Good Morning.
I return to a Wednesday menu with a presidential theme. None of these dishes would be served at a soiree for a foreign dignitary but were favorites of the men who occupied The White House.
We begin with William H. Taft's DEVILED ALMONDS.
1/2 pound blanched almonds
2 oz. butter
Cayenne pepper
Salt
Saute the almonds in a skillet with the butter. Drain on a paper towel. Place in a pan, sprinkle lightly with cayenne pepper
and salt and shake well. Serve warm in a bowl. President Taft apparently ate a lot of these, perhaps with extra butter. He was
a large man.
We also have Woodrow Wilson's CLAM SPREAD.
1 small can clams
2 tbsp. minced white onion
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
Salt and pepper to taste
Drain the clams and mince them. Add the clams with the onion and a bit of salt and pepper to the cream cheese in a bowl and mix well with a mixer. Serve with crackers.
For beverages Andrew Jackson liked Daniel Webster's Punch consisting of lemon, sugar, green tea, brandy, claret, champagne, bananas, pineapple, cherries, and strawberries, measurements not specified. Teddy Roosevelt preferred a white wine spritzer. John F. Kennedy liked a cold beer while his wife sipped on a Daiquiri. FDR's evening cocktail was a Martini.
For a main course, we have Kennedy's POULET L'ESTRAGON, which sounds a bit hormonal but is simply a roast chicken
with tarragon. Jackie wanted French food in The White House and brought in a French chef to prepare even the family meals. JFK had soup for lunch every day, including his favorite New England clam chowder, but for dinner he was required to do French.
1 roasting chicken, 3 to 4 pounds
4 tbsp. butter, softened
2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tsp. butter
1 tsp. flour
2/3 cup Half and Half
Remove the giblets from the chicken and do something else with them. Pat the chicken dry with paper towel. Blend the softened butter with half the tarragon and salt and pepper. Place this herbed butter in the cavity of the chicken, then put the chicken in a roasting pan or heavy casserole, pour the wine over it, cover, and roast for 1 1/2 hours until done. Transfer
the chicken to a serving platter. Place the roasting pan over low heat on your stove and stir in the flour. Cook for a minute or two to get rid of the floury taste, then add the butter, Half and Half, and the rest of the tarragon. Pour this sauce over and around the chicken and carve, making sure to spoon a bit of sauce on each piece for serving.
For an interesting accompaniment we have Herbert Hoover's CARAMEL TOMATOES.
8 ripe tomatoes
1 tbsp. salt
Dash of freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
Make a shallow X on the blossom end of each tomato. Plunge them into boiling water for 15 seconds tops, remove, and place in a bowl of ice water. As soon as they're cool, peel the skins and cut little off the tops. Place the tomatoes in a buttered baking dish, not glass, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and brown sugar. Top each tomato with a dab of butter. Bake for 1/2 hour in a 400 degree oven. Remove the pan and place on the top of your stove over low heat. Reduce the juice until a syrup consistency. Bake again in the 400 degree oven for another 20 minutes.
We also suggest Jimmy Carter's CORN BREAD.
1 cup flour
1/2 cup white cornmeal
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. sugar
1 egg
1 cup warm milk
1 stick melted butter
Butter or spray an 8 inch baking pan. In a bowl mix the dry ingredients well. In a second bowl, beat the egg with the warm milk with a whisk and stir in melted butter. Pour this mixture over the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Let stand 15 minutes. Pour or scrape the batter into the pan. Bake on a lower rack for 20 minutes in a 425 degree oven. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting into 9 pieces. Serve warm with butter.
The Carters brought their love of southern cooking to The White House and named their dog Grits. They also had a cat named Misty Malarkey Ying Yang. Virtually every president had pets, many a menagerie of dogs, cats, horses, goats, birds, and rabbits. Thomas Jefferson had a mockingbird named Dick, and Teddy Roosevelt had a rabbit named Peter. Gerald Ford had a Golden Retriever called Liberty, rather patriotic, and Clinton a cat named Socks and a chocolate lab, Buddy. Obama's Portuguese Water Dogs were Bo, named after Bo Diddly, and later on, Sunny. Presidential pet tasks are taken care of by staff.
For dessert we have Harry Truman's OZARK PUDDING.
1 egg
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp. flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup apples, peeled and chopped
1 tsp. vanilla
Beat the egg and sugar until smooth. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt, and stir into the egg mixture. Add the apples, nuts, and vanilla. Place this mixture in a buttered pie pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
The earlier presidents dined formally even when there was nobody around except family. The later ones often ate off trays
in front of the television like plenty of other people. Franklin Roosevelt had scrambled eggs every Sunday night for supper, Nixon loved meat loaf, and many presidents liked chili and pizza. Back awhile, James Garfield had terrible stomach trouble and the White House cook, the only Catholic on staff, sprinkled his milk with holy water. On that note, Amen.
Best regards,
Elisabeth
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