A Senatorial Dinner February 20th

by Lynne Belluscio

This year’s annual Dinner Auction will be held on February 20 at LeRoy House. In celebration of the dedication of the portrait of Henry Clay in the United States Senate, we will have a “Senatorial” dinner.

I checked with Ashland, the museum at Henry Clay’s estate in Kentucky and they didn’t have any suggestions about food that Henry Clay preferred. All we know is that he introduced the mint julep to Washington ... not much to go on for dinner.

The only United States Senator who ever set foot in LeRoy House, was Daniel Webster. On December 12, 1829, Daniel married Jacob LeRoy’s sister, Caroline, in New York City. It has always been written that Daniel courted Caroline in LeRoy, but there is no evidence that he was in town prior to their marriage.

In May 1833, Jacob wrote to his father, Herman in New York that he was expecting Daniel and Caroline some time about the 25th. Caroline had written to Jacob’s wife, Charlotte, telling her that they were to leave Boston on the 15th. There is no indication what the LeRoys served the Websters for dinner. Charlotte’s recipe book includes a lot of desserts, but very few main courses and no menus.

So the menu for the evening will be prepared by the D&R Depot and it will be similar to the menu that was served last September when we were hosted at the Senate for the dedication of the Henry Clay painting.

 

The Senate reception room at the United States Capital, where the LeRoy Historical Society met with the Senators for dinner at the dedication last fall. Henry Clay's portrait by Allyn Cox is displayed on the south wall.

The appetizers will include antipasta and chicken Milanese. There will be a Caesar salad, followed by beef Wellington served with Umbrian grilled vegetables and cremini mushrooms. The dessert will be fresh fruit, confections and lemon gelato (I’m sure Charlotte LeRoy would have approved of this since many of her recipes included lemons).

The LeRoy House will welcome everyone at 5:30 pm with a cash bar and appetizers, followed by a sit-down dinner at 6:30 pm. Our guest for the evening will be Amy Elizabeth Burton, from the Senate Curator’s office. Amy was instrumental in making ar-rangements for the Clay painting to be acquired by the Senate. She orchestrated the restoration and installation of the historic portrait. We have decided not to include Senators Harry Reid, Mitch McConnell or Schumer on the invitation list. The last thing we would need would be a political filibuster!

The special event is open to anyone who is interested in attending. Tickets are $40 per person and may be reserved by calling 768-7433. Tables of six or eight can be reserved in either the Henry Clay room on the first floor or the Daniel Webster room on the second floor. (Actually, there is good reason to believe that this room was the room that Webster used when he and Caroline stayed at LeRoy House.) There is also seating in the “fireplace room,” in the basement.

Following dessert, guests will congregate in the parlors for the annual auction, led by Bill Kent and his able crew of auctioneers. There are already some items for the auction table, including a “tea basket” with a special blend of tea from Henry Clay’s Ashland and two bottles of mint juleps and mint julep cups (all ready for Kentucky Derby day). It’s always a fun evening and something special. Hope you can join us!

 

LeRoy Pennysaver & News - January 17, 2010