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 history of Dr Pepper, including the company’s campaign to make hot Dr Pepper a thing, and the simple recipe for it

Ruth Wakefield’s invention of the chocolate chip cookie with the original recipe and a WWII ration-friendly version

Flying on the Hindenburg, from luxury to disaster, and a dessert recipe from Escoffier that appears on its menu

How the United States provided Thanksgiving dinner to its troops during WWII, and recipes for classic Thanksgiving sides from the 1944 Cook Book of the United States Navy

The events of the morning of November 22, 1963, and JFK’s last meal: breakfast at the Hotel Texas

The history of pumpkins and the first recipe for a custard-style pumpkin pie

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 fictional woman who became a household name and a friend of homemakers across the country, and her 70-year-old recipe for pineapple upside-down cake

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

The surprisingly good food in one of history’s most notorious prisons: Alcatraz

A refreshing vinegar-based syrup that is wonderful in both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, and the history of vinegar beverages

The history of the Mai Tai, and the man who had never been to the tropics who created it.

The history of that most perfect of sandwiches and its main components

Texas chili from 1910, the history of chili, and the Chili Queens who sold all kinds of chili-flavored foods in the plazas of San Antonio

The great lengths that the U.S. Navy went to to provide its men with morale-boosting ice cream, and its recipe for a delicious banana nut flavor