Next, delicious dishes popular in early America that have vanished from our tables even though they would still appeal to the modern palate.

- Gorgeous - Look at this gorgeous color Discover the mouth-watering cuisine likely prepared by Theodosia Burr for none other than George Washington during his historic 1778 visit.

- One thing people forget is that food provides a beautiful window into the past.

- Right Though the actual meal has been lost to history Dr. Libby O'Connell, one of our nation's preeminent cultural ad food historians, agreed to dig into this history and develop an authentic menu just for us.

I...I chose a few dishes that I think can be made in your own kitchen - OK that tastes good, because..I mean...jellied eel aren't for everyone.

- No And that may have been on the table but theyre not in my recipe box.

Then, follow along as Chef Melissa takes those flavors from the page, and puts them on the plate.

It's a meal for the ages, and one you'll only find here on Drive By History... - Oh, this looks good.

- I've been waiting all day for this - Me, too.

...Eats!

[Music] Made possible by Sun Basket [Music] Organic carrots... purple potatoes... steaks for the grill... all ingredients from the kitchens of Chef Justine at Sun Basket.

Ready to heat meals and meal kits.

Sun Basket meal delivery.

Information at sunbasket.com Every day, thousands of motorists pass by countless history markers and say to themselves, One of these days I'm going to stop and read that.

If you watch Drive By History you know that's how every episode begins.

I start with a history marker, then go on an investigation to find out what happened and why it mattered.

What you don't know is that the food...or the eats... often plays into that part of the history, but there's just not enough tie to chew on that part of the pat And that got me thinking... why not revisit that history but with a focus on the food.

This is Drive By History: Eats.

[Music] This epicurean investigation takes me back to The Hermitage in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey and a history I first visited with Broadway leading lady Christiane Noll.

It's here we talked of Theodosia Burr and her second husband, Aaron Burr and their remarkable partnership and marriage.

You might know about their daughter, also named Theodosia, from the musical Hamilton.

-This - Yep - Very - This is the room [together] where it happened!

[laughter] - Oh, we can finally say that for real, yeah.

The room where it happens is a popular song from the musical Hamilton.

For our purposes, it refers to this room, where Theodosia likely entertained General George Washington, as well as a number of other senior officers during the American Revolution.

- So, there was a party... it was a four day party...

The Hermitage was rockin'.

[Music] The party made history because Theodosia had a lot riding on its success.

I'll get to the specifics in a minute.

But first, a point that comes up time and again in my investigations... one which Food and Culture Historian Dr. Libby OConnell confirmed for me during a recent visit to her home in Lloyd Harbor, Long Island.

- Everyone has to eat - Right - There's a story to every food.

This story begins in July of 1778, right here where I am now in northern New Jersey, relatively near the border of New York, when Theodosia was still married to husband #, a British officer who later died from combat wounds.

At the time, however, he was very much alive, and the winds of war had begun to blow in favor of the Americans.

As the wife of a Red Coat, Theodosia was vulnerable.

She risked losing her land and her possessions despite being a patriot at heart.

Theodosia desperately needed to signal her pro-Independence stance... and she needed to do it in a way that was both loud and clear.

Now, she may have petitioned the Government, or sought out a Barrister.

However, as the Continental Army marched nearby, she must have thought to herself an army marches on its stomach.

The rest is history.

- So, Theodosia invites George Washington to her house and she throws a party.

- It's four days of a lot of food... she's being very generous... because she is, in her heart, a patriot.

When Washington accepted the invitation, he was already among the most famous and well-respected figures in America.

Not only was he powerful -- he was a celebrity... and now, he was coming to dinner.

With so much at stake, Libby is confident Theodosia would have pulled out all the stops.

Fortunately, Theodosia knew a thing or two about entertaining.

- This was the day of great hostesses - Yeah - And she was one of them.

- OK - And she knew how to really run a party.

