Their Last Suppers: Legends of History and Their Final Meals by Andrew Caldwell

Dinner
     
    Hyannis Clam Chowder
     
    Roast Quail Veronique with Mimosa Salad
     
    Stone Crab á la Kennedy
     
    Maltaise Sauce
     

Hyannis Clam Chowder
     
    4 cups chopped chowder clams; save natural juices
2 cups water
¼ lb salt pork cut into very small pieces
2 diced medium onions
3 cups diced raw potatoes
2 whole cloves
3 tbsp butter
5 cups milk
paprika, salt, and freshly ground black pepper
     
Fry the salt pork in a heavy skillet until crisp; remove and set aside.
Cook the onions in the salt pork fat until golden brown.
Add the potatoes and the cloves.
Add the natural juice from the clams and the water.
Cover and simmer until the potatoes are almost cooked.
Add the salt pork, clams, and 2 tbsp butter. Simmer for no more than 5 minutes.
In a separate saucepan, heat the milk to below boiling and pour the chowder into a hot tureen, then add the heated milk, the rest of the butter, and the paprika. Season to taste and serve in heated bowls.

Roasted Quail Veronique
     
    6 dressed quail
½ cup veal bouillon
1 ½ cup seedless grapes
12 slices bread
1 ½ cups wild cooked rice
2 tsp melted butter
cup dry white wine
½ lb boiled Georgia ham
     
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Wash and wipe the quail dry and rub their insides with salt and pepper.
Stuff each bird with the wild rice mixed with a little of the melted butter and tie with string.
Place the quail in a shallow roasting pan, brush with butter, and roast for 5 minutes at 450°F. Lower the heat to 325°F and roast for another 20 minutes, basting often with butter.
When done, remove the birds and keep warm.
Deglaze the pan with the wine and bouillon and bring to a boil, then add the grapes and let them poach for 5 minutes. Cut the bread and fry in a little butter. Arrange the toast on a serving platter and sprinkle on the ham, julienned.
Place the quail on top and spoon half the sauce over them. Serve the rest in a sauceboat.

Stone Crabs á la Kennedy
     
    The large claws of the crabs caught on the eastern seaboard of the United States and Florida are delicious when in season.
Boil them lightly with a dash of seafood spices and a pint of ale.
Serve cold with maltaise sauce.
    Another method
:
     
Crack the legs, place in shallow baking pan, brush with butter, lemon juice, salt, and pepper, and bake at 350°F for about 8 minutes.

Maltaise Sauce
     
    4 large egg yolks
4 tsp water
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
tsp hot pepper sauce
8 oz butter, unsalted, melted, and separated
salt and freshly ground pepper to season
1 tbsp orange juice
1 tsp orange zest
1 tsp fresh tarragon leaves, minced
     
Melt the butter over a low heat in a saucepan. Let cool slightly.
Skim the foam from the top of the melted butter. Using a small ladle, carefully remove the clear butter from the saucepan, leaving the remaining milky liquid to discard. Reserve the clarified butter.
Prepare a double boiler by placing a stainless steel bowl over a pot of lightly simmering water. Do not let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. Add egg yolks, water, and lemon juice, whisking vigorously until the mixture thickens and turns pale yellow. Remove the bowl from the pot.
Add the clarified butter slowly, while whisking vigorously, until all the butter is incorporated and the sauce has thickened. Whisk in the hot pepper sauce. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir in the orange juice, orange zest, and fresh tarragon. Remove from heat, keeping warm until served.

Mimosa Salad (6)
     
    Jacqueline had her own recipe for this dish.
    ¼ cup olive oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
½ tsp salt
dash of pepper
clove minced garlic
2 large heads of Boston bibb lettuce
2 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped
     
Combine oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and garlic in a jar with a tight lid. Shake vigorously.
Arrange greens in salad bowl. Add dressing, toss thoroughly, and sprinkle with chopped egg. (You can also add fresh orange segments.)

MONTEZUMA II, LAST AZTEC EMPEROR
     

Tenochtitlan
June 30, 1520
     
    For each meal his servants