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Thanksgiving & the Queen’s Beans
For Thanksgiving, we made the traditional green bean casserole. I recently learned that Associated Press food editor Cecily Brownstone was part of the history of the dish. According to the magazine Saveur: “It wasn’t until 1955, however, that the dish’s most steadfast incarnation entered the scene. This enduring formula, one that many home cooks still use, called for a trinity of convenience products: canned Durkee or French’s fried onions, Green Giant canned green beans, and Campbell’s condensed cream of mushroom soup, usually accompanied by milk, soy sauce, and a dash of pepper. It was invented by the Campbell’s Soup Company, which, as it still does, emblazoned its soup can labels…
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Green Bean Casserole & Food Editor Cecily Brownstone
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48th Anniversary of the JFK Assassination & women’s page coverage
The 48th Anniversary of President Kennedy’s Assassination in Dallas was yesterday. Dallas Times Herald women’s page editor Vivian Castleberry covered the story. Below is a portion of her experience from the book manuscript I am writing: There was a concern about politicians and safety in Dallas prior to President John F. Kennedy’s visit. On October 24, 1963, demonstrators who were opposed to the United Nations attacked Adlai Stevenson, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. He was spat on, booed and hit with a picket sign. The national media described the event as creating “an ugly impression of America is registered throughout the world.” Texas Gov. John B. Connally Jr. said…
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James Beard and Jane Nickerson
We are in the midst of packing as we move to our new house. One advantage of all this packing is re-discovering books. One book I found was the above book which consists of letters between culinary legends James Beard and Helen Evans Brown. In this book are several references to New York Times food editor Jane Nickerson. Beard writes in a letter to Evans: “Going to four parties for Jane this week. She leaves next week for Florida, and how we all hate to see her go. She has done more for dignified food coverage than anyone. Everyone will miss her keenly, and I more than most, for she…
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Food Studies Presentation: Ohio Food Editor History
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Ruth Ellen Church Letters
I was happy to learn that there is a folder of Chicago Tribune food editor Ruth Ellen Church’s letters (either to and/or from Church) in the papers of Cecily Brownstone – the longtime food editor of the Associated Press. They are in the Fales Library at NYU. I found some great letters regarding food editors Jeanne Voltz and Jane Nickerson in this collection in the past. Here is a link to the guide to the papers. I placed my order for the Church letters yesterday. I am working on a conference paper on the careers of Nickerson and Church. My later book proposal on food editors will also include Brownstone.…
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Green Bean Casserole & Food Editor Cecily Brownstone
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Another Ruth Ellen Church Reference
The food writer who gives the most credit to newspaper food editors is Laura Shapiro. Examples are included in her above book, Something From the Oven. She includes several references to Ruth Ellen Church, a food editor at the Chicago Tribune. One of those references is about the popularity of making cakes – a popular topic for food writers and food historians for what a cake represents. In 1948, Church (writing under the pen name “Mary Meade”) introduced the recipe feature “Cake of the Week.” Church was quoted: “My staff and I have known for a long time that women love cakes, but we were somewhat surprised at the popularity…
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Food Studies Presentation: Ohio Food Editor History
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Ruth Ellen Church Reference
I am continuing to collect references to Chicago Tribune food editor Ruth Ellen Church. There were two quote from Church in the above book: (She was described here as a cookbook author) “No matter how man prepared foods we have with us, there’s still plenty of cooking to be done.” (p 158) “Church suggested that women who relied too heavily on packaged or frozen foods would lose ‘the sense of achievement and pride that there is in mixing and baking a dinner from scratch.” I was happy to see some references to Church even if there was no explanation of her long and distinguished career as a newspaper food editor.
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Food Studies Presentation: Ohio Food Editor History
A website devoted to the history of newspaper women's pages