Although Theodosia's menu did not survive, few people are better able to make an educated guess than Libby OConnell... the author of The American Plate.

Using her scholarship, Libby focuses on Theodosia as a woman of standing during the American Revolution, who also kept an eye on Paris for cultural cues.

Libby also takes into account Theodosia's desire to demonstrate patriotism, as well as the time of year.

With all that in mind, Libby has come up with a menu.. dishes that are authentic... quite likely on the table.

- So, Libby, here we are in July... beautiful weather outside here... now this is the same time of year that General Washington was visiting Theodosia.

- Almost...almost exactly.

- Yeah.

- And...and the important point here is that that seasonality would determine what Theodosia was serving when they were visiting, - OK - because the sense of the seasons was very important in terms of food supply.

At a colonial dinner such as this, rather than individual courses, dinner was typically served family-style, with many plates on the table all at once.

The first dishes down were known as the First Remove.

- They would highlight the richness of the seasonal food.

- OK - And, so I picked up a few recipes... and I've developed them to share with you.

- Great - And they taste good!

- That's good.

- So, I'm gonna start with a.. ...dish with a very funny name- it's called Salmagundi.

- OK - It's actually derived from the French which means a mixture of... ...disparate things... so, a hodgepodge - It sounds like a funny name - Yeah - So, this uses sorrel as its main green...instead of lettuce - OK, sorrel's not something we see commonly.

- No, you can grow it.

But if you can't find sorrel you can use arugula or spinach.

- I think...one of the things that I think is really important about these old recipes is that there was a lot of flexibility.

- OK - Because nobody was able to look at a list and think Oh , I'll just go downtown and buy all that.

- Would we say this would have been a summer dish then?

- Yes, because it's based on fresh vegetables.

So, I have some more in here I want to show you.

Um...this is...this is a recipe for Turkey Poults... - OK - So, this would be the type of thing that would be also on a platter on the table.

This would be the time of year when youd be fattening your turkeys with an eye towards fall.

In July, though, theyd be big enough to eat if you really wanted to have a fancy dish.

This would be a pretty fancy dish.

- And this would have been a guest worth... - Yes.

- Theodosia may have asked the General....General Washington to carve.

- Mmhmm - Um...and some women were very good carvers.

and it was an honor that they would be known in their neighborhoods... - As good carvers.

[laughter] - As good carvers.

- I love it.

- And so, if you have a roast, you ask...you may ask your honored guest to do the carving, and they may say, Well, I'm not very good, but, you know, ask Mrs. Henderson - Yes - and Mrs. Henderson would rise - Yes, she's known for her carving skills.

- That's right...it's funny.

[laughter] - So, what else did you come up with?

I'm curious... - One thing you could always get in the colonies was corn.

- Ah, of course.

- And I'm talking about... ...in this case, hominy.

- And I decided that she might have a Native American dish on her table... ...and that's to bring home the truth...is that... ...American cooking is heavily influenced by Native American traditions, partially because they center on corn.

In this case, I have... ...imagined that Theodosia... ...would serve the hominy hot with butter and salt.

- OK - It has almost a taste of like soft popcorn.

These three foods from Theodosia's table could easily be a hit on today's table, too.

For the scoop on how to prepare Salmagundi, Turkey Poults in Sorrel Sauce, and Buttered Hominy, I turn to Chef Melissa Fairchild Clark who confirms these recipes make for a mouth-watering meal in any era.

- So, Melissa, were starting with what most people would consider a first course, a salad... but in this case, it's Salmagundi.

- Yes.

Um, so what I had done is we have a bed of red leaf lettuce - very in season right now.

Roughly chopped that.

And then to that I just plan to add bacon, pulled chicken breast, salt and vinegar roasted potatoes, seven minute eggs, um...cherry tomatoes, shaved radish, blanched asparagus, and haricot verts, - Wonderful.

- And then a very, very simple dressing - Alright.

