WASHINGTON (Reuters)
Will the
House give the Senate its just desserts?
Forget flag burning, gun control and the fight over displaying
the Ten Commandments in school. The real battle between the
House and the Senate involves rice pudding.
It all started when Sen. Rick Santorum, a Pennsylvania
Republican whose usual vice is chocolate, tried the rice pudding
served in the House Members' Dining Room -- and came back for
more.
He serves on a panel charged with improving Senate barbershops,
eateries and the like, so the request soon went out from Senate
officials to House chefs to send over the recipe.
The House refused, saying it was a cherished family secret of
one of its food service employees. When she retires, the pudding
goes with her.
"Let them eat cake," House Administration Chairman Bill Thomas,
a California Republican, told Roll Call, a newspaper that
circulates widely on Capitol Hill.
Not to be outdone, Senate chefs analyzed the House concoction,
studying its raisins, its cinnamon and its delectable vanilla
topping.
A sample was served at the weekly Republican luncheon.
"Once a chocolate man, always a chocolate man, but I thought it
was pretty good," said Santorum. "I am confident that as the
chef continues to refine it, the Senate rice pudding will
someday surpass the House rice pudding."
