Enjoy the Obama Inauguration with a Buffet of Favorite Presidential Desserts

Monday on the 200^th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, Barack Obama will be inaugurated for his second four year term as President of the United States. And while the seriousness of the occasion should not be overlooked, there will be seemingly endless parties both in the Capital and throughout the U.S. celebrating democratic government by popular vote. 

And what better way could there be to celebrate the continuation of America’s freedom than to serve a viewing buffet of desserts enjoyed by the many and varied men who have lived in the White House?

George Washington – The first president of the United States was a practical man who enjoyed both dining with others and an English culinary heritage as many Americans did at that time. Yet he appreciated the bounty of the harvest that America could offer and saw that it appeared often in its many forms on the table at his Mount Vernon estate. And that included, yes, fresh apple pies. As a result, apple pie became identified with Washington and patriotism. Even today we use the phrase, “As American as apple Pie”. (And no, Washington did NOT chop down a cherry tree as a child – that is only a myth created decades after his death).

James Madison – While President Madison was busy dealing with foreign powers and national boundaries, his amazing wife Dolly was equally busy smoothing the political waters of Washington and establishing the unique role of the First Lady. Raised a demure Quaker, she became a skilled hostess of tea and charm. And like many a famous hostess, she used food to ease her diverse guests into conversation and an understanding of each other. Perhaps her most lasting culinary contribution is the Dolly Madison Layer Cake, which lifted the dense colonial cakes of English heritage by adding whipped egg whites. This technique is still used today. Thank you Dolly. (And thank you as well for saving George Washington’s great portrait when the British burned the White House in 1814).

Andrew Jackson – Jackson is considered by many historians as the first president not estate-born or lawyer-trained. Trained as a solider, he was used to command and compliance.

He was from the new frontier beyond the original east coast colonies. He was strong, direct and sometimes rude, fully American with a distrust of all ways European, especially the English whom he hated. He believed in a strong sense of personal destiny for himself and for his beloved nation. 

He ate plain and defended, when he could, the right of women to choose their own life path. His favorite dish was rice pudding.

Zachery Taylor – Born in Virginia and later stationed in New Orleans as a young solider, his southern roots were deep and included both owning a large number of slaves and a love of Creole cooking.

One of his favorite dishes was, that special pastry of New Orleans, the Calas, fired early each morning by black street vendors as a treat for many a southern gentleman to enjoy with dark coffee before returning home after a long night of cards and roulette to a weary waiting wife.

Yet no matter how angry his spouse might be, it could not possibly equal the conflict and anger regarding both the question of slavery and how to adjust the imbalance of power between the States that was then tearing the nation apart. No one doubted that dark days were ahead as young men drilled on southern greens and U.S. Congressmen came to blows on the floor of the Senate.

Abraham Lincoln – When Lincoln was elected, many consider it would result in the collapse of the nation and the end of style and elegance in Washington DC. True to their threat, South Carolina left the Union, followed by other southern states until finally, Virginia, that birthplace of presidents, left as well.

The result was civil war – the worst of wars as a nation devours itself in hate and anger. Things at the White House were equally confused. The President’s wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, was a southern who supposed the North. In a time of death and trauma, she sought to entertain in a grand manner to support her husband and to demonstrate her loyalty to the Union. Her balls and levees did neither. She was seen as insensitive to the suffering of the nation. Lincoln himself was a brilliant man of far simpler tastes. He cared little for food causing his doctors to be concerned over his long hours and ignored meals. Yet he remember enjoying a rare gingerbread man his mother baked for him, only to decide to give to another child who had never tasted the sweet treat. His tragic assassination stopped the heart of the Nation.

Theodore Roosevelt – While at first glance Roosevelt would seem just another member of the East Coast elite, he was actually so much more than just another rich boy made good as president. Weak as a child, he forced himself to exercise and became an athlete.

When his beloved first wife and adored mother died on the same day, he left the East Coast, bought a ranch and became a cowboy (in Brooks Brothers designed chaps). He returned East, was elected New York City Police Commissioner, fought crime and married a childhood girlfriend he had once rejected. Later as president he established the National Park System and won the Nobel Peace Prize. He hunted and forced diplomats to jog with him if they wished to discuss international relationships. Yet he love cookies. Indeed, they were an addiction his wife rationed for him less his weight in later life balloon to that of  a Diamond Jim Brady. His favorite cookie was a sand tart, especially in large quality if his wife wasn’t looking.

Woodrow Wilson - There are times when a President, for the benefit of the nation, must move with the times and adjust to the tides of change.

Woodrow Wilson was one such President, often caught in the swirling currents of the changing 21st century. Once a supporter of strict states’ rights, he would later exhaust himself auguring for the League of Nations (the forerunner of the United Nations). Initially an isolationist, he would lead America into her first truly international war. Like Lincoln, the office weighed heavy on his shoulders and often he simply did not eat. When he did, a dessert that recalled his earlier easier days as President of Princeton University was his favorite treat – Georgia Kiss Bread Pudding.  Then his devoted wife, Edith Bolling Galt who was rumored to be running the government while he removed from a major stroke late in his presidency, could breathe easy. He finally ate something!

