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Culinary Historians of Washington, D.C. April 2015 Volume XIX, Number 7

Cooperative Supper April 12 Cooperative Supper Theme: (Note: time change “ from the ” 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.)

Plates, cups, bowls, eating Sunday, April 12 utensils, and napkins will 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. be provided. (note time change) Please bring anything Alexandria House needed for serving your 400 Madison Street (Dutch Indonesian ) contribution. Alexandria, VA 22314 Please bring a 3x5” card or The Dutch East India Company (or “VOC” CHoW President Katy Hayes writes, note containing: from the Dutch name) was chartered in 1602, “The dates should really be 17th and and given a 21-year monopoly on trade with 18th century, to coincide with the lifes- • Contributor’s name regions in Asia. The VOC enjoyed huge prof- pan of the Dutch East India Company. I • Name of dish its from its monopoly through most of also noticed in doing web searches that • A copy of your recipe the 17th century, and outdistanced all rivals you may get search results for the ‘East • Source (e.g. book, Web) in volume and value of its trade there. They India Company,’ which was actually • A short paragraph about took over dominance of this trade from the English, so beware. how this relates to Portuguese who had established themselves the theme. in the previous century in bringing pepper “It may be tricky to find specific reci- back to Europe, hoping to undercut trade pes reflecting a direct relationship to through the Middle East via the Silk Road. the VOC as it was called (see page 8), The card or note will be but you will learn through reading that kept by CHoW Line editor Original goal: Malian (or Moluccan?) spice many dishes from India to Malaysia Dianne Hennessy King to trade. In 1619 established the VOC its capital may reflect the influence of this period report in the May issue. in what is now Jakarta; it formally dissolved of trade and change. You might find in 1800. Its territories became the Dutch East ideas, or mention of a dish in some of Upcoming CHoW Indies, including most of the Indonesian the historical works cited below, and archipelago. Programs by others on this list. From those hints you can search for a recipe in cookery The VOC founded Cape Town, South Africa books.” May 3 Nawal Nasrallah, in 1652, providing their ships’ crews with “Medieval Arabs fresh food for the long Europe-Asia voyage. Ate Sandwiches, too: They established huge centers of Bazmaward and Awsat for trade along the coast of India, in the Record” which were built factories and Location: Bethesda-Chevy warehouses to support this trade. Chase Services Center They also procured silk and cot- ton fabrics from India to augment June 7. Leni Sorensen. trade in (salt, pepper, nut- The event will be held meg, and ). at Riversdale House was acquired in China and moved Museum in Riverdale along this route via Ceylon. The Park, MD. Dutch were the only Europeans permitted trade with Japan.

Culinary Historians of Wash- www.chowdc.org ington, D.C. (CHoW/DC) Dues to: Stacey FitzSimmons founded in 1996, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, educational organization 4711 Langdrum Lane dedicated to the study of the history of foodstuffs, , and culi- Chevy Chase, MD 20815 nary customs, both historical and contemporary, from all parts of the What Happened at the Sunday, March 8 CHoW Meeting?

President Katy Hayes called the meeting to order at 2:40 p.m., welcoming 44 attendees, including two guests. CHoW Programs 2014-2015 ANNOUNCEMENTS: 1. Anne Whitaker mentioned attending an excellent ses- September 14 John Tinpe, “Burmese : On the sion at the Smithsonian Institution, “Turning Salt Into Road to Flavor” Gold,” led by Mark Bitterman, award winning author of October 12 Michael Krondl, “The All-American Donut: Salted and Salt Block . The session included a lecture How an Obscure English Specialty Conquered North on the history of salt and an artisan salt tasting as well as a America.” discussion about salt’s position in the culinary world today. November 9. Locked out of building; no meeting. 2. CHoW members voted on the April Cooperative Sup- December 14 Catherine Dann Roeber, “Food Fights per theme and selected “Foods from the Dutch East India and School : Dining and ‘Edible’ Education in Company,” winning out over the themes of “Developing a America.” Personal Palate” and “Cuban Food History.” January 11, 2015 Ai Hisano, “The Color of New Tastes: Processed Foods in the Early-Twentieth-Century United WHATZIT: Members brought 4 Whatzits to the March States.” 2015 meeting, including: February 8 Nadia Berenstein, “Artificial Strawberry, Imitation : A History of Synthetic Flavors in the 1. Claudia Kousoulas brought an U.S.” item with a handle and a sharp square March 8 Nancy J. Siegel, “From Liberty Tea to Freedom metal piece at one end that shifted as it moved, which is a cookie slicer. Fries: America’s Political Appetite.” April 12 Cooperative Supper, Alexandria House 2. Judith Newton brought a small plas- May 3 Nawal Nasrallah, “Medieval Arabs Ate tic manatee with small holes punched Sandwiches, too: Bazmaward and Awsat for the Record” in the tail that is a tea infuser sold as a June 7. Leni Sorensen. The event will be held at “Manatea.” Riversdale House Museum in Riverdale Park, MD.

