Twitter has a lot of information for whatever you are into, and there are plenty of great cooking and food related people to follow so we figured we would make a nice list of some of the best chefs on Twitter. There are many more you can find if you just look, but these 20 stood out to us right off the bat, either because we are familiar with them or we recommend them because they provide some tasty nuggets of info.

Bobby Flay - Bobby Flay is one of the most famous chefs in the world right now, if you are reading this then I imagine that you know exactly who he is and now you can follow him on Twitter as well. He tweets about many food and cooking related topics, as well as various other little tidbits of foodie wisdom.

Cat Cora - Cat Cora is a world renowned chef who started on her culinary journey when she was only 15 years old. In 2005 she made TV history by becoming the worlds first female Iron Chef on the hit show Iron Chef America. She has also been on many other cooking shows and even co hosted a cooking show with a muppet.

Emeril Lagasse - Another world famous chef that needs no introduction, Emeril is known far and wide for his amazing culinary skills and his unique sense of humor.

Jamie Oliver - Jamie Oliver is a British chef who has become a phenom in the culinary world. Jamie has numerous television shows and his show The Naked Chef on the BBC network is one of the most popular cooking shows on the air. Jamie has been a huge inspiration to may people, follow him on Twitter and maybe he will inspire you too if he has not already done so.

Chris Cosentino - Chris is a unique chef because he focuses a lot on different delicacies that many people do not eat, in his Twitter feed you will see him discuss these types of dishes and delicacies as well as post photos of them and even offers recipes. Follow him and you will discover some truly unique foods.

Ludo Lefebvre - Chef Ludo as he is known is an interesting type of chef because he owns a touring restaurant. His restaurant has no permanent address or phone number and he moves locations often to bring his amazing food to different people. Hs dishes have won awards and he is a unique and top notch chef who offers some fun and interesting info via his twitter feed.

Tyler Florence - Tyler Florence is a well known chef based in the Bay area of California. He is also a chef with many other talents including making wine, running his own restaurant, designing his own culinary products, and he is also a dad. He makes some unique and exquisite dishes that will make your mouth water, and following him on Twitter you will see him Tweet about various dishes with pics.

Rocco Dispirito - Rocco is an Italian-American chef out of New York City. He is well known as a celebrity chef and also a cookbook author. One of his most known books is called Now Eat This and he has a few others out in addition to that. He has been on numerous television shows and owns a popular restaurant in New York City.

Giuseppe Tentori - Giuseppe is the executive chef at the popular Chicago restaurant Boka and soon he will also be holding the same position at a new restaurant called GT Fish and oyster. He has received many awards for some of his dishes and he is also a master seafood chef.

Todd English - Todd is a highly respected and decorated veteran chef who runs his own restaurant that he started in Massachusetts. He then started building upon the reputation his restaurant built and opened restaurants in many other locations. His restaurant, “Olives” has become a well known brand around the world and he keeps racking up more and more honors as a top notch culinary pro.

Foodimentary - Foodimentary was started by John-Bryan Hopkins where he humorously discusses food on Twitter. It started as a blog that has since been renamed as Foodimentary101. Foodimentary quickly moved over to Twitter, where it quickly grew in popularity. Today it is considered one of Twitter’s top contributors in the category of food-drink.

Rick Bayless - Rick is an award-winning chef-restaurateur, cookbook author, and also a television personality. He has done more than any other culinary star to introduce Americans to authentic Mexican cuisine and to change the image of Mexican food in America.

Kathy Casey - Kathy Casey is a celebrity chef, a mixologist and also pioneer in the bar-chef movement. She has played a huge role in bringing Northwest cuisine as well as women chefs to national prominence. She was also one of the first female executive chefs in the United States and was named one of Food & Wine's “hot new American chefs.”

The Klutzy Cook – The Klutzy Cook is another excellent Twitter feed to follow if you love to cook. She is not a professional chef but has a passion for cooking that is right up there with all of the pros. Her cooking philosophy is simple – “My philosophy on cooking and food is that it should be for fun and enjoyment.  The serious stuff I leave to the professionals and experts.  For me, if what I prepare tastes good and gets eaten it’s a success.

Bridget Davis - Bridget likes to teach people to cook and help people become better cooks. Cooking has been a passion of hers for years and she loves to share her knowledge with others. She says it best right here – “I take great pleasure in teaching and sharing my skills and experiences with others who love to cook or won’t cook! I live to inspire and help create exciting culinary moments through cooking and teaching.”

William Cooks – This is a great Twitter feed full of all kinds of excellent recipes as well as tips and tricks for cooking.

Amanda Formaro - Amanda is a cooking and baking fanatic as well as a food blogger. Follow her on twitter to discover all kinds of new recipes, blog posts about food, and more recipes and cooking tips.

Karol’s Kitchen - Karol’s goal is to share the recipes that her family loves to families around the world. She tweets about many different recipes and her website has a free recipe book that anyone can download.

Mark Tafoya – Mark Tafoya is the Executive Chef and Co-owner of the Culinary Media Network which is a new media company that celebrates the sensual pleasures of food from a multi-cultural perspective.

Think Tasty - Think Tasty is the home to delicious recipes, honest restaurant reviews, and interesting food news.

