Presidential Cookbook

There is a deed at Yorktown dated August 19, 1749, which shows that William Parks had as partner in the printing establishment and store-house in Williamsburg, Mrs. Sarah Packe, widow of Capt. Graves Packe. Mrs. Sarah Packe was my 7x great-grandmother.

"It was not until 1742 that a cookbook was published in America, when William Parks, a Williamsburg printer, gave the public The Compleat Housewife. This was a reprint of a London bestseller published fifteen years earlier."

"...�the first ketchup recipe was printed in 1727 in Elizabeth Smith�s The Compleat Housewife, and called for anchovies, shallots, vinegar, white wine, sweet spices (clove, ginger, mace, nutmeg), pepper, and lemon peel. (Skopita, p. 1)� Sounds a bit like our Worchester Sauce of today."

The American Antiquarian Society has a copy of this scarce book which is in excellent condition. There is a picture of it on their Web site.

The following are recipes in it:

A recipe for cold tablets, it makes Buckley's Cough Syrup appealing, and other cold remedies in in may be found on-line at The Journal of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

  • Arizona Baked Beans from The Honorable John McCain, United States Senator, Arizona (My Seventh Cousin, 1x Removed)

    I have tried this recipe and I love it! I omit the bacon from the recipe. When I first wrote this Web page, my son hated this recipe! Now he requests it.

  • Laura Bush's (My Seventh Cousin, 1x Removed) Cowboy Cookies from cdkitchen and Cookin' with GOOD MORNING AMERICA, where they were called Texas Governor's Mansion Cowboy Cookies.

    Three of her recipes are available at Recipes from Laura Bush at www.whitehouse.gov, the White House's official web site.

    Both Jeremy and I like the cookies, which I baked for 2006 Presidents' Day; however, they are as rich as the Bushs' pre-tax income. This recipe which makes a huge quantity of cookies is easily halved. Form the cookies by making a small ball of dough in your hands. Place the mounds on an ungreased cookie sheet. Allow enough room for them to spread.

    BUSH FAMILY ZUNI STEW and MANSION'S SUMMER PEACH TEA PUNCH, a favorites of President George W. Bush, are a few of the recipes found in "Presidential Favorites.... " Also, google "site:www.cdkitchen.com "president's day" recipe."

    Alma Powell is married to Colin Powell, a decorated Army general and President Bush's former Secretary of State. "...As a young girl, she liked reading her favorite book, Heidi, in the kitchen: "I always had to eat whatever they were eating in the book. And I remember eating cheese and wondering if it tasted like the cheese Heidi ate."" (Source: "Alma Powell's promise: The general's wife teaches kids compassion and the value of community" by Ayesha Court.)

    Mrs. Powell "...grows exasperated when discussing the time crunch families face today, and the loss of little rituals that foster a close bond between parent and child. "The other day, I saw in the frozen food section a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich in one of those kits to take to school," she says. "What's so hard about making a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich?"" (Source: "Alma Powell's promise: The general's wife teaches kids compassion and the value of community" by Ayesha Court.)

    As a tribute to Alma Powell, here's a link to instructions on How to Make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich.

  • Hot Chocolate from Laura Bush
  • White House Ginger Cookies
  • Chef Mesnier's Crust from Laura Bush

  • Baked Peaches Flamb�

    "Mrs. Grace Walker shared this recipe with Mrs. [Barbara] Bush. It has been the favorite dessert of Florida's Governor John Ellis Bush and the 43rd President, George Walker Bush, since their childhood. No one can recall who was the first to claim this dessert as his very own favorite, so Mrs. Bush and Paula make sure it is offered every time either one of them comes to visit. According to Paula, when she or Mrs. Bush baked the peaches when the children were a lot younger, the aroma filled the house and gave rise to household jokes such as Jeb or George must have gotten good grades on their report cards, so they're having peaches -- or won a game, or lost a tooth. When one of them comes home for a visit, the sweet peach aroma will still fill the air. The recipe is so simple and easy to prepare, but it's also elegant and very entertaining to serve. Mrs. Bush also added that Aunt Grace and Uncle Lou came over for dinner one night and were served the peaches for dessert. She asked Mrs. Bush wherever did she get this recipe -- not remembering that she gave it to Mrs. Bush."