3. Shirley Cherkasky brought an item from Afghanistan that is a brass cylinder with • Clara Raju: Hartford Election Cake with Frosting small holes punched in the bottom and from The American Heritage Cookbook a dome and crank at the top. This item is • Amy Snyder: Kerrygold Dubliner Irish Cheddar designed to be filled with dough made from chickpea and held over a pan of hot oil The meeting adjourned at 4:20 p.m. Thank you to the mem- as the crank creates pieces of dough to cook bers who volunteered to reset the meeting room. quickly in the hot oil. Respectfully submitted, 4. Shirley also brought a yellow plastic item, Beverly Firme, Recording Secretary long and narrow with ½ inch slots along the length that is a slicer in the shape of a banana. How to Post to the CHoW-DC Google Group

PROGRAM: Katy Hayes introduced the You have to be a member of CHoW. It’s important to speaker, Nancy Siegel, for her talk “From remember that if you change your email address, you need Liberty Tea to Freedom Fries: America’s Political Appe- to inform the CHoW Membership Director so that it can tite.” Nancy Siegel is Professor of Art History at Towson be updated and you will continue to receive messages and University and specializes in American art, print culture, newsletters. and culinary history of the 18th and 19th centuries. The easiest way to post a message to the Group is simply DOOR PRIZES: Members attending the monthly meetings through an email. Here’s how. can enter for a door prize. Thank you to Claudia Kousou- • Open a new email las for donating several cookbooks as door prizes. • In the address line or “To” box, enter chow-dc@google groups.com REFRESHMENTS: Thank you to Anne Whitaker for pro- • Enter a subject in the subject box viding beverages and supplies for the meeting, and to our • Enter the text of your message members who brought the following refreshments: o NOTE: If you are announcing an event, please make sure you include all relevant information, plus a website or phone number • Francine Berkowitz: Irish Soda with Kerrygold for additional information. • Please sign your message as a courtesy to everyone. • Barbara Karth: Orange slices • Send the message! DONE!

2 CHoW Line Book Review Alcohol: A History By Rod Phillips, UNC Press, 2014, $30.00 hardback, 384 pages.

By Claudia Kousoulas

ankind’s interaction with alcohol may have begun with the unintended fermentation of rotting fruit, but it has become a human engineered pro- Mcess laden with social, cultural, religious, and economic meaning. Stories of alcohol’s beginnings abound. Sumerians credit Ninkasi, the goddess of . In Egypt, beer and wine was the gift of Osiris, and Greeks and Romans credit Dionysus and Bacchus. In the bible, Noah is the first to have planted a vineyard. Ancient Persians and Chinese describe the accidental discovery of fermentation— in clay jars or stored Chinese .

But as Phillips writes, the culture of alcohol is not just temperance vs. indulgence. Within the theme of regulation, cultures seek to realize alcohol’s benefits and minimize its dangers and use it as a signifier of status and power.

Archeologists have found records of more than 500 ancient Egyptian vineyards owned by temples and the labels on the clay wine jars that read “very good wine,” “wine for offerings,” “wine for merrymaking,” “wine for taxes,” from which the voices of the past emerge around alcohol’s place in the community—economic, religious, and social.

