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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 MARCH

Updated: Over 9,000 Food Festivals

Easter Recipes  ---  Ham Recipes

Choosing & Preparing Holiday Ham

Lamb Recipes

Perfect Passover Recipes
 

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FEATURED RECIPES & TIPS

· Original Frank's Redhot Wings

· Ultimate Party Wings

· More Chicken Wing Recipes

· More Appetizer Recipes·

· French Onion Dip

· Jack's Screaming Red Sauce

· Potato Salad Recipes

· Cole Slaw Recipes

· Chicken Salad Recipes

· Kickoff Kabobs

· Banana Bread Recipes

· Mushroom Appetizer Recipes

· Crunchy Snack Mixes

· Mustard and Mustard Sauces

· Salsa Recipes

· Baked and Stuffed Potato Recipes

· Mac & Cheese Recipes
 

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March Food Holidays:

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

MARCH is:

• American Red Cross Month
  (Annual Presidential Proclamation since 1943)

• Caffeine Awareness Month

• Grain of the Month: Quinoa

• National Flour Month

• National Frozen Food Month

• National Kidney Month

• National Noodle Month

• National Nutrition Month  (A nutrition education and information campaign sponsored annually by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

• National Peanut Month (National Peanut Month had its beginnings as National Peanut Week in 1941. It was expanded to a month-long celebration in 1974)

• National Sauce Month

• Canada: Nutrition Month

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DID YOU KNOW?

Crisco, introduced in 1911, was the first solid hydrogenated vegetable shortening.  Initially it was not a huge success - women were even reluctant to accept 1 1/2 pound cans of Crisco as free samples!  Many of the early users of Crisco were Orthodox Jews, since it contained neither lard or butter (meat & dairy) it could be used at any meal without violating kosher dietary laws.  Commercial success for Crisco came during the First World War due to shortages of lard.

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Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Daily Trivia Questions are below

TODAY’S FOOD QUOTE

“Cannibal: a gastronome of the old school.”
Ambrose Bierce 'The Devil's Dictionary' (1911)
 

FOOD HOLIDAYS - TODAY IS:

• Lobster Newburg Day (Lobster Newburg Recipe)
  (Lobster Trivia & Facts  ---  Lobster Quotes)

• Pecan Day: see 1775 below (not to be confused with National Pecan Day which is April 14)
  (Pecan Trivia)

• A Whole Day for Whole Grain  (March 25, 2026 - last Wed in March)  [Whole Grains Council]

• Waffle Day (Våffeldagen) - Sweden, Norway and Denmark.  (Waffle Recipes)

• England: Tichborne Dole Day.  A gallon of flour is given to residents of Alresford, Hampshire, England. The tradition dates to 1150.  Lady Mabella Tichborne put a curse on any ancestors who failed to distribute her charitable dole. [History of Tichborne Dole]
 

TODAY IN FOOD HISTORY

1775 Pecan Day. George Washington planted pecan trees (some of which still survive) at Mount Vernon. The trees were supposedly a gift to Washington from Thomas Jefferson.  (Some sources date this planting at 1799).

1848 William Keith Brooks was born.  An American zoologist, he was a champion for the conservation of the Chesapeake Bay oyster.  Author of 'The Oyster' (1891).  (Oyster Trivia and Facts)

1867 Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge died.  A German chemist who developed a method for obtaining sugar from beet juice. (Beet Trivia)

1867 The 2 mile long, 5 foot diameter Chicago Lake Tunnel was activated.  It was the first water supply tunnel for a U.S. city. (Chicago Food Trivia)

1914 Norman Ernest Borlaug was born (died Sept 12, 2009).  American agronomist, Nobel Peace Prize winner for efforts to overcome world hunger. Developed the wheat/rye hybrid called 'triticale' with higher yield and protein content. (Triticale Trivia)

1914 Frédéric Mistral died (born Sept 8, 1830).  French Nobel-prize winning writer. In 1891 he founded the journal 'L'Aioli' (aioli is a traditional Provençal garlic sauce).  "Aioli epitomizes the heat, the power, and the joy of the Provençal sun, but it has another virtue — it drives away flies."
(Aioli Recipe)

1925 Elmer 'Len' Dresslar Jr. was born (died Oct 16, 2005). Voice actor, best known as the booming voice of the Jolly Green Giant in commercials.

