Recipes

Food has a unique power to transcend time, carrying with it the flavors, stories, and traditions of generations past, and so if you have access to family recipes – from a distant aunt or elderly family members – you’re right to want to preserve it.

Preserving family recipes is not just about safeguarding ingredients and cooking methods; it’s a means of preserving the essence of heritage, a tangible link to the past that can be passed down through the ages.

Here are 4 tips to help you accomplish just that.

Organize and Categorize

If you’re going to make everything easy, with context, in a cohesive recipe collection, the first thing to do is to organize and categorize every single recipe you can lay your hands on.

Luckily, organizing and categorizing is pretty simple. Sort recipes into categories like appetizers, soups, salads, main dishes, desserts, and beverages. Then, use dividers or folders for each category in a physical recipe collection and create folders or tags for each category for digital organization.

Protect Physical Copies

The tricky part is preserving what you’ve organized to last far, far into the future.

Physical copies of family recipes are one of the easiest ways to capture and hold sentimental value; a tangible connection to your culinary heritage.

If you opt for physical copies, write out handwritten recipes on acid-free, archival-quality paper to prevent deterioration. Then, laminate individual recipe cards or use plastic sleeves to protect them from spills and stains.

Store everything in a recipe box or binder with protective covers.

Digitize

Alternatively, you can go the digital route. Digitizing family recipes is a relatively better way to ensure that they are preserved in a format that can be easily shared, backed up, and passed down through generations.

Plus, it’s simpler. Scan recipes using a scanner or use a smartphone/tablet to take high-quality photos. Save digital copies in a common format like PDF or image files. Then organize digital files into folders on your computer or cloud storage for easy access.

Share with Family

What use is family recipes that aren’t shared with family? Then as an added advantage, recipes are less likely to become lost forever if they are shared among as many family members as possible, maintaining culinary traditions and strengthening family bonds

For physical copies, print out copies and distribute them during family reunions or special occasions if you don’t want to go out of your way for distribution.

You can very easily share digital copies via email, cloud storage (Google Drive, Dropbox), or even social media groups or family websites.

By following these steps, you not only preserve your family recipes but also ensure they are accessible and enjoyable for future generations. Organizing, protecting, digitizing, and sharing recipes contribute to the preservation of your culinary heritage and the strengthening of family ties.

Your friendly neighborhood burger joint Cold Beers & Cheeseburgers has become the hottest place to be (and believe us, we know how hot it’s been this summer!). Across our fourteen locations in Arizona and California, we serve tried and true burgers and favorites with a twist, with a comprehensive beer selection. But we couldn’t help but wonder, where did the cheeseburger originate? That led us to some interesting history about some of our other familiar and favorite dishes.

Without further ado, here’s what we found on the origin of the cheeseburger and four more fun food facts.

1. Cheeseburgers

Of course, here’s what we were looking forward to most! Before there was a cheeseburger, there was a hamburger: simply a hamburger patty on a bun. In 1891, just west of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Oscar Weber Bilby was the first to serve hamburgers on a thick, yeasty bun instead of between two slices of bread. But it wasn’t until 1924 in Pasadena, California, that a short-order cook named Lionel Clark Sternberger first put a slice of cheese on the hamburger he was making. He called it the “Aristocratic Hamburger” and “The Original Hamburger with Cheese.”

Since then, the cheeseburger tradition includes just about any topping you can put on it, and the burger itself has spread to the rest of the world. Now not only can you have a cheeseburger made with beef, but also lamb, pork, or veggie burgers. The typical staples of a good ol’ American cheeseburger are usually pickles, onions, ketchup, mustard, lettuce, and tomato. However, really what it comes down to is that you’re only limited by your imagination. Take for instance our Bacon PB&J burger: sugar-cured bacon, peanut butter, grape jelly, cheddar, and chipotle honey sauce. It’s sweet, it’s savory, it’s weird, and it’s wonderful.

Come visit and try it out yourself! Our ingredients are fresh, the beer is cold, and the cheeseburgers are exactly right.

2. French Fries

In the US, we love our fried potatoes: we have steak fries, potato chips, tater tots, and hash browns, on top of a multitude of different fries of all shapes and textures, such as waffle-cut, crinkle-cut, and curly. French fries come with almost every restaurant meal, from sandwiches to fried fish. Are they French? Not technically. The story goes that US soldiers in southern Belgium brought the ideas and recipes back from their deployments during World War I. The Belgians typically ate fried fish, but in the winter, when the rivers froze, they fried potatoes instead. So why aren’t they called Belgian fries? It turns out the dominant language of the area was French, and the name stuck.

There have been other French fries, though they probably didn’t look like the long, golden strips that we know now. Back in the 1780s in Paris, street vendors sold fried potatoes, though the potatoes that originally were brought from South America to Europe were tiny—only about the size of golf balls.

