The Clinton years. As Americans look back on them, it’s clear they parallel a time of continuous economic growth in the United States.
What’s also clear, but probably less well known, is that the era parallels boom years in the American food world when, guided by the country’s best chefs, American cooking came of age.
During the Clinton administration, the White House didn’t lag behind. Throughout her years there, Hillary Clinton encouraged the kitchen to celebrate the best culinary styles in America and the best indigenous food and wine.
“When I became first lady I felt that the White House was a natural and important place to showcase American culture, and clearly one area where America had come into its own in recent years was in cooking,” she wrote last week in response to our questions.
Of course American food has always been served at the White House. But for formal entertaining in many administrations, the culinary standard tended to be Continental, from Thomas Jefferson’s passion for French sauces to Richard Nixon’s interest in French wines to Jackie Kennedy’s chef’s pre-nouvelle cuisine.
For private meals, first families have usually expressed more personal food preferences–1600 Pennsylvania Ave., however grand, is a home. And most presidents and their wives have inclined toward the familiar, dishes that reflect the culinary styles of the region of the country they came from, the economics of the era or the lifestyle that made them feel at home:
The Eisenhowers’ tastes veered toward the Midwest. The Johnsons enjoyed barbecue. The Carters liked the grits and country ham and red beans and rice of the South. Jackie Kennedy and Nancy Reagan liked lighter foods for their family meals and, in different ways, more sophisticated cuisine for their guests.
Patriotic panache
Hillary Rodham Clinton not only wanted nutritious, contemporary food for her family and official guests; she also saw the White House kitchen as a standard-bearer for American food and wine.
“I had eaten at the White House on a number of occasions before Bill and I began living there in 1993,” she wrote. “The food was always wonderful–delicious and beautifully presented. And it was very French, because for many years the White House focus had been European.
“But we now have our own signature cuisine that is known throughout the world. We have some of the best chefs in the world. And I felt that it was time to celebrate our own culinary traditions at the White House.”
The crucial step was finding a chef whose emphasis and experience embodied what she was looking for. The search, undertaken in 1994, eventually led to five candidates. Each was interviewed extensively and prepared a sample lunch for Clinton and senior members of her staff. Her final choice was Walter Scheib, the executive chef at the Greenbrier Hotel in West Virginia.
“Not only was he very skilled and knowledgeable about the preparation of American dishes, he was very thoughtful about how to cook wonderful food for large numbers of people,” Clinton wrote. “He also understood the importance of using products indigenous to our country, which of course is one of the things that makes American cooking so special.”
Under Scheib, the food has become more contemporary, relying more on the freshest seasonal ingredients, ethnic flavors and cooking styles, American regional specialties. The approach reflects the New American Cooking that’s prevalent in fine restaurants all over the country with, as Scheib describes it, “influences from all over the world represented but none of them dominant.”
Regional focus
Scheib’s marching orders (as well as those of the French pastry chef Roland Messnier) also included going out to find both small and large American purveyors doing interesting things with food. Soon the White House tables featured their products: dairy foods from every region of the country; the freshest seasonal fruits and vegetables; seafood from the Pacific, from Florida, from the Maine coast; the most succulent chickens and ducks. Menus featured dishes such as Hood River spotted prawns, sweet potato and Vidalia onion terrine, Mount Soraksan peaches, Maytag blue cheese spoon bread.
The best American wines, as well as sophisticated food and wine combinations, have become a significant part of the mix too. American wines have been served at the White House since the Carter administration. But to showcase wine as well as foods, in 1995 a special food and beverage usher was hired: Daniel Shanks, the longtime manager of the Chandon Restaurant in California’s Napa Valley.
Scheib’s spinach, endive and mache salad or carrot and corn risotto with charred tomato compote are a far cry from the sweet potatoes with roasted marshmallows that was requested year-round by the Johnsons, the chicken pot pie favored by the Nixons, the curried tuna casserole developed for the Fords, the lentil and franks soup the Carters liked for lunch, the chicken or roast-beef hash enjoyed by the Reagans.
Growing trend
The change, of course, has taken place in the context of the tremendous surge of interest in fine food and wine in the United States. A population flush with new wealth has helped fine restaurants flourish. Culinary institutes have become legitimate academic and professional training grounds. Top chefs have become celebrities.
But perhaps most important in this country is the increase in high-quality food products in the last 10 or so years to meet the needs of both serious home cooks and the best chefs.
The quality and diversity of fine products available in America today doesn’t come as a surprise to the food purveyors who’ve had the White House chef as a customer. And some credit the Clinton kitchen with providing emotional encouragement that keeps them going.