After hunting down story after story of food-related attacks, we at TheCooksDen have a few pieces of advice for our readers:

Beware the banana gone bad. Keep your eyes peeled for the diabolical durian. And, above all, learn to fear the contemptible carrot.

For it is these, the humble, seemingly innocent foods that can rise up and strike against their human oppressors. Often without warning, and sometimes in a deadly manner.

And so, without further ado, we present some of the most viscious attacks of Foodstuffs Against Humanity.

Enjoy and, as always, eat safely.

Never bring a banana to a gunfight

Maryland is a state that has many fine things going for it. Their median income is the highest in the country at just over $70,000, according to US Census data. The unemployment is about 2.5% lower than the national average and the cherry on top is that their criminals are total dunces.

In 2008, a man walked into a Monrovia 7-11 and demanded money from the cashier. The assailant brandished no weapon and the cashier outright refused. At that point the doomed, albeit resourceful, robber grabbed the nearest item he could find with which to attack the cashier. This happened to be a banana. The criminal began what he must have thought would be a rather sound beating. The incredulous cashier, not about to get taken by some banana-wielding bandit, pulled out a knife. Summoning all his intelligence, the robber realized he was in a losing battle and bolted.

No word on whether the banana was taken in as evidence or sold and eaten as a healthy and delicious snack.

He put it where?!

According to that bastion of integrity, The Sun, a 62 year old Hong Kong man tried to commit suicide by plunging a cucumber into his uh... posterior, only to be discovered by his daughter hours later in a pool of blood. He was shipped off to a local hospital where he had the vegetable removed.

The old man claimed later that he was attempting to perform hara-kiri also known as seppuku or "ritual disembowelment"; a kind of suicide first performed by the samurai in feudal Japan. The process generally doesn't employ the use of fresh and delicious greens, but usually (in fact always until now) a tanto blade or knife inserted in the belly.

The obvious question that comes to mind is could Mr. Wei not have found a knife anywhere in his home, or even something remotely sharper than a cucumber? Or was he ashamed of his true intention? Perhaps doctors told him he needed more fiber to aide in his bowel movements and didn't think he'd opt for a direct application. Whatever the case, at least Mr. Wei survived with little more than hurt pride. Which is more than can be said for that poor cucumber.

Orange jumpsuit not required

People do some pretty outlandish things when they're drunk and about to be incarcerated, but in Kentucky they take it to a new level.

In early March of this year, Toni Tramel was jailed for public intoxication in Owensboro, Kentucky. After processing, she was escorted into a room with a female jailer and told to change into that oh-so-stylish orange jumpsuit donned by many of our nation's best.

She apparently didn't care much for wearing her uniform and instead, whilst removing her bra, squirted the accompanying officer in the face with a fair amount of breast milk.

In response, the detention center labeled the liquid offense as a "bio-hazard" and charged the lady with third degree assault. To date she's on $10,000 bail and awaiting trial.

For law enforcement in Kentucky, it seems that a little spilled milk IS something to weep over.

Good place for a stakeout

Here's the most inspiring food-attack-related story we've heard all year. And it answers that age old question "What happens when you cross a blind man, his wife, and a spiky stinky fruit?"

The Sin Chew Daily news reported on a Chinese couple who went into their durian orchard late at night on June 8th, 2007, because they had suspected thieves were taking the stinky fruit. The farmer, Cheah Ah Khoon, who happens to be blind, asked his wife to guide him through the orchard to a spot that would give them a good vantage point for catching thieves.

As the night wore on a loud noise signaled the falling of a durian fruit from very high up. Cheah and his wife weren't able to move in time and the fruit hit the man directly on his head. The durian continued its flight by ricocheting off his cranium with enough force to strike his wife in her head, rendering her unconscious. The blind man, battered by the initial contact, was able to muster enough strength to hoist his wife upon his back and slowly feel his way through the orchard to his home. Cheah's wife was later sent to an area hospital where doctors said she sustained no serious injuries.

Somebody please give that man a Purple Heart. Or at least a Durian-colored one.

Beware the tiny tree

Be mindful of where you sow your seeds. According to BostonHerald.com, Ron Sveden of Brewster, MA was released from a hospital earlier this year after he had symptoms of: listlessness, pneumonia and eventually a collapsed lung.

The news wouldn't be that interesting if it weren't for the way he found himself in the hospital. Apparently he'd been munching on greens and a seed got stuck in his throat and began to sprout. He reported that he was constantly coughing and felt that he had no ambition to do anything. The doctors examined his windpipe first and thought he had a tumor of some kind. When they got inside, though, they found a miniature, growing, bean plant. The beanstalk was removed safely and the patient recovered fully.

His family is happy for his safety and have gifted him cans of peas and seed packets as a tongue-in-cheek joke. Let's hope he's learned his lesson and doesn't snack on his present.

Maybe it was overcooked?

Of all the many fine foods brought to us from the Old Country, it appears that lasagna is the best with which to brain your husband.

Amanda Trott of Atlantic City was arrested in the summer of 2008 after launching a frozen lasagna at her husband during an argument, striking him on the top of his head.

