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We will celebrate the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln Monday. I like to muse about all 44 of our presidents on this day. Several weeks ago, I made up a game while Edward, Sandy and I were driving up Broad Street. I wondered how many streets, drives and boulevards there are in our city named after U.S. presidents, or have the same name. We came up with quite a list.
I don’t have to list them but I am not sure whether Taylor Street in the Fairmount section is named for Zachary Taylor, or if Jackson Street in South Philly is named for “Old Hickory” himself, Andrew Jackson.
We can travel around the city and discover our presidents are a diverse lot. They were born in New York, Virginia, Ohio, Massachusetts, Vermont, Kentucky, Texas, California and many other places. Pennsylvania gave us James Buchanan, a lifelong bachelor who was born in Cove Gap.
I did some research and discovered Jackson was born on the border between North and South Carolina, but he is always identified with Tennessee.
There are more presidents from Virginia (eight) and Ohio (seven) than any other state.
Since I gave you recipes from Illinois and Virginia last year, let’s take another culinary tour of America on Presidents’ Day with these tasty dishes.
Real Texas Chili
(Lyndon B. Johnson)
Ingredients:
Enough Canola coil to coat the bottom of a large pot
1 large onion, diced
2 red bell peppers, seeded and diced
6 fat garlic cloves, sliced
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and sliced
1-1/2 pounds of top-quality chuck, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes, with their juice
Chili powder, to taste
Cumin, to taste
2 bay leaves
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Directions:
Heat the oil over medium high. Add the onions and bell peppers and sauté for about eight minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for about one minute. Add the jalapeno peppers and sauté for about another minute.
Remove the contents of the pot with a slotted spoon. Add the chuck cubes and sauté them until they lose their raw color.
Add the remaining ingredients, pour in enough water to cover the beef, bring the contents of the pot to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 90 minutes, or until the beef is tender.
Serve with cornbread.
Serves four to six.
Note from Phyllis: An old-time Texas butcher told me authentic Texas chili does not contain beans and it is never prepared with ground beef.
Bourbon Manhattan
(Andrew Jackson)
Ingredients:
2 ounces of Bourbon
1 ounce of sweet vermouth
2 dashes of bitters
Cherry, for garnish
Directions:
Pour all of the ingredients over ice in a cocktail shaker and stir well with a long stainless steel spoon. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with the cherry.
Serves one.
New England Clam Chowder
(John F. Kennedy)
Ingredients:
4 slices of slab bacon, cut into strips
Enough Canola oil to coat the bottom of a 4-quart pot
1 large onion, diced
4 stalks of celery, sliced
3 large Yukon gold potatoes, diced
1 bottle of clam juice
1 cup of dry white wine
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup of light cream
1 cup of heavy cream
1 bay leaf
Pinch of dried thyme
4 5-ounce cans of cherrystone clams, roughly chopped
Directions:
Sauté the bacon in the pot and remove with a slotted spoon. Add the onion and celery and sauté for about eight minutes over medium heat.
Add the cooked bacon and remaining ingredients, except the clams, and simmer until the potatoes are tender, for about 10 minutes.
When ready to serve, add the clams to the pot and gently heat through.
Serves four to six.
Note from Phyllis: I used to use clams in their shell for this recipe until I discovered whole canned clams at Trader Joe’s. If the soup appears a bit too thin, you can enrich it with 1 or 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter. SPR
Contact the South Philly Review at editor@southphillyreview.com.
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