Franklin Roosevelt – Every once in a while there is an individual who becomes president who seems ideally suited to the job. Franklin Roosevelt was one such person.

In fact, he model his life on that of his outgoing uncle, President Theodore Roosevelt (to the horror of his mother who told Franklin repeatedly that politics was not a proper profession for a wealthy man educated at Harvard). Like his beloved Uncle Teddy, he loved sports, only to be struck by polio and left unable to stand without braces in the prime of his life. Still he led America out of the Great Depression and through World War II in both Europe and Asia. Yet like, Lincoln and Wilson, he was a light eater. He did enjoyed an Angel Food Cake as a regular birthday cake (and was so secure and confident he even served everyday hot dogs to the visiting King and Queen of England).

Later Presidents - In the decades that followed other men, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George Bush Senior and Junior, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton would sit in the Oval Office, snacking on everything from chocolate chip cookies (Nixon) to jelly beans (Reagan), peanuts (Carter) to doughnuts (Clinton). The man taking the oath of office on Monday is known by staffers to enjoy chocolate covered caramels dusted with smoked salt, made right here in fair Seattle by Fran’s Chocolates.  

How presidential tastes have changed through the years yet the hopes of the Nation are the same as when Washington dined with honored friends by candle light – to live in peace with a bright and inclusive future spread out before us like a mighty feast of understanding, respect and mutual courage. 

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2013 

Hurray for Christmas Gingerbread Houses Large or Small

Nothing heralds the arrival of Christmas like the appearance of gingerbread houses.

And although there are two forms of gingerbread (a soft form called Lebkuchen and a harder form), it is the stiffer dough that is associated with constructing gingerbread houses).

This firmer German style gingerbread has long been linked the sweet-covered witch’s house in the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel. The Brothers Grimm were the first to write down the story of the brave witch-battling brother and sister in 1812.

But the story did not begin there. Folk historians believe the events that prompted the fairy tale sprang from the tragic days of the Great European Famine of 1315–1321 when massive famine caused desperate parents to abandon their young children in the hope the children could find food elsewhere.  Sadly most died wandering lost in barren drought-striken landscapes.

This tragic tale is so closely associated with gingerbread that the story’s evil child-eating witch is named “Frau Pfefferkuchenhau”.  Her name actually means "gingerbread house" in German.

Later these houses, covered with a stunning array of colorful candies and decorative icings were built in surely happier times to reassure both parents and children that such dark days would never return again.

Today children around the world delight in making and visiting gingerbread house collections. In the United States one of the most elegant is at the White House. Indeed it is a model of the White House itself, complete with a healthy kitchen garden and a model of the Obamas’ beloved pet dog, Bo. 

In London it is the grand Dorchester Hotel that elicits cries of delight. And why not - their gingerbread 'house' captures the essence of their grand structure. Afternoon tea anyone? Say yes - say yes!

But it is in Bergen, Norway that you will find an entire city made of gingerbread houses. Each year the city sponsors Pepperkakebyen, the Norwegian name meaning "Gingerbread City".

It is the world's largest such assemble of gingerbread houses with each child in the town (under the age of 12 please) entitled to make their own house for what must be one of the world’s sweetest Christmas cities’.

So take heart - it’s not too late to found your very own town. After all, Santa Claus has had his very own town for centuries! What would you name your's? 

Post Note, November 30, 2012: If you're wondering what the rest of the White House decorations look like, take a fun walk-though with Bo, the First Family's beloved pet dog.

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2012

911 Remembered

It was a day of horror that none of us within the Hospitality Industry will ever forget. Hundreds of our colleagues, whose only crime was to go to work to create, to serve, were killed for no reason except to justify hate. 

Yet as time passes it is so easy to remember only the pictures that broke our hearts of falling steel and explosing flames and forget the faces. 

We must not forget our many friends and colleagues who worked within the Towers. Each and every one of them had a name. Catherine Hernandez has not forgotten.

She has said this, "My father, Norberto, was a pastry chef at Windows on the World in Tower One.

"For ten years, he made many fancy and famous desserts, but the sweetest dessert he made was the marble cake he made for us at home...

"Whenever we parted, Poppi would say, 'Te amo. Vaya con Dios.'

"I want to say the same thing to you, Poppi. I love you. Go with God." 

If you can, call for a silent moment this September 11th and ask your staff to pause for a minute or two to remember these remarkably talented members of our Industry - how much they loved what they were doing and how we each have a responsibility to carry their legacy forward into a better world, one that we are creating by what we do each and every day. 

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2012 

Le Cordon Bleu Honors Julia Child's 100th Birthday with the Perfect Recipe

Happy Birthday Julia! And who better than Le Cordon Bleu in Paris to celebrate this remarkable woman's 100th birthday for it was at this, France's most esteemed culinary school, that Julia first formally studied cooking.