1950 'If I Knew You Were Comin' (I'd've Baked a Cake)' by Eileen Barton was No. 1 on the music charts.

1955 Daniel Boulud was born. Award winning French chef and restaurateur.  His best known restaurant is the Michelin three star 'Daniel' in New York City, named one of the top 10 restaurants in the world. Best Chef in NY City, Outstanding Chef of the Year, Outstanding Restaurateur, Culinary Humanitarian Award, Culinary Hall of Fame.
[Website: www.danielboulud.com/]

1957 The Treaty of Rome, establishing the European Economic Community (EEC), was signed by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany. The Treaty becomes effective on January 1, 1958.

1990 The comedy, 'Lettice and Lovage' opened on Broadway.

1995 Pizza Hut introduced its Stuffed Crust Pizza.
(Pizza Hut Trivia)

2008 Herb Peterson, creator of McDonald's Egg McMuffin breakfast sandwich, died.
(McDonald’s Trivia & Facts)

2020 Floyd Cardoz died (born Oct 2, 1960).  World-renowned chef and TV star, Cardoz, married regional Indian cuisine with French and new American flavors, with several restaurants in his native Mumbai (Bombay) India and New York. He died from complications from COVID-19 (Coronavirus).
[Floyd Cardoz website]

 

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

March 1-31, 2026 - Taste Atlantic City
Atlantic City, New Jersey

March 13-April 12, 2026  Knott's Boysenberry Festival
Buena Park, California

March 19-29, 2026  50th Annual Collier Fair
Naples, Florida

April 24-26, 2026  85th Vermontville Maple Syrup Festival - Vermontville, Michigan

March 26-28, 2026  Annual South Carolina BBQ--Shag Festival - Hemingway, South Carolina

March 27-28, 2026  45th Annual Hermann Wurstfest
Hermann, Missouri

March 28, 2026  Texas Onion Fest - Weslaco, Texas

(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 Iodized table salt in the U.S. went on sale in at grocers in Michigan.
· Clarence Birdseye organized the General Seafood Corporation. The birth of the frozen food industry.
· The first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was originally called a Christmas Parade.
· The Caesar Salad was created in Tijuana, Mexico.
· Wheaties Breakfast Cereal ('Breakfast of Champions') was introduced by Washburn, Crosby Co.

2) This chicken dish, like many others, has several stories that are told about how and where it originated. It was created at Delmonico's in New York, or maybe at Claridge's Hotel in London, or even in Miami, Long Island or at the Waldorf. It may have been created by Foxhall Keene (or J.R. Keene), or by the Chef at Claridge's (and named for his father). Other stories tell of its creation by Chef George Greenwald at the Brighten Beach Hotel, and named for his boss. The date of its creation range from 1881 to the 1920s!   Can you name this culinary preparation?

3) This West Indian tropical fruit is the primary source of vitamin C supplements that are labeled as 'natural.'  Can you name this fruit?

4) Formerly, there was a separate Bride's Cake and a Groom's Cake. Which one is now the classic 'Wedding Cake'?

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

The main sources of caffeine are tea, coffee, cola (kola), cocoa, guarana and yerba mate and their relatives. All were discovered and used by primitive man.

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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?

Boston Cream Pie is not a pie, it is a cake composed of 2 layers of sponge cake with a layer of custard or cream filling, usually topped with chocolate. Boston Cream Pie is the official state dessert of Massachusetts.

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IN SEASON FOR WINTER

VEGETABLES
(Recipes  --  Tips)
Avocados
Beets
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Celery
Collard Greens
Kale
Leeks
Onions
Parsnips
Plantains
Potatoes
Pumpkin
Rutabagas
Sweet Potatoes & Yams
Swiss Chard
Turnips
Winter Squash

FRUITS (Tips)
Apples
Bananas
Grapefruit
Grapes
Kiwifruit
Lemons
Limes
Oranges
Pears
Pomegranates

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DID YOU KNOW?

Carrageenan is obtained from Irish Moss, a red algae. It is used as a thickening, stabilizing or emulsifying agent in chocolate milk, toothpaste, ice cream, salad dressings, puddings, dog food, shoe polishes, etc

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Website last updated on Wednesday, March 25, 2026