So it's a little bit of an homage to the Farm to Table Movement.

- Absolutely, which is... - Which for them is a way of life.

- Yes, for them that was a no-brainer... that's just life.

[laughter] - And for us it's this very novel marketable thing, um, and it happens to be what I was trained in.

So I'm very passionate about getting into those seasonal moments.

So, now we just have to build this.

- OK - And, traditionally this would be built in layers.

Now, I'm a big fan of letting people know the breadth of what is in a dish, from first visual.

- Got it.

So you've got the overview.

- Um, and I'm gonna try and balance it out to be... ...you know, a heavier bit with a lighter bit.

So, we've got the bacon that I'm gonna put in a row on top.

Never too much of that... - That is true.

...as you can see.

- And then I'm gonna come in with the tomatoes.

And luckily the...the lettuces are gonna kind of peek out from there, so you can still tell, like, this is a salad.

- Mmhmm.

I know you have a background in food styling so that's helping you.

- Yes, absolutely.

- And back in the 18th Century, how the food looked was almost as important as how it tasted.

- So, what I do professionally when I'm styling or even when I'm just plating up for a client is I really pay attention to color.

- Mmhmm.

- And, not only do I want a bit of organization of color, but also a bit of chaos.

And that allows you to see the components of what is going on on the plate... but it also gives you many different entry points.

So, while I have the rows of components here, and you can see what's going on in the dish, I'm also layering on top some different entry points.

Maybe you want chicken with your egg... maybe you want tomato with it.

Um, it really allows what I like to refer to as like create your own adventure food.

And then you just kind of tuck things in... nothing is totally done until you say it is so.

- I would say the way that you've styled this even today invites us to explore this... invites us to discover what's underneath.

[Music] For the Turkey Poults and Buttered Hominy Melissa starts with the Sorrel Sauce by chopping the sorrel, and adding about a cup of walnuts, 3/4 of a cup of olive oil, 1 clove of garlic, 2 lemons, salt and pepper all in a blender.

- I'm just gonna get the lid on here... - OK - and start blitzing.

[Sound of blender] - Now, I want to get this going relatively quickly because what I don't want is an entirely smooth sauce.

I want you to still be able to see those little, like, bits of leaves in there.

- Got it.

OK. - And that's...that's really it.

[Music] - Good.

So now were going to move on to the hominy.

- Yes.

- Alright.

- So, we are gonna start by creating a spice mix Part of this is gonna go into the hominy... the other part is going into the chicken dredge - Ah, so youre sharing the spices between... - Yes, exactly.

Keeping that bit cohesive, so that the other components can balance it out.

- Nice.

- So, here I have 2 teaspoons of cumin, to that I'm going to add a half teaspoon of curry powder, 1 teaspoon of paprika, 1/8 of a teaspoon of cayenne, and then about a 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder.

Oh, a little bit of garlic powder spillage... - I got that...let me take care of that.

- Thank you very much.

- All gone.

- OK.

So, I've got my spice mix ready to go... ...we are just going to get the heat on this and we can crank it up a little bit high right now - OK - because we want to get it going pretty quickly.

- Um...and then I'm going to add in the butter.

It's about a tablespoon of butter.

We'll let that melt a little bit.

And I'm going to... mix the fats, just because the butter has a lower burn temp than the oil.

- OK - And this will help prevent us from having any scorching.

Now that this is bubbling a little bit, yeah, just kind of zhuzh that around a little bit.

- I'll move that around - Exactly.

That's the sound that we want to hear.

- Ah, the sizzling.

- Now we know that we are good to add about a teaspoon and a half of the spice mix to this.

- OK - And if you want to... ...zhuzh that around.

- I can do that.

- Oh, I can smell those... - Yeah ...spices blooming in there, yeah.

- Exactly.

So once those are bloomed, you can add in the hominy - OK and...yeah, were just sauteing it until the hominy kind of picks up some of that flavor, gets a little...crusty golden brown bits on the bottom - So, we can get it in there.