  • Chef Mesnier's Pumpkin Pie With Ginger
  • Chef Mesnier's Christmas Cherry Trifle
  • Chef Mesnier's Barbara Bush's Mushroom Quiche
  • Chef Mesnier's Barbara Bush's Chocolate Chips
  • Chef Mesnier's Barbara Bush's All-American Clam Chowder
  • Hot Chocolate from Laura Bush; Barbara Bush's Lemon Bars, and Rosalynn Carter's Peanut Brittle
  • The Christmas Welcoming Bread

    "Historic Michie Tavern in Charlottesville was a meeting place for patriots such as Thomas Jefferson,carter James Madison and Patrick Henry. During the tavern�s first Christmas in the 1700s, the doors were left open to greet friends and weary travelers. The Michies prepared these special biscuits as gifts for all to enjoy. The inn still prepares this bread and serves it to guests during Yuletide."

    You'll also find recipes for Martha Washington�s Great Cake, Ferry Farm Maple-Honey Sauce, and Kenmore Gingerbread on this Web page.

  • The Huguenot Torte

    "The Huguenot Torte is one of Charleston�s most famous dishes. This apple-and-nut torte first appeared in print in 1950 in Charleston Receipts, the oldest Junior League cookbook still in print. The torte was adapted to honor the Protestant French Huguenot immigrants in Charleston. The first group of Huguenots to arrive in Charleston in search of religious freedom was in 1680. Others soon followed, after the reversal of the Edict of Nantes in 1685."

    From a former Web site:

    "South Carolina�s greatest contributionto the White House might be the recipe for the Huguenot Torte. Angelica Singleton included it in the wagonload of trunks bearing her bridal trousseau from Home Place near Sumter when she married Maj. Abraham Van Buren and became her father-in-law�s first lady in the fall of 1838. Of all the favorite recipes of presidents of the United States pictured in The First Ladies Cook Book, the Huguenot Torte is the most colorful and mouth-watering dessert. A hit at the White House, this dessert is described as �rich cake, variously made, as of eggs, finely chopped nuts, and crumbs or a little flour.�"

    Huguenots were among my ancestors.

  • CHARLOTTE RUSSE

    "American Heritage Cookbook (1964)

    A cold dessert, similar to the original charlotte, and most likely created by Car�me (1783-1833). It was served at the White House during Martin Van Buren's Presidency."

  • Huguenot Waffles (South Carolina)
  • Sally Lunn Buns

    "Dated 1480 [Sally Lunns] is the oldest domestic building in Bath. It is famous for Sally Lunn buns - sometimes known as the Bath Bun - baked in the house since 1860 to a secret recipe. Sally was a French (Huguenot) refugee at that time, who brought with her a different style of baking bread. In the basement of the building you can still see, if you visit, Sally's wall oven and also , at a lower level, another oven used by friars even before Sally's time."

  • Benjamin Franklin's Spruce Beer

    "Translated from the french while he was stationed in France."

  • While ambassador to France, Benjamin Franklin attended a banquet where the fare was nothing but potatoes, prepared in 20 different ways:

    Antoine Augustin Parmentier: "Pharmacist and agonomist (and eventually Inspector of Public Health) best known for popularizing the potato in France. His most famous publicity stunts were posting a prominent military guard over his Paris potato patch by day but sending the guards home at night, to convince the locals that potatoes were valuable and to give them a chance to steal some to try them at home, and entertaining Benjamin Franklin at a grandiose banquet of which every course was prepared from potatoes. He is commemorated in the names of numerous potato dishes and in that of a Paris metro station (two stops northwest of Pere Lachaise Cemetery on the #3 line), which was recently redecorated entirely in a potato theme."

  • 18th century P.O.W. Antoine Parmentier Saves France with Potato Soup

    This Web page includes recipes for POTAGE PARMENTIER and VICHYSOISSE.

  • The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

    Do you know that Benjamin Franklin was once a vegetarian? In his autobiography, he relates why he ceased to be one:

    "I believe I have omitted mentioning that, in my first voyage from Boston, being becalm'd off Block Island, our people set about catching cod, and hauled up a great many. Hitherto I had stuck to my resolution of not eating animal food, and on this occasion consider'd, with my master Tryon, the taking every fish as a kind of unprovoked murder, since none of them had, or ever could do us any injury that might justify the slaughter. All this seemed very reasonable. But I had formerly been a great lover of fish, and, when this came hot out of the frying-pan, it smelt admirably well. I balanc'd some time between principle and inclination, till I recollected that, when the fish were opened, I saw smaller fish taken out of their stomachs; then thought I, "If you eat one another, I don't see why we mayn't eat you." So I din'd upon cod very heartily, and continued to eat with other people, returning only now and then occasionally to a vegetable diet. So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for everything one has a mind to do."

  • Benjamin Franklin was also known to experiment with his food.

    "...One windy day around 1770 at a pond in Clapham, near London, as Franklin later wrote,

    From: An experiment with Mayonnaise, An extended quote from The Curious Cook : more kitchen science and lore by Harold McGee, 1990.

