My fellow Americans:

Salute these real recipes from real congresspeople, recreated with love and fear by me.

Do not try these at home.

"Puree Mongol Soup" by President John F. Kennedy

"Puree Mongol Soup" by President John F. Kennedy

It’s the name that got me on this one — what’s a “Mongol” soup? Why not Mongolian? Well, because there is not one element of this intriguing 5-ingredient dish that hails from that region of the world. President John F. Kennedy’s Puree Mongol Soup:

JFK

Chef John F. Kennedy

Democratic President from Massachusetts

As always, I followed the recipe word for word from the second sexiest president of all time (after LBJ), no alterations:

INGREDIENTS

1 can condensed pea soup

1 can condensed tomato soup

1 can milk

1 can water

Dash of curry powder

INSTRUCTIONS

1) Mix ingredients, then heat and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Wow, okay just one step basically. Mix, heat, serve. Digging in a little further, Mr. President here is only dealing in cans. Don’t know if that was a product of the time, but everything needs to be in can form. So you’ll note (if you follow me on TikTok) that I used Liquid Death because I couldn’t find any other canned water at the store. Not a plug, just being open about it since clearly John F. Kennedy wasn’t using Liquid Death in the 60s.

JFK's Puree mongol soup

Voila! If you want to actually watch me attempt to eat it, go to the CwC Instagram or TikTok. An offensively named soup for the ages. The note in the recipe I found said “not for the faint of heart,” and that’s certainly true for the smell, which can be described as “ketchupy foot.” The texture is like an Oliver Twist-style orphan soup — quite watery, with bits and pieces of pea floating around. Not thick in and of itself, but definitely laden. And just look at that color! As an aside, I keep hearing that something happens with JFK in that new movie Blonde….I guess it’s time to sit down with this bowl of canned items and watch that sexy president do his thing.

 

Verdict:

“Ketchupy foot” should tell you what it means to me, a ketchup-hater. This didn’t go well. It’s not objectively the worst thing I’ve ever made here, but it’s subjectively and objectively not being eaten by me. Maybe I didn’t use the right canned water.

John F Kennedy's puree mongol soup
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"Pretzel Salad" by Representative Chet Edwards

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