From the beginning, cultures recognized the importance of moderation, which was dealt with differently through time—wine was reserved for elites or cer- emony, other cultures placed age limits, suggested serving sizes, regulated serving Phillips continues through Pre-co- hours, or established production controls. lonial and Colonial America, and the class and social order changes But these rules were always contested in the “historic tension between the positive of urban America between 1800 and negative perceptions of alcohol”…“and the persistent attempts of authorities and 1900. Naturally he explores to define the point at which moderate and therefore safe drinking crossed over to the infamous era of Prohibition the excessive and dangerous.” Phillips delves into the stories of religion, medicine, and the impact of alcohol on native morality, and community that cultures tell themselves to make this distinction. peoples. The World Wars again And whether they choose from outright prohibition to restrictions based on age, shifted cultural mores and in the gender, class, ethnicity, time, and place, there is always more to the story or an modern era he offers up a milk- exception to the rule. drinking French prime minister and Brezhnev’s drinkers’ reha- The Greeks and Romans had palate preferences. The Greeks considered wine bilitation camps. Phillips finds the superior to coarse beer, associated it with Dionysus, and reserved it for men and story in the bottom of every glass. symposia, evenings of watered wine and discussion. The Romans spread vine- yards and wine drinking throughout their empire, establishing a pattern and Phillips posits that we live now culture that lives to this day. in a post-alcohol age of reliable drinking water and wide choice in And while the ancient civilizations associated alcohol with religion, Phillips points beverages when consumption is out the Christianity and Islam “forged unique, divergent, and persistent relation- at a historical low, and alcohol has ships with alcohol.” Even as the Old Testament tells stories of alcohol-induced become a discretionary drink, yet tragedy, Christianity makes wine a symbolic part of its rituals. Islam was founded one embedded in our culture. in lands in which some of the earliest evidence of wine and beer has been found, but the Qur’an finds that humans can’t resist the excessive drinking that leads to Claudia Kousoulas is an is an edi- blasphemy and sin. Though, believers who abstain in their earthly lives can drink tor, writer, and educator whose topics in Paradise where the rivers flow with delicious wine. include architecture, urbanism, and culinary history. Her blog is Increased trade and urbanization in the made at-home brewing dif- appetiteforbooks.wordpress.com ficult and created an alcohol industry that was enhanced by more efficient copper pots and hops that preserved alcohol for shipping. Distillation again shifted the use of alcohol. Aqua vitae—, , and vodka—from cereals, were initially considered a tonic and controlled by doctors but as consumption spread, so did the warnings of excessive drinking.

CHoW Line 3 The station now houses The Whole Ox shop and the Stuart Street Studio. The freight trains still pass by, their The Plains, rumbling motion shaking the pictures on the station’s Virginia walls. The Whole Ox sells “fresh , fish, housemade foods, wine & beer & other randomly delicious stuff.” I don’t know if they fall under the “housemade foods” or Culinary Byways the “randomly delicious stuff,” or both, but the By Dianne Hennessy King are wonderful. I recommend Farmhouse or Tiny Tuscan or Belly with Herbs or Merguez : There’s a daily rotating selection from 30 varieties. or years I have come back for food, art, and music to this village at the crossroads of John Marshall High- A more immediate pleasure is a roast sandwich with Fway (55) and Old Tavern Road (245). Population: blue cheese on Lyon Bakery bread. Wine from biodynamic somewhere around 250, give or take. You can arrive at the vineyards, “ethically farmed” meat mostly from nearby, crossroads via those two county roads or you can leave I-66 and jarred dilly beans from Richmond reflect the shop’s at exit 31, a little less than an hour from D.C. Right outside cultivation of regional sources. After eating, visit the other of town you see an old barn that houses a Farmers Market, half of the former railroad station that now contains an art open May to October. In addition to fresh produce, the studio and a friendly dog. market offers a sales venue for artists and craftsmen: leather goods, , pies, and jams, or ceramics, such as the The restaurant farthest from the center of Main Street is watermelon-colored, fluted serving bowl I bought in 2006. Girasole, on Loudoun Avenue but still adjacent to the railroad tracks. The owners and were formerly the If you come from proprietors of the well-known Panino restaurant in Manas- Interstate Hwy. 66, sas where I once had an outstanding dinner. They brought you’ll come to a stop their hospitality and Italian fare to a restaurant and a stone sign at the T that patio that is dotted with blooms in mild weather. Sunflow- is Main Street, the ers and aperitivos. center of The Plains. You’ll see The Rail In addition to culinary excursions, here are three events or Stop in front of places you might want to experience this spring. you. Twenty years ago, when Robert • For information on Fauquier County, visit the Afro Duvall still owned American Historical Association on Loudon Avenue, the restaurant, I had directly across from Girasole. at The Rail Stop before watch- • On April 26 at the Grace Episcopal Church, The Opera ing the Virginia State Lafayette will present André Grétry’s L’Épreuve Villa- Cross Country Tournament. At a recent lunch, Chef/owner geoise (The Village Trial), depicting the tribulations of a Tom Kee’s menu featured house smoked , homemade small country town. soups, chips that are freshly cooked throughout the day, and several daily specials. The modernized menu • On May 2, The Virginia Gold Cup horse races will doesn’t wander too far from its comfort-food roots. take place down the road at The Great Meadow. For updates and addresses, go to www.theplainsvirginia.org. Most of the places in The Plains are down the road or There’s always a reason to come back to The Plains. around a corner, all leisurely walkable. A stone’s throw (with a good arm) across from The Rail Stop is the Crest Hill Antiques and Tea Room. The front two small rooms offer vintage jewelry, china, furniture, and art. The cheer- ful, yellow-walled room in the back of the house serves as a relaxing spot for light luncheons and afternoon tea at about a half dozen tables. Friends and I recently enjoyed the tradi- tional sandwiches, scones, and pots of tea.