[Sizzling Sound] - That's the sound we always want to hear.

- Yeah...oh, that sounds... - Right...yeah - Put a little bit ...more in there.

- Yeah.

- I don't want to - overwhelm the pan.

- Exactly.

- Kind of toss that to coat, - Mmhmm - And then we can let it hang out in there on one side to get a little bit of a golden brown - OK - crust on...on it, and then... - About how long do you... - Once we've got that... - ...think that takes?

- Um, I would say if you leave it on here for - maybe 5 minutes, - OK - youre gonna get a good crust - OK - And then... ...yeah, then you can pull it.

- Alright, so it's been about 5 minutes, - Yes.

- So, we're gonna get these out.

- I'm gonna put them right in here.

- Gorgeous.

- Look at this gorgeous color, - Yes.

- and the smell is amazing.

- Ah.

- Love it!

- I can't wait to taste all of this.

- OK, Melissa, now on to the star ingredient in this meal.

- Yes.

Amending the recipe for today's cook, instead of Turkey Poults, Melissa uses chicken.

- Yes, so I have some chicken that I... have had hanging out in buttermilk for about 24 hours.

Now, I'm going to... ...fry it.

- OK - But there's a process between the... - I see you've got some dredging stations set up there...yeah.

- Yes, exactly.

So, I've got 2 cups of corn starch, a bit more buttermilk, and 2 cups of chickpea flour with a little bit of corn starch in there.

Then to that I'm gonna add the rest of the spice mixture, and a bit of buttermilk to make it shaggy.

Um, so the first thing that I'm going to do... ...it pays to have a wet hand and a dry hand... - OK - in this process.

- So, I'm going to dredge it in the corn starch first... ...so this is going to be my wet hand - Mmhmm - Then this, ipso facto, becomes my dry hand.

- Mmhmm - Once I have it in there - If you only have 2 hands - I mean it's a limitation - If you only have 2 hands... ...it's really such an inconvenience these days.

[Laughter] - So, I'm gonna get it all in that corn starch and the last one... - Mmhmm - Now, I'm gonna finish flouring these in here, and while that kind of sits and gets well absorbed, I'm gonna get back here.

I'm going to first add the rest of that spice mix, and kind of use this dry hand to get that nice and mixed together.

- The color's amazing - I know... ...and it even smells... just this way.

- Then I'm gonna add this 1/4 cup of buttermilk - Aha, so it's gonna stick - And...Exactly...

...that's gonna get some shagginess going.

And you can see it kind of... ...it almost resembles how you want a pie dough to start out.

- OK, so that looks great.

So I'm gonna come back here with my dry hand and get this guy in here.

- So were doing more buttermilk - More buttermilk... ...just a quick extra coating.

- And then... - Looks like the buttermilk... ...is thick enough, too, that it hangs on to this.

- Yeah, it really...it does cling very nicely, and then we can go into the final dredge.

And then I can use my dry hands to kinda... ...coat and turn and pat some of this on, ...and get it really nice and shaggy and happy.

- That's going to be amazing.

- And then once it's really nice and coated, we can go into the oil.

- Mmm, alright.

- And you always want to drop.. ...slowly and then away from you - Right, I'm gonna back up a little bit here, but yeah... - Give this one a wide berth.

[Sound of frying] - Last guy... - That's a beautiful sound.

- I know.

- OK, Melissa, it's been about 12 minutes, so... ...let's get these out and... - Yes let's see what they look like.

- Theyre looking gorgeously... - Ah, look at the brown - ...golden brown - Oh, theyre falling apart... - Really - Oh my goodness - That good part, though - Yes, you know, I will eat that - That's what we call... - I have no problem - Yeah... ..what in the kitchen call the devil's share , - Oh yeah - At the end of the night that's the good stuff that we get to snack on.

