Entertaining at The White House: Menus

Mrs Clinton engages guests during a White House dinner.  Note the use of silver chargers rather than a service plate.  The silver charger facilitates a plated food course rather than a self-serve course used in the Reagan White House.

Menus at the White House reflect the tastes and preference of the president and the first lady, but they will also make a nod to the guests.  For a dinner to honor Mr Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a menu of chicken and fish was selected by Mrs Clinton:

Honey and Mango Glazed Chicken

Spicy Vegetable Noodles

Herb Tuile

Grilled Salmon Fillet "Mignon"

Smoked Portabello Mushroom

Tomato Shallot Fondue

Baby Vegetables and Balsamic Reduction

Marinated Fresh Mozzarella

Roasted Artichokes and Basil Tomatoes

Salad of Mache and Arugula

Lemon Oregano Dressing

"Strawberries and Cream"

Devonshire Sauce

Brandy Snaps   Shortbread

Honey Nougat   Chocolate Fudge

Newton Chardonnay "Unfiltered" 1995

Swanson Sangiovese 1995

Mumm Napa Valley "DVX" 1993

This menu is a typical four-course dinner highlighting the tastes of the hosts as well as the skills of the chef and his staff.  Mrs Kennedy is credited with introducing a four-course dinner to the White House when previous administrations had as many as twenty-nine (Ulysses S. Grant).  Of particular interest to me is that the salad course is served in the "continental style", after the main course, rather than before.  Also, I believe the food  is presented in the American manner, or restaurant manner: of being plated in the kitchen and carried to the table.

We see in the above menu a concession to Mr Blair in the dessert course:  strawberries and cream with devonshire sauce--could it get more Wimbledon than that, or more English?   This dinner was hosted in February 1998, so I expect the strawberries came from California rather than the White House garden.  We also see a nod to Mr Blair in the inclusion of shortbread with the cookies.

President Clinton's sweet tooth and love of carbohydrates also seems to be honored in the first course with a sweet chicken over noodles.  I expect this is a cold course.  And I would bet he had a hand in the chocolate fudge as well.

The wine selection is very straightforward: two white wines and a sparkling wine with dessert.  The Newton selection can be found at many wine shops across the country, a very democratic selection.  Introductory toasts would be made with the chardonnay or water, not sparkling wine.  After the starter course, the second wine would be offered.  The Swanson selection is somewhat more difficult to find, but if it's good enough for the White House it's good enough to indulge a search.  And love to Mumm DVX--an outstanding and affordable sparkling wine that can be a challenge to find outside of the winery.  Serving the sparkling wine with the dessert course is very American although I prefer it to start the dinner.

Using the Reagan state china, the table is set for a fish starter course and three subsequent course with three changes of wine.

Mrs Reagan used a more continental style to dining, with servers offering a tray of food at the each table for each course to the guests to help themselves.  (Recall the Jaclyn Smith story of following the first lady's lead until the dessert course.)  This is a variation of the traditional "French style" service.    Guests would come to the table and find an empty service plate, as opposed to a silver charger.  After the course was served and eaten, plates would be removed and fresh, clean plate put in place for the next course.  This type of service is labor-intensive but also a lovely way to serve a meal.

Here is the Reagan menu to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the White House:


(Correction:  although this menu appears in Entertaining at the White House with Nancy Reagan, it of course could not have been during the Reagan administration since the date for the dinner is November 9th, 2000.  I followed the authors lead in this case and although it seemed incorrect at the time to attribute the dinner to Mrs Reagan, it took me twelve hours to catch my mistake.  All good history will be re-written to fit the need.  We will proceed unfettered.  March 10, 2012 3am)

Truffle and Duck Consomme

Roasted Vegetables and Madeira

Seared Striped Bass

Corn and Crab Fricassee

Chive and Oyster Sauce

Grapefruit and Gin Sherbet

Smoked Loin of Lamb

Heirloom Apples, Butternut Squash and Salsify

Terrine of Pears, Figs and Wild Ripened Cheese

Winter Greens 

Fig Dressing

Abigail Adams' Floating Island

Raisin Biscuits

Lemon Bars

Kistler Chardonnay "Cuvee Cathleen" 1996

Landmark Pinot Noir "Kostania Vineyard" 1997 

Bonny Doon "Vin Glaciere Muscat" 1999

The starter soup would have been served in bowls from the kitchen, rather than at table; although in some homes, soup is still served from a tureen to the guests.  The Kistler chardonnay would have been served just after the guests were seated in order to accommodate a toast, but should be reserved primarily for the fish course.  Mrs Reagan added a palate-cleansing sherbet between the fish course and the meat course.  The sherbet, I expect, would have been served in a small dish rather than the guests helping themselves.  Wine would have been switched during the service of the sherbet as well.  The meat course  is followed by a salad and cheese course and both would have been served with the pinot noir.  

Dessert trays are readied in the White House kitchen.

Mrs Reagan inspects desserts prior to a luncheon.