    From a former Web site:

    "While in London, Benjamin Franklin wrote his wife, Deborah, begging her to send him by the first packet out of Philadelphia the American foods for which he longed - apples, cranberries, peaches, buckwheat flour and corn meal. At its best, a trip across the Atlantic Ocean took time. The only way to send perishable fruits was to dry or preserve them."

  • In a letter to Lord Cravenstreet from London on June 2, 1765, Benjamin Franklin wrote of furnishing himself with fresh Provisions and Refreshments of all kinds from the island of Madeira:

  • Molasses Pecan Pie

    One cookbook attributed this recipe to Benjamin Franklin.

  • Vintage Cookbooks: A sampling of presidents' favorites

    This article includes a recipe for Johnny Cakes, a favorite dish of William McKinley.

  • "In 1777, as George Washington's troops winter camped at Valley Forge, the ragged band avoided starvation thanks to soup. Faced with hardly any food in the army stores, the camp cook mixed tripe and peppercorn with boiling water to feed the ragged band. Thus was born America's famous pepperpot soup.

    The revolutionary army survived the winter, and we all know what happened after that."

  • George Washington's "To Make Small Beer"
  • George Washington Distillery, Mount Vernon
  • "Mr. Washington generally had breakfast at 7 (7:30 in the winter) and dined on his favorite, hoe cakes -- corn cakes topped with butter and honey."
  • Before there was Martha Stewart...there was Martha Washington. Here are a few sweet recipes attributed to Mrs. Washington.

    This Web page includes recipes for Great Cake; Fruit Cake; Devil's Food; Pie; Cookies, and Candy.

  • For your Labor Day festivities, take a tip for menu ideas from those who worked what is perhaps the toughest job in the land � U.S. Presidents.

    John Adams

    Above, John Adams from the collection of Famous Clip Art.

  • First Lady Abigail Adams' Floating Island
  • John Adams' "Recipe to Make Manure"
  • John Adams' "Recipe to Make a Patriot"

    This is a recipe page. I did not say what kind of recipes.

  • John Adams' diary is available on-line, as a transcription and as images. In his own hand, you can see where he wrote about the manners of Bob Paine on Thanksgiving 1758:

    See: John Adams diary 2, 5 October 1758 - 9 April 1759 [electronic edition]. Adams Family Papers: An Electronic Archive. Massachusetts Historical Society. http://www.masshist.org/digitaladams/

  • If you search the words ate, drank, breakfast, and dinner on Adams Family Papers: An Electronic Archive, you will soon find that John Adams attended many dnners and teas but the menus rarely merited description. There are a few exceptions. In his own hand in his own diary, you can see where he wrote about the dinner he had as a guest on board The Julie, a ship:

    See: John Adams autobiography, part 2, "Travels, and Negotiations," 1777-1778, sheet 8 of 37 [electronic edition]. Adams Family Papers: An Electronic Archive. Massachusetts Historical Society. http://www.masshist.org/digitaladams/

    An Mid-19th Sailing Ship in Front of a Modern Cruise Ship

    Above, a replica of the Jeanie Johnston is shown in front of the Carnival cruise line's Victory in Saint John's harbour. She puts the journies of John Adams, Jonathan Sewell, and their children, and the meal of John Adams on board The Julie, into perspective.

  • On April 8, 1767, John Adams wrote the following in his diary:

    "Mounted my Horse in a very Rainy Morning for Barnstable leaving my Dear Brother Cranch and his family at my House where they arrived last Night, and my Wife, all designing for Weymouth this Afternoon to Keep the fast with my father Smith and my Friend Tufts. Arrived at Dr. Tufts's, where I found a fine Wild Goose on the Spit and Cramberries stewing in the Skillet for Dinner. Tufts as soon as he heard that Cranch was at Braintree determined to go over, and bring him and Wife and Child and my Wife and Child over to dine upon wild Goose and Cramberry Sause."

    See: John Adams diary 14, July 1766, 4 April - 18 May 1767 [electronic edition]. Adams Family Papers: An Electronic Archive. Massachusetts Historical Society. http://www.masshist.org/digitaladams/

    On another occasion, he wrote: "I am obliged to break off my Narration, in order to swallow a Porringer of Hasty Pudding and Milk. I have done my Dinner"

  • John Adams describes a dinner at the home of Codman as follows:

    "Saturday I dined with him in Company with Brigadier Prebble, Major Freeman and his son, &c. and a very genteel Dinner we had. Salt Fish and all its apparatus, roast Chickens, Bacon, Pees, as fine a Salad as ever was made, and a rich meat Pie-Tarts and Custards &c., good Wine and as good Punch as ever you made. A large spacious, elegant House, Yard and Garden &c. I thought I had got into the Palace of a Nobleman. After Dinner when I was obliged to come away, he renewed his Invitation to me to make his House my Home, whenever I should come to Town again."

    See: Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, 9 July 1774 [electronic edition]. Adams Family Papers: An Electronic Archive. Massachusetts Historical Society. http://www.masshist.org/digitaladams/

  • From his letters, we know that he drank tea with his wife and others. He also drank coffee and wine on occasion. He must not have "drank too freely of cold water."

    See: Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, 18 June 1795 [electronic edition]. Adams Family Papers: An Electronic Archive. Massachusetts Historical Society. http://www.masshist.org/digitaladams/

  • From his letters, we know that tried to renounce tea on account of the Revolution. He did not succeed. He wrote:

    See: Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, 6 July 1774, "Our J. [Justice] H. [Hutchinson] is eternally giving his Political Hints..." [electronic edition]. Adams Family Papers: An Electronic Archive. Massachusetts Historical Society. http://www.masshist.org/digitaladams/

  • From his letters, we also know that Mrs. Washington drank tea and coffee. "...I went in to Town on Saturday and brought out Miss Custos, and in the afternoon Mrs. Washington and Mr. Nelson and Lewis came out and drank Tea with me,...

    See: Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, 20 October 1789 [electronic edition]. Adams Family Papers: An Electronic Archive. Massachusetts Historical Society. http://www.masshist.org/digitaladams/

    On another occasion, he wrote:

    See: Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, 11 November 1794 [electronic edition]. Adams Family Papers: An Electronic Archive. Massachusetts Historical Society. http://www.masshist.org/digitaladams/

  • John Adams does describe one meal to Abigail Smith:

    See: Letter from John Adams to Abigail Smith, 4 May 1764 [electronic edition]. Adams Family Papers: An Electronic Archive. Massachusetts Historical Society. http://www.masshist.org/digitaladams/

    What is a pock? "(Pock) n. [OE. pokke, AS. pocc, poc; akin to D. pok, G. pocke, and perh. to E. poke a pocket. Cf. Pox.] (Med.) A pustule raised on the surface of the body in variolous and vaccine diseases." Was he referring to his stomach?

    In his diary he wrote that "I eat Milk for breakfast." In a letter, he wrote, " ...To night I must go to the Ball: where I suppose I shall get a cold, and have to eat Gruel for Breakfast for a Week afterwards. This will be no punishment...."

  • "...it wasn't until Jefferson went to Paris and brought home a pasta machine from Italy in 1787 that baked macaroni and cheese became known in America. In fact, you can see Jefferson's own drawing and explanation of the machine at the Library of Congress website...."
  • Thomas Jefferson introduced Washington to ice cream. Washington, Jefferson wrote, "was delighted to receive the recipe." Jefferson's hand-written recipe for ice cream is preserved in the Library of Congress, along with his grocery lists and wine inventories
  • Thomas Jefferson was the man who introduced the United States to waffles and invented the first Chicken a la King recipe.
  • Jefferson's Recipe for Vanilla Ice Cream

    At this Web page, you can view his recipe in his own handwriting.

    "A passionate gourmet, Jefferson acquired a stock of standard French recipes for sauces, fruit tarts, French-fried potatoes, blood sausages, pigs' feet, rabbit, pigeons, and various other dishes. Among the most popular of these recipes at Monticello was this one for vanilla ice cream--written by Jefferson, with his own recipe for Savoy cookies to accompany the dessert on the back."

    Only eight recipes in Jefferson's own hand have survived.

    Savoy cookies appear to be Savoy biscuits, or ladyfinger cookies.

  • Monticello Ice Cream Recipe
  • Thomas Jefferson contemplate soup, according to a former Web page, in his essay "Observations on Soup." Like soup, itself, this piece is much underappreciated and rarely mentioned in his biographies. But he did write it.

    He instructed BEEF SOUP to be cooked as follows: ""Always observe to lay your meat in the bottom of the pan with a lump of butter. Cut the herbs and vegetables very fine and lay over the mean. Cover it close and set over a slow fire. This will draw the virtue out of the herbs and roots and give the soup a different flavour from what it would have from putting the water in at first. When the gravy produced from the meat is almost dried up, fill your pan with water. When your soup is done, take it up and when cool enough, skim off the grease quite clean. Put it on again to heat and then dish it up.""

  • This recipe for macaroons, from Jefferson's personal collection is one he brought back from Paris, where he was ambassador.
  • Monticello Muffins

    "The muffin little Ben was eating was likely made according to the recipe of Peter Hemings, head cook at Monticello. The popularity of these "Monticello Muffins" is attested to by Jefferson's letter from the President's House to his daughter Martha at Monticello: "Pray enable yourself to direct us here how to make muffins in Peter's method. My cook here cannot succeed at all in them, and they are a great luxury to me.""

  • The tomato is a vegetable (It's technically a fruit, but Congress long ago declared it a vegetable.) that Jefferson introduced to the United States. Also, he introduced eggplant in 1806. During his presidency (1801-1809), he served "French Fries" in the White House as an introduction in the US. "...Thomas Jefferson first sampled them in Paris and brought the recipe home with him. In 1802 a dish listed as "potatoes served in the French manner" appeared on a White House menu. At first "french fries" were a dish of the elite as the oil for cooking the potatoes was very expensive. John Adams accused Jefferson of "putting on airs by serving such novelties.""

  • "Dolly Madison (1768-1849), wife of President James Madison who was the fourth President of the United State, heard about the new dessert, went to Wilmington to try it. Mrs. Madison enjoyed Sallie's ice cream so much it became part of the menu at her husband's Second Inauguration Ball in 1813, as well as the official dessert of White House dinners. Her White House dinners became renowned for their strawberry "bombe glacee" centerpiece desserts."
  • Monroe Family Recipes

  • John Quincy Adams' Fish Chowder
  • Andrew Jackson favored turkey hash.
  • Anna Harrison's Recipe for wild duck
  • Hickory Nut Cake

    "James K. Polk, of North Carolina, (1845-49) had southern tastes -- Tennesee ham and hickory nut cake...."

  • Ulysses Simpson Grant's breakfast was cucumbers.

  • Franklin Pierce, our 14th President, brought the tradition of cutting down evergreen trees from nearby forests and decorated them for Christmas to the White House.
  • Sarah Hale Wrote Recipe for Today's National Feast
  • Welcome to Mason-Dixon Line�s Civil War Recipes
  • "President Andrew Johnson's children colored eggs on Easter Sunday. The next day, they held a roll on the White House lawn for their delighted mother!"
  • According to Sarah Hood Salomon's self- published cookbook, Politics and Pot Roast: A Flavorful Look at the Presidency, "...At James A. Garfield's inaugural reception, the food served included 1,500 pounds of turkey and 200 gallons of chicken salad."
  • "The White House Easter Egg Roll was conceived by "Lemonade Lucy" Hayes, wife of Rutherford B. Hayes and an ardent supporter of wholesome, family-oriented events."
  • History of Angel Food Cake

    "...Angel Cake was one of the favorite dessert of Lucy Webb Hayes, wife of Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893), nineteenth President of the United States. Cookbook authors, Poppy Cannon and Patricia Brooks, wrote the following on the history of Angel Cake in their cookbook, The Presidents' Cookbook - Practical Recipes from George Washington to the Present:

    Considering the character of gentle, sweet-tempered Lucy Hayes, it seems fitting that Angel Cake should be one of her favorite desserts...."

  • This recipe for Spiced Nuts (Chester A. Arthur)is from Sarah Hood Salomon's self- published cookbook, Politics and Pot Roast: A Flavorful Look at the Presidency.
  • "Following the end of his administration, President Rutherford B. Hayes held a dinner at his home in Fremont, Ohio on Oct. 27, 1881 at which William A.Wheeler, who had been the vice president under him, was a guest. In his diary, Hayes described the cuisine as �[p]lain but good.� Oysters on toast was served after the tomato soup and after whitefish, but before �(4) roast beef, chickens, and vegetables with coffee, (5) blanc-mange by Adda Cook�excellent, (6) fruit, (7) cigars�and a chat for an hour and a half.�"

  • "Legend has it that President Grover Cleveland, when strolling the back hallways of the White House, passed by the servants' kitchen and - upon scenting the meal being served there - begged to trade his supper for a plate of his servants' corned beef and cabbage.Also known as New England boiled dinner, corned beef and cabbage has for decades been associated with the people of Ireland. It was commonly thought to have originated in rural Ireland as a sumptuous dish served on Easter day to break the month long period of dietary privation of Lent."

  • "Teddy Roosevelt served ice cream Santas for dessert at his last Christmas dinner in the White House. Each Santa held a lit candle."
  • According to "Bangor, Volume II: The Twentieth Century," President Theodore Roosevelt spoke from the front portico of Bangor House on August 27, 1902. Any references to Bangor on this page were found in the books at the Friars' Bakehouse on April 7, 2009.

  • According to "Bangor in Vintage," Taft dined on Penobscot River salmon, boiled peas, chicken, and cake on July, 23, 1910, at Bangor House.
  • President Howard Taft Pumpkin Pie
  • Helen Taft's Turkey Or Chicken Croquettes
  • Mississippi Mud Cake from The Honorable Ronnie Musgrove Governor, Mississippi

    "Bosse, Kathleen L. �A First Lady�s Dessert.� Yankee. December 1996. A recipe for Grace Coolidge�s Mississippi Mud cake."

    "Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. If we think on these things, there will be born in us a Savior and over us will shine a star sending its gleam of hope to the world." -- Calvin Coolidge

    Plymouth Cheese: An historical cheese readied for a second rebirth

    "The Plymouth Cheese Corporation was first planned in the 1880s and built in 1890. It began operating the following year, when Calvin was a young man of 19. The milk that would be turned into cheese came from five farmers, among them, Col. John Coolidge, father of the future President...."

  • "The Hoovers were wealthy. Herbert Hoover accepted no salary as president, and he and Lou paid for many of the remodeling projects as well as for special foods and entertainments. The Hoovers seldom ate alone. On one occasion the White House staff had prepared for six guests and thirty-six showed up. The cook opened the refrigerator and threw everything into a casserole made with meat, vegetables and mushroom sauce. When some of the guests asked for the recipe, the cook named this dish White House Supreme Surprise."
  • "This delicious recipe[,Portobello pizza with peppery greens ,] comes from meatlessmonday.com, which is trying to encourage people to eat no meat on Mondays, a campaign begun by Herbert Hoover in 1917, during WWI. The original intent was to conserve food during the war. Now, this campaign is being backed by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and is aimed at reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke and cancer by cutting consumption of saturated fat by at least 15%...."
  • Original Girl Scout Cookie Recipe - The original link does not work anymore; I presume the cookie is connected to the Hoover administration.
  • Country Captain, "...the favorite entree of President Franklin Roosevelt, introduced to him by his cook at Warm Springs, Georgia."
  • The Food Timeline--Historic American Christmas dinner menus This site includes, among others, the 1942 Christmas dinner menu at the White House: "..."Christmas Dinner, The White House: Oyster cocktail, Clear soup with sherry, Roast turkey, Chestnut dressing, Cranberry jelly, Deerfoot sausage, Beans, Cauliflower au gratin, Casserole sweet potatoes with orange, Grapefruit and avacado salad, Plum pudding, Hard sauce, Coffee."" ---"White House Menu Today," The New York Times, December 25, 1942 (p. 9)
  • Chasen's Famous Chili - "Eleanor Roosevelt (1894-1962) wife of the 32nd President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, sought the Chasen's Chili recipe but was refused it (a complimentary order was dispatched to her instead)."
  • Soup and American Politics. Part I: The U.S. Presidency
  • Traditional Scottish Recipes - Kedgeree

  • "Furthermore, [Franklin Rooseelt's mother] had a great idea that a home should be run for the man. Her husband, some twenty-five years older than she, had trained her to run the house to suit him and then to suit their only child, Franklin, since the time he had been a little boy. For example, she was always very careful to have the kind of food she knew Franklin would like. We often had thin corn bread at her house, and she served kedgeree for breakfast or lunch a great deal. Franklin had loved minute pudding since childhood, so we were given this dessert every few days; it was almost like baby mush, soft and smooth and looking like cornmeal � you put hot molasses or hot maple syrup on it. All the vegetables came from her garden � I particularly remember the earliest possible peas, picked when very young � and from her nearby farm came the chickens, eggs, butter, cream, and milk."

  • Corn soup, pork chops, applesauce, cauliflower, string beans, lettuce and tomato salad, and floating island for dessert. - A menu eaten by Pearl S. Buck in the White House with Eleanor Roosevelt.
  • According to "Bangor, Volume II: The Twentieth Century," Eleanor dined on May, 20, 1941, at Bangor House.
  • Virginia Ham; Hot Dogs (if weather permits); Smoked Turkey Cranberry Jelly;Green Salad; Rolls; Strawberry Shortcake, and Coffee, Beer, Soft Drinks - The "MENU FOR PICNIC AT HYDE PARK," Sunday, June 11, 1939, attended by the Roosevelts and King George VI and the Queen Mother.
  • Harry S. Truman Catfish Creole
  • Accordin to a former Web page, "Harry S. Truman (1945-53) wanted his comfort food: tuna-noodle casserole, meat loaf and Ozark pudding (a kind of baked apple cake with whipped cream and walnuts)."

    Ozark Pudding is said to be an old traditional French Huguenot recipe.

  • Truman Presidential Museum & Library

    This Web page includes recipes for Coconut Balls; Mrs. Truman's Punch; Mrs. Truman's Fruit Punch; Mrs. Truman's Bing Cherry Mould (Salad), and Mrs. Truman's Frozen Lemon Pie.

