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Join author Amy Strauss as she traces the sizzling history and culture of a beloved and sustaining Pennsylvania Dutch iconic dish, scrapple.

The name may remind you of a certain word-based board game, but scrapple has been an essential food in Mid-Atlantic kitchens for hundreds of years, the often-overlooked king of breakfast meats. Developed by German settlers of Pennsylvania, scrapple was made from the "scraps" of meat cut from the day's butchering to avoid waste. Pork trimmings were stewed until tender, ground like sausage, and belnded with broth, cornmeal, and buckwheat flour. Crispy slabs of scrapple sustained the Pennsylvanians through the frigid winter months and brutal harvest months, providing them with a high-energy and tasty breakfast meal that people enjoy even today.

The four hundred years since colonization have brought European, African and Asian techniques, ingredients and tastes to the Chesapeake Bay. European colonists and Africans both enslaved and free were influenced by indigenous ingredients and Native American cooking and created uniquely New World foods. The nineteenth century saw the development of industries based on the bounty of the Bay and the rising popularity of oysters, blue crab and turtle soup throughout the greater Mid-Atlantic. Waves of immigrants brought their own cuisines to the mix, and colcannon, brisket, sauerkraut and fish peppers are now found on Chesapeake tables. Local author, scientist and blogger Tangie Holifield weaves together the unique food traditions of the Bay, telling the stories of each culture that has contributed to its bounty.

No trip to the Jersey Shore would be complete without indulging in the cuisine that helps make it famous.

These foods we enjoy today are part of a long tradition beginning in the Victorian era, when big oceanfront hotels served elaborate meals. Diverse dishes and restaurants emerged during prohibition and the Great Depression, when fast food appeared and iconic boardwalk treats developed. Predating the farm to table movement, fancy and fast eateries have been supplied by local fishermen and farmers for decades. So whether you indulge in a tomato pie, pork roll or salt water taffy, take a mouthwatering historical tour and discover timeless treats from Sandy Hook to Cape May.

Baltimore's unforgettable dining scene of the past is re-visited here in thirty-five now shuttered restaurants that made their mark on this city.

Haussner's artwork. Coffey salad at the Pimlico Hotel. Finger bowls at Hutzler's Colonial Tea Room. The bell outside the door at Martick's Restaurant Francais. Details like these made Baltimore's dining scene so unforgettable. Explore the stories behind thirty-five shuttered restaurants that Baltimoreans once loved and remember the meals, the crowds, the owners and the spaces that made these places hot spots. Suzanne Loudermilk and Kit Waskom Pollard share behind-the-scenes tales of what made them tick, why they closed their doors and how they helped make Baltimore a culinary destination.

Culinary Memories from Philadelphia's Past...Beyond the Cheesesteak

Long before Philadelphia’s food scene was splashed on covers of Bon Appetit and local establishments garnered accolades like “America’s best restaurant,” culinary pioneers set the city’s restaurant industry ablaze. Frenchman Georges Perrier brought the city the highest, most-respected opulence, Le Bec-Fin, for 40 years running. The ultimate seafood institute, Old Original Bookbinder’s, held the title of the world’s largest lobster tank and prepared impeccable oyster Rockefeller. Steve Poses changed the culinary game with the Frog that captivated palates with the infusion of international flavors. The nation’s very first automat, Horn & Hardart’s, consistently delivered near-perfect comfort food classics via vending machine.

Amy Strauss revisits celebrated spaces, unforgettable personalities and must-have recipes that made Philadelphia’s historic restaurants remembered for their delicious moments in time.

Montgomery County's Agricultural Reserve, created in 1980, was a history-making decision that is a model for land preservation.

Montgomery County's earliest residents, Native Americans, developed agricultural communities and used the shores of the Potomac as a trading spot. European settlers farmed tobacco, eventually collapsing the County's economy until the Quaker community returned fertility to the land. The C&O Canal was the nation's first significant infrastructure project and helped create links to national and international markets. In the 20th century, the Marriott chain developed contemporary, industrialized food that signaled a changing world. The Agricultural Reserve was intended to preserve the county's rural past in the face of rapid change. Along with farming, it also preserved history and foodways.

Claudia Kousoulas and Ellen Letourneau tell this agricultural history through food and recipes.

For centuries, dating back to the time of the Native Americans, the fertile soils and the bountiful bays and salt marshes of the Delmarva Peninsula have fed its people well. Over the generations, its food culture has become intertwined with the history of the people who call this land home. Food determined where people lived, how they traveled, how their economy functioned and how they celebrated and shared the products of soil and salt water. Local writer and photographer Curtis Badger narrates this history with recipes based on seasonal bounty.

Historic farms and waterways crisscross Southern Delaware, connecting its residents to a set of rich culinary traditions. The original Nanticoke inhabitants baked hearty johnnycakes and hunted wild game. Hungry for a taste of home, German settlers developed scrapple from local ingredients. Today's home cooks and chefs draw their bounty from the land and sea for a distinct, seasonal cuisine. Summer strawberries and peaches from local farms and orchards become delectable preserves thanks to treasured family recipes. Come springtime, succulent blue crab reigns supreme. With recipes for regional favorites like beach plum jelly and chicken with slippery dumplings, author Denise Clemons explores the history behind the ingredients and savors the story in every dish.

Beyond its crowded highways, Long Island serves up a plentiful, eclectic bounty with a side of history. Enticing appetites from Nassau to Montauk, food writer and Long Island native T.W. Barritt explores how immigrant families built a still thriving agricultural community, producing everything from crunchy pickles and hearty potatoes to succulent Long Island duckling. Experience the rise and fall of Long Island's bustling oyster industry and its reemergence today. And meet the modern-day pioneers--in community agriculture, wine, cheese, fine dining and craft spirits--who are reinventing Long Island's food landscape and shaping a delicious future.

The Upper Hudson Valley has a long and full-bodied brewing tradition. Arriving in the 1600s, the Dutch established the area as a brewing center, a trend that continued well into the eighteenth century despite two devastating wars. The Erie Canal helped develop Albany into a beer capital of North America--Albany Ale" was exported across America and around the world. Upper Hudson Valley breweries continued to thrive until Prohibition, and some, like Beverwyck and Stanton, survived the dark years to revive the area's brewing tradition. Since the 1980s, there has been a renaissance in Upper Hudson Valley craft brewing, including Newman's, C.H. Evans, Shmaltz and Chatham Brewing. Beer scholars Craig Gravina and Alan McLeod explore the sudsy story of Upper Hudson Valley beer."