Featured Posts
February 24, 2014
Of the many fruit species Thomas Jefferson cultivated in his Monticello gardens, his collection of apple trees were one of his most consistently successful crops. Peter J. Hatch, the Director of Monticello Gardens and Grounds for over 34 years, said, “The apple was a standard, every-day fruit at Monticello…Jefferson’s cultivation of the apple was exceptiona […]
February 21, 2014
From Thomas Jefferson’s lifetime to the present day, people have journeyed to Jefferson‘s mountaintop seeking inspiration and knowledge of the man who penned, as he called it, an "expression of the American mind" and a creed for democracies around the globe. Monticello, Jefferson’s three-dimensional biography, has welcomed United States presidents, […]
February 10, 2014
Salads were an important part of Jefferson’s diet; he engineered his famous vegetable garden so that he could cultivate salad greens and dressings year-round even through the somewhat unpredictable, sometimes unforgiving Virginia climate. He records in his garden notes planting several cool-season greens such as orach, endive, and nasturtiums, all of which g […]
December 31, 2013
Honoré Julien, one of Jefferson's chefs during his Presidential years, ensured everything at the President's House was ready "for the entertainment of company." and kept in touch with the Jefferson after his presidency. In 1812, he mailed Jefferson his recipe for cream cheese, and in later years he accompanied his New year’s wishes with d […]
December 16, 2013
Early American history is rich with a delicious mixture of traditional dishes and newly discovered foods. Historic figures like Thomas Jefferson, whose table was set, as Daniel Webster famously remarked, “in half Virginia, half French style, in good taste and abundance” are great sources of inspiration for modern cooks and hosts. Monticello librarian and sel […]
December 5, 2013
This season, treat your friends and family to good eats from The Shop at Monticello. These gift baskets are filled with fine products inspired by Thomas Jefferson’s table, organized by theme to suit your breakfast enthusiast brother as well as your tea drinking best friend, and bundled with care into wooden-slat, brass-hinged baskets. Both convenient and bea […]
