Washington, D.C. was this weekend’s “state” meal. Senate Bean Soup, prepared with traditional
early American ingredients of dried white pea beans, onions, and a ham bone,
has been on the menu in the United States Senate restaurant since the early 20th
century, possible longer. It is the most popular item on the menu and is
usually recommended by members of Congress when entertaining guests there for
the first time.
Bean soup, a favorite of Speaker of the House, Joseph G.
Cannon (1836–1926) of Illinois, was omitted from the menu on one hot, humid day
in 1904. When speaker Cannon arrived for lunch and learned he could not order
it, he was more than a little upset. "Thunderation!" roared the
speaker. "I had my mind set for bean soup. From now on, hot or cold, rain,
snow, or shine, I want it on the menu every day." A resolution was introduced in 1907 by
Senator Knute Nellson of Minnesota, chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, who
decreed that while the Senate is in session, no day shall pass without Senate
Bean Soup. From that time on, Senate Bean soup has appeared on the menu in all
eleven Congressional dining rooms every single day, regardless of the weather.
This tradition has endured for over 100 years.
A recipe for Election Cake, also what I chose to represent
Washington, D.C., appears in the second edition of the first American cookbook
published in this country – Amelia Simmons’ American Cookery (1796.) The cake is actually a classic English
fruitcake and was baked to celebrate Election Days at least as early as
1771. Election Cake, as all cakes baked
in colonial homes, was yeast-leavened, as there was no commercial baking
powder, and they were baked in brick fireplace ovens.
The centerpiece of Election Day festivals, when everyone was
given the day off , was a very large cake, which would traditionally be made of
roughly 15 pounds of flour, two pounds of butter, 10 pounds of dried fruit, a
dozen eggs, milk, yeast, spices, and a bit of sugar. Too big to fit any pan, it
was a kind-of free-form bread baked directly on the floor of a wood-fired oven.
The size of the cake depended largely on the size of the town and the available
resources – both financial as well as a large enough oven. One cake, for
example, was measured at over a yard in diameter and over a foot
thick. The purpose of the cake, of course, was to have something hearty
that would sop up the large amounts of ale and cider consumed that evening
after the polls had closed.
I read also that slices of Election Cake were provided as an
incentive to vote a straight ticket or for a particular candidate, and were
handed out by women (who weren’t allowed to vote) as the men lined up at the
polling sites.
Menu: Senate Bean Soup, Election Cake
Outcome: The soup was good, but a little too thin for
my taste when I made it according to the directions, so I added another cup of
prepared mashed potatoes to thicken it up.
The Election Cake was okay, but none of us were really over-the-top
thrilled with it. It was quite too “bready”
for our tastes – having been made with a yeast starter – and in my opinion, it needed a lot more dried fruit. Being quite dry, we remedied it with a scoop
of ice cream on top and a little drizzle of caramel. The minimal glaze didn’t add to the cake and
I would think that omitting it and serving slices with whipped cream would have
been much better.
Next up: Ben’s turn!
He chose New York! Wait, you
say?? Didn’t you already have New
York? Like in 2015?? YES !!
Explanation: we had
New York’s meal the weekend we moved into our house. We were sleeping on the floor that Friday
evening before everyone arrived on Saturday morning to help us move. We didn’t even have the propane turned on
yet, so quickly we heated up some Nathan’s hot dogs (from Coney Island, NY) on
the electric griddle and opened a couple bags of potato chips (first made in
Saratoga Springs, NY). For dessert, we
had some Entenmann’s (Brooklyn, NY) Black
and White cookies (a NY tradition.) We
needed a re-do!
