Gerald Ford's Comfort Meal Always Started With Pot Roast And Ended With This Dessert

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Gerald Ford was, as far as United States presidents go, a bit of a fluke. The only president not to be elected to the office, the Michigan representative came to office after the resignation of both President Richard Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew following the Watergate scandal of the early 1970s. His presidency was marked by two assassination attempts, several falls, and a struggling economy. All of this must have been stressful for the accidental president. So, how did Gerald Ford cope with his duties as interim POTUS?

With a hearty dinner of pot roast and a delicious bowl of ice cream, of course. This according to the 1987 book "The White House Family Cookbook" by Henry Haller, a former White House executive chef. Now, Ford didn't enjoy just any old scoop. His preferred flavor was the classic, old-fashioned butter pecan. Not only did Ford often have butter pecan ice cream for dessert, but he also sometimes had a scoop to accompany his lunch.

His love for the flavor was so well known that one citizen even took it upon themselves to deliver the president a paper bag containing the nutty flavor while Ford was boarding a flight. Though the delivery attempt did cause a bit of a kerfuffle (there were those two assassination attempts, after all), he took the incident in stride. Upon receiving the bagged treat, he apparently took out three spoons and offered to share the gifted ice cream.

According to a 1975 New York Times article going over a day in the life of the president, Ford considered both eating and sleeping to be "a waste of time." This might explain some of Ford's more eccentric eating habits. Though he did enjoy such beloved staples as English muffins, pot roast, and the delightful butter pecan ice cream, his lunch of choice was, frankly, quite odd, and gives some indication for his particular loathe of eating.

As with his predecessor Richard Nixon, Ford enjoyed cottage cheese. This is not particularly notable in and of itself — the curd-rich cheese was quite the staple in the 1970s. However, both men consumed their cottage cheese in peculiar and off-putting ways. Nixon, for his part, loved cottage cheese topped with ketchup, while Ford had his with A.1. Sauce, raw onions, and tomato, a preparation that only makes sense in the 1970s.

Perhaps this odd lunch was informed by Ford's tendency toward having a lunchtime martini. His love for the cocktail, and support for the so-called three martini lunch, has been well documented. However, his love for creamy, rich butter pecan ice cream seems to have outweighed his adoration for the classic cocktail. Apparently, when Ford was attempting to lose weight, his doctor told him to choose between his nightly martini and his evening bowl of butter pecan. He picked the ice cream, a difficult choice considering how delicious a perfectly crafted martini can be.

Gerald Ford isn't the only American president to love a scoop of the cold stuff. Loving ice cream seems to be almost a requirement for the position. In fact, the very first president, George Washington, once spent $200 on ice cream over the course of one summer. Adjusted for inflation, that adds up to several thousand dollars, so he really must have had a taste for it. Perhaps the president most heavily associated with ice cream, though, is the 46th president, Joe Biden.

Over the past few decades, Joe Biden has been photographed countless times enjoying a scoop of ice cream. In fact, his love for the stuff has become the subject of much internet meme-ing and many an online news think piece. What is Biden's favorite ice cream flavor? Well, he likes to keep things simple, Jack. Biden goes for chocolate chip on a cone for his scoops. This has spawned controversy, however, since some consider it to be too simple. But, really, who can go against the classics? So, next time you go out for ice cream, make it presidentially inspired and try a supple butter pecan or creamy chocolate chip on a cone.