Down a side road that is opposite Main Street’s Grace Episcopal Church (established 1854), is the former railroad station (at right), whose upper room occasionally housed visits many years ago by railroad tycoon and statesman W. Averell Harriman. After the brick railroad station’s decline in the 1960s and 70’s, the building was saved from oblivion by a group of citizens who began supporting the renovation and preservation of the historic local building.

4 CHoW Line Movie Review: Toast

By Beverly Firme in the form of Mrs. Potter (played by Helena Bonham Carter) who arrives to ith plans to explore “develop- cook and clean for Nigel and his father. ing a personal palate” during Crass, sexy, and manipulative, she is WCHoW’s 2015-2016 year, the everything that Nigel’s mother was not movie Toast, based on the autobiogra- and Nigel dislikes her. The feeling is phy of Nigel Slater, is a good introduc- mutual. Mrs. Potter is mean to Nigel tion to this subject. Slater, a popular but fawns over his father who suc- British food writer, journalist, and cumbs to her earthy charms. To Nigel’s broadcaster known for his bestselling dismay, his father marries Mrs. Potter book about , Eating for and she becomes his step mother. England (2007) and his column in The Observer Magazine, was born in 1958 Ironically, Mrs. Potter is a fabulous and grew up in the West Midlands. cook and the point – counterpoint Toast is the first leg of Slater’s personal between Nigel and Mrs. Potter is the food journey, and the first leg takes movie’s comic high. As the two use him from feeling alone to feeling at food to battle for Nigel’s father’s at- home. tention, Nigel makes scones with jam in Home Economics and sneaks them Fascinated by food and yearning for past Mrs. Potter. His father proclaims cuisine beyond his mother’s , that Nigel will cook dinner once a week Nigel (played by Oscar Kennedy as and Nigel beams as Mrs. Potter fumes. young Nigel and Freddie Highmore She “forgets” when it’s Nigel’s night to as teen Nigel) longingly combs the cook and further counters with a mile- shelves of his local grocery store look- high lemon pie, refusing ing at foods that will never grace his to give Nigel the recipe. Undaunted, family’s table. His mother (played by Victoria Hamilton), Nigel spends weeks figuring out how to duplicate Mrs. kind but in poor health, heats cans of food in boiling water Potter’s lemon meringue, enjoying the challenge as only a to make dinner and avoids fresh . There are food lover would. She is furious when he succeeds. many mishaps in the kitchen and, after each, his mother sighs and says, “I’ll make toast!” Frustrated and isolated, Nigel gets a part time job at a local pub and restaurant and connects with the owner’s son who Watch for toast throughout this movie as it is the key com- encourages Nigel to seek his own path. When Nigel’s fa- fort food of Nigel’s childhood. It’s a recurring theme as are ther suddenly dies, he packs a suitcase and leaves Mrs. Pot- his encounters with a gardener, a Home Economics teacher, ter, heading to London to seek a job in food. He’s taken on and a fishmonger, all who recognize the young Nigel as a at the Savoy by a chef who is eating toast as he asks Nigel budding food lover and educate him accordingly. about his cooking skills. In the movie’s final scene, Nigel puts on an apron and stands in the busy Savoy kitchen, a Sadly, Nigel’s mother’s health worsens and she dies when broad smile on his face. He’s finally home.This film is a Nigel is nine. He misses his mother and tries to connect BBC One adaptation of the original autobiography, pub- with his absorbed, distant father (played by Ken Stott). lished in 2004, and was broadcast during December 2010. Nigel’s best friend sagely tells him “The way to a man’s One can rent it from Netflix or other rental companies. heart is through his stomach. Cook him something.” Nigel does, with poor results, but it makes his father realize the Beverly Firme is CHoW’s recording secretary. two of them need something more at home. This comes The Election Day

