At the table with
Thomas Jefferson.

THE HISTORICAL TABLE

Pasta and ice cream, with a paper trail

Jefferson’s interest in food left unusually tangible evidence. His papers preserve an ice-cream recipe and notes about macaroni. Dinner guest Manasseh Cutler recorded a macaroni dish at the presidential table in 1802. These were pleasures served to guests, not inventions Jefferson personally introduced to the world.

The attraction is still easy to understand: rich baked pasta followed by something cold and delicate. Our macaroni uses a modern cheese sauce, while the ice cream keeps the cooked-custard approach. Peas supply a lighter garden course, drawing on Jefferson’s sustained interest in growing vegetables.