Chicken and Waffles: The Pennsylvania Story

Posted by on Dec 28, 2020 in | Comments Off on Chicken and Waffles: The Pennsylvania Story In his 1861 local-color novel The Young Parson, German Reformed minister Peter Seibert Davis (1828–92) described chicken and waffles as the “stereotypical” Sunday supper among the Pennsylvania Dutch. How this dish moved from a regional identity food into mainstream American cookery is indeed a complicated story, especially since chicken and waffles reached its height of popularity during the...
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Baking Pennsylvania Dutch Style

Posted by on Sep 9, 2016 in | Comments Off on Baking Pennsylvania Dutch Style Regional American cuisine is fast becoming the hottest trend on the food scene today, and while we still hear a great deal about Cajun or the Southwest, one of the richest areas for culinary diversity is Pennsylvania. The Keystone Center for the Study of Regional Foods and Food Tourism, a nonprofit that has taken the lead in exploring the foods of our state, has identified five distinct culinary...
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Okie Speaks for Pennsbury, Part I

Posted by on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off on Okie Speaks for Pennsbury, Part I It is no secret that restoring an old house presents a number of headaches, not the least being the question of authenticity. But imagine what it is like to virtually re-create a structure that has been missing for over a century. Most architects would claim that it is impossible, even with good drawings and the best intentions. Never­theless, with a streak of optimism and the blessing of...
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Okie Speaks For Pennsbury, Part II

Posted by on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off on Okie Speaks For Pennsbury, Part II In its attempt during the 1930s to re-create William Penn’s 1683 manor house in Bucks County, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in­advertently unleashed a storm of con­troversy over the way in which the site, its archeological evidence and its ar­chitecture should be interpreted. Long before reconstruction of the manor house was completed in 1938 (landscap­ing and furnishing occurred...
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From Fraise to Fricassee: Seventeenth Century Cooking in Commonwealth Kitchens

Posted by on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off on From Fraise to Fricassee: Seventeenth Century Cooking in Commonwealth Kitchens Bakemeat, Fricassee, Frais, Rye Pie, Oat Cake – These were once common terms in the vocabulary of the early Pennsylvania house­wife. Indeed, her cookery would seem very strange to us today, quite as remote and curious as that of the Middle Ages. Traditional cooking underwent many changes in the second half of the eighteenth century and industrialization in the nineteenth century altered it...
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