Menu for Merkel White House Dinner Highlights Regional Cuisine with Style and Flair

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama hosted German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel at a not to soon be forgotten White House State Dinner. As just the fourth such grand event and the first during the Obama Administration to honor a female head of state, Executive Chef Cris Comerford and Master Pastry Chef William Yosses have been working hard to craft a memorable menu for a now legendary night of Washington entertaining.

The center focus of their menu was a celebration of the first harvest of an American spring. Many of the selected vegetables and herbs were gathered fresh from the White House south lawn Kitchen Garden.  This remarkable garden was established under the direction of Mrs. Obama in 2009 to highlight healthy food choices.

Prior to the event, a special tasting was staged by Chefs Comerford and Yosses for some very special guests. At the invitation of Mrs. Obama a very lucky group of young women, all interested in a career in diplomacy, were able to preview the coming evening’s place settings and décor in the State Dining Room.

One final treat was a serving of Chef Yosses’ gala apple strudel dessert to each delighted young ladies.

While this all American dessert was being sampled inside the White House, the experienced executive ground staff was laying carpet in the Rose Garden (for as anyone knows in the industry, chairs for an outdoor event are NEVER set on bare ground as the legs will sink and the seating then becomes unstable).

Once the Garden was carpeted, the staff set up a mixture of long and round tables, each topped with snow white linens, glittering silverware and embossed menu programs, all under the direction of Rafanelli Events of Boston, New York City, Palm Beach and, of course, Washington DC. Rafanelli Events selected a modern interpretation of the German Bauhaus School of Design's concept that design should be inclusive as the central inspiration for the evening’s overall design theme.

As a result, the décor of the Garden was as vital as the design of the table centerpieces.

This same concept was reflected in the menu created by Chef Comerford. Every course was subtly accented with fresh herbs and vegetables from the White House Garden as well as heirloom regional American products.

The State Dinner Menu

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

-- FIRST COURSE --

White House Garden Chopped Salad accented Fine Herbs and a White House Honey Gastrique, made with Apple Cider Vinegar and garnished with Spiced Mammoth Georgian Pecans

-- SECOND COURSE -- 

Hawaiian Tuna Tartare with Rye Crisps, Pickled Young Carrots and Mustard Oil, Spring Pea Salad with Shaved Ham and Ginger Snaps

 -- THIRD COURSE --

Petite Filet and Maryland Blue Crab Ravioli with Wild West Viriginia Ramp Puree

 -- DESSERT COURSE --

Maryland Apple Strudel topped with Golden California Raisins, Vermont Topfen Farmer’s Cheese and Schlag Whipped Cream

Well Done Ladies and Gentlemen!

 Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2011

Hot Dram! How to Behave in Washington a la Whiskey Punch Lessons

If you’ve been enduring the range of cold and bitter weather that’s been our most unwanted holiday ‘gift’ this season, your thoughts may be straying to what’s warm and comforting.

Nothing fills that bill as well as a cup of hot whiskey punch.  Easy to make in a mug or in a larger party punch bowl, it’s one of the best cocktails for these chilly winter days.  Indeed, its Irish heritage is highlighted in the January 2011 issue of Esquire Magazine.

Yet missing from David Wondrich’s delightful story is the often overlooked lesson about how American politicians should and shouldn't behave. 

Well, back in 1829 Andrew Jackson was getting ready to celebrate his inauguration as America’s newest president.  Old Hickory, as the president was called by both friend and foe, was cut from a very different cloth than his more elegant predecessors.

He was not a gentleman farmer nor was he a Harvard educated New England lawyer.  Unlike Thomas Jefferson, he did not care a fig about fine French wines or gourmet cuisine. Instead he liked a shot of good ol' American corn whiskey in a rustic rural tavern with local farmers and veteran soliders.  This was not an Englishman who became an American by revolution. 

He was, instead, a different kind of American, born and breed on native soil – strong, raw, ready to create an new nation from an unknown future.

Well, after Jackson was inaugurated, he opened the White House to everyone and anybody who wanted to come to the in-house reception. It seemed at the time a fair and very republican idea.

Thousands of undisciplined and unprincipled citizens poured in and, fueled by the warmed whiskey punch served, nearly destroyed the White House.  Rugs, curtains and irreplaceable fine china were all broken and destroyed as every ‘guest’ fought to get something just for him self.  

These days, as the composition of the U.S. government shifts, one can only hope that some of the lessons learned then will be remembered now by the many new and untried senators and representatives coming to Washington. 

Disorder and self-serving choices are not activities that serve democracy well any more then they are welcome at any banquet reception.  Manners and civility matter.

Hopefully, a hundred and eighty plus years later we’ve all learned to get along well enough with each other to be able to embrace Jefferson's hope that we'll “mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor".

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2010