The Senate’s famous bean soup — and how to make it

NEWS AND OPINION:

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. And without further ado, a recipe of note which has a few political overtones, and some history.

“Senate Bean Soup” is a revered entry on the menu up on Capitol Hill, and a regular feature on tour guides and travel books. And no wonder.

“Bean soup has been a required and beloved menu tradition in Senate restaurants for more than a century. There are competing stories about the origin of the mandate that bean soup be served daily. According to one story, the Senate’s bean soup tradition began early in the 20th century at the request of Senator Fred Dubois of Idaho, who as chair of the committee overseeing the Senate Restaurant, passed a resolution in the committee requiring that bean soup be on the menu daily. Another story attributes the request to Senator Knute Nelson of Minnesota, who expressed his fondness for the soup in 1903 and insisted that it be on the menu each day,” notes a brief official history of the soup at the U.S. Senate website.

And here’s the recipe for Famous Senate Restaurant Bean Soup, verbatim from the source:

2 pounds dried navy beans

4 quarts hot water

1 1/2 pounds smoked ham hocks

1 onion, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

salt and pepper to taste

Wash the navy beans and run hot water through them until they are slightly whitened. Place beans into a pot with hot water. Add ham hocks and simmer for approximately three hours in a covered pot, stirring occasionally. Remove ham hocks and set aside to cool. Dice meat and return to soup. Lightly brown the onion in butter. Add to soup. Before serving, bring to a boil and season with salt and pepper. Serves 8.

REAGAN’S THANKSGIVING

“Two hundred years ago, the Congress of the United States issued a Thanksgiving Proclamation stating that it was ‘the indispensable duty of all nations’ to offer both praise and supplication to God. Above all other nations of the world, America has been especially blessed and should give special thanks. We have bountiful harvests, abundant freedoms, and a strong, compassionate people,” President Reagan told the nation in his proclamation for Thanksgiving Day, 1982.

“I have always believed that this anointed land was set apart in an uncommon way, that a divine plan placed this great continent here between the oceans to be found by people from every corner of the Earth who had a special love of faith and freedom. Our pioneers asked that He would work His will in our daily lives so America would be a land of morality, fairness, and freedom,” the 40th president said.

“Today we have more to be thankful for than our pilgrim mothers and fathers who huddled on the edge of the New World that first Thanksgiving Day could ever dream. We should be grateful not only for our blessings, but for the courage and strength of our ancestors which enable us to enjoy the lives we do today. Let us reaffirm through prayers and actions our thankfulness for America’s bounty and heritage,” Reagan concluded.

ROOSEVELT’S THANKSGIVING

We now return to Nov. 27, 1902, for a visit with the 26th U.S. president. How did Theodore Roosevelt spend Thanksgiving Day that year?

“After a vigorous morning horseback ride out into northwest Washington with First Lady Edith Roosevelt and a party of six friends, President Theodore Roosevelt spent a quiet afternoon at the White House before attending a 7:30 p.m. Thanksgiving dinner in the State Dining Room,” according to the official account from the White House Historical Association.

The Association says there was more at the White House that day.

“On hearing that workmen building the new west wing annex could not take off the holiday because of their tight work schedule, the president insisted that the men be served an early afternoon turkey dinner,” it states.

THE ALSO-RANS

“For the third year in a row, cranberry sauce takes first place as the most disliked traditional Thanksgiving food,” writes Eric Jones, founder of TheVacationer.com, an online travel site which has polled the public on the matter the past few years.

It found that 31% of U.S. adults don’t care for cranberry sauce, while 29% would skip the sweet potatoes and 28% would forgo the green bean casserole.

But wait — 28% admitted that they don’t like turkey in the first place.

The organization polled 1,013 U.S. adults online Oct. 16 and released the results Monday.

DINING IN PLYMOUTH

There are four variations for Thanksgiving dinner for those who visit Plymouth, Massachusetts — home to the original Thanksgiving feast 402 years ago.

“During the celebration, Massasoit, an important sachem (leader) of the Wampanoag People, along with 90 of his men, joined the English for three days of entertainment and feasting. We don­’t know for sure why the Wampanoag joined the gathering or exactly what activities went on during those three days. We do know, however, that the celebration occurred sometime between September 21 and November 9, 1621. Later, in the 19th century, the event entered American popular imagination as the First Thanksgiving,” notes an advisory from the Plimoth Patuxent Museum in Plymouth.

Time and menus march on. The museum now offers a quartet of meals for Turkey Day, and here they are: New England Harvest Feast, Thanksgiving Day Walk-In Buffet, Thanksgiving Day Homestyle Buffet, and last but not least, the “Story of Thanksgiving” Dinner.

For the curious, the museum itself was founded by Henry Hornblower II in 1947, based around two small cottages and a fort. Find the very active organization at Plimoth.org.

POLL DU JOUR

• 61% of registered U.S. voters are “hoping to avoid” discussing politics during Thanksgiving dinner; 57% of Republicans, 63% of independents and 64% of Democrats agree.

• 29% overall are “looking forward” to discussing politics during Thanksgiving dinner; 32% of Republicans, 27% of independents and 29% of Democrats agree.

• 6% neither hope to avoid or look forward to discussing politics during the dinner; 6% of Republicans, 7% of independents and 5% of Democrats agree.

• 2% are “not visiting” with family or friends during Thanksgiving dinner; 2% of Republicans, 1% of independents and 1% of Democrats agree.

• 2% are undecided about the issue; 3% of Republicans, 2% of independents and 2% of Democrats agree.

SOURCE: A Quinnipiac University poll of 1,574 registered U.S. voters nationwide conducted Nov. 9-13.

• Happy Thanksgiving, and thank you for reading Inside the Beltway.