Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness Prince Philip have been in Washington since last Friday. She is here in the U.S. to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the establishment of Jamestown, Virginia, the first English settlement in the New World. Mrs. MM, the Kid, and I made to the East Coast in time, bedraggled but breathing, but lo and behold, we didn’t get one of the 134 highly coveted, hand written and gold-edged invitations for the white tie dinner at the White House… Hmmm, you think it got lost in the mail? Oh well, I should have just called the Pinay chef Cristeta (Comerford) and asked her if she needed an extra hand or two to chop up some onions or mushrooms…
The menu at dinner included spring pea soup with U.S. caviar, Dover sole almondine, spring lamb with chanterelle sauce and local vegetables, and an arugula, mustard greens and romaine salad. English farmhouse cheeses accompanied the salad course in a meal designed to showcase the best of the U.S. and the U.K. A cake with sugared roses was served for dessert. The five-course meal was served on Lenox china, with antique vermeil flatware and candelabra from English silversmiths. Table centerpieces for the one and only white tie dinner in the two terms of this Bush presidency, were predominantly made up of white roses and possibly some white tulips. Ah well, maybe our invitations for the reception hosted by the British Amassador are on their way… Oh, and the cost to rent tails and white tie for an evening? About USD140 including tax, just in case you were curious. :)
6 Responses
glad that you guys got here in 1 piece. thanks so much for the magazine
You will not be happy chopping onions at the Whitehouse – the secret service all over you keeping track of your move even after passing your background and patch check – ensuring no cyanide set in soup and salad. As a dinner guest at the Whitehouse do take your pocketbook with you – on your way home you need to stop by McDonalds and grab a Big Mac. This five course meal is not substantial – it is all about visual effect to make plate look full. Cristeta Comerford is a real asset at the Whitehouse. Imagine every foreign dignitaries they host dinner at the Whitehouse she has to plan a menu in American cuisine and the foreign guest’s cuisine. Thanks for the magazine.
Hi MM! I received the magazine in the mail last Friday. Thank you oh so very much! It will be added to my treasured reads. The post mark is NY so I figured you either arrived here with the mag or sent the mag to be mailed by your family or friends. Now I know you are here in the US :-) I will be in the city this Thu or Fri. It would be neat to meet you up. Care for a cup of coffee or tea? It’s the least I could do for you taking the time to send me an autographed Yummy. Anyway, hope you have a good time! The yellow tulips in the city is a sight to behold. Take care!
Welcome to the East Coast! In case you drop by Philly, I would love to have an opportunity to meet you and have you autograph my copy of Yummy. I had a friend of mine send it to me on his trip here a couple of weeks ago.
ooh, i heard about that white tie dinner at the today show. ultra formal! and just the other day, i saw chef cris at the rachael ray show where laura bush was a guest. she showed her kitchen and cookbook nook in the white house. have fun in the us! my mom’s there now too on vacation in nj/ny area.
Yeah i was flipping channel this morning, i can’t remember the name of the show, it’s the one with Diane Sawyer (maybe the Today Show) where they showed clips of the white tie dinner that took place yesterday. Who would’ve thought that a very simple cinammon raisin toast with peanut butter and honey is one of the president’s fave sandwich!!!
And by the way, Her Majesty takes off her white gloves when dinning, so it’s just really for “shaking hands” i guess!!!