Pie law is talked about in the Sioux Falls, SD ArgusUpcoming Leader newspaper and Events in a 2002 book by Pascale LeDraoulec, "Ame The Election

Pat Reber reports that there is a new exhibit at the National March 31, Tuesday, 7:00 p.m. “Temperance and Woman Archives, Washington, D.C., on “Alcohol in America” with Suffrage: Reform Movements and the Women Who a couple events coming soon. Changed America”

“Spirited Republic: Alcohol in American History” is an April 17, Friday at 12:00 noon. Films on Spirited Republic exhibit at the National Archives Museum’s Lawrence F. “See America on the Rocks,” a 1973 film from the Dept of O’Brien Gallery in Washington, DC, through January 10, Health, Education, and Welfare 2016. www.spiritedrepublic.org/exhibit “For Which We Stand—Let’s Get it Straight,” a 1950 film made by the U.S. Navy

CHoW Line 5 The Election Day

A Local History Exploration Pie law is Upcomingtalked about in the Sioux Falls, Events SD Argus Leader

By Katherine Livingston Botanical Garden Both the following are in the Conservatory Garden Court unning out of both white and yellow cornmeal and not finding my usual brand, Indian Head stone- Mushrooms in the Edible Landscape Lecture ground, at my usual supermarket, I looked to the In- R Friday, Apr 17, 2015, Time: 12 ternet for a source. The search proved not at all difficult (try Giant), but along the way I discovered that Indian Head is a p.m. to 1 p.m. local product from a company called Wilkins Rogers Mills, Michael Judd, Principal now located in Ellicott City, Maryland. Designer, Ecologia - Edible & Ecological Landscapes It turns out that the company had its origins even closer to home, here in the District of Columbia in 1913. Founded by Howard Wilkins and Samuel Rogers, it operated its first Growing mushrooms mill on the Georgetown waterfront, at 3261 Water (now K) in your landscape is easier than Street. Originally the company produced only soft wheat you think. Join edible land- flour-- “Washington” brand-- and feeds, but in the 1930s it scape designer and author Michael Judd in an exploration added a corn mill, hence the Indian Head brand. of fruiting in the shade and creating an edible oasis. See more at: http://www.usbg.gov/ The story has continued to be one of expansion, with mar- events/2015/02/12/mushrooms-edible-landscape- keting to both consumers and food-industry customers. lecture#sthash.D1I5QPse.dpuf In the late 1960s and early ‘70’s Wilkins Rogers moved its FREE: Pre-registration required. operations to Ellicott City, utilizing the site of the old Ellicott flour mill, established in 1792. The larger facility enabled the company to expand its product line. Additions have includ- Herb Celebration Cooking Demonstration ed Washington brand mixes (to my regret a spoonbread mix was discontinued) and private-label . Still directed by Thursday, May 7, 2015, 12 p.m. a member of the Rogers family, the company now also owns and 12:45 p.m. mills in Pennsylvania and distributes its products along the Adrienne Cook, Gardening eastern seaboard. and Cooking Writer and Dani- elle Cook, MS, Nutritionist and In researching this company I had hoped that a CHoW Cooking Instructor. field trip to the Ellicott City mills such as we had to George Washington’s grist mill near Mount Vernon and the Peirce Easy-to-grow, great to flavor, Mill in Rock Creek Park might be possible, but it seems that fresh herbs will be showcased in terrific new recipes from sanitary regulations preclude visitors. the Cook Sisters. FREE: No pre-registration required For those still curious, more about the company and its op- See more at: www.usbg.gov/events/2015/02/13/herb- erations can be found online. Wilkins Rogers has a website celebration-cooking-demonstration#sthash.tRjShkH8.dpuf (www.wrmills.com) with historical and other information, and findable via Google there are 1996 and 2003 articles Around the World Embassy Tour about the company from the Baltimore Sun. There exists a photograph (www.shorpy.com) of the Georgetown mills ca. Saturday, May 2, 2015, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. 