7 Questions With Sarah Morgan, Cooking With the First Ladies

 

Sarah Morgan, a self-proclaimed history nerd,  has a BA in History and launched her Cooking with the First Ladies Instagram account after stumbling onto The First Ladies Cook Book: Favorite Recipes of all the Presidents of the United States at a thrift store back in 2019. After cooking through all of the First Ladies, Sarah started providing virtual content that offered a crash course in First Lady History covering biographies, accomplishments, and culture of the time period as well as a cooking demonstration of selections of the First Lady’s favorite recipes for the National First Ladies Library. Sarah has also extensively researched the 1920s, with a particular focus on the “First Ladies” of the Women’s Suffrage movement, and the tools they used to get the right to vote, which included Suffrage Cookbooks, as well as WWII and the Holocaust. Sarah also has extensively studied WWII and the Holocaust. She has presented at the Pursuit of History’s History Camp America and History Camp Boston, DC Culture and History, Cambridge Center for Adult Education and appeared as a guest on The History Things Podcast. You can connect with Sarah through her website www.cookingwiththefirstladies.com, follow along on her Instagram, @cookingwiththefirstladies, Facebook, and see previously recorded videos on the National First Ladies Library YouTube. 

1: How and when did you get hooked on history?

 From a young age, history has always been my favorite subject. The reason for this was largely due to the remarkable educators who inspired me and showed me how incredible the subject could be, particularly my 7th grade Social Studies teacher, Mrs. Neff. Her dynamic teaching style made history come alive and fueled my lifelong passion for the subject. As a 12 year old teenager when the Titanic movie hit the screens, I became kind of obsessed. The fascination extended beyond the film, and I became engrossed in the actual historical events. I even had a Titanic-themed birthday party that year, where I researched the last meal served on the ship and incorporated it into the celebration. As I grew older, I became increasingly interested in "histories mysteries,” such as the story of Amelia Earhart and also especially Anne Frank’s experience during the Holocaust. 

2: What role does history play or has it played in your personal life?

As a dedicated researcher and writer, history has become an essential aspect of my daily routine. plays a significant role in my everyday life and it is literally part of my daily routine. As a volunteer at my synagogue, I have the privilege of teaching fifth-graders about Hebrew and Jewish history. I truly believe that each one of us plays a role in shaping history every day, in our own unique way. 

3. How does history play a part in your professional life/career. 

I have always been passionate about history, so much so that I decided to pursue a BA in the subject. Over the years, I have worked in various historical roles, primarily as a tour guide, which included the Culbertson Mansion State Historic Site in New Albany, Indiana and also leading historic tours in downtown Louisville and Nashville. Before the pandemic hit, I had also taken on the role of collections manager at Rippavilla, a local historic site in Tennessee. Currently, my focus is primarily on my First Ladies project, where I am responsible for quarterly live programs for the National First Ladies Library.

4: Why is studying/knowing history important?

Studying history is a critical subject because comprehending the past is essential to comprehending the future. Examining history is crucial because otherwise, we are as the famous saying goes, doomed to repeat it. But it's not only about avoiding mistakes or repeating the past. It's also about learning from those who came before us and gaining a deeper understanding of ourselves and our heritage.  It concerns me that some people are trying to rewrite history, and there are many individuals who don't believe in past events such as the Holocaust. Speaking from my experience, I believe that examining the tales of women who have influenced our country's past is important, particularly in the field of history I specialize in. From the First Ladies to the Suffragettes who fought for women's voting rights, the dial painting Radium girls of the early 1900s, as well as the women who made significant contributions during WWII, these stories are often eclipsed by those of men.

5: What is your favorite period aspect of history to learn about and why?

I have several favorite historical periods that I enjoy, especially the Roaring 20s. However, my primary interest is exploring the experiences of women throughout history, which of course includes the First Ladies of the United States as a whole. Recently, I presented "Cooking with the Suffragettes," which highlighted the movement's remarkable women and the cookbooks they used as a way to demonstrate to men that they could still be homemakers while having the right to vote. Moving forward, I plan to develop "Cooking with the Calutron Girls," which will showcase the young women who operated the Calutron machines in Oak Ridge, Tennessee during the Manhattan Project. This project will incorporate recipes from the 1940s cookbook, "Cooking Behind the Fence." Most of my attention outside of the First Ladies has been on women's stories in Tennessee, where I currently live. Also, as a Jew, the Holocaust is a deeply personal matter for me, and it is one period of history I have studied a lot about. 

6. How did “Cooking with the First Ladies” come about and what is it about?

So back in 2019, I stumbled upon a unique find at a thrift store – a cookbook featuring recipes from the First Ladies of America. I purchased it, added it to my bookshelf, and forgot about it until my husband noticed it. He inspired me to cook my way through it, much like Julie & Julia. I shared my progress on Instagram, even continuing on past the Reagan administration by researching recipes from the remaining First Ladies. When the pandemic hit, the National First Ladies Library reached out and I began creating pre-recorded video content for them. As time went on, I started doing live programs and continued exploring the culinary histories of these remarkable women. Needless to say this random thrift store find has taken me on quite the journey. 

Cooking with the First Ladies is a culinary crash course in the history of the First Ladies. The goal is to share information about the extraordinary lives of these incredible, influential women who graced the White House. It is a unique perspective to look at their lives through the lens of their personal recipes. I cover everything from their biographies, to their significant and lesser known accomplishments, as well as the cultural context of their era. I try to make the content stand out by incorporating theme music, GIFS, and funny edited images in order to make it a unique way to learn about history. The live programs always incorporate a cooking demo and I also occasionally continue to make recipes I talk about more regularly at home to share. I also make recipe cards so people can make these dishes at home. In the previous question, I sort of went into where this project is going and even though I will continue to primarily focus on the First Ladies, I am excited to expand and explore other remarkable women in history. 

7: Do you have a favorite and/or least favorite recipe you have discovered so far?

So I have definitely had some pretty wild culinary adventures since I started this project several years ago. Martha Washington’s Beef Steak and Kidney Pie was the first recipe I attempted and it certainly was an interesting way to start. I drove out to a local butcher shop for beef kidneys and I probably should have realized it was going to be a disaster since even the butcher wished me luck. Despite my best efforts and spending the entire day cooking, the pie turned out looking beautiful, but tasted exactly how you would think kidneys taste making it my least favorite hands down. (Check out the Washington highlight reel on Instagram for my hilarious reaction!) I am not a chef, so I’m sure a pro could have done better, but I won’t be making or eating anything with kidneys ever again. As for my favorite recipes, the ones that my family request I make over and over again are Pat Nixon’s Meatloaf and Mamie Eisenhower’s Pumpkin Chiffon Pie.