Includes bibliographical references (pages 243-261) and index.

Abraham and Mary Lincoln : corn dodgers and egg corn bread -- Lincoln's gingerbread men -- Life on the Indiana frontier: pawpawss, honey, and pumpkins -- Journeys of discovery: New Orleans curry and New Salem biscuits -- Bacon and black hawk -- Courtship and cake: the Lincolns' romance and Mary Todd's almond cake -- Eating up Illinois politics : barbecue, biscuits, and burgoo -- "Salt for ice cream" : Springfield scenes from diaries and grocery ledgers -- Piccalilli: of fruits and vegetables -- Talking turkey: clues to life in the Springfield home -- At the crossroads of progress: Irish stew, German beef, and oysters -- Inaugural journey banquets and settling into the White House -- Summer cottage, soldier's bread -- Cakes in Abraham Linconln's name.

"Abraham Lincoln in the Kitchen is a culinary biography unlike any before. The very assertion of the title--that Abraham Lincoln cooked--is fascinating and true. It's an insight into the everyday life of one of our nation's favorite and most esteemed presidents and a way to experience flavors and textures of the past. Eighmey solves riddles such as what type of barbecue could be served to thousands at political rallies when paper plates and napkins didn't exist, and what gingerbread recipe could have been Lincoln's childhood favorite when few families owned cookie cutters and he could carry the cookies in his pocket. Through Eighmey's eyes and culinary research and experiments--including sleuthing for Lincoln's grocery bills in Springfield ledgers and turning a backyard grill into a cast-iron stove--the foods that Lincoln enjoyed, cooked, or served are translated into modern recipes so that authentic meals and foods of 1820-1865 are possible for home cooks. Feel free to pull up a chair to Lincoln's table"--