By George (41 or 43), That’s Yummy!
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, 28 June 2011 23:27
- Written by Matt Robinson
Fireplace to offer authentic tastes of our greatest leaders throughout July
While many people focus on the fourth, July is a great month for celebrating throughout. Kids are out of school, the weather is great, and there are no elections or taxes to worry about. What’s not to love?!
In an effort to make the summer even better (and to keep education going even during vacation), Jim Solomon of The Fireplace in Brookline (wwwfireplacerest.com) is offering a selection of delicious delights taken from the personal cookbooks of some of the men who made Independence Day and other reasons to celebrate the Great American Summer possible. And, in their continued efforts to celebrate what makes New England such a special place, they are picking their plates from presidents who lived in the area at one time or another. From local boys made good Johnny and Johnny Q. Adams and Jack Kennedy to part-time residents like FDR, GHWB and GWB (all of whom “summered” in New England), the selections will represent a wide array of tastes – both gustatory and political and will offer something for every “red” Cantabridgian liberal or blue-blooded Brookline conservative.
“I came up with the idea in Spring of '08 while walking past the White House,” Solomon recalls, explaining that he has always been “in awe of the presidency” and a long-time history buff and (as demonstrated in his impressively diverse local-vore menus) a “lover off all things New England.” “It seemed like fascinating project to research and cook.”
While cooking from someone else’s cookbook is often a challenge, Solomon suggests that the research element was the difficult part.
“To my great surprise,” he says, “the recipes are actually extremely difficult to find….There is a “dearth of information about what and how the presidents ate. Various stewards have left quotes behind and some chefs have penned books. However, even the Library of Congress, Smithsonian and Culinary Institute of America have almost nothing of White House Menus.”
Despite the fact that Solomon has been collecting historic and especially presidential recipes for years, he says it has been a challenge every summer to come up with a full menu of sufficiently delicious dishes that will appeal both to the food historian and the contemporary diner.
“As the records are thinner of the earliest Presidents,” he explains, “I must build around them. It is also challenging since I must find dishes which represent each course.”
What makes the challenge even greater for Solomon is his staunch refusal to include presidents who have just visited New England. His only exception has been the current Comestibler-in-Chief and this only because his personal secretary was a fellow Brooklinian until recently. “It’s also because his White House Pastry Chef just sent me the recipe,” Solomon admits.
Another element of Solomon’s self-imposed cooking challenge is finding and using the same ingredients that were used in the various presidents’ own kitchens.
“We do always use authentic ingredients,” Solomon says, adding that he tends to “steer around” such former favorites as beef suet and partridge. Further, as his first loyalties are to his customers, Solomon does what he can to alter (or, as he says, “update”) the recipes in order to be more pleasing to the 21st century palette. “My intention is to capture the essence and spirit of the dish and provide a rare glimpse into the tastes of the great men who've shaped our country,” he explains. “My hope is to also to reflect the love for the region they grew-up in through their culinary preferences.”
Looking forward (which Solomon always does when it comes to this popular annual celebration of presidential provisions, which he says is “dear to his heart”), Solomon hopes to continue to expand his catalog of recipes so that he can eventually change and enhance the presidential menu as frequently and satisfyingly as he does his regular menu.
“This is always a pretty neat event,” Solomon says, “and it is truly interesting!”
As such, it fits in well with The Fireplace’s bi-monthly schedule of Fireside Chats, at which Solomon presents historic pairings of food and drink, often coupled with readings from historic documents. However, he adds, this event warrants a larger section of the calendar because, though most only truly mark Independence day on the fourth, Solomon says, “We celebrate independence all month!”
