The 4-Ingredient Casserole Jackie Kennedy Served In The White House

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

In addition to policies and scandals, the public is fascinated with the culinary goings-on within each presidential White House. The favorite foods and drinks of U.S. presidents, such as Ronald Reagan's penchant for eating 720 bags of Jelly Belly jelly beans every month, often make headlines right alongside a commander in chief's executive orders. The food proclivities of First Family members don't go unnoticed, either. First Lady Jackie Kennedy was a noted trend maker in the White House and beyond, and this fame extended to her menus.

One noted dish Jackie O. was known to serve at White House dinners was casserole Marie-Blanche, a simple yet quintessentially French dish featuring just four ingredients. This recipe was present at a 1961 White House dinner at which Mrs. Kennedy's sister and royal brother-in-law, Prince and Princess Stanislaw Radziwill, as well as Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, were in attendance.

The components of casserole Marie-Blanche are simply egg noodles, cottage cheese, sour cream, and fresh chives, with salt and pepper rounding out the dish as its only seasonings. While the presence of cottage cheese in a featured dish at a White House feast may seem unexpected, the dairy product was actually at its heyday during the JFK administration. Cottage cheese became a fixture of the American diet in the 1950s and went strong well into the '70s. It later became a White House kitchen staple for the Nixon household, and it was part of the bizarre two-ingredient combo Richard Nixon ate for breakfast. American consumption of the product eventually started dropping off, but it was considered a nutritious part of any diet while Jackie Kennedy presided as First Lady of the White House.

French cuisine — including casseroles like cassoulet and Marie-Blanche — was all the rage at the time John F. Kennedy and his family were in the presidential residence. This fact is something that may be at least partially attributable to Jackie Kennedy herself. Once installed as First Lady, Mrs. Kennedy replaced the former White House cook with French-born chef René Verdon, and presidential meals heavily featured French food. Haute cuisine was a key component of Mrs. Kennedy's vision for the White House, over which she and her husband would preside.

Jackie Kennedy had French ancestral roots, and she also spoke French and studied abroad in Paris as a college student. The world's eyes were on Mrs. Kennedy for all things style, and her influence extended to the culinary arts. Her White House menus and meals were often featured in leading publications, and they became an ideal for American women to aspire to in their own kitchens and dining rooms.

Cooking legend Julia Child acknowledged the First Lady's contributions to bringing French influences into the American mainstream, which boosted Child's own career. Child's book "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" took off around the same time JFK took office — and, by cosmic coincidence, the same time that American women began witnessing and coveting Jackie Kennedy's style, sophistication, and her impeccably directed culinary spreads. American housewives could see what was being served in Jackie's White House on the glossy pages of their favorite magazines, and they could then turn to Child's groundbreaking book for guidance on reproducing the dishes in their own homes.