I caught the genealogy bug more than ten years ago, and as soon as I heard about Ancestry.com, I knew I wanted to create an account, upload the genealogy information I had and explore more about our family’s history. Over the years, I’ve discovered so many interesting stories about my ancestors and have learned that… Read More Family History Travel in Wytheville, Virginia
Near the Eastern France/Germany border, the region of Alsace is a unique mix of French and German culture. Over the region’s long and storied history, ownership of this region has passed back and forth between the two countries time and again, resulting in shared influences on the cuisine, language and culture of the area. The… Read More Unique Chateau in Alsace, France
The earliest known mention of the word “cocktail” dates from a 1798 issue of London’s The Morning Post and Gazetteer, however it wasn’t until 1862, with the publication of How to Mix Drinks: or The Bon Vivant’s Companion, by “Professor” Jerry Thomas, that recipes for cocktails were first published. The four basic ingredients of any cocktail –… Read More The Return of Classic Cocktails
Yesterday evening, my mother and I had the honor of enjoying a period meal with Mr. Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, at Walkerton Tavern, a circa 1824/5 tavern and meeting house literally around the corner from my house. The program was presented by Henrico County’s Division of Recreation and Parks and the Henrico Historical… Read More Dinner with Jefferson Davis
I was flipping through the channels the other day and came across a show that has quickly become my new favorite – “A Taste of History” on RLTV. On each 30-minute long episode, Chef Walter Staib, an international restaurant consultant, visits historic sites and uses their kitchens to prepare dishes of their time period. Many… Read More “A Taste of History” showcases historical cooking techniques and recipes
Mary Randolph, a relative of Thomas Jefferson, published her cookbook, The Virginia Housewife in 1838. The volume is notable for its use of items native to the colonies, such as pumpkins, squash, shellfish and venison, and preparations familiar to English cooks. In honor of Thanksgiving, I whipped up a batch of individual pumpkin puddings to take… Read More Colonial Thanksgiving recipe – Mary Randolph’s Pumpkin Pudding
As any Virginian worth his or her salt can tell you, Thanksgiving started right here in the Old Dominion. In 1619, a full two years before the famous “first Thanksgiving” of the New England pilgrims, English settlers at Berkeley Hundred (what would later become Berkeley Plantation) held a “day of thanksgiving to Almighty God.” One… Read More Roundup of Virginia Thanksgiving food history events
Dogwood Dispatches 