Had the pasta dish been fresh, the family Trott surely would have had a collective laugh, forgot about their worries and slurped processed tomato puree from dad's beard. Unfortunately for the Trott's, the lasagna was straight from the grocery store's frozen foods section and gave daddy a nasty welt and mommy a trip to the pokey.

The kids went to stay with neighbors where, we can only hope, they enjoyed only fresh and soft foods.

Mmmm.... pretzels

Joining the ranks of John F. Shrank and John Hinkley Jr., a seemingly-innocent pretzel failed in an attempt at trying to assassinate a sitting President of the United States.

In 2002, President George W. Bush was relaxing, as he was often prone to do, taking in an NFL playoff game when a pretzel lodged itself deep in his throat. Engaging in a life or death struggle, George eventually succumbed to the pretzel and passed out, hitting his cheek and lip on a coffee table as he fell to the floor.

Unfortunately for the just-short-of-competent leader, there was no one else in the room to lend assistance. It seemed an inglorious end for the man who coined the term "they misunderestimated me." But, when all seemed lost, the pretzel miraculously worked its way free and Bush recovered fully.

The President went on to prematurely declare "mission accomplished" in Iraq and botch relief efforts surrounding Hurricane Katrina. No word on what happened to the pretzel.

Better than a sharp stick (Photo: Ed Yourdon)

In July of 2006 the AP reported that Roderick Vecsey, a forty-six year old Connecticut man, overwhelmed by rage, launched a carrot at his wife Pamela and struck her in the eye, blinding her.

Pamela was rushed quickly to the hospital where doctors worked tirelessly to restore her sight. But they were unsuccessful; the carrot had done its work.

Roderick (henceforth known as "the launcher") was taken to jail and charged with second-degree assault and disorderly conduct. The judge might have been a little bit more lenient had he offered his battered wife some ranch dressing to bury the hatchet, but the heartless scamp did no such thing.

Save the Guinness, leave the Schlitz!

Talk about an enviable way to go. In 1814, London brewery keg burst. That might not have been such a big deal, except that the keg contained over 100,000 gallons of beer. The resulting violent explosion caused a domino effect, knocking apart other kegs and flooding the streets of London with an estimated half million gallons of beer.

Oh the humanity! Houses were destroyed and a nearby pub's wall was caved in. All in all about 8 people died from drowning that day. A ninth was reported to have died a day later from alcohol poisoning.

But the opportunity-seeking people of early nineteenth century London would not sit idly by and cry over spilled milk, uh beer. They began filling up every pail they could get their hands on from the seemingly endless river of beer.

To help pay for all the damages the flood had caused, locals displayed a few of the eight corpses at which people could look for a nominal fee. And like any bright idea fueled by alcohol, they probably felt pretty bad about that one the morning after.

Pick Your Poison

Ivanka Perko, a Slovenian immigrant to Australia, died in a way that, according to her friends, suited her noteworthy life. A banana did her in.

Perko was 73 years old and had an unfortunate medical condition that made her skin thin and easily damaged. One evening while opening a banana she lost her grip and the banana slid down her leg leaving a nasty gash. She was taken to the hospital but did not survive.

Perko, as a girl, lived in a country under Nazi occupation who fled under the cover of darkness carrying not much more than sack of black pepper used to distract police dogs. The Saturday Daily Telegraph reported that she was aware of the irony, stating whimsically on her deathbed "I can't believe that after all this time it was a bloody banana that killed me."

It wasn't me — I swear!

Imagine this — You're a farmer and you've just put in a long 8-10 hour day. Your muscles are wearied from daily strain and the only two things you can think about as you climb into bed are your warm sheets and the next day's work.

Now imagine that you're being violently awoken by a pants-less man vigorously rubbing you down with spices and beating you with an eight-inch sausage (that's sausage in the literal sense). Well, according to Sacramento's KRCA, that's exactly what happened to two Fresno farmers.

After the farmer awoke, spicy sausage wielder Antonio Vasquez fled the scene, but was later discovered by Fresno police in a nearby field with money stolen from the house. The aggressor was taken to jail for assault but the sausage was unable to be used as evidence as it was discarded by the fleeing man and eaten by a dog. The dog was not questioned.

Deadly weapon(Photo: Grongar)

Kids in Sussex will (and do) find anything with which to pummel each other. A 15-year-old boy at a Sussex secondary school was taken into police custody in early 2008 after he attacked another boy with a French baguette.

The police questioned the boy and later cautioned him with common assault. I'm not sure what the other options were. Offering bread with no wine?

Apparently there seems to be a pretty serious weapon problem in Sussex schools, but that would have to be one piece of stale French bread to cause any real damage. I guess it's true what the NRA says: if you take away our guns, the criminals (and teenagers) will still find a way.

At least it's not oil

For some Bostonians, the Great Molasses Flood was a "sweet" death.

In 1919, The Purity Distilling Company was busy stockpiling enormous quantities of molasses. Rumor has it this was in inticipation of Prohibition — molasses is a key ingredient in rum. Regardless of their reasons for storing such an enormous load of goo in the highly-populated North End, disaster struck.

On a relatively balmy day in January, a gigantic tank holding over 2 million gallons of molasses, exploded into the streets.

The molasses, moving at 35 mph, destroyed almost everything in its path. The brown, sticky waves were so tall and so tenacious that some buildings were lifted off their foundations. A nearby train was derailed. The death toll reached 21 people with 150 injured.

Boston locals say you could still smell the molasses well into the 1980's.

The Purity Distilling Company was held liable and forced to pay damages. Funny, it seems we're still having a lot of problems with companies spilling millions of gallons of black goo due their ineptitude.

Is Apple Pie really as "American as Apple Pie?" Was the Hamburger invented in Hamburg? Which came first, the freezer or Ice Cream? The answer to these — and other questions about traditional American foods — may surprise you.

We sure were surprised. And it led us on a quest to find out the secrets behind our favorite meals. The results were whimsical, strange and, in some cases, bizarre.

Read on to learn more about the origins of apple pie, hamburgers, ice cream, hot dogs, caesar salad, mac 'n cheese, fried chicken, and pizza.

Photo by Carl Johan

The invention of the Hamburger is a hotly disputed event. At least four different parties lay claim to its "discovery." The interesting thing is that of these four, there seems to be no doubt about the fact that the name originates from Hamburg, Germany; a result of early German immigrants' obsession with ground beefsteak.

The brothers Charles and Frank Menches say the Hamburger was their idea and that they invented it in 1885 at the Erie County Fair quite by mistake. In an interview done years later, Frank stated that due to a shortage in pork, ground beef was used in the sandwiches he was slinging and they became an instant hit. Ohioans are proud of these native buckeyes and the full story is available on OurOhio.org. Check it out should the desire for pride-inducing Ohioan legend strike you.

But, there are other contenders to the throne. Like, for example, the aptly named Charlie "Hamburger Charlie" Nagreen who apparently wanted to solidify the title by adopting it as a part of his name. Like the Manches brothers, Nagreen also claims to have invented the Hamburger in 1885. You won't find Charlie on OurOhio.org, since he did it at the Seymour County Fair in Wisconsin. Charlie was just 15 years old when he started selling meatballs out of an ox cart. He soon discovered that his clients couldn't walk and look at the exhibits at the same time, so he flattened the meatballs and stuck them in between two slices of bread. And thus was born another Hamburger claim. Charlie's got a website (doesn't everyone?) that defends his claim with the vehemence of a fanatic, proffering interviews, newspapers clips and even a poem.

From the Midwest we buzz on down to Athens, Texas where Fletcher Davis' compatriots declare him the rightful inventor of the Hamburger. Davis, a potter and an every man's man, claim his posterity, invented the sandwich around 1880 in a little café he owned after the pottery business started to go downhill. His sandwich was so delicious that — according to Texan lore — Davis' friends collected money to send him and his creation to the 1904 World's Fair. Quite impressively, Davis' creation caught the attention of a journalist for the New York Tribune who wrote up a story about the sandwich but failed to name the creator. Woe to the house of Davis — so close to culinary infamy but losing all concrete evidence at the hands of some hapless writer.

Last and certainly not least we have Louis Lassen, the original owner of Louis' Lunch Wagon. Louis' story is that once in 1895 when a client very much in a hurry asked for something to eat Louis, ever quick on his feet, handed the man some ground beef between two slices of bread. The idea caught on and today in New Haven Connecticut you can still eat an almost identical recreation of Louis' original sandwich. Louis also has one other thing missing from the claims of the previous three; official recognition by the Library of Congress. It seems while our other friends were running around at the County Fair, Lassen must have been filling out the paperwork for an official copyright. And, of course, a website.

Being the only contender to get his creation into the Library Congress and the fact that his original recipe has hardly changed since its creation, TheCooksDen tends to recognize Louis Lassen as the true creator of the Hamburger. Congrats, Louis — you can send my "honorarium" in small unmarked bills to this site.

Photo by JessicaFM

Think you need a freezer or at least a cold climate to enjoy ice cream? Think again. And never underestimate the ingenuity of a Pharaoh with ten thousand slaves and a craving for a tasty frozen treat on a hot summer day.

With that in mind, the early story of ice cream is mostly a study of immense human energy expended to quickly transport naturally-formed ice to warmer climates. There it could be enjoyed by those with extreme power and wealth, who never lifted a finger to make it.

The Persians were the first known civilization to employ ice-importation techniques for the purpose of making dessert, doing so in roughly 400 BC. They flavored their concoctions with fruits and spices. A modern-day equivalent, faloodeh, is still served in Iran today.

Fast forward a few hundred years and you'll find the Caliphs in ancient Bagdad adding cream to these tasty treats to produce something closer to what we might consider ice cream today.

Once ice cream caught on in the rest of the world — the Europeans and Chinese were big innovators in the area of flavors and toppings — the trail gets a bit scattershot. But we can pick up a clear path again in 18th-century England when ice cream recipes began appearing in mainstream cookbooks.

Quaker colonists brought the dish from England to their new home in America because, really, who wouldn't? Here it was popularized by, among other luminaries, First Lady Dolly Madison.

Dolly Madison Ice Cream is still made today, though I doubt the former First Lady would recognize the modern Chunky Hubby Wavy Peanut Brickle Supreme craze.

We've come a long way since Persia. Think ancient Pharaohs would be impressed with today's modern conveniences? And maybe amused by the things we put on top?

Photo by CallMe Crochet

Today's default take-out food, pizza has quite a storied past, with roots dating back to the Persian Emperor Darius the Great. Historical accounts have Darius' soldiers placing their shields on the ground and baking bread on top of them, adding cheese and dates as available.

Pizza may have migrated to Greece when Alexander the Great broke the Persian Empire, or the Ancient Greeks might just have come up with it on their own. Either way, the Greeks made pizza with flavors that we associate with modern pizza, such as herbs and onions.

From here pizza traveled, like most Greek culture, to the Romans. And beginning in about the 17th century we have the birth of the modern Pizza.

It was about this time that "i Napolitani" began using tomatoes and tomato sauce as a base. The pizza became quite popular and continues to enjoy its prestige in Naples to this day. To some "pizzaioli," only Naples-style pizza are worthy of the name. Their claims are, at least in part, confirmed by the "Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana" or True Neapolitan Pizza Association. The AVPN mandates — along with a host of other guidelines — that an official Neapolitan pizza must be cooked at a specific temperature for a specific amount of time and made without the aid of mechanical tools. Try telling that to a Pizza Hut employee and you might just get a blank stare.

The Pizza didn't reach the US until the 19th century with the influx of Italian immigrants. For obvious reasons, it was first introduced and assimilated in the bigger cities. Gennaro Lombardi, an Italian immigrant in Little Italy is said to have opened the first pizzeria in 1905. Pizza has experienced a slow rise in popularity from then until present day. Now it is America's number one favorite frozen food item and all purpose meal for "study weary" college students.

Photo by TheBusyBrain

Care for a concoction of scraps, blood, fat and internal organs crammed inside a casing made from intestines? Mmmmm... the hot dog. Figure it must have a pretty bizzare origin? Well, convoluted is more like it.

Tracing the history of the American hot dog means chasing down three distinct components: the dog itself, the bun and, of course, Coney Island.

The frankfurter gets its name from Frankfurt, Germany, and people there will happily lay claim to the meal's origin. However, sausages had been around for centuries before that name came along. In fact, the Ancient Greeks were eating them as early as 600 BC. What the people of Frankfurt can claim is somewhat unclear. But the first vendors to sell sausages in buns in the US were almost certainly German immigrants in the late 1800s.

And how did they arrive at the idea of adding buns to sausages? Good ole fashioned market research and economics. The earliest bun-less sausage vendors heard complaints from their customers that they were getting grease on their hands. Their first solution? Handing out white gloves with each sausage. It wasn't long before they discovered that a bun was a more economical choice as a free giveaway.

We associate hot dogs with Coney Island thanks to that area's storied past as a playground for innovation, capitalism and hucksterism. When Nathan Handwerker left his hot-dog making, Coney Island-based, German immigrant boss to form Nathan's Famous nearby and charged just five cents per dog, the craze was born.

Photo by TheBittenWord

Though fried foods get a bad reputation for being fattening and distinctly American, the traditions of boiling foodstuffs in oil dates at least as far back as a Roman cook by the name of Caelius Apicius. Apicius should not be confused with the similarly-named Roman Emperor who threw the seventh-most extravagant dinner party in history.

Apicius used olive oil for his deep fried concoctions as did most Europeans after him. That includes America's early Scottish immigrants. Though the Scots introduced us to deep frying chicken, Americans adapted the technique to suit local climate and economics. Specifically, in the 18th century South, olives weren't plentiful (or cheap), but pigs were. Pig fat, or lard, was cheap since hogs ate pretty much everything, making them efficient and inexpensive. Hogs could be shoveled most waste products and they would lap it right up.

Because lard was cheap and highly caloric, the cooking style was quickly adopted by poor southerners and African slaves. And just as they transformed vapid European Hymns into The Blues, so too did they improve the recipe by adding a unique blend of spices and creating what we know today as Southern fried chicken.

After the Emancipation, fried chicken continued to be a staple food for many southern blacks, eventually finding its way into common consumption.

Colonel Sanders and KFC came along much later, around 1930. The KFC we know and love was birthed in a gas station Sander's owned in 1930. His meals were so popular that he was inspired to get the word out. He travelled around, signing up franchisees across the country. Dave Thomas, of Wendy's fame, even got involved, adding a few key marketing insights during the Colonels thirty some-odd year run. When Sanders finally sold the business in 1964 (for a measly $2M bucks), there were about six hundred KFC restaurants spread throughout the country. Today there are 14,000. And home fryers are prevalent.

Photo by Stuart Spivack

A delicious chopped lettuce and anchovy combination named after a famous Roman Emperor or a spur-of-the-moment finger food created by a bootlegger with a flair for the dramatic?

The story of the Caeser Salad is widely misunderstood. The truth actually has nothing to do with Julius Caeser, did not contain anchovies originally, and was intended to be eaten with the hands.

Its inventor, Caesar Cardini, was an 1920's Italian restauranteur living in Mexico in order to avoid Prohibition in the USA. He created the dish when his kitchen ran out of items on the regular menu. Caeser threw together what he had left, made it seem special with the flourish of a table-side tossing and had a hit on his hands soon after.

The Cardinis still serve their version today and sell a host of dressings to go alongside.

