My New Book—Ice Cream: A Global History

Read an Excerpt: Ice Cream: A Global History, Published Today

My new book, Ice Cream: A Global History, (Reaktion Books), is being published today, April 1. It’s a fun trip around the word of ice cream. Readers journey from ancient China where ice cream was concocted with dragon eyeballs and camphor to modern-day Turkey where ice cream vendors still make a frozen dessert that’s so thick [...]

Triangle Factory Fire Anniversary: My Grandmother Survived to Become the World’s Worst Cook

Family legend has it that my grandmother, Fannie Chapkowitz Binnenbaum, survived the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. She is said to have jumped into a fireman’s net and walked home where her mother, unaware of the tragedy, brusquely ordered her back to work.
Later, Fanny went into the bootlegging  business. In the back of her candy story [...]

St. Patrick’s Day Corned Beef and Cabbage Recipe

“What’s more Irish than a traditional recipe for corned beef and cabbage?” asks Allrecipes.com. For St. Patrick’s Day, you can’t get more Irish than this hearty dish.
But according to 97 Orchard Street by Jane Ziegelman, corned beef and cabbage traveled to New York with the Dutch settlers. Many European countries developed their own variations. But [...]

Joan Nathan talks about French Jewish Cooking Nov. 11

It’s not that long until Hanukkah. Are you trying to think of something to cook instead of those same old latkes? Maybe some inspiration from Joan Nathan, the high priestess (or high maven) of Jewish cooking in America, is in order.
Come hear Nathan talk about the Jewish cooking of France Nov. 11. She will share [...]

Learn About Immigrant Foodways at Ellis Island Event

Nov. 4 event at Ellis Island, dining in the Great Hall.