MINNEAPOLIS — Every church basement lady knows that every dish has its secrets. Was that Cream of Mushroom or Cream of Chicken in the hotdish? Cool Whip or real whipped cream on the Jell-O salad?

For Concordia College English professor Karla Knutson, the surprise came from her mother’s church cookbook — a recipe for microwaved bacon-wrapped liver so startling it set her on a path to study how cookbooks double as cultural time capsules.

Knutson will share her findings Friday, Sept. 19, at two events at Norway House in Minneapolis.

At 10:30 a.m., longtime Twin Cities food journalist and philanthropist Sue Zelickson will sit down with Knutson for a conversation titled “What cookbooks tell us about ourselves.”

Among other things, they’ll talk about that unusual liver recipe that sparked Kn

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