Margaret "Peggy" Taylor, Betty Dandridge, and Calas Rice Fritters

Margaret, Betty, and President William Henry Harrison

Margaret (Peggy) Smith Taylor
First Lady - March 4, 1849 - July 9, 1850
Factoids -

• Peggy died just a few blocks from the home where I grew up in Pascagoula, Mississippi.  Zachary and Peggy maintained a summer home on the beachfront in Pascagoula.
• After participating in Fourth of July festivities on a blistering hot day, Taylor ate a large bowl of cherries and a pitcher of iced milk and later fell ill with a terrible stomach ache.  Five days later, he was dead.
  

Bio -

• Margaret (Peggy) Smith grew up wealthy in Maryland.  She married Zachary Taylor when he was a lieutenant in the army.  Peggy spent her early married life traveling between military campsites the wilderness.  She gave birth to seven children, four of whom survived. 
• When Zachary was elected President, Peggy rarely left the family's private quarters in the White House.  She was an extremely private person, often even refusing to have her portrait painted or herself photographed.  From the private quarters, Peggy managed the White House staff, but had nothing to do with social duties.  She left that job to her daughter, Betty Bliss, who assumed hostessing duties for all of the Taylor presidency.  Zachary never criticized his wife for her choices, seemingly satisfied that she had followed him all over the wilderness in his military campaigns.  He's quoted as saying, "My wife was as much of a soldier as I was." 
• Zachary died after eating a bowl of cherries at a 4th of July celebration and Peggy was never the same. Not much is known about her, because of her privacy and the fact that the Taylor family's correspondence was burned during the Civil War. 

Betty Taylor Bliss Dandridge
Acting First Lady - March 4, 1849 - July 9, 1850
Betty's mother, First Lady, Peggy Taylor, declined to serve as hostess to any social events at the White House.  Instead, she assigned those duties to her daughter Betty.  Betty was 24 and just married when her father became President.  She and her husband moved into the White House, so that Betty could host. The public loved "Miss Betty" for her conversational skills, keen sense of humor, and attitude.  

About Zachary - Zachary Taylor was a celebrated general from the Mexican-American War who became President with no political experience. Although he was a slaveholder, he opposed the expansion of slavery into new territories, which put him at odds with Southern states, which threatened to leave the Union. His presidency was cut short by his sudden death after only 16 months in office.

Zachary Taylor owned land in Louisiana in the 1820s and 1830s and commanded Army garrisons in New Orleans, before he was President.  During this time, he established a love for Creole Cuisine and Calas, a sweet rice fritter usually made from left-over rice.  
Calas have been a tradition in New Orleans and southern Louisiana since the 1700s, when enslaved Africans introduced a different method of cooking rice.  Instead of the sticky and runny consistency used by others at the time, the new way had separated grains and was drier.  This little-known culinary contribution opened the door for complete change in many dishes and introduction of new ones!   
A 1653 French recipe, beignets de riz (beignets of rice) hints at French influence and their ties to another French Quarter tradition, beignets, which are made from flour instead of rice.  Calas became so popular in the 1800s that Black women sold them in the New Orleans French Quarter, singing a song and chanting, "Calas, belles calas!" and "Bel calas tout chauds!"  (Calas, beautiful Calas / Beautiful calas, still hot)
Over time, flour-based beignets have become more popular, but many homes still cook the traditional calas with leftover rice.  When I was a little girl, we'd go to New Orleans to visit Aunt Annie Belle and Uncle Jimmy.  Uncle Jimmy fried up a batch of Calas and we'd eat them sitting on the front steps, powdered sugar exploding all over us!  

Steps

1. In a large mixing bowl, stir  together the cooked rice, beaten eggs, granulated sugar, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla until combined.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk or sift the flour and baking powder. Gradually add this flour mixture to the rice mixture, stirring until you get a thick batter.  It should be thick enough to drop from a spoon and stay together, but not too thick.
3. Heat about 2 inches of vegetable oil in a deep skillet or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat until it reaches 350 degrees.
4. Drop batter by heaping spoonfuls into the hot oil.  Fry in batches to avoid crowding and cooling of oil.  Fry each fritter for 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown and crispy.  
5. Drain on paper towels or clean brown paper grocery bags and generously sprinkle with powdered sugar.
6. Serve while nice and hot!

Portrait Credits*
Margaret Peggy Taylor - http://www.backfirealley.com/z_taylor.html, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Betty Dandridge - Unidentified photographer, Albumen silver print, Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society, Winchester, Virginia, Public Domain via Wikipedia Commons
Zachary Taylor - James Reid Lambdin, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Barry Bingham, Sr., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons