Coming to the Table: The Great Equalizer
Eating together helps build understanding and strengthens the bonds between people. After all, eating at a table means both eating and talking. It can foster an exchange of ideas, break down prejudices and connect us on a most basic human level. When people are seated at the table, as they are passing the proverbial salt and breaking bread, they are forced to look at each other and converse.
This week we are featuring a simple menu, showcasing some of the favorite foods of past presidents. These are dishes well-known and loved by most Americans. How appropriate to serve these crowd-pleasers to entice people to the table. That, after all, is what we have attempted to do with our Food Club – to recreate the experience of eating together. Restaurants are more than just places to fill our stomachs. They are havens to remind us that we are part of a larger global family – a hospitable place where all are welcomed and nurtured.
Menu
New England Seafood Chowder
JOHN KENNEDY
Fried Chicken
THEODORE ROOSEVELT
Macaroni & Cheese
THOMAS JEFFERSON
Coconut Macaroons
RONALD REAGAN
Featured wine: Poggio Badiola, Mazzei, Super Tuscan
This week’s wine selection comes from the iconic Tuscan wine-making family, Mazzei. Thomas Jefferson befriended Filippo Mazzei, and invited him to introduce vine growing in Monticello, Virginia. It is also well acknowledged that Filippo inspired Jefferson with the idea, “all men are created equal,” later included in our Declaration of Independence. Its Poggio Badiola is an “everyday” Super Tuscan with the freshness and elegance of Sangiovese and the soft structure of Merlot.
Chef's Travel Notes
“All great change in America begins at the dinner table.”
Ronald Reagan
In his Farewell Address to the Nation in 1989, President Ronald Reagan stressed the importance of parents teaching their children about America around the dinner table. But, my initial interpretation of his statement was much broader, that is, nothing brings us together like eating together. Eating together helps build understanding and strengthens the bonds between people. After all, eating at a table means both eating and talking. It can foster an exchange of ideas, break down prejudices and connect us on a most basic human level. When people are seated at the table, as they are passing the proverbial salt and breaking bread, they are forced to look at each other and converse.
Certainly, great things have been achieved around the dinner table in this country. Interestingly enough, in 1790, it was the “dinner table bargain" that brought Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and James Monroe together to discuss establishing the new capital that was to become Washington, DC. And it was George and Martha Washington who would host Thursday dinners to bring a variety of people together, a precursor to the well-known Georgetown dinner parties.
Eating together can help build and reinforce bonds between family members as well. Though the family meal is changing as families change, it symbolizes stability in times of uncertainty. This is something Italians have recognized for centuries. At the table sharing, reaching, pouring wine, and eating food thoughtfully prepared, links us to who we are and develops empathy for others. When the cook makes the call that dinner is ready, everything stops and gives way to community.
For our 1st course, there is Jack Kennedy's all-time favorite, New England Seafood Chowder. Foodies today have the recipe thanks to the fan letter of one young girl called Lynn Jennings, who wrote the then-president in March 1961 asking about what he liked to eat. As the story goes, Kennedy responded to her letter at the behest of his secretary, typed out the recipe for his favorite New England fish chowder, and sent it to Jennings. Luckily, Kennedy's recipe was archived by the Presidential Library, so foodies today can get a taste of the hearty, silky seafood chowder that captured the president's taste buds and heart.
Rough Rider, President Teddy Roosevelt LOVED fried chicken. Fried chicken smothered in white gravy was Roosevelt's favorite, stemming back to his childhood in New York City. This favorite dish of America's 26th president was taught to him by his mother, who had specific notions on how it should be prepared. She believed the chicken should be served smothered in gravy, giving more time for the meat to absorb the gravy's flavor. Her son never ate it any other way and became adept at cooking it himself, serving the dish back to his mother to her satisfaction at least once. We have prepared OUR favorite recipe and instead of the gravy, we are serving it with.......
Thomas Jefferson's Macaroni and Cheese. James Hemings, his enslaved chef, spent 5 years with Thomas Jefferson in Paris learning French cuisine while Jefferson acted as United States minister to France from 1784 to 1789. James and Thomas didn’t invent macaroni and cheese. They tasted noodles with cheese in France and Italy, loved it, and brought it back to America. They popularized it. They brought it to the forefront of American attention by bringing it to the table.
As many will remember, President Ronald Reagan preferred a simple treat: jelly beans. The Herman Goelitz Candy Company, makers of Jelly Belly, furnished the White House with jelly beans throughout Reagan’s presidency, especially his favorite flavor: licorice. But when he wanted to celebrate a special occassion, he did it with coconut cake. Nancy Reagan was known to satisfy his sweet cravings with her famous coconut macaroons.
Benvenuti a tavola,
Christianne