  • Mamie Eisenhower`s Million Dollar Fudge II
  • White House (Mamie Eisenhower) Pumpkin Pie

  • Serendipity Frozen Hot Chocolate

    Of all the recipes that we've tried on this page, this is our favorite, hands down!

    "Serendipity frozen hot chocolate is a signature dish at the Serendipity 3, nestled in the heart of the upper east side of New York. The place is a general store and restaurant combined with a coffeehouse and soda fountain and serves the most famous dessert in New York.

    Serendipity New York was founded by Stephen Bruce and his two partners, Calvin Holt and Preston �Patch� Caradine in 1954. Since that time Stephen Bruce has been asked constantly to divulge his secret about his Serendipity frozen hot chocolate recipe. Jackie Kennedy even wanted to serve the dessert at a White House event and he would not give his secret away."

  • Puree Mongole Soup

    "This was FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover's favorite soup. I'm not kidding. If you wrote to the FBI and asked, this was what you'd be told. Ironically, also a favorite in the John F. Kennedy White House. Not for the faint of heart."

  • LYNDON JOHNSON'S FAVORITE BARBEQUE SAUCE
  • "Texan Lyndon Johnson, the 36th president, became very fond of Fresca, a diet soda. Johnson liked the grapefruit-flavored drink so much he had a Fresca dispenser set up in the Oval Office."
  • LADY BIRD JOHNSON'S LACE COOKIES

  • Lady Bird Johnson's Spoon Bread
  • PAT NIXON'S MEATLOAF
  • PAT NIXON'S WHITE HOUSE COOKIES
  • MARTHA WASHINGTON'S CRAB SOUP

    An historic recipe served during President Gerald Ford's administration.

  • BETTY FORD'S BLUEBERRY BANANA BREAD
  • BETTY FORD'S CHOCOLATE ICEBOX DESSERT

  • According to "Bangor, Volume II: The Twentieth Century," President Jimmy Carter spent the night of February 17, 1978, at 215 Maple Street.
  • Rosalynn Carter's Cream of Broccoli Soup-with No Cream
  • Rosalyn's Peanut Butter Pie

    If my son's father was to be the judge, this recipe is not for the faint of heart. I made a version of this and he looked ill, which he rarely did.

  • PEANUT BUTTER PIE WITH FUDGE TOPPING

    Variation: First, layer a small amount of hot fudge sauce on the bottom of the pie crust until covered (about 1/4" thick), and put in the freezer for 15 minutes.

    From Senator John Edwards,' a 2004 Democratic nominee, Web site:

    "At Campaign Headquarters in Raleigh, N.C., volunteers and staff often benefit from the warm hospitality of Bobbie and Wallace Edwards, the senator's parents.

    Bobbie's kitchen has made the campaign so much sweeter. See for yourself -- or rather -- taste for yourself. Contribute to the campaign today and Bobbie will send you one of her most popular recipes as a special 'thank you': Peanut Butter Pie with Fudge Sauce."

    Even after Senator Edwards became the Democrats' official nominee for Vice-President, I can not remember Senator Edwards offering his mother's recipe for free. Here was an interesting exhange at daily KOS.

  • Gene Autry's Peanut Butter Pie with Fudge Sauce

  • Peanut Soup Peanut Soup

    This recipe is from King's Arms Tavern, Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, Virginia.

    Former first lady Rosalynn Carter's recipe for peanut soup appears in the cookbook Tea-Time.

  • Southern Corn Chowder Recipe
  • Rosalynn's Plains Cheese Ring

    Compare with Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese Spread.

  • Rosalynn Carter's Sour Cream Pound Cake
  • Ronald Reagan's Hamburger Soup
  • RONALD REAGAN'S MACARONI AND CHEESE
  • Faves of the Stars!

    "65 pages from the White House Central Files for the administration of President John F. Kennedy...include correspondence between Kennedy and the family of an American solider killed in Vietnam in 1963. Documents cover mundane inquiries from the public, on issues such as the presidents attire and the recipe for his favorite dish, New England clam chowder."

    Apparently, it was also the favourite soup of George H. W. Bush.

    This Web site also includes the recipes for the favorite soups of Princess Diana and Alfred Hitchcock.

  • Bill Clinton's Lemon Chess Pie

    I made this recipe for Presidents' Day 2006. I liked it; Jeremy didn't. If you're like me in that you don't like the taste of grated lemon rind, you could try decreasing the amount of it in the recipe. The recipe calls for the grated rinds of 3 lemons!!!

  • Ruth Thompson's (Senator Thompson's Mother) Coconut Cream Pie from The Honorable Fred Thompson, former star of Law & Order, former supporting actor in The Hunt for Red October, Formerly United States Senator, Tennessee, and former candidate for the Republican Nominee for President.