1926, with railroad cars that serviced them; it was the com- See www.culturaltourismdc.org/portal/passport-dc1 for ing of the railroads to transport grain to distant locations the complete schedule of programs offered by more than that made larger operations such as Wilkins Rogers pos- 40 embassies. sible. The outside of the present facility can also be viewed on line (in the Wikipedia entry for Ellicott Mills Historical 88th Shenandoah Blossom Festival District and at www.panoramio.com/photo). Back at home in Washington, the original mills are commemorated on April 24 – May 3, Winchester, Va. what is now the Whitehurst Freeway in a sign bearing the The annual celebration of spring showcases the blooming name of the adjacent Flour Mill apartment complex. apple trees in the Shenandoah Valley with more than 45 events, including the Grand Feature Parade, band compe- Katherine Livingston, an editor by profession, has been an oc- titions, dances, a carnival, a 10K run, an casional contributor to CHoW Line for some years and is a past contest and more. www.thebloom.com/ president of CHoW. Welcome, New Member! Cary Pollak Culinary interests: “I teach and write articles.”

6 CHoW Line Washington By Patricia Bixler Reber

uring the talk on political foods 2) A second type was a lighter cake WASHINGTON CAKE. at our last meeting, cakes and with salaratus or pear-ash, flavored “Beat to a cream half a pound of butter Dcookies named after Presidents with brandy (rose brandy in some and half a pound of white ; then and other famous figures (Franklin, recipes, use rose water) and . stir in eight eggs well beaten, one glass Lafayette) were brought up, including Containing a pound of butter, sugar of rose-water, and one pound of sifted Washington Cake. There were several and flour, it was a . flour; bake in shallow and circular tins types of Washington Cake recipes half an inch deep; when done, spread found in cookbooks and manuscripts: “WASHINGTON CAKE. --Stir to- a thick layer of raspberry jam, or any the first, a typical fruited cake of the gether a pound of butter and a pound marmalade or jelly, upon one cake period with and currants; the of sugar; and sift into another pan and lay another cake upon the top of second, a later cake with salartus or a pound of flour. Beat six eggs very the jam, and sift white sugar over the baking soda and brandy; and the light, and stir them into the butter and whole. This cake is sometimes called third, a jelly cake with jelly or cream sugar, alternately with the flour and a Washington Pie, Lafayette Pie, Jelly filling. Washington Cakes were named pint of rich milk or cream; if the milk Cake, &c.” Practical Cook Book… Mrs. for our first President and initially is sour it will be no disadvantage. Add Bliss of Boston. Phila: 1850. prepared for his birthday in February, a glass of wine, a glass of brandy, a which was a larger celebration in the powdered nutmeg, and a table-spoon- In addition to the previous three cakes 19th century. ful of powdered cinnamon. Lastly, stir there were two other Washington in a small tea-spoonful of pearl-ash, or related cakes which were not large salaratus, that has been melted in a lit- cakes, but a /hoecake and a tle ; take care not to put in too square pie of leftover cake pieces. much pearl-ash, lest it give the cake an unpleasant taste. Stir the whole very The Washington Cake pancake in a hard; put it into a buttered tin pan, (or southern cookbook from 1860 paid into little tins,) and bake it in a brisk homage to Washington’s habit of oven. Wrapped in a thick cloth, this eating cornmeal cakes every morning cake will keep soft for a week.” with butter and honey. Leslie, Eliza. Directions For Cookery, In Its Various Branches. Phila: 1837

