Fountaindale Public Library

Dinner with the president, food, politics, and a history of breaking bread at the White House, Alex Prud'homme

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

collective biography

platesillustrations

index present

non fiction

Dinner with the president

bibliography

1334726083

Alex Prud'homme

food, politics, and a history of breaking bread at the White House

Some of the most significant moments in American history have occurred over meals, as U.S. presidents broke bread with friends or foe: Thomas Jefferson's mation-building receptions in the new capital, Washington, D.C.; Ulysses S. Grant's state dinner for the king of Hawaii; Teddy Roosevelt's groundbreaking supper with Booker T. Washington; Richard Nixon's practiced use of chopsticks to pry open China; Jimmy Carter's cakes and pies that fueled a detente between Israel and Egypt at Camp David. Here Alex Prud'homme invites readers into the White House kitchen to reveal the sometimes curious tastes of twenty-six of America's most influential presidents, how their meals were prepared and by whom, and the ways their choices affected food policy around the world. And the WHite House menu grew over time - from simple eggs and black coffee for Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War and celebratory turtle soup after and squirrel stew for Dwight Eisenhower to jelly beans and enchiladas for Ronald Reagan and arugula for Barack Obama. What our leaders say about food touches on everything from our nation's shifting diet and local politics to global trade, science, religion, war, class, gender, race, and so much more. Prud'homme also details overlooked figures, like George Washington's enslaved chef, Hercules Posey, whose meals burnished the president's reputation before the cook narrowly escaped to freedom, and pioneering First Ladies, such as Dolley Madison and Jackie Kennedy, who used food and entertaining to build political and social relationships. As he weaves these stories together, Prud'homme shows that food is not just furl when it is served to the most powerful people in the world. It is a tool of communication, a lever of power and persuasion, a form of entertainment, and a symbol of the nation. Included are ten authentic recipes for favorite presidential dishes, such as: Martha Washington's Preserved Cherries; Abraham Lincoln's Gingerbread Men; William H. Taft's Billy Bi Mussel Soup; Franklin D. Roosevelt's Reverse Martini; Lady Bird Johnson's Pedernales River Chili

Introduction: At the president's table -- George Washington : the first kitchen -- John Adams : the first host -- Thomas Jefferson : America's founding epicure -- James Madison : his rotundity, her remorseless equanimity -- Abraham Lincoln : corn dodgers, gingerbread, and Thanksgiving -- Ulysses S. Grant : the drunken tanner, the military genius, and the first state dinner -- Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft : two bears -- From Wilson to Hoover : collywobbles and a hail of rotten tomatoes -- Franklin D. Roosevelt : the gourmet's lament -- Harry S. Truman : bourbon, Berlin, and the comforts of fried chicken -- Dwight D. Eisenhower : the president who cooked -- John F. Kennedy : Camelot and clam chowder -- Lyndon B. Johnson : how barbecue led to diplomacy and chili led to civil rights -- Richard M. Nixon and Gerald Ford : the gastro-diplomat and the instant president -- Jimmy Carter : in search of grits and peace -- Ronald Reagan : jellybeans, weight-loss, and glasnost -- George H. W. Bush : the yin and yang of broccoli -- William J. Clinton : torn between renunciation and appetite -- George W. Bush : tee balls, freedom fries, and changing of the guard -- Barack Obama : the president with the global palate -- Donald Trump : the food fighter -- Joseph R. Biden : we finish as family -- Conclusion: The importance of eating together

adult