They still don't add anchovies, though. Those were added by competitors who interpreted the Worcestershire sauce flavoring as reminiscent of the salty minnow.

Photo by Ben Millett

The quintessential American dessert, the apple pie, has actually been around for centuries; the pie crust for even longer.

The Greeks were some of the first people to cook food in a flour crust. We are told, however, that the crust was not meant to be eaten, that it functioned as a container to hold in meat juices and was discarded when the contents had finished cooking.

Europeans continued this tradition into the 14th century, dubbing the solid inedible pie crusts "coffyns." When sugar became more widely available the crust was made fit for human consumption and the modern pie was born. Apple pie was first introduced as early as King Richard in 1390 CE and wasn't introduced into the Americas until the arrival of English settlers. Up until then there were only crab apples. And if you've ever tried to eat one of those you could imagine why they weren't popular for pie making.

The ease of growing apples contributed to their popularity. Apple trees can grow almost anywhere and due to their wide availability and their ability to keep well when dried, the apple pie solidified its claim as America's pie. In fact, we're told that women in the 1700's would serve pie with every meal.

Because of apple pie's sacred place in US history, it warranted its own official organization. Thus was born the American Pie Council — the "only organization committed to preserving America's pie heritage and promoting American's love affair with pies." In partnership with Crisco, the APC holds a yearly baking contest called "The Great American Pie Festival" featuring the latest in pie development. This year Phyliss S. of Toledo, Ohio took best in show in the amateur division with her homemade peanut butter pie. Way to go, Phyliss!

Photo by D Sharon Pruitt

Humans have been eating pasta-like dishes for nearly 4000 years. But a dish recognizable as modern-day pasta was not really available until Arabs — living in Sicily, of course — introduced it in the seventh century.

Various cultures introduced cheese throughout the ages, and it was no surprise that it made it to American shores as the colonies were founded.

Modern-day macaroni and cheese, though, was popularized in this country by none other than Thomas Jefferson, perhaps after one of his fine-dining experiences in France. Thom had the nerve to serve the gourmet dish in the White House. Guests, we are informed, weren't particularly impressed.

From then until about 1937 this cheesy fare experienced spotty popularity until the invention of the Kraft Dinner. If the name sounds funny that's because it's better known in the U.S. as Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. You know, the one in the "blue box." The Kraft Dinner was a far cry from what Jefferson served in his White House dinner and closer to what we know today: dry noodles and processed cheese.

Though Kraft's dish may not have been as tasty as TJ's, timing was on their side. History buffs will have noticed that this was right before the U.S. entered WWII and, when it did, Kraft experienced due success. With a lot of men away fighting and women working out of the home, it was nice to have something easily prepared at the end of the day. Kraft's success with this boxed dinner may have lead us to the plethora of frozen meals you can find today at your local grocer's freezer.

Well he obviously never licked his grease-swathed fingers after a plate of southern-fried chicken. Because if he had, he would have to concede that the annals of food history have brought us palate-pleasing confections that are nothing short of national treasures.

OK, I admit to being a Mac Fanboy. I've got a MacBook, an iPhone and I'll be first in line for a new iPad when it hits the shelves.

But I'm also a foodie with time on his hands. So what better way to show appreciation for my much-loved Apple products than to create a tasty sculpture in the form of Apple's venerable leader?

And with Apple's latest blockbuster product launch just around the corner, I figured that my iPad Launch Party would be the perfect place for the unveiling. You ARE going to an iPad launch party, aren't you?

Steve's piercing gaze and strong personality
make him a natural choice for bold food pairings.

I figured that cheese was a great medium for food carving, and would go well with many a tasty meal.

Mozzarella has the right consistency, is pliable when melted slightly, and its pasty-white color matches the skin tone of many a computer geek like Steve and myself.

See below for directions on how to create your own Cheese Head and for three tasty recipes that go perfectly with Steve Cheese.

If you're going to create your own tasty CEO goodness, make sure you've got some good pictures to reference while you carve. I used the one above, along with one or two profile shots so I could get the full 3D effect.

Start out with a few of those big blocks of mozzarella cheese. You can hold them together with toothpicks or chopsticks that have been neatly clipped.

Next up, carve out the basic human skull shape. Don't worry too much about the details yet — just go for the large feature areas. Map out where you're going to put the eyes, nose and chin. A paring knife — I'm a fan of this one — works great for this type of work and for the detail work to follow.

The nose and ears require detailed carving, so work on those separately. You can attach them with glue made of gobs of slightly melted cheese. In fact, as you progress, those melted cheese blobs should be applied liberally to give the head its smooth, human look.

Finally, apply the beard and hair using a flat spoon filled with ground pepper. Be careful with this step — it's a pain to remove specs of pepper once they've stuck to the cheese.

Now that your Steve is carved and ready to go, choose from one of the following three delicious recipes to complete your meal. Please follow the recipes carefully — you should resist the temptation to throw Steve onto your barbecue at all times.

Ingredients

• 1 Steve Jobs Cheese Head
• Assorted gourmet cheeses such as brie, camembert or stilton
• Crackers
• Fruit

The cheese plate allows your guests to get a good look at Steve's entire head. This recipe is a great one to choose if your sculpture has few imperfections. Simply mount the head on a base of partially-melted cheese and arrange various food items around the edges.

