[1] Lincoln would often dine on an apple, nuts and cheese (photo © U.S. Apples).

[2] An apple, cheese and nuts remain a healthy snack—or meal—today (photo © Paul Gaudriault | Unsplash).

[3] Lincoln’s favorite beverage: water (photo © Jana Sabeth | Pexels).

Today is Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. He was born on February 12, 1809 on the Kentucky frontier.

To celebrate, we present for your consideration an “Abraham Lingon” sandwich: peanut butter and lingonberry jam on whole wheat or pumpernickel bread, with a pretzel log frontier table.

Peanut butter wasn’t developed until 1880 (see the history of peanut butter), so Honest Abe never had the pleasure.

Add to that the indignity of having your birthday eliminated as a holiday! Until 1971, Abraham Lincoln’s birthday was a state holiday, celebrated in many states as a bank, government and school holiday (not to mention the retail sales specials). George Washington had a separate holiday on his birthday, February 22nd.

For more than 100 years, many Americans truly celebrated—not just to honor these two great presidents, but for the glory of having two days off in consecutive weeks.

Are you old enough to remember that Lincoln’s birthday was a school and bank holiday?
 
 
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE LINCOLN’S BIRTHDAY HOLIDAY

The holiday was eliminated to give federal employees (and afterwards, many other folks) a perk.

In 1971, both presidential holidays were shifted to the third Monday in February and combined as Presidents Day, to allow federal employees a three-day weekend. The private sector followed. Adieu, Lincoln’s Birthday; and yours too, George Washington.

So now what can Lincoln admirers do to celebrate Lincoln’s birthday? Thanks to Steven Spielberg, we can watch the DVD of Lincoln every year and reflect on the political process…while enjoying an Abraham Lingon sandwich and a glass of milk.

Take two slices of whole wheat or pumpernickel bread (we substituted raisin bread), spread with peanut butter and lingonberry jam* or preserves, and enjoy!

__________________________
*Lingonberries are plentiful in Sweden, where the jam is used on bread, with mashed potatoes, oatmeal, pancakes, potato cakes, and as a relish with meat dishes such as beef stew, liver and meatballs, beef stew or liver.
__________________________
 
 
WHAT DID LINCOLN REALLY LIKE TO EAT?

Abraham Lincoln’s father, Thomas, was an illiterate farmer. Meals in the family’s one-room cabin comprised simple farm fare. Thus, Lincoln was not bred to be a connoisseur of fine food.

FoodTimeline.org offers this reference, “Fast Gourmet: Honest Abe’s favorite Food,” written by Poppy Cannon in the Chicago Daily Defender published February 8, 1968.

“Judging from menus of the state balls and banquets given at the White House during Lincoln’s Administration—some of the most elaborate in our history—one might conclude that Honest Abe was a gourmet to end all gourmets. Nothing, of course, could be further from the truth….Certain observers of the times…said flatly that Lincoln was almost entirely indifferent to food, ‘except that he liked apples and hot coffee.’ The President’s bodyguard wrote, however, ‘Mr. Lincoln was a hearty eater. He never lost his tastes for things that a growing farmer’s boy would like. He was particularly fond of bacon.’

Ms. Cannon continues:

“Probably like most of our strongest presidents (excepting Jefferson [a noted gourmet—ed.]), Lincoln relied on food to feed the furnace. Undoubtedly he ate well when served a tasty meal but was usually so preoccupied that he gave little thought to food. One thing seems certain: he was a gentle man at the table and uncritical. His stepmother said, ‘He ate what was before him, making no complaint.’ A companion of his lawyer days, Leonard Sweet, wrote, ’I never in the 10 years of circuit life I knew him, heard him complain of a hard bed or a bad meal of victuals.’ ”

According to TheQuestingFeast.com:

“President Lincoln did have two favorite dishes, chicken fricassee with biscuits and oyster stew. Actually, he loved oysters just about any way they were served. His dessert tastes were simple as well, with apple pie being a favorite. He seldom drank alcohol of any sort. Water was his favorite beverage. On one occasion, a hamper of choice imported wines was sent to Mrs. Lincoln for use at White House functions. She sent it on to a military hospital saying, “I never use any and Mr. Lincoln never touches any.” Alcoholic beverages were seldom served at White House entertainments.

