CH W Line Culinary Historians of Washington, D.C. May 2010 Volume XIV, Number 8 Ambitious Appetites — Political Aspects of Dining in D.C. During the Federal Period Speaker: Barbara G. Carson Sunday, May 2, 2010 (Note: first Sunday) 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Bethesda-Chevy Chase Services Center, 4805 Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda, Maryland Last CHoW Line or over three decades Barbara Carson has taught in universities and consulted for Fmuseums and historic houses. She considers herself a social historian who studies until September how people use objects, mainly domestic furnishings, in their everyday lives and in extra-ordinary or special situations. She has written several books and many articles. Save the Dates for autumn They all explore the ways Americans from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries CHoW meetings: used artifacts, consciously or unconsciously, to equip daily activities, enhance social September 12 relationships, or express spiritual and symbolic worlds. Ambitious Appetites: Dining, October 10 Behavior, and Patterns of Consumption in Federal Washington focused on both private and official use of food from the bottom to the top of society. November 14 Ms. Carson was educated at Brown University and the University of Delaware’s See you in September! Winterthur Program in Early American History and Culture. She lives in However, organizational Williamsburg, Virginia. work goes on over the summer. Top photo: Dining room of If you would like to Dumbarton House, Washington, D.C. propose speakers for the Construction of the Federal-period 2010-2011 monthly house was finished in 1804 by its meetings, see page 6. owner Joseph Nourse, Register of the U.S. Treasury. Guests can view all CHoW/DC publishes seven museum rooms of the house, as CHoW Line eight times well as the temporary exhibit gallery. each year. More information can be found Read about a May 5 special event at at www.chowdc.org. Dumbarton House on page 5. Federal Period Wedgwood tureen. Culinary Historians of Washington, D.C. (CHoW/DC) www.chowdc.org founded in 1996, is an informal, nonprofit, educational organization dedicated to the study of the history of foodstuffs, cuisines, and culinary customs, both historical and contemporary, from all parts of the world. What Happened at the April 11 Meeting? Our thanks go to Shirley Cherkasky, who arranged for the beautiful dining room high above Alexandria (see photos). It was a clear and sunny day overlooking the Potomac, with wonderful food, fascinating stories, balmy breezes, and friendly conversation. We took photos of some of the foods just to show you a sampling of the variety of dishes brought to the supper. Francine Berkowitz presented the Slate of Candidates for the 2010-2011 CHoW Board (see column at right). The election will be at the May meeting. Group and Alexandria view photos by Jack Warner Food photos by Dianne Hennessy King Nominations for 2010-2011 Board President: Katherine Livingston Katherine Livingston was book review editor of Science for many years and now does freelance editing, mostly in the field of history. In CHoW she has served six terms as treasurer, has done publicity for the meetings, and is an occasional contributor to CHoW Line. She has been president of CHoW for one year. Vice-President: CiCi Williamson Food and travel writer CiCi Williamson is the author of six cookbooks and more than 1,500 articles in newspapers and magazines. Her latest book is “The Best of Virginia Farms,” a cookbook, tour book and history reference. She is also the host of an award-winning Virginia PBS-TV series based on Judy Newton gave a report on her appearance as part of a the book. For 22 years, she wrote a syndicated weekly food panel at Ren Con 2010, a Renaissance and Medieval food column in 160 newspapers across the country and has fair. CHoW President Katherine Livingston had been appeared on ABC-TV’s “Good Morning America” and contacted to enquire if CHoW had an expert on the subject numerous other network and cable TV shows. CiCi has a and Judy answered the call. B.S. in home economics from the University of Maryland, and has created almost 2,000 original recipes for Whatzit: This time we didn’t have to guess the purpose of publication. She has served as an officer of many culinary the mystery culinary object nor was it passed around due to associations including president of the prestigious 1,500- its sharp edge. While Claire Cassidy was describing her member Les Dames d’Escoffier International, president of Gitskan-style Sockeye Salmon with Gooseberry Marinade, the Washington, D.C. Chapter of Les Dames, board member of the Association of Food Journalists, and president of Wild Onions, and Dried Blueberries, she showed us a Home Economists in Business. CiCi is a charter member of razor-sharp, 19th-century, antler-handled Alaskan knife for the Culinary Historians of Washington and has been its cutting fish. newsletter designer for four years. As a travel writer and photographer, she has visited all seven continents, more Although the official time for CHoW’s Cooperative Supper than 100 countries and all 50 U.S. states. The native Texan was 4:00 p.m. to 6 p.m., most people stayed until around has made Virginia her home for 25 years. She currently 7:00 p.m. serves as vice president of CHoW. Membership Secretary: Quentin Looney Keep Those Refreshments Coming! My educational background is primarily in chemistry (B.S., Please contact Anne Whitaker at M.S. and Ph.D. from Penn State, University of California at [email protected] if you have questions about Berkeley, and University of Pittsburgh, respectively) and an bringing food or drink for any of our meetings. MBA from Pitt. After seven years doing bench chemistry at U.S. Steel’s Applied R&D Center I moved to Washington (Continued on page 6) 2 CHoW Line Cooperative Supper -- Foods from the New World, Pre-Contact Stewed Bison Michelle Kretsch brought Stewed Bison and Tavern Biscuits, recipe from The Kentucky Housewife (1839) by Lettice Bryan. Although the biscuits are non- indigenous, they are great served with the stew. Cactus Salad Gina Jenkins brought Cactus Salad Tomatillos and Pepper Relish made with nopalitos (cactus), white Anne Whitaker brought Tomatillos onion, tomatoes, cilantro and olive oil; and Pepper Relish with Traditional good also with cubes of queso panela or Corn Chips. white farmer’s cheese. Gitskan-style Sockeye Salmon New World Grain Salad Claire Cassidy and John Rosine Three Sisters Salad Jane Olmsted brought New World brought Gitskan-style Sockeye Salmon Randy Clarke brought Three Sisters Jackpot Grain Salad, loosely based on with Gooseberry Marinade, Wild Salad: Sister Bean (Black and Christmas a wild rice salad recipe of Richard Onions, and Dried Blueberries. Limas), Sister Squash (Butternut and Crooked Neck), and Sister Corn. Fourth Sister Pepper (Red sweet and Jalapeño), Fifth Sister Tomato, Weird Uncle Ramp (from the farmers’ market) and Mexican Tia Oregano. The Gitskan are a Northwest Coast People who wrote a history of their Hetzler, Chef at Mitsitam, National own foodways in Gathering What the Museum of the American Indian. The Great Nature Provided. This book dish included nine New World contains cooking methods (old and ingredients: wild rice, inca red quinoa new), memories of foodways from the (pasankalla variety), corn, red and “old folks,” and adjustments to old yellow peppers, dried cranberries, recipes with newer foods added in Schnitzel Mexiko tomato, pecans, pumpkin seed oil, from Euro-Americans. sunflower seeds plus carrots, red Tom Weiland brought Schnitzel Claire said, “The wild onions onions, black rice, MG red rice, brown Mexiko and Vegan Schnitzel Mexiko. and gooseberries are from our garden, rice, purple barley, hulled barley, and so we gathered as the Gitskan used to rye berries. do. The Sockeye is wild and caught somewhere in Alaska, and the dried New World Salad blueberries are American but bought Amy Snyder brought New World as is from the Bethesda Food Coop.” Salad of corn, black beans, orange bell John brought white wine with a llama peppers, nopales, salt and cayenne. on the label and red wine with a rooster on the label. Laura Gilliam brought Hominy with Cream. CHoW Line 3 Pepita Dip Red Pudding Felice Caspar brought with Corn Shirley Cherkasky brought Red Chips and Squash Crudités made with Pudding and Cream, made with toasted pumpkin seed, tomato, cranberries and corn(starch). The tomatillo, onion, garlic, jalapeño, Danish name for the dessert is Rødgrød med Fløde. Papas a la Huancaina Francine Berkowitz brought Papas a la Huancaina, a Peruvian dish from the city of Huancayo, capital of the state of Junin in the Central Andes. The potato and fresh cheese dish is garnished pasilla, ancho, cilantro, vinegar and with sliced hard boiled eggs and black salt. The wooden creature shown in olives. There is a Potato Park in the the photo is a flour scoop. She also Andes where people are trying to revive brought a Cranberry Sauce with as many varieties of potato as possible. Blackberries and Pineapple. Cornmeal Hotcakes Clara Raju brought Cornmeal Bison Stew with Anasazi Beans Elisabetta Castleman brought two Hotcakes with Prickly Pear Syrup and by Kathleen and Royle Carrington. turkey moles: Pumpkin Seed Mole A-Ma-Gi, Cherokee Fried Hominy. with Chocolate and Tomato Mole with Chocolate. Elisabetta brought the chocolate from Oaxaca. Katherine Livingston brought Jerusalem Artichokes, a.k.a., sunchoke, sunroot, earth apple, topinambour (Jerusalem after Italian girasole, topinambour after Brazilian Indians incidentally arriving in France at the same time). Discovered by Judy Newton brought Poke Salad, aka Claudia Kousoulas brought Three Champlain cultivated in Cape Cod in Poke Weed, Poke Sallat, made with Sisters Salad made with Canary 1605 and sent to France.