[laughter] - That's OK...I don't... - And then the last component of this is just a really bright herb salad to top it off.

Melissa plates this dish in layers, first putting down the sorrel sauce, then she adds the chicken.

Next, the buttered hominy and finally, fresh greens.

- Voila!

- That smells absolutely amazing I can't wait to dig in!

- Thank you - But someone as sophisticated as Theodosia definitely wouldn't have stopped here.

She would have included a Second Remove.

Libby OConnell picks it up from here.

- After the first course was completed, the dishes would all be removed and then you would have the Second Remove.

But the Second Remove would be where you would... ...more apt to have a treacle pie um...or something that I'm going to show you - OK - called a Gooseberry Fool.

- This is a very traditional English recipe.

- It's called a Gooseberry Fool?

- Mmhmm... ...and I've tried to find the origin of why they called it a Fool, and I haven't had ay luck on that.

- Hmm, OK. - You can make Gooseberry Fool...Fool out of any fruit that you would make a jam out of.

- OK - So, you could use raspberries, so you could use...and the Raspberry Fool is very pretty because of that pink.

- Mmm - I think the reason why it's called fool is because a court jester had.. ...often wore clothes that were striped.

- Right.

- And this dessert is striped.

And you're supposed to make it look stripey.

- Mmhmm - And I always thought well maybe it's because of the... costume of a fool.

- Got it.

- But that is just... - It's just your own... - my...yeah [laughter] - But I kinda like it.

- I like it, though.

- OK, Melissa, make me a Fool!

- Gladly!

[Laughter] - Wouldn't be the first time... won't be the last.

- So, I opted to do a raspberry one - OK - Raspberries are much more readily available.

- OK - Um...I found some gorgeous golden ones at the Farmer's Market, so I snagged 2 pints of those.

Then I have about a tablespoon of corn starch, 1/4 cup of water, a scant half cup of sugar, and 2 tablespoons of Cassis, which is an Elderberry Liqueur.

Um...same family, though... it'll give us a nice flavor and a nice color, add a little bit of depth to the sauce.

- I'm intrigued.

- Yes.

- Alright, let's get to it.

- Let's get going.

- This is a very simple thing to make.

- OK - So, the first thing were gonna do is just get the raspberries in the pot.

And once they are in there, you're gonna add the 1/4 cup of water and the sugar.

Now, the water is really just serving to get the juices flowing here.

We're ultimately hoping that the water does boil off, and we're just left with the flavor of the cassis, and the raspberry juice that's like hidden in those little jewels.

- Mmm - So that's really cooking down, that's good.

- Yes...yeah, it looks really great.

So this is the point where I want to add the cassis... - OK - and just... - get the little bit of alcohol that's in it to cook off.

- Once we've got the liquor cooked off, then we can create a slurry with the corn starch and a little bit of water - So, then... - I see a little bit of ... ..water here... - A little bit of water in thee and then you can kind of swirl it around like youre having a Manhattan.

- Oh... - I know youre not familiar with those... - Oh, no, no, no, not at all, no... - No... [Laughter] - But it sounds familiar to me - And that looks gorgeous.

- Yeah.

- So now were ready to plunk that in here.

- Shall I put it in there?

- Yeah, just drizzle it on.

- Alright, there you go.

- So, this is looking like exactly the consistency that I'm looking for.

So, let's cut the heat and we will let this cool down... - Perfect.

- ...while we do other things.

- Sounds good.

- Alright, so what's the next step here?

- So, the next step, now that e have the raspberry sauce, is we just have to make the whipped cream to go with it.

Uh...so, what I have here is .. heavy cream...heavy whipping cream about a cup and a half.

- OK - Then, about a half cup of creme fraiche Um, maybe 2 1/2, 3 tablespoons of confectioner's sugar, and then about 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.

- Wow...OK. - First things first, you've got to get the whipped cream in the bowl.

- Right, and make sure you don't turn the mixer on before you put it in.