“It’s almost a thankless job to promote high-quality products in this country,” says cheesemaker Jonathan White. “Nobody’s done more than Walter Scheib to support them. His venue for promoting high-quality products . . . in combination with his formidable knowledge and his desire to know more gives producers all the affirmation and sense of fulfillment they need to drive them forward.”
Soon we’ll see what the Bushes decide to emphasize on their tables. American cooking has evolved dramatically in the last 20 years, and under Scheib, the Clinton kitchen has been able to ride the wave.
But one thing is certain: Texans don’t live by barbecue alone, and there’s no reason to think they will.
AMERICAN COOKING IN THE WHITE HOUSE
Readers interested in learning more about styles of cooking and entertaining in the White House or about the products emanating from America’s farms, dairies, ranches and waters will find more information in the following books.
– “America’s First Families,” by Carl Sferrazza Anthony (Simon & Schuster, $18).
– “An Invitation to the White House,” by Hillary Rodham Clinton (Simon & Schuster, $35; profits go to the White House Historical Association).
– “Harvesting Excellence,” by Alain Ducasse (Assouline, $50).
– “The White House Cook Book: Revised and Updated Centennial Edition,” by Hugo Zeimann, F.L. Gilette and Patti Geil (paperback, John Wiley & Sons, 1996).
– “The White House Family Cookbook,” by White House executive chef Henry Haller with Virginia Aronson (Random House, 1987).
— The Washington Post
MAPLE-ALMOND FRENCH TOAST WITH MAPLE-GINGER PEARS
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
There is a strong almond flavor in this, so you may want to decrease the almond extract. Adapted from “An Invitation to the White House.”
Filling:
1/3 cup cream cheese, room temperature
2 1/2 tablespoons almond paste
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon each: fresh lemon juice, grated lemon zest
Batter:
6 large eggs
3/4 cup whipping cream
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons honey
2 loaves bread (about 1 pound each), preferably brioche, Sally Lunn or homemade white bread
About 1 tablespoon butter
Maple-ginger pears, see recipe
1. For filling, mix cream cheese with fork in medium bowl until smooth. Add almond paste and maple syrup; mix until smooth. Add brown sugar, lemon juice and zest; mix until creamy. Cover; refrigerate up to 24 hours.
2. For batter, lightly whisk eggs in medium bowl. Add cream and almond and vanilla extracts; mix well. Add cinnamon and honey; mix well. Pour batter into 8-by-8-by-2-inch baking dish. Cover; refrigerate until ready to prepare French toast, up to 24 hours.
3. Line jellyroll pan with wax paper. Cut bread into sixteen 3/4-inch-thick slices. Spread each of 8 of the slices with 1 tablespoon filling. Top with remaining bread to form 8 sandwiches. If desired, trim crusts.
4. Dip 2 sandwiches in batter; let stand a few minutes. Turn sandwiches; let batter soak in again. Transfer sandwiches to prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining sandwiches; spoon any remaining batter over sandwiches; turn them over and repeat. Set aside until all batter is absorbed. Place foil-lined baking sheet on middle oven rack; heat oven to 225 degrees.
5. Heat medium skillet over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon butter; when foam subsides add 2 sandwiches to skillet and cook, turning once, until golden brown on both sides, 4-6 minutes per side. Transfer toast to baking sheet in oven. Repeat with remaining sandwiches, adding a little butter to skillet each time.
6. To serve, cut each French toast sandwich in half on the diagonal. Arrange each serving of toast on a warm plate with some warmed maple-ginger pears.
Nutrition information per serving (without pears):
Calories ………… 545 Fat …………. 23 g Saturated fat … 11 g
% calories from fat .. 37 Cholesterol … 205 mg Sodium …….. 670 mg
Carbohydrates …… 71 g Protein ……… 16 g Fiber ………. 2.7 g
MAPLE-GINGER PEARS
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Yield: About 2 cups, 8 servings
Adapted from “An Invitation to the White House.”
1/2 cup each: water, packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 large firm pear, peeled, cored, diced, or 8 ounces dried pears
1/2 cup each: maple syrup, toasted almond slivers, see note
Heat water, sugar, ginger and lemon juice to boiling in medium saucepan over high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, 3-4 minutes. Add pear; boil 5-6 minutes. Add syrup; return mixture to boiling and cook 1 minute. Remove pan from heat; add almonds and cover to keep warm. (Can be covered and refrigerated at this point. Reheat over medium heat before serving.)
Note: To toast nuts, spread on baking sheet and place in 350-degree oven 8-10 minutes, shaking pan occasionally. Watch carefully because nuts burn easily.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ………… 175 Fat ………. 4.4 g Saturated fat .. 0.3 g
% calories from fat .. 22 Cholesterol … 0 mg Sodium ………. 9 mg
Carbohydrates …… 33 g Protein …… 1.9 g Fiber ………. 1.4 g