3) A third cake - at times confusedly called Washington Pie - was com- posed of thin layers of cake with jelly (Jelly Cake) or cream filling (like ). The 1850 recipe below is before the Civil War, or Bliss 1) The earliest type of Washington would have added Robert E. Lee Cake Cake contained currants and rai- to Jelly Cake and Lafayette Pie. It is The second cake was really a large sins. Like other fruit cakes or “Great quite appropriate since Lee married square pie filled with bread pieces, Cakes” for the holidays or special the daughter of Washington’s step raisins and spices moistened with occasions, they could be quite large, grandson/adopted son. milk. Although it was a popular and as was described in a New York City tasty treat sold in Washington D.C. advertisement from 1838: “MAM- bakeries before the Civil War, it later MOTH CAKE…the great Washington was served at hotels, boarding houses Cake...is a great curiosity, weighing and train stations in other cities. The twenty-six hundred pounds!” That’s noble named cake/pie was reduced 2,600 pounds of cake. The following to a poor reputation for using “musty recipe from 1830 is much smaller, as is cakes.” proper for a “cook who is not mad.” Culinary historian Patricia Bixler Reber “Washington Cake. One pound of has presented programs in the past for sugar, one of flour, half pound butter, CHoW. Her website is Culinary His- four eggs, one pound of raisins, one of tory Online and her blog is Researching currants, one gill of brandy, tea cup of Food History. Her writing also appears in cream, spice to your taste.” Oxford Encyclopedia ofSweets that will be The Cook Not Mad, or Rational Cookery. published in May 2015. More information Watertown, NY: 1830 on Washington Cake can be found on her blog: http://researchingfoodhistory. blogspot.com/search/label/Washing-

CHoW Line 7 Resources for Cooperative Supper Theme: “Foods from the Dutch East India Company ” The Dutch colonial families through their domestic helps and cooks were exposed to . As the SEVERAL CHoW MEMBERS HAVE POSTED DUTCH result, they have developed a taste for native tropical spices EAST INDIA RESOURCES ON THE GOOGLE LIST- and dishes. A notable colonial dish is SERV. Please check the listserv for additional information. , the rice table that consists of 7 to 40 popular dishes from across the colony. More an extravagant banquet than a dish, the Dutch colonials introduced the rice table not only so they could enjoy a wide array of dishes at a single Books setting but also to impress visitors with the exotic abun- CHoW President Katy Hayes lists these history books as dance of their colony. sources of information for the cooperative supper topic:

