AMERICAN PIE

NOT THE SONG. OR THE MOVIE .......... THE DESERT

Phrases like " as american as apple pie " and " Mom and apple pie " might have you thinking that apple pie was in itself a little bit of Americana ..... fact is, I think Key Lime Pie or Pecan pie is far more authentic.

Apple pie was a European desert for centuries before the founding fathers ever landed in the new world whereas both Key Lime and Pecan are entirely American.

Pecan pie is a sweet pie made primarily of corn syrup and pecan nuts. It is popularly served at holiday meals such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, and is also considered a specialty of Southern U.S. cuisine. Most pecan pie recipes include salt and vanilla as flavorings. Chocolate and bourbon whiskey are other popular additions to the recipe. Pecan pie is often served with whipped cream

Tradition holds that the French invented pecan pie soon after settling in New Orleans, after being introduced to the nut by Native Americans. It is sometimes referred to as "New Orleans pecan pie," adding an aura of French cuisine to a home-cooked comfort food. Attempts to trace the dish's origin, however, have not found any recipes dated earlier than 1925, and well-known cookbooks such as Fannie Farmer and The Joy of Cooking did not include it before 1940.

Key lime pie was invented in the late 1800's in Key West, Florida. The creator of key lime pie is unknown. It was believed that William Curry, a ship salvager and Key West's first millionaire, had a cook named Aunt Sally. Aunt Sally created the pie. However, some believed that Sally changed the pie that local sponge fishermen already created.

The first recipe for key lime pie was recorded in the 1930's. Key lime pie is made with canned sweetened condensed milk, since fresh milk was not a common commodity in the Florida Keys before modern refrigerated distribution methods. Fresh milk, ice, and refrigeration wasn't available. Cooks had to rely on condensed milk before the railroad and Overseas Highway were built in the 1900's

The dish is named after the small key limes (Citrus aurantifolia 'Swingle') that are naturalized throughout the Florida Keys. While their thorns make them less tractable, and their thin yellow rind more perishable, key limes are more tart and aromatic than the common Persian limes seen year round in most U.S. grocery stores.

Hostess Goes Bananas!

Back By Popular Demand, Banana Creme-Filled Hostess Twinkies Hit Store Shelves

For the first time since World War II, Hostess Twinkies featuring Banana Creme filling -- the original filling flavor of the iconic snack cake -- will be a regular fixture in retail stores nationwide. The banana flavor, which was replaced with vanilla creme following a banana shortage in the 1940s, had only been available during special limited time offers. Overwhelming consumer demand during a recent promotion, however, prompted Twinkies' bakers to bring it back for good.



"Twinkies have been a favorite snack and icon of Americana for generations," said Kevin Kaul, Marketing Director for Hostess. "As the flavor that started it all, we're excited to add Banana Creme-Filled Twinkies to our core line of iconic treats."

Vanilla creme filled Twinkies will continue to be offered along with banana creme filled Twinkies.

Twinkies Facts

Twinkies were first introduced by James A. Dewar in 1930 while working as a Hostess bakery manager in Chicago.

A city famous for its BBQ also has a sweet tooth. Residents of Memphis eat more Twinkies per capita than any other U.S. city. Rounding out the top five Twinkie loving cities are Little Rock, Salt Lake City, St. Louis and Oklahoma City.

Over half a billion Twinkies are sold each year.

A St. Louis billboard advertising "Twinkle Toe" shoes inspired the name for the two-for-a-nickel treat and an American icon was born.

It's an urban legend that Twinkies last forever. The shelf life of a Twinkie is really only about 25 days.

President Clinton chose the Twinkie as an "object of enduring American symbolism" for the National Millennium Time Capsule in 2000.

The Big Mac

Over the last 40 years, the Big Mac sandwich -- with its catchy jingle and elusive sauce recipe -- has solidified itself as a permanent fixture on the American landscape. McDonald's today honored the sandwich that long ago joined baseball and apple pie as an indelible symbol of American pop-culture.