    Coconut Cream Pie is a favorite recipe of both my son and his father.

  • Very Chocolate Brownies from Attorney General John Ashcroft, Formerly U.S. Senator, Missouri
  • Massachusetts Cranberry Bread from The Honorable John Kerry United States Senator, Massachusetts

    "...In an interview aired on National Public Radio, Heinz Kerry disowned the pumpkin spice cookie recipe submitted as hers for a Family Circle cookie bake-off with Laura Bush -- going so far as to say that a staff member "made it on purpose to give a nasty recipe."" "Mrs. Heinz Kerry said: "Somebody at my office gave that recipe out and, in fact, I think somebody really made it on purpose to give a nasty recipe. I never made pumpkin cookies; I don't like pumpkin spice cookies."" Soooo, does Senator Kerry and his family REALLY enjoy Massachusetts Cranberry Bread.

    See: "Teresa Heinz Kerry is not afraid to speak her mind: Her convention speech is introduction to U.S." by Steven Thomma of July 28, 2004.

  • White House Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier's Recipe for Gingerbread

  • Hillary Clinton's Chocolate Chip Cookies

  • Senate Bean Soup

    "...Senator and wannabe president Bob Dole doted on it; former Representative and former President Gerald Ford swore by it...."

  • Senator Robert Dole's Apple Pie

    "This 1988 Ladies Home Journal first prize apple pie winner was from the senator's wife, Elizabeth Dole [,and wannabe president]."

  • Tipper Gore's Ginger Snaps
  • Elizabeth Dole's Pecan Roll Cookies
  • Obama's Chili Recipe
  • Senator Biden's Favorite Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
  • MICHELLE OBAMA'S APPLE COBBLER
  • Michelle Obama's Shortbread Cookies

    After much investigation, it appears that the author of the following article is unknown:

  • WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE SIGNERS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE?

    On July 4, 1776, delegates to the Continental Congress voted to accept the declaration of Independence in Philadelphia�s Independence Hall. On August 2, fifty-six men signed their names to the historic document, giving birth to a new nation as they declared their independence from Great Britain.

    Have you ever wondered what happened to the men who signed the Declaration of Independence? Who were these "super-patriots"? Most were well-educated, prosperous businessmen and professionals. Two dozen were lawyers or judges; nine were farmers or plantation owners; eleven were merchants. Among them were also physicians, politicians, educators, and a minister; several were sons of pastors.

    Here is the documented fate of that gallant fifty-six.

    Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts and died in rags.

    Thomas Nelson, Jr., of Virginia, raised $2 million to supply our French allies by offering his property as collateral. Because he was never reimbursed by the struggling new government, he was unable to repay the note when it came due � wiping out his entire estate. In the final battle of Yorktown, Nelson urged George Washington to fire on his home as it was occupied by British General Cornwallis. Nelson�s home was destroyed, leaving him bankrupt when he died.

    Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

    Vandals and enemy soldiers looted the properties of Bartlett, Ellery, Clymer, Hall, Gwinnet, Walton, Heward, Rutledge, and Middleton; the latter four captured and imprisoned.

    Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

    After signing the Declaration, Richard Stockton, a State Supreme Court Justice, rushed back to his estate near Princeton in an effort to save his wife and children. Although he and his family found refuge with friends, a Tory betrayed him. Judge Stockton was pulled from bed in the night and beaten by British soldiers. Then he was jailed and deliberately starved. After his release, with his home burned and all of his possessions destroyed, he and his family were forced to live on charity.

    John Hart was driven from his wife�s bedside as she was dying. Their thirteen children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart

    Lewis Morris and Philip Livingston suffered fates similar to Hart�s.

    John Hancock, one of the wealthiest men in New England, stood outside Boston one terrible evening of the war and said, "Burn, Boston, though it makes John Hancock a beggar, if the public good requires it." He lost most of his fortune during the war, having given over $100,000 to the cause of freedom.

    Caesar Rodney, Delaware statesman, was gravely ill with facial cancer. Unless he returned to England for treatment, his life would end. Yet Rodney sealed his fate by signing the Declaration of Independence. He was one of several who fulfilled their pledge with their lives.

    In all, five of the fifty-six were captured by the British and tortured. Twelve had their homes ransacked, looted, confiscated by the enemy, or burned to the ground. Seventeen lost their fortunes. Two lost their sons in the army; another had two sons captured. Nine of the fifty-six lost their lives in the war, from wounds or hardships inflicted by the enemy.

    It is important to remember that despite the hardships, not a single one of them defected or failed to honor his pledge. They paid their price and freedom was born.

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