Through colonialism the Dutch introduced European dish- • Dangerous Tastes: The Story of Spices by Andrew Dalby es such as bread, cheese, barbecued steak and pancake. As • The Taste of Conquest: The Rise and fall of the Three Great the producer of cash crops; and tea were also popu- Cities of Spice by Michael Rondo lar in the colonial East Indies. Bread, butter and , • Nathaniel’s Nutmeg: Or, the True and Incredible Adventures sandwiches filled with , cheese or fruit jam,, of the Spice Trader Who Changed the of History by Giles pannekoek, and Dutch were commonly consumed Milton by colonial Dutch and Indos during the colonial era. • The Scents of Eden: A History of the by Charles Corn Some of the native upperclass ningrat (nobles) and a few • Memories of Philippine by Amy Besa, Romy educated native were exposed to , and Dorotan it was held with high esteem as the cuisine of upperclass • Kerala and the Spice Routes by K S Mathew elite of Dutch East Indies society. This led to the adoption • Pepper: A History of the World’s Most Influential Spice by and fusion of European cuisine into Indonesian cuisine. Marjorie Shaffer Some dishes which were created during the colonial era are • Pepper: The Spice that Changed the World: Over 100 reci- Dutch influenced: they include (solo salad), bistik- pes, over 3,000 years of History by Christine McFadden jawa (Javanese beef steak), (from Dutch smoor), say- • Indian Food: A Historical Companion by K.T. Achaya urkacang merah () and sop buntut. Cakes and cook- ies also can trace their origin to Dutch influences; such as bolu (tart), , lapis legit (spekkoek), spiku (lapis Here are some Dutch cookbooks and books about Dutch ), ( tart), and kaastangel (cheese culinary history from Sheila Crye: cookies). commonly found in front of schools and • Recipes from My Dutch Kitchen by Janny de Moor marketplaces are believed to be derived from poffertjes. (http://amzn.to/1GPMF4o) Colonial cuisine in the Dutch East Indies (from • De Hollandse keuken: Dutch http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_East_Indies). cuisine, by Constance Eenschooten in Dutch and English (http:// amzn.to/1ELCc9m) Internet Resources • Let’s Go Dutch: A Treasury of by Johanna (van From Sheila Crye, whose all four grandparents immigrat- ed to the United States from The : der Zeijst) Bates and Margo Em- Here are some online sources of Dutch foods. bury (http://amzn.to/1DkjhBX) • Food, Drink and Celebrations www.thedutchstore.com/webstore/home.aspx?topseq=1 of the Hudson Valley Dutch by www.igourmet.com/dutchfood.asp Peter G. Rose (http://amzn. www.hollandforyou.com/ to/1EepElH) “In 1609, “Henry www.holland-at-home.com/en/food.html Hudson, under contract with the Dutch East India Company, set out to discover the lucra- tive Northwest Passage. The Hudson River Valley is what From Katy Hayes: www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/explore-the-collection/timeline- he discovered instead.” dutch-history/1602-trade-with-the-east-vocBrief/back- • The Sensible Cook: Dutch Foodways in the Old and the New ground World translated and edited by Peter G. Rose (http://amzn. http://entoen.nu/voc/en Brief/background to/1GExAz8) http://www.thespicery.com/spicetravels/amsterdam- • The Dutch Table: in the Golden Age of the hoorn-the-dutch-east-india-company-2/ Netherlands, by Gillian Riley (http://amzn.to/1Fm9DOU) Ivan Day’s Website and recipes: http://www.historicfood. com/RecipesIndex.htm www.coquinaria.nl/english/index.htm www.coquinaria.nl/english/overview.htm (On this page, you’ll find index to recipes by century.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_cuisine

8 CHoW Line DIRECTIONS TO ALEXANDRIA HOUSE

CHoW 2013-2014 Driving from NORTH of Alexandria, VA: Alexandria House (tallest building Board of Directors - 23 stories - in Old Town), is at the intersection of North Pitt and Madison Streets, just five minutes south of Washington National Airport. N. Pitt Street is parallel to and two President blocks east of Washington Street (George Washington Parkway), toward the Potomac Katy Hayes River. Entrance to the building is on the 700 block of North Pitt Street. (301) 655-1830 [email protected] Driving from SOUTH of Alexandria: Madison Street is 7 blocks north of King Vice President Street. From the north, enter Alexandria on the Parkway, turn left at Madison St. and go Bruce Reynolds 2 blocks. The entrance to Alexandria House is on the 700 block of North Pitt Street. (703) 821-3213 [email protected] Parking: Park on the street where there should be ample free spaces. Recording Secretary Beverly Firme Room at the Top: (301) 949-4410 You will be met in the lobby, possibly by Shirley Cherkasky, who lives there and [email protected] arranged for the room. Take the elevator to the top floor of the building, turn right, and go up the short flight of stairs to the party room.. Membership Secretary Clara Raju (240) 876-3516 [email protected]

Treasurer Stacey FitzSimmons (301) 951-1820 [email protected]

Director Claudia Kousoulas (301) 320-6979 [email protected]

Director Bruce Reynolds (703) 821-3213 [email protected]

Past President CiCi Williamson (703) 533-0066 [email protected]

Editorial Positions

CHoW Line Editor Dianne Hennessy King (703) 281-5281 [email protected]

CHoW Line Designer CiCi Williamson (703) 533-0066 [email protected]

Website Coordinator Katherine Livingston (202) 332-0923 [email protected]

CHoW Line 9