The earliest mention of French fries in America was when President Thomas Jefferson directed the White House chef, Frenchman Honoré Julien, to prepare “potatoes in the French manner” for a state dinner. Jefferson was an avid Francophile (he lived in France from 1784 to 1789) and enjoyed bringing pieces of French culture to America.

3. Apple Pie

The phrase “as American as apple pie” has been around since 1851 and was popularized in the 1940s as a patriotic expression. However, it turns out that neither apples nor pie is born and bred in the United States! Apples of different varieties originated in Europe and Asia, and the various pie recipes came to us through immigrants from Sweden, the Netherlands, and Britain. The traditional lattice-style crust was a Dutch invention in the 15^th century.

Remember hearing about Johnny Appleseed traveling the highways of the young United States, spreading apple trees wherever he went? Turns out, he actually spread crabapple trees, which have sour, inedible fruit, which is used to make hard cider. The apples we’re familiar with now came from Europe in the mid-1600s.

4. Buffalo Wings

Spicy, tangy, and messy, this is one food on this list that was an American invention from the start. A staple of bars and pubs, this chicken wing slathered in sauce and served with celery on the side was created in 1964. Teressa Bellissimo ran a family-owned restaurant called the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York—hence the name.

Why is it so often paired with bleu cheese and celery? The answer is simpler than you think: because when it was first dished up by Bellissimo, that was all she had available! No matter—the condiments stuck, and a delicious tradition was formed.

Want to be part of the tradition? The city of Buffalo has celebrated Chicken Wing Day every July 29th since 1977. You can either celebrate in New York or close to home—after all, we have four kinds of wings available every day.

5. Pizza

This most flexible of flatbreads comes in an infinite variety. In Brazil, you might expect it to come topped with green peas, with a super-thin crust. In London, you can find it with tandoori chicken and sweet corn. Or maybe you’d like to try the Swedish way, topped with banana curry? Even within the US, there are different ways of baking and presenting it: witness the Chicago deep-dish, the New York-style dripping with cheese, and the square Detroit pizzas.

Have you ever wondered why a pizza topped with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and basil is called a Margherita pizza? Did you think it might just really go well with margaritas? In reality, it’s because there’s a legend about the Italian King Umberto I and Queen Margherita. They asked baker Raffaele Esposito to make them a pizza on a visit to Naples in 1889. Esposito was considered the first to bring the Italian pizza into the mainstream, with tomato sauce, cheese, and toppings. Before that, pizza was a street food.

 

When holding a holiday party, one of the most stressful parts of the preparation is often the food. This is especially true if you are trying to come up with a menu that is both appealing and different from what everyone else is offered. The solution is to offer a variety of different cold canapés, giving your guests a variety to choose from. Canapés are also visually stunning, making them extremely appealing despite their tiny size. Here are our top picks for this holiday season;

1. Chicken Curry  Canapés

Everyone loves take-out curry, and these canapés put a fun twist on an old favourite. Often paired with delicious fruit of some kind, they provide the quintessential single bit full of flavour experience that you would expect from this kind of food. These also work well for parties where children will be present, ensuring that everyone will be happy.

2. Vegetable Topped Crostinis

Most people love the crisp and tantalizing mouth feel that they get from a good crostini. Pairing this with a pureed or dried vegetable and the possibility of fresh cheese just makes sense. The combination of crisp and soft is heightened when using a savoury vegetable or dry toppings. These are often the first canapés gone at holiday parties. You could also spiralize your vegetables for a fancy look. 

3. Mozzarella Tarts

A classic tart shape, filled with mozzarella, fresh herbs, and topped off with a tomato. This is a great palette cleansing option that appeals to more sophisticated guests. The flaky crust and barely cooked tomato serve to make the creamy cheese and herb combination all the more delicious. They are also one of the most impressive looking canapés, sure to please even the pickiest of guests.

4. Salmon  Canapés

The classic choice, salmon is one of the most versatile fish in the entire world. Whether is is being paired with cream cheese, sprinkled with lemon, or cured and served by itself, salmon is usually something that most of your guests can agree on. The small bite sized offerings that are served at parties are usually enough to entice the taste buds but not overload them with fishy taste as well, making it the perfect medium for serving up salmon.

5. Prawn  Canapés

Often served on top of sinfully sweet mousse, prawns are a classic party favourite. Bright and cheery, their natural shape and size lends themselves well to being used as a finger food. Prawns also pair well with a number of different flavours, allowing you to have several different varieties at one party.

6. Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella Canapés

These classic flavours compliment each other and are always fresh and welcoming. Ripe tomatoes seem to melt over creamy mozzarella, while the fresh flavour of basil bursts over the tongue. These are often served on bamboo skewers or on toothpicks, allowing the tomato to remain whole for the best possible eating experience. The secret to making these canapés great is using the best possible ingredients and preparing them no more than 5 hours before serving time.