The stories claiming to tell of the origins of mayonnaise, and a French recipe from 1828

The abysmal conditions and food of the steerage class of steamboat passengers in the 19th and early 20th century, and an extremely bland meal made from their rations

The history of shepherd’s pie, and a recipe from 1894 when it didn’t matter if you used beef or lamb

The eccentric eating habits of Nikola Tesla, and a recipe based on a dish that, like so many other things, he invented

A boiled down version of the complex origins and history of gumbo, and a recipe for shrimp and crab gumbo from 1885

The Pastry War between Mexico and France, and a 19th century French pastry that could have been the cause

The evolution of boeuf bourguignon from a peasant dish to use up leftovers to French haute cuisine, and a recipe from 1885 for the early sauce version

The origins and history of Turkish delight, and a recipe from the Ottoman Empire in 1844

The possible origins and evolution of toffee, and a recipe for the original Everton toffee from 1881

The history of a largely forgotten American dessert, and a recipe for it from 1829

The historical food from Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and a recipe for paprika hendl, or chicken paprikash, from five years before Dracula was published

The rule of Ferdinand I of Austria, and a recipe from 1858 for dumplings that he loved so very much

The hard lives of Victorian bakers, and a recipe for a very interesting ginger loaf (not gingerbread) from 1857

The extreme extravagance of gilded age feasts, and an 1877 recipe for a Gilded Age gelatin dessert

How spotted dick got its giggle-inducing name, its history as an economical dessert, and a recipe from 1854

The chuck wagons, food, and cooks of the golden age of cowboys and cattle drives, and recipes from 1896 for cowboy staples

The First Battle of Bull Run and a recreation of what the spectators who picnicked there might have eaten

The possible origin stories of Kaiser Franz Joseph I’s favorite dessert, kaiserschmarrn, and a recipe for it from his lifetime

The history of Hungarian goulash from simple herdsman's stew to paprika-laden soup, and a recipe from the late 1800s

The origins and evolution of beef stroganoff, and a 19th century recipe that I highly recommend