Special guest culinary historian Michael W. Twitty joins me for a special Q&A where he answers your questions and mine about the foods of Africa and of the enslaved population in early America

The rise and fall of fruitcakes and a Civil War era recipe

The eating habits of Napoleon Bonaparte and a 19th century recipe for a delicious but simple chicken dish that’s said to be his favorite

The legendary origins of the sachertorte, and a 19th century recipe that you should absolutely try

Riotous Halloween celebrations and the first townwide Halloween party, along with a 19th century candy recipe

The grueling routine of lighthouse keepers and a corn chowder from 1896 that they would have had the ingredients for

The rugged explorers and Canadian mounties who cooked and ate rubaboo, and a recipe from the journal of Sam Steele, the man who brought order to the Klondike gold rush.

How the Ottoman Empire’s soldiers ate and a delicious recipe for a centuries-old confectionary

The various versions of that nectar of the weary farmhand and congressman alike, popular in the 18th and 19th centuries

Delicious, creamy baked oysters and the oyster craze in 19th century New York City.

The crucial role of coffee in a Civil War soldier’s life, and the alternatives they came up with for it

Victorian salmi de perdrix (partridge salmi) and the men who ate it inside an iguanodon

The history of the Hawaiian luau, and Kepanipa’a makes kalua pork in the ground at the Marriott and Chef Ippy Aiona of Ippy’s Hawaiian Barbeque in Waimea makes it in the kitchen

The history of chemical leavening agents in baking and a simple, hearty Irish soda bread

The history and evolution of Ukrainian borshch and a wonderful 19th century recipe for it

The history of Thai massaman curry and the kings who ate it

The Great Molasses Flood of 1919 and Boston brown bread

The history of wassail and its myriad forms, along with a recipe from 19th century Oxford

Coffee’s checkered past and a coffee-less coffee-looking cocktail that would have been safe to drink during one of the several times the brew was banned

The long relationship of macaroni and cheese, and how they were brought irrevocably together by a Scottish macaroni salesman, two Swiss food chemists, and a Canadian cheesemonger, along with a fancy 19th century recipe.