presidential food

reagan repast

~ jama ~ 6 Comments

~ This is the third in a series of posts about Presidential Food

“You can tell a lot about a fellow’s character by his way of eating jelly beans.”  ~ Ronald Reagan



Weren’t they a beautiful couple?

The Reagans brought elegance, glamour and a degree of formality to the White House. Over the course of 8 years, they supposedly entertained about 75,500 guests per year, including seven kings, three queens, thirteen princes, and seventy-seven prime ministers. Not to mention all those movie stars.

Private dinner for Prince Charles (1981), President’s Dining Room


With the expertise of White House Executive Chef Henry Haller and Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier, Nancy orchestrated many, many finely tuned, exquisite private and official State Dinners, luncheons and teas. 

Tea with Charles and Diana (1985)



The President had a sweet tooth, always taking a large serving of dessert, and then having seconds. He loved honey-baked apples and chocolate. Nancy took great pride in their “dessert dinners,” constantly challenging the Chefs to create new dishes that were light (fruit oriented), sophisticated, and pleasing to the eye. 

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noshing with the notables: The White House Cookbook

~ jama ~ 21 Comments

This is the second in a series of posts about Presidential Food.

When I was in school (Dark Ages), my impression of past Presidents was like this:

 

imposing, distant, monumental. Great men of great deeds, courageous leaders wearing powdered wigs, waistcoats, and stovepipe hats.

While I liked learning about legislation, wars, fireside chats, and alas, assassinations, something was always missing in the biographies I read: food — the one thing that could have humanized the Presidents for me in an instant.

 

These days, there’s no escaping all things presidential. But rather than let all the spit, venom and sting spoil my appetite, I’ve been overindulging in tasty tidbits, decidedly delicious dirt, and titillating tales of past Presidents and First Ladies. I love reading about Ronald Reagan’s sweet tooth, that Eleanor Roosevelt once served King George VI and Queen Elizabeth hot dogs and baked beans for lunch, and that Abraham Lincoln had the smallest appetite of all our Presidents — often eating only fruit salad and cheese and crackers for dinner, much to his wife’s dismay.

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you can’t have your cookie and eat it too

~ jama ~ 12 Comments

~ This is the first in a series of posts about Presidential Food.


“If we work together, then everyone can eat our cookies,” said Michelle to Cindy.

For the past four presidential elections, Family Circle magazine has asked its readers to vote for their favorite potential first lady cookie recipe in order to predict who will go to the White House. So far, the poll has been right every time.

Laura Bush won the last two bake-offs with her Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk and Texas Governor’s Mansion Cowboy cookies, and before that, Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Chocolate Chip recipe was the overwhelming favorite (see all recipes here).

So what’s on the platter for 2008?

We’ve got Cindy McCain’s Oatmeal Butterscotch battling against Michelle Obama’s Shortbread. But alas, even a simple Cookie Bake-off has been tainted by the rigors of this rough and tough election.

Shortly after Cindy’s recipe first appeared back in June, astute readers complained that it was identical to one on the Hershey’s website. Angry cries of plagiarism echoed in kitchens across America, casting doubt on Cindy’s integrity (she said she got the recipe from a friend).

At first I didn’t see what all the fuss was about. Family Circle had asked for a favorite recipe, not an original one. The average person gets recipes all the time from friends and family, never really knowing the exact source. So, in theory, perhaps Cindy did get her recipe from a friend, who maybe got it from Hershey’s or anywhere else. This happens all the time.

When it comes to recipes, I like to give people the benefit of the doubt.

But that was before I read about the fiasco in April, when several recipes labeled as supposed “family favorites” appeared on the McCain campaign website. These turned out to have been ganked from the Food Network by a McCain intern, and were removed after numerous complaints.

Yes, it’s only a silly magazine poll, just a pleasant diversion designed to increase Family Circle’s readership. I doubt many people actually believe Cindy spends her Sunday afternoons baking cookies for her family. Still, I can’t help but wonder why she or her staff didn’t bother to double check sources for her cookie recipe in the wake of the previous debacle. It’s like they’re thinking, “those dumb housewives who read the magazine won’t know the difference.” Way to go! Insult the very people you’re trying to impress.

While Cindy got her hand caught in the cookie jar, Hillary Clinton has burned a batch or two. You may remember the flack she received right after Bill was elected governor of Arkansas, when she said she’d rather have a career than “stay at home and bake cookies.” She conveniently changed her tune in the 1992 presidential election, touting her chocolate chip recipe and passing out cookies to the super delegates in hopes of getting the housewife vote. Still, after this year’s historic campaign, she’s left no doubt that she’s one tough cookie.

