How to Eat Like Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson lived many many years ago, but his way of eating is surprising modern. For instance, he ate meat very sparingly, and loved foods like Macaroni and Cheese. Jefferson had a passion for growing things too, and grew more than fifty varieties of peas in his garden. He loved to entertain and in the summer he served fresh garden salads and sweet peas often. One of Jefferson's favorite dishes was a simple tomato soup, using tomatoes fresh from his garden and garnished with chopped herbs.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• a kitchen
• garden fresh produce
• Recipes from Thomas Jefferson's household

1. garden fresh tomatoes Thomas Jefferson was a near vegetarian who had a huge garden, and loved salads made from ingredients freshly picked from his own property.
   He ate seasonally and was a fan of many of the favorite foods of his time.
   Many of the actual recipes from Jefferson's own kitchen have survived, and are still just as delicious as they were in Thomas Jefferson's time.
2. Jefferson loved Macaroni and Cheese, and served it year round. Of course the version he ate was nothing like the boxed version most of us are familiar with.
   Jefferson's cooks made the macaroni from scratch, using pasta and Parmesan cheese that Jefferson had imported from Italy. They cooked the macaroni until done, then used freshly grated parmesan cheese and a bit of unsalted fresh butter to coat it. Then they seasoned the macaroni with freshly grated black pepper to taste. The macaroni was then placed in an oven-proof casserole dish, dotted with more butter, and more Parmesan, then baked at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until there was some crustiness on top.
   It sounds pretty darn good to me!
3. Monticello. Thomas Jefferson's house. Another favorite dish of Jefferson's was called Salmagunde. This is an Olde English supper meat salad, made from cold cooked chicken, grapes and onions, and garnished with anchovies and capers.
4. For dessert Thomas Jefferson often served a pound cake topped with Brandied Peaches. The cake and the brandied peaches were of course home-made then, but you can buy yours and it still makes for a pretty fair dessert.
5. "Good wine is a necessity of life for me," Jefferson once said. He introduced many French and Italian wines into this country. Jefferson's food and wine bills, while living in the White House, were so high that he was forced to use his own money, rather than his Presidential salary, to pay for them.
6. Thomas Jefferson was a gourmet who rarely dined alone. He preferred round tables so that guests could look directly at each other.

Tips & Warnings

• In addition to good food, Jefferson insisted on good conversation at the dinner table. He avoided political discussions as much as possible, and encouraged his guests to speak freely.
• It costs a lot to eat and drink in the fashion of Thomas Jefferson so plan accordingly.