring it to life from the pasture to the plate.
  [Oldways Cheese Coalition]

• International Archaeology Day (Oct 18, 2025 - 3rd Saturday)  [Archaeological Inst. of America]

• Sweetest Day (Oct 18, 2025 - 3rd Sat)  share sweets with those you care about (Primarily in Midwest and Northeast). [Wikipedia]

• St. Luke's Day, patron of butchers.

• UK: National Baking Week (always Oct 14-20)

• UK: [Coffee Week] (October 13-19, 2025) The nation’s largest celebration of coffee, all for a good cause. (Coffee Trivia ---  Coffee Quotes)

• UK: Seed Gathering Season (Sept 22-Oct 22)
[The Tree Council]  Gather seeds, fruits and nuts which can be nurtured to grow the trees of the future.
 

TODAY IN FOOD HISTORY

1616 Nicholas Culpeper was born (died Jan 10, 1654). English botanist and herbalist.  He published the 'Complete Herbal' (1653) containing a comprehensive list of English medicinal herbs and their uses.

1753 Jean Jacques Regis de Cambaceres was born. A French politician and gourmet. A gastronomic contemporary and rival of Talleyrand and Carκme. The dinners he gave were famous, and Cambaceres closely supervised the food preparation. He refused to admit late-comers, and was also said to have demanded complete silence while dining.

1871 Charles Babbage died. He invented the adding machine, and among his other inventions is the cowcatcher, the V shaped front end on locomotives.

1878 Thomas Edison made electricity available for household usage.

1892 The first long distance telephone line between Chicago and New York City was put in service.

1915 Victor Sen Yung was born (died Nov 1, 1980). American character actor, he played the cook Hop Sing on the TV show 'Bonanza'.  He also played Charlie Chan's son, Jimmy Chan in numerous Charlie Chan movies.

1919 William Waldorf Astor Born. William Waldorf Astor was a cousin of John Jacob Astor IV, the great grandson of John Jacob Astor. He built the Waldorf section (1893) of what would become the Waldorf Astoria (1897). The Empire State Building (1929) now stands on the site.

1931 Thomas Alva Edison, "the wizard of Menlo Park" died.

1945 James T. Ehler was born. That’s me - Chef and food writer and the author of this Culinary Calendar and the Food Reference Website.

1966 S.S. Kresge died (born July 31, 1867).  An American merchant who started a chain of variety stores.  Renamed Kmart Corp. in 1977, which evolved into Sears Holdings Corp, parent of Sears and Kmart stores.

1969 Cyclamate, a non-caloric sweetener, was banned. Discovered in 1937, and widely used in the food industry, cyclamate was found to cause cancer in laboratory rats. Cyclamate is still used in many countries around the world.

1998 The 3,000 room Bellagio Hotel and Casino opened in Las Vegas, Nevada.

2025 Chef James T. Ehler, creator of this website, turns 80 years old today (and FoodReference.com is 26 years old).
 

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

October 8-19, 2025  South Carolina State Fair
Columbia, South Carolina

October 10-19, 2025  85th Annual Arkansas State Fair
Little Rock, Arkansas

October 15-18, 2025  Circleville Pumpkin Show
Circleville, Ohio

October 15-19, 2025  New York City Wine & Food Festival - New York, New York

October 16-19, 2025 - 58th Annual World Championship Chili Cook-Off - Indianapolis, Indiana

October 18-19, 2025  59th Annual U.S. National Oyster Festival in St. Mary’s County
St. Mary's County, Maryland

(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?
· Kansas became the first state to prohibit all alcoholic beverages.
· James Harvey Logan of Santa Cruz, California developed the Loganberry, a cross between a red raspberry and a wild blackberry.
· Dr. Satori Kato of Japan introduced the first instant coffee at the Pan American World Fair.
· The first U.S. made margarine is produced in New York City by Community Manufacturing Co.

2) What transparent, pure form of gelatin was obtained from certain aquatic vertebrates, and was used to clarify wine, in jellies and as an adhesive?

3) This bushy, aromatic plant is native to southern Europe and Asia, and has a pungent, spicy-minty taste. Both the leaves and flowers can be used in salads, soups, fruit salads and teas. It is also used in the production of cordials and liqueurs such as Chartreuse. It is widely grown as an ornamental garden plant, and attracts bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. The name is mentioned in the Bible, (1 Kings 4:33, Psalms 51:7 and John 19:29) but it is most likely a different plant then the one we now know by this name.
Name this plant.

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?

Nutella is a commercial brand of a paste made from chocolate and hazelnuts. It is used in flavoring pastries, candy making or just spread on bread or toast.

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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?

Ounce for ounce, kiwifruit (Chinese gooseberry) are more nutritious than any other fruit. Kiwifruits have twice the vitamin C of oranges, as much potassium as bananas, significant amounts of magnesium and vitamin E and are a good source of fiber. And only 45 calories each.

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IN SEASON FOR AUTUMN

VEGETABLES
(Recipes  --  Tips)
Beets
Bell Peppers
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Collard Greens
Cranberries
Garlic
Ginger
Green Beans
Herbs
Kale
Lettuce
Mushrooms
Okra
Onions
Parsnips
Peas
Plantains
Potatoes
Pumpkin
Radishes
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?

Offal or Variety Meats are the internal parts and some extremities of an animal. Offal includes the heart, liver, tongue, lungs, spleen, kidneys, bone marrow, testicles, brain, mesentery (intestinal membrane), feet, sweetbreads, stomach, oxtail, pig snouts, and head.

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Website last updated on Saturday, October 18, 2025