Guests will be reluctant to take a carving out of your masterpiece, so you might have to be the first to dive in. I recommend starting with a nose or an ear — that way your guests will know you mean business. The pepper adds some zing to the somewhat-bland mozzarella.

Ingredients

• 1 Steve Jobs Cheese Head
• Jalapenos
• Tomatoes
• Sour Cream
• Olives
• Tortilla chips

Steve has been known to be somewhat "spicy" to his underlings, especially around product launch time. What better way to celebrate this personality trait than with hot 'n spicy nachos?

The preparation is simple — line a cast-iron pot with tortilla chips and rest Steve comfortably on top. Garnish with tomatoes, jalapenos and olives.

Be sure to show off Steve to your guests at this point, since he'll be unrecognizable soon enough.

You'll want Steve to melt quickly without burning the chips, so bake covered at 375 degrees until the cheese is bubbly.

Remove glasses and serve with a side of sour cream and/or salsa.

Ingredients

• 1 Steve Jobs Cheese Head
• 1 Large serving Pad Thai. Recipes found here

Tired of waiting for your new iPad? This tasty iPad Thai will tide you over, and it costs a lot less too.

Simply prepare Pad Thai the way you usually do — any variation will be fine. Arrange the noodles on an attractive platter, while leaving room for Steve in the middle. Mount Steve in a well of noodles and provide a knife for those guests who'd like a little cheese with their fusion cuisine.

I'll be serving iPad Thai at our iPad launch party — how about you? Let me know if you create your own Steve food creation. If anyone has the gumption to put Steve into a pressure cooker, please get in touch. Oh, and let me know if you've got any ideas for what to do with two pounds of melted, pepper-infused mozarella cheese.

Why has this happened? What accounts for this increase? Are other countries experiencing the same thing?

Below are some interactive visual aids to help answer these questions. Check them out to get the inside scoop on Calories in the USA.

Calories By Food Group

In the US, the average daily dietary intake has increased by 600 calories — from 2,172 to 2,775 — over the last thirty-seven years. That may not surprise you, but the details just might.

In this chart, we see that Americans are actually eating roughly the same number of calories in five of seven food groups — fruit, vegetables, dairy, sugar and protein. However...

Grains and fats account for nearly all of the increase
in daily calorie consumption since 1970.

We'll focus on those two food groups in subsequent charts to see exactly what's going on.

Daily Calorie Consumption, by Food Group

100200300400500600700

1
1
1
1
1
1
1

1970

Use the scrollbar to see how consumption has changed over time

The Cost of Calories

One of the reasons Americans are eating more calories today than in 1970 is that price of food, when adjusted for inflation, has dropped.

What is disturbing, though, is that the price of added sugars has dropped significantly more than the price of healthful foods has. This can be attributed to the proliferation of low-cost High-Fructose Corn Syrup over the last thirty years.

The inflation-adjusted cost of added sugars
has dropped by half since 1970.

The purchase price of each food group has changed as follows:

• Fruit sources: 30% increase
• Vegetable sources: Unchanged
• Grain sources: 29% decrease
• Dairy sources: 38% decrease
• Fat sources: 38% decrease
• Protein sources: 50% decrease
• Sugar sources: 50% decrease

Inflation-Adjusted Cost of One Ton of Various Food Groups

6001,2001,8002,4003,0003,6004,2004,800

1
1
1
1
1
1
1

1970

Prices are in $USD. Use the scrollbar to see how consumption has changed over time

Final Thoughts, Acknowledgments and Sources

Calorie statistics for the US come from the USDA's Economic Research Service. The worldwide statistics, as well as cost estimates, come from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The technology behind the world map was provided by DIY Map.

Want to see more food databases like this one made into interactive graphics? Let me know which ones and I might just take a crack at it. Worldwide ice cream consumption, anybody? Or maybe something to do with coffee?

At TheCooksDen, we decided to apply the scientific method to that important question. We brought in an unbiased test subject — one who has superior taste buds, is unaffected by marketing hype, and is unafraid to express her opinions publicly.

Meet Hammy the Hamster. Hammy was kind enough to participate in hours of rigorous testing in order to get to the bottom of this critical issue. Read on for the results — they just may surprise you.

Highlights

First off, a bit about our technique is in order. Hammy was asked to repeatedly choose between an organic food item and a conventional item of the same type. Click on this video to see documentation of several test trials.

Outtakes

Of course, Hammy was not always so cooperative. Like a well-trained athlete, sometimes she just wasn't up to her best. Below see video documentation of several trials where Hammy was not quite so interested in our scientific quest.

Results

When all was said and done, Hammy chose organic. In over sixty percent of the trials that resulted in a clear selection, Hammy opted for the organic item. Below is the summary of results, broken down by individual food item. Hammy was 'indifferent' frequently, choosing to groom herself, rest or run away entirely. Those trials are noted below as well.

For five out of the six food types, Hammy preferred organic. She did, however, seem to have a preference for conventional walnuts over organic. This fascinating inconsistency deserves further investigation and will no doubt be the subject of follow-up research.

More Info and Music Credits

Of course, no hamsters were harmed during the filming of these movies. In fact, Hammy got a pretty good feast out of the deal.

