State of the Onion (28 page)

“No one is more deserving than you.”

The room, full of staffers, jumped to their feet, applauding. My eyes were on Tom, who grinned with pride and clapped harder than everyone else.

“Thank you,” I said into the microphone. I sure hoped they could read lips.

As the applause continued, Henry pulled me aside. “I knew you'd get it.”

“How did you know?”

“It's not every chef who can please the president's palate and also save his skin.”

I touched Henry's cheek. “I'm going to miss you.”

People rushed up to congratulate, tugging me into their midst, pulling me into a massive group hug.

Henry winked, and stepped aside.

ONE OF THE STRANGEST CONUNDRUMS OF being a White House chef is that, perhaps because they spend so much time eating fancy food at official functions, most First Families want simple fare or comfort food when they eat in their private quarters. What the White House chefs are expected to provide for official functions often has nothing to do with the kinds of food that the president likes to eat when he's away from the public eye. A White House chef might spend weeks organizing the hautest of haute cuisine for a single state menu, while in private the president's favorite foods might be cereal for breakfast, a bowl of soup and a sandwich for lunch, and barbeque and corn on the cob for dinner.

These kinds of extremes in the menu keep the White House kitchen on its toes. In addition to the wide range of cooking, there is also the issue of getting a new slate of “Deciders” in as primary customers every four or eight years. Each president is unique, and that includes what he likes to eat. Early in the presidency, the kitchen staff sits down with the First Family and gets copies of favorite family recipes from them, as well as lists of allergies, food likes and dislikes, and sample menus and wish lists. As time goes on, those menus are updated and refined until tuned to the liking of the primary customers.

Through the years, presidential appetites have varied widely. FDR insisted on serving hot dogs to the king and queen of England and wanted to serve chicken á la king for his inauguration luncheon only to be told that the White House chefs had no way to keep that much food hot. He settled on cold chicken salad instead. Given Washington, D.C.'s weather in January, there was no problem keeping that much food cold. Dwight D. Eisenhower liked to cook; he said he found it relaxing. His beef stew recipe was a staple for White House chefs during his administration. JFK and Jackie had a fondness for upscale Continental cuisine. President Johnson, not surprisingly, loved good Texas beefsteak. Both the Carters and the Clintons liked down-home Southern fare, though both also appreciated voyages into more stylish cuisines. President George W. Bush made simple homestyle food a staple during his White House years, while his father, the First President Bush, had more formal tastes—though, of course, no broccoli.

“Whatever the president wants”: That's the ground rule for the job of White House chef. My first duty is to make the president happy. And the First Family, as well. Or, at least, their stomachs. So I listen when the commander in chief speaks about his food. What the inhabitants of the White House do with their political capital is somebody else's problem. I'm concerned with their taste buds—in public and in private.

The commander in chief I work for is a fan of simple meals, which makes my job both easier and harder. In private, he prefers peanut butter and honey sandwiches and chicken pot pies. In public, we both know it's important to fly the flag and impress the sophisticated visitors at state dinners and official functions—but he still wants to enjoy the food. So I get to design menus that work on both levels—impressing the guests, and not being too fancy for the current gourmand in chief.

Here are some representative foods I serve to the First Family in the current White House in a typical twenty-four-hour rotation. Given the president's taste, all are simple enough for any kitchen:

B
REAKFAST

Honey-Almond Scones

Virginia Ham and Spinach Omelet

Henry's Famous Hash Browns

Broiled Grapefruit

L
UNCH

Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich on Cinnamon Bread

Matchstick Vegetables with a Kick

Apple Tart

D
INNER

Oven-Fried Chicken

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Ollie's Green Beans

Chocolate Angel Food Cake with Fresh Berries

HONEY-ALMOND SCONES

SCONES

GLAZE

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Grease scone pan or place parchment paper on a baking sheet, spray with cooking spray, and set aside. Add honey to buttermilk, stir, then beat in the eggs. Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter. Add sugar and almonds. Toss to coat.

Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture. Stir with a fork just until a ball forms. Turn out dough onto a floured board. Knead 5 to 6 times to make sure it is well mixed.

