Eating With George Washington And Thomas Jefferson For 4th Of July!
Well, happy Independence Day to you all!
For my “52 In 22” cooking challenge, I am diving into a terrific book at America’s “Founding Foodies”, first President George Washington and 3rd President Thomas Jefferson!
Food writer Dave DeWitt has the story of how George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin established America’s political destiny, as well as revolutionizing the very foods we eat!
It turns out that George Washington was an incredible innovator in farming techniques…he hailed from Mount Vernon Virginia – and to celebrate him, let’s make some classic New England Clam Chowder!
“Revolutionary” New England Clam Chowder!
Yes, clam chowder has been around as long as the US has, and there’s a great reason: it’s delicious!
Here are your ingredients:
1/4 lb finely chopped bacon
4 cups diced potatoes – I left the skins on
3 cups water – but I used Clam Juice
2 dozen clams – I used two cans
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups heavy cream or milk
1 diced celery stalk
Paprika for garnish
Of course, the wonder of bacon – just dice it up and throw it in a large saucepan…then add your diced garlic and onion as well, using a bit of olive oil to get it all going…
After 10-12 minutes, when the bacon is looking a bit crispy, add your clams…
I used Bar Harbor canned Clams…I wasn’t able to get to a store for fresh ones, which are cool when cooked withe the shell, but this does the trick nicely…this is when I added the diced potato as well…
I added a bottle of clam juice and water to equal three cups total, and the diced celery stalk and let this simmer, covered for about twenty minutes…and while doing that I gently warmed up the milk and then added it to the chowder.
After simmering uncovered for ten minutes, it’s time to eat…just scoop it out into a bowl and sprinkle Paprika on top and you are ready for some delicious, classic New England Clam Chowder!
This is an easy, deliciously filling dish – the richness of potato and milk, the bite of the clams and of course, the bacon!
As for Thomas Jefferson, he grew up in Virginia as well…at the time of the American Revolution, he was Ambassador to France – a very powerful role – what was fascinating to me is a product much loved now – that was unknown at the time! Watch to see what it was!
Hard to imagine a world without macaroni, but he brought it to America – from France!
Let’s celebrate that bit of food history with Thomas Jefferson’s unique macaroni bake!
Thomas Jefferson’s Independence Day Macaroni Gratin!
Here is the list of ingredients – many of which he grew in his gardens at Monticello:
1 package dried elbow macaroni
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
2 tbl butter
I finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon diced garlic
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/4 tsp black pepper
10 oz. fresh spinach
1-1/2 cut parmesan cheese
Pre-cook your Macaroni – boil for 10 minutes and set aside…set the oven to 350 degrees and grab your butter!
Your butter ready plays a part two times in the recipe – first, put one tablespoon in your frying pan and melt it down…
Add the garlic and onion and sauce for 4-5 minutes until soft, then add your diced spinach and fold it all together:
While that simmers for a minute, take a glass baking dish and rub the rest of the butter in it, then pour in your breadcrumbs, covering the entire bottom:
Now, add your pre-cooked macaroni to the frying pan.
Add your cheese, toss it all together then pour it into your buttered pan with the bread crumbs:
Now here’s the funny thing I realized….watch as I pull the finished dish out:
I made sure to dig into the crusty bottom as it gave terrific flavor and texture to the dish, which was straightforward – and delicious, especially with a bottle of Morlet wine!
The book notes that both Washington and Jefferson were committed to sustainable farming and ranching, exotic imported foods, brewing, distilling, and wine appreciation.
Here are the two dishes I made: New England Clam Chowder and Thomas Jefferson’s Macaroni Gratin:
Happy 4th of July!
Now, if you think that these were the only U.S. Presidents who left a foodie legacy, you would be wrong:
This “Sugar Pie” was loved by President John Tyler, who was a notorious womanizer!
See the whole wild story of one of our most scandalous Presidents ever by clicking here:
If you want some more historical food, remember this – sometimes the greatest “foodies” are also our favorite Actors – like Vincent Price and yes, that’s Diana Ring next to him:
Vincent Price was not only one of the greatest Horror Actors, he loved food too! See my very first “52 In 22” cooking challenge recipe, from his classic book!
Click here for the story:
So far this year, I have cooked across decades and around the world – and even tackled one of England’s greatest dishes – the Meat Pie!
This is a Duck/Mustard/Panceta and Cabbage Pie – click here to see acclaimed Chef Calum Franklin’s incredible dish:
Along with my “52 In 22” cooking challenge, I am sharing other food stories like this:
Some incredibly enterprising women created “burrito tape” and the world may never be the same!
Click here to se the story I shared!
I also have shared all of my worst cooking disasters, like this:
Michael Ruhlman’s great “Egg” cookbook almost cracked me! I almost butchered his “Crispy Mollet Egg With Asparagus” recipe – click here to see how I salvaged it:
This was week #27 of my “52 In 22” cooking challenge, so much more to come!
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Categories: 52 In 22!, Bacon, Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Books / Media, Cookbooks, Eat This!, Food, Food Pictures, Food Porn, Food Writing, Recipes, Wacky Food, World's Wildest Food
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Looks delicious! Saving both recipes to try!
These are confusing me. I’m sure I already left a comment. 😦
Best wishes, Pete.
Not sure what’s confusing Pete!
I seem to get the same posts twice, John. Did you get my previous comment about clam chowder? (I might have followed twice, not sure)