So don’t pop open a bottle of Champagne to celebrate Lincoln’s birthday; but enjoy a homey piece of apple pie with coffee.

1. VALENTINE COOKIES. We love classic Linzer cookies, filled with raspberry jam. And big iced cookies are always fun. We picked up the cookies in the photo from Broadway Bakery, an artisan baker in New York City that uses lots of top-quality butter. It makes a big difference in the fine flavor of cookies. If you want the best iced cookie, ask if it’s shortbread (good) or a sugar cookie (less good).

2. BLONDIES. Blondies, “blonde” brownies, are made without chocolate, although some have chocolate chips. Other non-chocolate bar cookies (brownies and blondies are classified as cookies, not cake, because they are finger food) include lemon bars spice bars. Buy an assortment, or show the extent of your love by baking them yourself.

3. CARAMELS. Many caramels these days are dipped in chocolate. But you can find wonderful uncoated caramels from salt caramels to coffee, passionfruit and other flavored caramels. We are addicted to the habanero caramels from Cowgirl Chocolates: They’re sweet and sizzling at the same time. Head to your nearest fine candy shop to check out the selection.

Iced shortbread hearts and Linzer cookies are a delicious way to enjoy Valentine’s Day without chocolate. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

Even more fun than candy: valentine
cupcakes. Photo courtesy Sprinkles
Cupcakes.

Then, you could buy or bake a heart-shaped Valentine cake in your Valentine’s favorite flavors. But it’s easy to keep the day sweet—and non-chocolaty—with the list above.

So what better homage than chocolate versions of those lovely vine shoots?

A chocolatier in the town of Margaux accidentally created these chocolate “twigs”* when a machine that made classic French chocolate sticks (chocolatines) became clogged. The results looked like vine shoots and the inspired chocolatier refined the “accidents” into thin chocolate twig confections. The next innovation was to make raspberry- and mint-flavored variations. Today they are available in:

They are an instant garnish of beauty, and a gourmet chocolate treat of wonderful flavor.

A glamour garnish for desserts and cocktails. Photo courtesy Mademoiselle de Margaux.

Enjoy them from the box with a cup of
coffee, or as an elaborate dessert garnish. Photo courtesy Mademoiselle de Margaux.

HOW TO ENJOY CHOCOLATE TWIGS

These elegant chocolate twigs can be nibbled as a chocolate treat, from the box or on petit-fours/mignardises plate. But first and foremost, they are a stunning garnish:

 
Just one twig is stunning. A group of twigs, as shown with the mousse photo above, is a dish of beauty and wonder…and deliciousness.
 

Look for Sarments de Médoc in specialty chocolate shops or online at Amazon.com.

FIND MORE OF OUR FAVORITE CHOCOLATE TREATS IN OUR GOURMET CHOCOLATE SECTION.

*As noted previously, sarments are shoots, not twigs; but “chocolate shoots” isn’t too meaningful in English.

Yesterday, the idea of a “salad sandwich” popped into our head. We were evaluating potential ingredients for lunch: Stonefire naan, an Indian flatbread we love; hummus; cooked chicken breast; and an assortment of salad ingredients including arugula, bell peppers, onions and romaine.

Our first thought was to make a basic salad topped with sliced chicken breast and a piece of naan on the side. Then we thought of cutting the large slice of naan in half and making a chicken sandwich with hummus, instead of mayonnaise or other spread.

Then, our minds ran to our favorite shrimp tostada salad, which we order every time we get to Zócalo Mexican restaurant in Manhattan’s Grand Central Terminal.

It piles salad greens and grilled shrimp, with a light olive oil-lime juice dressing (see recipe below), atop a tostada. The lettuce and tortilla create a crunchfest; there’s an excellent balance of protein from the shrimp, and just enough dressing to moisten the greens without wetting the tostada.

