Hot Takes & Food Dates

Celebrated: February 17 (Tuesday before Ash Wednesday) The Dough Before the Fast: Celebrating Fasnacht Day Fasnacht Day rolls around every year on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, and in 2025, we’re marking it on February 17. Rooted in German tradition and lovingly embraced by Pennsylvania Dutch communities, this day celebrates a delicious custom: indulging in fried doughnuts before the Lenten fast. The word “Fasnacht” literally means “night before the fast,” and the practice has deep relig

Celebrated: February 13 Say Cheese: It’s National Cheddar Day February 13 is National Cheddar Day, and it’s time to celebrate a cheese so iconic it needs no introduction. Bold, tangy, sharp or mild—cheddar is the superstar of snack platters, sandwiches, casseroles, burgers, and pretty much everything else. This holiday was founded by the Tillamook County Creamery Association—one of the biggest names in American cheese—and it honors not just the flavor and versatility of cheddar, but its rich

Celebrated: February 11 Love You a Latte: Celebrate This Steamy Favorite On February 11, we raise our mugs to one of the most beloved espresso drinks around—the latte. Whether you take it hot with silky foam, iced with a swirl of vanilla, or dressed up like dessert, National Latte Day is here to warm your hands and heart. The word latte is derived from the Italian "caffè e latte," meaning "coffee and milk." While coffee with milk has existed in Europe for centuries, the modern latte as we kn

Celebrated: February 10 Swirl, Bake, Celebrate: National Cream Cheese Brownie Day On February 10, we honor one of dessert’s most iconic duos: the rich, fudgy brownie and its velvety sidekick, cream cheese. It’s National Cream Cheese Brownie Day, and whether you're baking from scratch or grabbing a square from your favorite café, it's the perfect excuse to indulge in this swirled treat. Brownies themselves date back to the late 1800s, appearing in American cookbooks by the early 1900s. The cr

Celebrated: February 4 Pop One In: It’s National Stuffed Mushroom Day! Small, savory, and endlessly versatile, stuffed mushrooms are the unsung heroes of hors d’oeuvres. On February 4, we celebrate National Stuffed Mushroom Day, a moment to honor this elegant, bite-sized dish that’s as at home on a Super Bowl spread as it is at a wedding reception. Stuffed mushrooms became popular in the mid-20th century, rising alongside the wave of creative party foods that defined post-war entertaining. T

Celebrated: February 3 The Sweet Side of Veggies On February 3, we gratefully celebrate National Carrot Cake Day, a delicious reminder that vegetables can—and do—belong in dessert. Carrot cake has long charmed sweet tooths with its moist crumb, spiced layers, and creamy frosting. But this dessert wasn’t always about indulgence—it was born of necessity. Historians trace carrot cake’s roots back to the Middle Ages, when refined sugar was scarce and expensive. Enter carrots: a naturally sweet,

Celebrated: January 30 Oui Love Croissants: A Buttery Salute on National Croissant Day It’s time to celebrate the flaky, buttery, golden beauty that is the croissant. On January 30, National Croissant Day honors the elegant breakfast staple with roots far deeper than your local boulangerie. While croissants are commonly associated with France, their story begins in Austria, where the original “kipferl”—a crescent-shaped pastry—was popular for centuries. Legend has it that Marie Antoinette, h

Celebrated: January 27 A Slice of Joy: National Chocolate Cake Day January 27 is National Chocolate Cake Day, a moment to indulge in one of the world’s most beloved desserts. Whether it’s layered with ganache, glazed in fudge, or dusted with cocoa, chocolate cake is the universal symbol of celebration, comfort, and culinary creativity. Chocolate cake as we know it didn’t really emerge until the mid-1800s, when chocolate became more widely available to home bakers. Before that, chocolate was