However, it has surprised some that Le Cordon Bleu chose to honor Madame Child by posting on their website a recipe for such a humble dish as Oeufs à la Bourguignonne’ or eggs poached in red wine. (See a link to their recipe, also known as Oeufs en Meurette, below).

Yet have no fear - their choice is so much what Julia was truly about – simple fresh ingredients, great technique and a touch of historic French flair.

Just consider that Oeufs à la Bourguignonne’ was originally from beautiful Burgundy (the source for the red wine used in the recipe) and associated there with a Cadet Rousselle, who built in the late 1700's an open-air walkway above his house that offered shelter to birds (remember that eggs are also a key ingredient in the dish).

His strange walkway was soon immortalized in a local song that quickly became a favorite of Napoleon’s far marching soldiers.

It remained so popular that after a mere 50 years Tchaikovsky in czarist Russia chose to use it as the theme for the towering Mother Ginger and her many children in his beloved holiday ballet, The Nutcracker.

If you consider that Julia, like a modern Mother Ginger, led so many ingénue American home cooks out of the dark and into the larger world of fabulous French flavors, you can see how perfect (and oh so perceptively French) Le Cordon Bleu's honorary choice of cuisine was.

And what better work of musical talent could there be to represent Julia Child's love of sweets than The Nutcracker ballet with its many food references, all dancing by in wonder and delight.

(Thank you, Meryl Streep, for both of these two amazing portrayal of Julia Child in the award winning movie, Julie and Julia).

Julia Child never had children of her own but she shared with millions the very best that she knew - how to enjoy life each and every day. What can we say for such a gift, but thank you! Julia, you are remembered and treasured! 

Oeufs à la Bourguignonne' Recipe 

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2012

Macarons are THE Chic New Wedding Trend

Every once in a while a new wedding trend appears that captures the heart of brides everywhere.

One such trend now sweeping the wedding world is macarons, yes, macaron cookies – but as you've never seen them before.

But first a little history to put things in perspective. Catherine de Medici brought the ancestor of the macaron from Italy to France in 1533 when she arrived (with Italian chefs in tow) to marry France's King Henry II.

She also brought forks and napkins – and medieval table manners improved greatly, to say the least. For the several centuries that followed, sweet delights such as macarons were enjoyed only by members of the upper class.

Indeed by the time the French Revolution occurred in 1789, the mobs of Paris were more than ready to believe that the French Queen Marie Antoinette had answered their cries for food with the indifferent remark, “Let them eat cake". She never said any such thing. The revolutionary pamphleteers made up the statement merely to further their cause.

As the French State spun into a mad frenzy of bloodletting, thanks to "Madame Guillotine", Napoleon appeared and with a strong military arm re-established order. Once in control, he began to redesign French life, starting with the removal of many privileges enjoyed by the elite upper-class.

One such action taken by Napoleon was to close the monasteries and convents in France, which had long been allied with the privileged monarchy. Thousands of monks and nuns were suddenly without home or work. Some chose to fight the Dissolution Order and went to their deaths instead.

Others adapted to secular life yet privately continued their spiritual practice. The Carmelite Sisters in Nancy, France chose to live rather than die. Kindly offered lodging by the convent’s former doctor, Monsieur Gormand, Sisters Marguerite and Marie–Elizabeth left their black and white habits behind in 1792 and dressed in the clothes of the day. 

But how to support themselves? Once funds from the Crown had provided for the necessities of life. But no more. It was then that the Sisters remembered the Order’s recipe for macarons that had delighted so many visitors to their Convent in better days.

Soon the Sisters’ tasty brown macarons, made from ground almonds, egg whites and sugar, began to make the city of Nancy a leading culinary destination. Indeed, the Sisters became so famous they came to be referred to simply as "les Soeurs Macarons” or “the Macaron Sisters”. (Their shop still operates in Nancy to this day).

It wasn't long before the Sisters’ fame and culinary creations were noted in Paris. But sweetly humble has never been Paris' style. Pastry Master Louis Ernest Laduree converted the Convent treat into a stunning dessert available in a seemingly endless array of colors.

Today creative brides around the world are using macarons to create weddings with an elegant French flair. Whether it's a modified croquembouche tower replacing the traditional tiered wedding cakes or as stunning guest favors, macarons are now enjoyed everywhere. Look how lovely (and how inexpensive - $3.20 per serving vrs $5.00 per traditional cake slice)! Nice, nice, nice!

 Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2012

Post Note, July 5, 2012: "Macaron" with only one "o" is the correct spelling for this French culinary treasure. "Macaroons" with two "o's" referes to a different pastry containing shredded coconut that often appears within Jewish cuisine.

Macarons are smooth; macaroons resemble small peaked mountains. There IS a difference but both are perfect for celebrating Bastille Day (or La Fête Nationale) on July 14th. Viva la France!