Obama's First State Dinner
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Obama's First State Dinner
The Menu, Guest List and More Details from the President's First State Dinner at the White House
The Photos
Images from President and first lady's first state dinner, held in a tent on the South Lawn of the White House
The Party Crashers
Secret Service and civilians alike were shocked to find out that Virginia couple Tareq and Michaele Salahi were able to bypass security and get into the state dinner without an invitation, mingling with Washington's elite and even meeting President Obama.
Photos: White House Crashers' Celebrity Pals
The Menu
The menu for the Nov. 24 dinner includes roasted potato dumplings with tomato chutney, prawns in green curry and pumpkin pie tart.
The China
The Obamas chose from the White House's historic china collection to set the tables for their first state dinner.
Selections include:
Service Plates: Castleton China, New Castle, Pa., (Eisenhower administration, 1955)
Service Plates: Lenox, Trenton, N.J. (Clinton administraion, 2000)
Dinner Plates: Lenox, Kinston, N.C. (Geroge W. Bush administration, gift of the White House Acquisition Trust, 2008-2009)
The Guest List
The guest of honor is India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife, Gursharan Kaur. Other political guests included Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.
From the entertainment world, attendees included Steven Spielberg, Ari Emanuel and filmmaker M. Knight Shyamalan.
The Performers
Kurt Elling, Jennifer Hudson, the National Symphony Orchestra, A.R. Rahman and the U.S. Marine Corps Band performed during the affair.
CBS