Have your salad atop a delicious specialty
bread. Photo courtesy Stonefire Naan, a
NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week.

So we spread some hummus across the entire piece of naan, whipped up some lime juice dressing, tossed it with the greens and diced chicken, and scooped it, drained, onto the naan. We sat down with a fork, knife and a bottle of Sam Adams Whitewater IPA and had a delicious open-face salad sandwich lunch.

It was so enjoyable, in fact, that we’re making it again today. This time we’ll toast the naan and use some curry mayonnaise, to convert yesterday’s fusion food into an all-Indian theme (just add curry powder to regular mayo).

We found naan at Whole Foods Markets and
Trader Joe’s. Photo courtesy Stonefire Naan.

By the way, we checked the Web before writing this, and didn’t find much on “salad sandwiches” (just links to egg salad sandwich, tuna salad sandwich and the like). The only related item was this New York Times recipe for Greek salad on an English muffin. But it’s just a basic recipe, not advocacy for a new way of eating salad.

So maybe the “salad sandwich” trend starts here! Let us know your favorite salad sandwich concepts—what kind of salad atop what kind of bread—and be part of the new movement! Challah? Cornbread? Crispbread? Fruit bread? Garlic bread? The world’s many flatbreads? We can’t wait to try other combinations.

LIME JUICE SALAD DRESSING

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. MIX ingredients thoroughly. We prefer to emulsify them in a blender or with a small inversion blender. We’ve even used a milk frother wand.

2. DECIDE if you want to dress the salad before topping the bread. If you do, you can drain the excess dressing so the bread doesn’t get soaked. If you want to eat the dressing-soaked bread (we liked it!), drizzle it over the salad instead.
 
CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF BREAD IN OUR BEAUTIFUL BREAD GLOSSARY.

Looking for that memorable treat to make your man for Valentine’s Day?

Here’s some inspiration from Ronaldo Linares, executive chef at Martino’s Cuban Restaurant in Somerville, New Jersey.

Chef Linares, like many men, loves his bacon. So he’s reinvented the classic chocolate soufflé in a way that even guys who don’t crave dessert will love. The secret ingredient: bacon.

Adding sautéed, crispy bacon to the traditional soufflé batter lends smoked, savory notes to a dessert that just may become your guy’s (or your bacon-loving girlfrend’s) favorite.

This recipe makes two servings.

CHOCOLATE BACON SOUFFLÉ RECIPE

Ingredients

The secret ingredient in this recipe: bacon! Photo courtesy HeavenlySouffle.com.

Preparation

1. PREHEAT oven to 375°F. Place a baking pan filled halfway with water on the bottom of the oven and set the rack just above it.

2. PREHEAT a skillet, than add the diced bacon and cook on high for 3 minutes than turn stove to medium heat, sauté till bacon is crispy. Remove bacon from pan when finished and set aside; discard the bacon fat.

3. COAT an 8-ounce soufflé dish or ramekin with butter; then sprinkle in the sugar. Making sure all sides are coated well. Set aside.

4. PLACE semi-sweet chocolate on the top of a double boiler over hot water. Be sure that the water is not boiling and does not touch the bottom of the top vessel where the chocolate is melting (it can burn the chocolate). This step takes a few minutes; stir gently as chocolate melts.

5. COMBINE flour, egg yolk, milk and rendered bacon in a medium bowl and whisk till mixture becomes smooth. Once the chocolate has melted add it to the mixture and whisk until it becomes one smooth delicious sauce.

6. ADD the egg whites to a clean bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form. Using a rubber spatula add half the egg whites to the chocolate sauce and fold in gently until there are no more white streaks. At this point add the rest of the beaten egg whites and fold once again until there are no more white streaks creating a smooth consistency.

7. POUR mixture into the soufflé dish or ramekin to about ½ inch from the top. Place in the center of the oven for 20-25 minutes until firm to touch. Serve immediately.
 
HOW ABOUT SOME CHOCOLATE COVERED BACON CANDY?