If using scone pan, spoon dough into the pan, spreading evenly among the indentations. If using baking sheet, roll dough into a ball and flatten it some. Cut into 8 wedges. Bake for 25 minutes or until medium golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

In a medium bowl, mix melted butter, vanilla, almond extract, and hot water. Add confectioner's sugar. Stir. If glaze is too thick to pour, add more hot water, 1 teaspoonful at a time, until the glaze has the consistency of thick syrup. Spoon the glaze over the warm scones.

I usually wait at least an hour before serving for the scones to stabilize, absorb the glaze, and develop a fine crumb texture, but the First Family likes them hot from the oven.

VIRGINIA HAM AND SPINACH OMELET

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Place 8-inch seasoned cast-iron skillet or good-quality omelet pan on stovetop over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp. of olive oil to pan. Add ham, spinach, and onion to the hot oil.

Stir until ham warms through, spinach wilts, and onion turns translucent. Remove mixture from pan and set aside. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, yogurt, tarragon, and hot sauce. Place skillet back on stove. Add remaining 1 tbsp. olive oil to skillet and spread to cover entire surface. Pour egg mixture into oiled pan. Cook until bottom is set, then flip egg mixture in pan. (If this isn't something you do regularly and you don't want to destroy your kitchen attempting it, you can also pull the cooked egg to the center of the pan, and rotate the remaining liquid egg in the pan to cover the oiled surface. Either way, the eggs are cooked through, without leaving an overcooked and tough brown layer on the bottom of the omelet.) Top the cooking eggs with the warm ham mixture. Sprinkle grated cheese over top, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook just until the cheese melts. Take off cover. Fold omelet in half.

Serve immediately on warmed plate.

HENRY”S FAMOUS HASH BROWNS

(WITH FRESH CHIVES AND FRESH THYME)

Place olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.

Mix remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Place grated potato mixture in a potato ricer and squeeze any excess water out of the potatoes. (This makes them crispy.) If you don't have a ricer, place the grated potatoes between sheets of paper towels and press to remove excess moisture.

When oil is heated to a simmer, pour potato mixture into skillet and mash it down to a thinnish pancake using a spatula. Cook until bottom layer is browned and crispy, about 4 minutes. Turn over and cook other side until browned and crispy, about 3 minutes. Place onto warmed plate or platter and serve garnished with sprigs of fresh thyme and chives tied together with a knotted chive leaf, if desired.

BROILED GRAPEFRUIT

Turn oven to Broil on high heat.

Cut grapefruit in half across the fruit, exposing halved sections. Place cut sides up in ovenproof pan or on baking sheet.

Mix almond extract into brown sugar. Sprinkle sugar mixture on halved grapefruits.

Place under broiler until sugar melts and turns bubbly, about 3 minutes. Since ovens differ greatly, watch carefully.

Serve immediately.

CINNAMON BREAD

Preheat oven to 375°. Grease two standard loaf pans and set aside.

Mix the yeast and water in a medium bowl.

Gently heat the milk, sugar, and butter in a saucepan over low to medium heat until the butter melts; do not boil. Remove from heat and set aside.

Sift salt, cinnamon, and 3 cups of flour together into a large bowl. Add the frothy yeast and milk mixtures and beaten eggs to the dry ingredients. Mix until a soft doughy ball forms. Turn dough out on floured board. Knead until dough is smooth and has the soft and rubbery texture of your earlobe. In the course of this process you may need to add up to 4 more cups of flour to get a nice, springy dough. Knead for 10 minutes.

Cover dough loosely with either a damp towel or greased plastic wrap and leave to rise for 1 hour. Punch down and then divide into two balls of dough. Form into loaves, place into loaf pans, cover, and then leave to rise about 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Dust the tops with the cinnamon sugar if desired and bake for 35–40 minutes. If the loaves start to brown too quickly, cover with foil for the remaining cooking time.

Excellent served buttered for breakfast, or as a base for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

PEANUT BUTTER AND BANANA SANDWICH ON CINNAMON BREAD

In a small bowl, mix together peanut butter and honey. Spread over slices of Cinnamon Bread. Scatter the peanut butter mixture with banana slices and sunflower seeds, if desired. Sandwich can be served open-faced, or the two slices can be merged into a traditional sandwich.

For a lovely fall option, when apples are at their peak, substitute thinly sliced apple for the bananas. Honeycrisp apples are fabulous this way.