After the swearing-in ceremonies, Barack Obama and Joesph Biden will enjoy their first meal as President and Vice President of the United States in the U.S. Capitol’s Statutary Hall. This is the hall where various life-size statues of state political figures circle the great room. It’s the same room where I accompanied a group of DC high school for a leadership program for the purpose of stoking their understanding of who has the real power. They came away saying “why does Jefferson Davis get a full-lenghth statue in the Capitol and Martin Luther King only gets a bust.”

The Inaugural luncheon is a tradition. The official U.S. Senate Inauguration website has posted the luncheon details from the china (a replica of the china selected by Mary Todd Lincoln for her husband Abraham Lincoln’s first inauguration), to the floral arrangments, and the menu with recipes! Try this at home (?)

The luncheon will be a 3-course meal starting with
First Course: Seafood chowder served with a Duckhorn Vineyards 2007 Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley

Second Course: A Brace of American Birds (pheasant and duck) served with Sour Cherry Chutney and Molasses Sweet Potatoes, paried with Goldeneye, 2005 Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley

Third Course: Apple Cinnamon Sponge Cake and Sweet Glace paired with Korbel Natural “Special Inaugural Cuvee, California Champagne.

The menu reflects some of the 16th President’s favorite foods. Is Dick Cheney providing the main entree fresh from the wild?