 

I find it interesting how “political” cookies have become recently, how “vital” they are for a first lady’s resume. They can be used to put down homemakers and stay-at-home mothers, implying that such people have no brains for “real” careers — and yet a batch of cookies is quickly whipped up to garner votes. And who’s to say just because someone doesn’t bake cookies they don’t have family values or are the epitome of wholesomeness?

As for Michelle, she claims she got her recipe from Malia and Sasha’s godmother, freely admitting that she isn’t one to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. It’s shortbread jazzed up with Amaretto, orange and lemon zest, and samples appeared on all the pillows of Democratic Conventioneers staying at the Denver Marriott City Center back in August. A nice touch, and a personalized recipe that was properly credited. Not so much to ask.

Voting is over for now, and Family Circle will announce the winner on November 1st. The online tally presently shows Cindy McCain in the lead (yikes)! These votes will be combined with mail-ins solicited by the print magazine.

Meanwhile, why not check out Presidential Cookies* by Bev Young (Presidential Publications, 2005)? It contains favorite cookie recipes from all our presidents and first ladies, with fascinating anecdotes about dining in the White House. I’m anxious to test Martha Washington’s jumbals, Mary Todd Lincoln’s gingerbread men, Nancy Reagan’s Vienna bars, and Eleanor Roosevelt’s honey drops.

No competition or spin. Just some tasty history appropriate for the whole family.

*For tempting photos and comments on all the presidential cookie recipes, visit this blog.

Come November, which way will the cookie crumble?

Egads, bring on the shortbread!!

 

Sources:

“Recipegate” was first reported by The Huffington Post, which has published several pieces on the subject.

Cookie Contest photos from the Parents.com website, which includes Family Circle magazine.

Hillary cartoon from Creators Syndicate.

breakfast with george

~ jama ~ 17 Comments


Every morning at 7 a.m., George Washington ate three hoecakes and drank 3 cups of tea for breakfast.

It sounds a little meager for a man six feet tall, especially since he had a country to run.

Until two weeks ago, I didn’t even know what a hoecake was. I’m guessing oodles of kids around the country are already on to George and his cakes, because they’ve read this cool book: George Washington’s Breakfast, by Jean Fritz (Putnam, 1998).

Young George W. Allen shares Washington’s name and birthday. Since he feels almost related to him, he wants to know everything he can about the father of our country. But one day at breakfast, George realizes he doesn’t know what Washington ate every morning. So begins an enthusiastic, determined quest for the answer, which drives the plot and makes for a fun, engaging read.

Kids will immediately note George’s dated use of a card catalog, but will admire his tenacity as he reads book after book, searching for the answer. They will also pick up some interesting facts about Washington as their anticipation steadily builds, so that by the time George finds out about the hoecakes, they’ll be anxious to try them.

The New York Times Book Review called George Washington’s Breakfast “delightful,” as it “combines history, biography, research, cooking, and a determined child.” After eating the hoecakes, George felt even more related to Washington than ever before.

So what are they? A traditional Southern cornmeal pancake, originally cooked by field hands on the blade of a hoe over an open fire. Washington’s hoecakes were probably cooked on a griddle in the oven, though, and he liked them slathered with butter and dripping with honey.

GW’s meals were cooked in this fireplace at Mt. Vernon

Of course I simply had to try making some of my own. I opted for this modernized recipe, which calls for milk instead of water, and unlike the gargantuan recipe posted at the Mt. Vernon website, uses baking powder rather than yeast.

They make a nice change from traditional flour-based pancakes, and are good with maple syrup, honey, or butter and jam. For a fluffier (albeit less authentic) hoecake, use 1 cup of flour plus 1 cup of cornmeal.

Make some this weekend — it’s your patriotic duty!

Here’s a cute webpage showing some third and fourth graders enjoying hoecakes prepared by a library media specialist.

INFO BITES:

Washington was modest, courteous, and had flawless manners. He subscribed to the five-minute rule: all guests must be seated within five minutes of the dinner bell.

The Washingtons were among the first colonial Americans to acquire Wedgwood’s cream-colored ‘Queen’s Ware,’ and among the first to purchase porcelains brought back from Canton.

He also acquired the nation’s first service of French porcelain to grace state dinners.

His farms (8,000 acres) were self sufficient, providing most of the meat and produce he needed to entertain his constant flow of guests.

He had dinner at 3, tea at 6 or 7, and retired by 9 p.m.

Regarding behavior at the dinner table, Washington wrote:

Make no shew of taking great Delight in your Victuals, Feed not with Greediness; cut your Bread with a Knife, lean not on the Table, neither find fault with what you Eat.

~ from Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation.