Thomas Jefferson was a GENIUS.
As the third president of the United States, he was more than a Politician. He designed and planed the University of Virginia, and he built his own private library, which was the largest one at that time.
Everywhere in his house, the decoration showed his respect to the former presidents.
Thomas Jefferson was a man of many interests.
I have heard of many stories about him.
While serving as the American minister to France in the 1780s, he developed quite a taste for European cooking. When he returned to the U.S. from France, he brought with him a French cook and many recipes from France and Italy. One of the Italian foods he ate was pasta.
Some of Jefferson's favorite dishes to serve guests included macaroni, macaroons peach flambé (flaming peaches), and ice cream!
While in France, Jefferson collected many French recipes for things such as sauces fruit tarts, french fries, blood sausages, pigs' feet, rabbit, and pigeon. One of the recipes he brought home has since become an American favorite: vanilla ice cream. This was one of the most popular dishes at his home in Monticello, and this recipe was written by Jefferson himself.
Jefferson had to have a nice place to invite his friends and serve them delicious food.
Monticello means little mountain. The house included a series of rooms where he entertained guests.
Some of his public rooms displayed things he had collected: Native American artifacts, fossils discovered by Lewis and Clark, and images of people he admired.