Music for the videos was provided by Kevin MacLeod at Incompetech.com. If you're looking for music for your movie, I highly recommend his site.

Got some ideas on what Hammy should try out next? Maybe a convection oven or a high-end saute pan?

Drop us a line and let us know.

Coinciding with this year's Academy Awards, TheCooksDen is proud to announce the winners of its All-Time Culinary Cinema Awards. These awards honor great movies that include food as a central component in their theme, plot or cinematography. Awards are given in nine major categories. See below for the complete list of nominees in each category, and click through to see the winners as well as a more thorough discussion of each film.

Now sit back, whip up some chic dessert in a fancy shmancy fry pan, enjoy the movies and, as always, feel free to add your own comments and suggestions.

Best On-Screen Feast

The most ambitious of food movies create for us a feast, slowly and carefully, visually and gastronomically, much as one is created in real life.

The following movies have taken the on-screen feast to new heights, leaving the audience in awe and grabbing for their cookbooks.


Nominees:

• Big Night
• Babette's Feast
• The Chinese Feast
• Pieces of April
• What's Cooking?
• The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie

Click Here to See Details and the Winner >>

Sexiest Food Movie

On-screen sex and food are a natural match that have been paired together throughout the history of film.

These movies have managed to satisfy two of our most basic desires as well as to provide great entertainment.


Nominees:

• Woman on Top
• Vatel
• Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos
• Like Water For Chocolate
• Tampopo

Honorable Mention:

• Tom Jones
• 9 1/2 Weeks

Click Here to See Details and the Winner >>

Best Food Documentary

Most food documentaries seem to fall into one of two categories: those that tell us the grand overarching story of our food chain, and those that focus on the glory of a single simple flavor.

While this list is no exception to that rule, these films have risen to the top in those two categories.


Nominees:

• All in This Tea
• King Corn
• Garlic Is As Good As Ten Mothers
• Our Daily Bread
• Super Size Me
• The Future of Food

Click Here to See Details and the Winner >>

Best Restaurant Industry Movie

Capturing the essence of the commercial kitchen is tricky -- how does one show the chaos, the mundane details and the range of emotion while at the same time providing a compelling story?

No easy feat, but these nominees have done it best.


Nominees:

• Eat This New York
• In the Weeds
• Spanglish
• Dinner Rush
• I Like Killing Flies
• Ratatouille

Click Here to See Details and the Winner >>

Funniest Food Movie

From the pie-in-the-face to the banana-peel, food comedies have often relied on slapstick humor to entertain.

But a few select films manage to feature great writing, top-notch acting and, in some cases, best-of-class sight gags.


Nominees:

• Eating Raoul
• The Last Supper
• Gai Tung Aap Gong
• God of Cookery
• The Green Butchers
• Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?

Honorable Mention:

• The Dinner Game

Click Here to See Details and the Winner >>

Most Disturbing Food Movie

Only for the strong-of-stomach, this sub-genre contrasts our most basic need with gut-wrenching images and themes. But, if you like that sort of thing, this list is loads of fun as well.


Nominees:

• 301/302
• Soylent Green
• La Grand Bouffe
• Delicatessen
• Fast Food Nation
• The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover

Honorable Mention:

• Old Boy

Click Here to See Details and the Winner >>

Best Leading Actor in a Food Movie

From chef to restaurateur to lowly busboy, the performances delivered by leading men in food movies are both varied and rich.

While most of these movies are entertaining in their own right, the leading male role is what elevates them to the award-worthy.


Nominees:

• Pierre Richard in A Chef in Love
• Bernard Giraudeau in A Matter of Taste
• Bob Hoskins in Felicia's Journey
• Raimu in La Femme du Boulanger
• Daniel Auteuil in Aprés Vous
• Andre Gregory in My Dinner With Andre

Honorable Mention:

• Hector Elizondo in Tortilla Soup

Click Here to See Details and the Winner >>

Best Leading Actress in a Food Movie

The best food-movie leading actresses are tasked with being all things to all viewers. Smart and sexy is a given, but these women must portray culinary geniuses as well.

A handful have managed to pull it off, and do so in style.


Nominees:

• Keri Russell in Waitress
• Juliette Binoche in Chocolat
• Martina Gedeck in Mostly Martha
• Vivica Fox in Soul Food
• Toni Collette in Hotel Splendide
• Stéphane Audran in Au petit Marguery, Babette's Feast and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie

Honorable Mention:

• Several Actresses in Decline of the American Empire

Click Here to See Details and the Winner >>

Best Food Movie

The best food movies make us crave. Whether that craving is to eat, to cook, to love or all of the above is open to interpretation.

A handful of movies manage to accomplish that goal and to entertain foodie and non-foodie audience alike. No small task, for sure, but these few would be right at home in a conventional movie awards ceremony as well as in ours.


Nominees:

• Big Night
• Chocolat
• Eat Drink Man Woman
• La Graine et Le Mulet
• Tampopo
• Babette's Feast
• Ratatouille
• The Scent of Green Papaya

Click Here to See Details and the Winner >>

Final Thoughts

Did we forget about that crazy affair that you hosted last week? The one you threw just to show off your fancy new kitchen accessory? Let us know in the comments below.