Presidential Fav Foods for $100, Alex

On this Presidents' Day, test your knowledge of our past commanders in chief with these brain teasers.

Q: What favorite food did founding fathers George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison have in common?

A: Although scholars like to claim that our republic was founded on high-minded principles like life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, one of the few things these historic leaders actually agreed upon was the inalienable deliciousness of ice cream. The quintessential American dessert even had a patriotic debut: the country's first ice cream parlor opened in 1776 in New York City.

Q: Fast-forward to round two: What present-day politico always has room for an unusual pick-me-up on the campaign trail?

A: It's unclear when this oddity first appeared at cafeteria dessert stations around the country, but Coca-Cola Jell-O, which is usually made by dissolving packets of cherry gelatin in boiling soda, took up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in 1992--it was a favorite of Hillary and Co. during Bill's two terms.

Q: Time for a daily double: Which president was known for second (and third, and fourth) helpings of his favorite reptilian dish?

A: Perhaps it was his culinary bent, or at least his gusto at the table, that led William Howard Taft, the zaftig Republican, to write that the key to his political success was holding his plate right side up when favors were being served. Taft's favorite food was turtle soup, a delicacy of his native Louisiana that was also popular in the Delaware Valley. A recipe for it in The White House Cook Book of 1887 calls for the following ingredients: two onions, a bunch of sweet herbs, the juice of one lemon, five quarts of water, a glass of Madeira...and one turtle. The authors advise harried 19th-century cooks to avail themselves of a time-saver: canned turtle meat.

Q: Final question, winner takes all: What First Lady caused the most headaches in the First Kitchen by ruling over her staff with an iron whisk?

A: In an episode that will elicit sympathy from cooking-school externs and prep cooks everywhere, former White House pastry chef Roland Mesnier once planned a host of desserts for a gala honoring the Queen of the Netherlands, only to hear First Lady Nancy Reagan shoot them down and demand an elaborate spread of sugar baskets, fresh-juiced orange sorbet, and petit fours instead. When Mesnier politely protested that he couldn't accomplish such a labor-intensive feat in two days, Reagan retorted, "Roland, you have two days and two nights."