Jim "MJ" Delligatti, 89, one of McDonald's founder Ray Kroc's earliest franchisees, invented the Big Mac in his Uniontown, Pa. restaurant and introduced it for 45 cents in 1967. Consisting of two 100% all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame-seed bun, the Big Mac quickly gained popularity and was introduced on the national menu in 1968.

"Forty years ago, I would never have dreamed that my creation would turn into a piece of Americana," said Delligatti. "Adult customers at the time were looking for a sandwich made just for them. I gave them what they wanted and now I'm celebrating the anniversary of a true icon."

To commemorate the anniversary, Delligatti and his family officially opened the doors to the McDonald's Big Mac Museum Restaurant -- "the most tasteful museum in the world" -- today in North Huntingdon, Pa. at 9061 Route 30. The combo museum/restaurant features the world's largest Big Mac statue (measuring 14 feet high and 12 feet wide), and hundreds of historic artifacts and high-tech exhibits that celebrate the Big Mac.

"It might surprise people to know that some of our most enduring products and programs have come through our network of Owner/Operators and Suppliers," said Jim Skinner, Chief Executive Officer, McDonald's Corporation. "Forty years ago, Jim Delligatti set the precedent for creative thinking and partnership that led to development of other well-known McDonald's menu items."

Keith Reinhard, Chairman Emeritus of DDB Worldwide, and his creative group at Needham Harper & Steers developed the famous Big Mac advertising promotion, "Twoallbeefpattiesspecialsaucelettucecheesepicklesonionsonasesameseedbun" in 1974. The jingle gained notoriety when Max Cooper, a Birmingham, Ala. McDonald's franchisee, developed a "man-on-the-street" promotion that rewarded customers who could recite the jingle correctly in four seconds or less with a free Big Mac. Those who faltered ended up in a local radio commercial in 1974 featuring the jingle "bloopers."

Today, approximately 550 million Big Mac sandwiches are sold each year in America alone. Japan sells the second most Big Mac sandwiches worldwide at approximately 150 million per year. The sandwich is sold in over 100 countries and, because of its global presence, inspired The Economist Magazine's "Big Mac Index," an annual comparison of foreign currency values against the U.S. dollar.

WHAT A WHOPPER

The Left-Handed Whopper


1998: Burger King published a full page advertisement in USA Today announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu: a "Left-Handed Whopper" specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. According to the advertisement, the new whopper included the same ingredients as the original Whopper (lettuce, tomato, hamburger patty, etc.), but all the condiments were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left-handed customers. The following day Burger King issued a follow-up release revealing that although the Left-Handed Whopper was a hoax, thousands of customers had gone into restaurants to request the new sandwich. Simultaneously, according to the press release, "many others requested their own 'right handed' version."

The WHOPPER is Born

The WHOPPER sandwich made its debut on March 4, 1957, when Burger King Corp. founders David Edgerton and James McLamore concocted a burger of unrivaled size and taste in their original Miami restaurant.

Boasting a quarter pound of flame-broiled beef, ripe tomatoes, crisp lettuce, creamy mayo, ketchup, onions and crunchy pickles on a toasted, grilled bun, the duo developed a name worthy of the now famous burger and its ingredients.

Throughout the past half century, the WHOPPER has been the leader of the burger pack, pioneering the concept of customization, igniting the burger wars with its 1982 “The WHOPPER Beat the BIG MAC” advertising campaign, and offering a gamut of popular, limited-time-only WHOPPER sandwiches.

WHOPPER Fun Facts

More than 1.3 billion WHOPPER sandwiches are sold each year worldwide ! 221,184 ways to mix and match ingredients means countless ways to love the WHOPPER sandwich.

Emmy award-winning host, Ellen DeGeneres in her first stand-up act, ate a WHOPPER, fries and a shake on stage.

Hungry New Year ! What day of the year holds the record for most WHOPPER sandwiches sold ? Dec. 31. It's a WHOPPER sandwich world.

You can find a Dark WHOPPER Sandwich with pepper jack cheese, black pepper ketchup and grill sauce in the UK and Ireland.