- No, that is true.

- So then I'm going to raise this up... and get that going.... kind of low, because I want the creme fraiche to incorporate before we get too much air in there.

- OK [Sound of Mixer] - And so then I'm gonna add our vanilla extract.

And it looks like everything is getting relatively homogenous so I'm gonna just lastly get the confectioner's sugar in there and then I can crank up the speed and get this rocking.

- Yep, let's go...let's get those peaks a-forming!

[Sound of high speed mixer] - Whoo!

- Well, that is looking like whipped cream.

- Yeah, were all set here.

- Good.

Alright, what's next?

- So, now we get to build them.

- Perfect.

- So, first things first... - Alright.

- I am going to...yeah - Mmm, that tastes good.

get some cream in here, and try to... - Here's where we do the layer building.

- Yes, exactly -- one thing at a time.

Try not to hit the walls until I'm spreading it towards them.

OK, so then...

I think the next thing were going to do is these chopped shortbread cookies - OK - Very simple.

And the hope here... whoops...is that the shortbread is going to absorb a bit of the cream because we are gonna chill these for a little bit.

- OK - These are definitely a make ahead dessert.

You could serve them immediately but...if you wanted to just check something off your list this would be a great thing to check off your list.

And then, we will come in with a bit of raspberry sauce.

And then, it's just a matter of going back and forth with this until you reach the top of your dish.

[Music] - Melissa, this looks fantastic, I can't wait to taste it.

- Do we get to dig in?

- Yes we do...

...I'm very excited about it!

- Good!

[Laughter] - Alright, let's start with the Salmagundi.

- Yes.

- Shall I serve?

- I would be..that would be great...yeah.

- Alright.

What would you like, since we have choices here?

- Dealer's choice.

- OK. - Here.

Let's dig in and see how this tastes.

- Great.

- Mmm... - Yep.

- I mean, you can't go wrong with these ingredients, let's be honest here.

- No, you can't.

- And I like the vinaigrette - Interesting that it has hone in it...I wouldn't have guessed.

But it's so delicious.

- Yeah, the sweetness really balances out the acid.

- Alright, so let's get... we get to try the chicken and the hominy now.

- I know.

- Yeah, oh this looks good.

- I've been waiting all day - for this.

- Me, too...oh.

- The mixture of ingredients is amazing.

- Yes.

Oh, I'm really happy with this.

- That is delicious.

- Yep.

It's got...you've got the fattiness of the chicken, and you've got the unctuousness and spiciness of the hominy and then the brightness of the sorrel sauce -- I think it's... really nice in the mouth.

- This is an A+ - Thank you!

- Excellent!

- Alright, we get to try the Fool.

- Yeah.

- I could eat this everyday.

- Me, too.

- This is amazing.

- I won't, but I'll dream about it.

- Or will you?

[Laughter] - Let me put it this way... there's not a night that I get into bed from here on that I won't be angry that this isn't part of my life.

- I believe you.

[ Laughter] because I think I'm gonna be the same way.

So, it may come as no surprise to you that Theodosia's party was actually a huge success.

- No surprise.

- No surprise at all.

- Well, with food this delicious, who could... who'd be surprised?

- Touche!

- It's amazing.

James Monroe, who was one of Washington's officers at the time... yes, the same James Monroe who would later become President of the United States... wrote about Theodosia in his diary remarking: What a good time was had by al.

Hope you had a good time as well.

See you next time.

Made possible by: Sun Basket.

[Music] Organic carrots.

Purple potatoes.

Steaks for the grill.

All ingredients from the kitchens of Chef Justine at Sun Basket.

Ready to heat meals and meal kits.

Sun Basket meal delivery.

Information at Sunbasket.com Interested in trying any... or all of the dishes that Theodosia might have served George Washington?

Well, you can find today's recipes on our website, visit us at DriveByHistoryEats.TV [Music]