Data Graham posted:

I may have mentioned this before here or somewhere, and this is totally anecdotal and may not even be true, but here it is with whatever salt it requires.

A few years ago I went to a coworker's wedding, which because he's Russian was in Little Odessa in the upstairs reception room of a nice Russian restaurant in Brighton Beach. There seemed to be an unusually heavy presence of coat checkers and people to verify identites, and when I got in there I wondered just what kind of connections this guy was into because all his side of the family was these big hulking guys who all looked like they worked as bouncers. (The bride's family was all Korean.) The proceedings were very well funded and there was food of all kinds freely flowing, from sushi arrangements on ice to foie gras over puff pastry, and though the whole ceremony was literally in Russian I at least felt like there was much fun to be had.

Anyway I ended up at a table with about 7-8 of these big galoots who barely spoke English but who were determined to make my acquaintance. The table was covered with bottles of all kinds, from Hennessy to gin to rum and of course a bunch of vodka of multiple brands. But what I thought was interesting was that the guys were drinking anything and everything on the table EXCEPT the vodka. They were mostly going for the Hennessy and tequila, and after maybe the third round of shots I asked them why they weren't drinking the vodka.

"Russians do not drink vodka anymore", they told me quite seriously.

Ever since about 2000, they all firmly and solemnly agreed, all vodka has had something wrong with it somehow. "It tastes burnt," they said. I think they suggested that some of the home-market stuff is still okay, but everything made for international sale is "burnt" and unfit for consumption, at least by Russians. So it's cognac and tequila all the way for them.

I have no idea how seriously to take that information, but it sure did make an impression on me. And I wasn't about to argue with those guys.

FreudianSlippers posted:

Are there really tiers in vodka?

I thought it was all just distilled potato juice.

quote:

It's a Pat and Richard Nixon favorite from before his presidential days and I have to say, this is definitely one of the roughest things I've ever eaten. Slimy, meaty Cool Whip. Wow. I thought it'd be French-tasting at best, bland at worst but no. No thank you.

• ½ cup cooked ham (finely ground)
  
• 1 cup tomato juice
  
• 1 cup beef consommé
  
• ½ teaspoon paprika
  
• 4 tablespoons cold water
  
• 1 envelope gelatin
  
• 2 cups cream, whipped
  
• 
  
• Salt to taste
  
• Mayonnaise
  
• A few of drops of lemon juice
  
• A little heavy cream
  
• Finely chopped chives
  

Mix first four ingredients and bring to a boil. Dissolve gelatin in water, add to ham mixture. Put into refrigerator to cool, stirring occasionally. When it begins to slightly congeal, fold in the whipped cream. Add salt to taste. Pour into one large mold or smaller individual molds. Let set in refrigerator until firm. Serve with mayonnaise thinned with a few drops of lemon juice and a little heavy cream, adding finely chopped chives. Serves 4 to 6.

Captain Hygiene posted:

Richard Nixon's Ham Mousse

I am not a cook!

Captain Hygiene posted:

I am not a cook!

Whooping Crabs posted:

That freak loved cottage cheese smothered in ketchup too

By popular demand posted:

There's no way that Dick Milhouse concocted and ate this culinary abomination just to spite Jewish people everywhere but that is still easier for me to believe than that he actually liked it.

Captain Hygiene posted:

Richard Nixon's Ham Mousse

I am not a cook!

ACES CURE PLANES posted:

I kinda missed vodka talk but speaking personally as someone who at least used to drink vodka of a bunch of different tiers, if you're drinking it straight you can definitely notice the difference between the 'tiers' so to speak, pretty much as soon as it hits your mouth.

I feel like the best way of putting is like, when you start to catch a bit of the burn of the alcohol. In a high end one, it'll basically be like water super early in the sip and then the taste and alcohol comes through on a pretty long tail, cheaper ones you'll get it right up front full force.

Personally though, I actually really like the particular burn of the really dirt bottom varieties. Can't say I'd suggest it to anyone else but there's something to it I love.

Grand Fromage posted:

If I had a personal kitchen staff and free food I'd eat such an apocalyptically bad diet. Hello yes I would like to sample every form of fried chicken in the world this week.

Facebook Aunt posted:

It's not free though. The government pays for the cook, but you still have to pay for all your own food. State dinners are covered, but family dinners are not.

Grand Fromage posted:

Huh, I just assumed that was a job perk.

LifeSunDeath posted:

counterpoint, in college we did experiments with top shelf vs bottom shelf that we had run through a brita filter a few times...turns out you can really improve lovely vodka with a carbon filter.

Zero_Grade posted:

That sounds loving amazing.

ACES CURE PLANES posted:

Counterpoint to what? That they taste noticeably different at point of sale? Because that's all I was talking about.

axolotl farmer posted:

This is Richard Nixon’s last lunch in the White House. Pineapple rings with cottage cheese and a glass of milk

Facebook Aunt posted:

It's not free though. The government pays for the cook, but you still have to pay for all your own food. State dinners are covered, but family dinners are not.

SlothfulCobra posted:

I've always thought Nixon was the most personally fascinating president, and the fact that his personal tastes when all the cameras were off were just bizarre really enhances that. Most of what I've heard about other presidents is fairly boilerplate, from the refined, fancy, or healthy palettes to the simple slobs. Also the ones being performatively humble with their tastes, like Ronald Reagan's hamburger soup.

LBJ food preferences posted:

Guests at the LBJ Ranch were often served: Deer sausage (very spicy), eggs, toast (made from homemade, freshly baked bread), and peach preserves.



Mexican dishes

Beef, corn, okra, apple butter

Chicken Fried Steak with mashed potatoes and gravy

Spinach, Cornbread

Rat Cheese and soda crackers

Fruits: any type of melon

Chipped beef on toast (from Navy days)

Deer sausage, scrambled eggs, and grits

DIET MEALS
Breakfast

Half a melon, hot tea, low-calorie orange juice (for a reservoir of energy—a slice of grilled lean steak)

Lunch

Hot bouillon, grilled fish steaks, herb-flavored string beans, sherbet or low-calorie custard

Dinner

Cup of unsweetened fresh fruit, soufflé made of low-calorie cheese, green salad filled with grated carrot, pie with both crust and filling made of low-calorie ingredients

Elviscat posted:

C'mon, it's gotta be LBJ for most fascinating bizarre personal tastes. Like the shower with the super-powerful butthole blaster.

So this isn't a complete derail:

I also get nostalgic for poo poo-on-a-shingle "from Navy days"

WTF is rat cheese?

Grand Fromage posted:

I like when politicians have absolutely bizarre food things, like that guy in... Wisconsin I think who talked about how he eats two extremely bad ham sandwiches for lunch every day and has been doing this for 40 years.

Mymla posted:

I can kind of respect trump choosing to eat nothing but fast food from the worst loving burger chain in the world despite being able to afford michelin star restaurants for every single meal.

I do not respect Nixon's aspic nightmare.

Haifisch posted: