Election Night (and into the wee morning hours) Snacking Menu

I've been doing a significant amount of research for my thesis; and while I'm generally saving making broader connections and larger conclusions about this research for this winter when I have no other course commitments, occasionally I'll find little pieces of information or recipes that I can't help but link to one another. One such amusing category, and the reason for this special edition Election Day blog, I'm calling election food.

It all started last winter when I was perusing my mom's cookbooks for a good coffee cake recipe to serve on New Years Day. Both because it sounded delicious and because I found its connection with a presidential candidate entertaining, I selected Lenore's Coffee Cake; Lenore Romney is Mitt Romney's mother. The coffee cake was good, and I mentally filed it away as a recipe worth repeating before I went on with my life.

Fast forward to September. Soliciting for recipes for the Honor Scholar Community Cookbook I'm creating as a part of my thesis, I got an e-mail from one of my professors claiming she had a cookbook I might find helpful for my research. As an interesting side note, she added that it is authored by Rose B. and Nathra Nader. Also known as Ralph Nader's mother and sister. Ta-da, the election food category was born.

To these recipes from presidential candidates' family members I've added recipes from other candidates that have been published online. What I give you is a suggested menu for an Election Night party that goes until the wee hours of the morning, when (hopefully for real this time) the results are official. I hope you enjoy.

(Oh, and I don't want you to think that by not providing a recipe from Sarah Palin I am purposely under-representing the Republican ticket. I don't have a recipe from her simply because I couldn't find a genuine Palin recipe online. And I didn't want to pull a Cindy McCain and plagiarize.)

Election Night (and into the wee morning hours) Snacking Menu

Appetizer:
Naders' Chicken Spread
(from Ralph Nader's mother and sister in It Happened in the Kitchen: Recipes for Food and Thought by Rose B. and Nathra Nader)

3 1/2 lb chicken
2 medium onions
3 celery stalks with leaves
1/2 bunch parsley
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp thyme
1 cinnamon stick

Boil chicken in cold water, barely covering, for a few minutes. Throw water out and rinse the fowl, removing the skin. Return the fowl to the pot, cover with cold water, add the cinnamon stick, salt, and pepper, and cook until done. Grind the meat finely with the celery stalks including the leaves, parsley with stems, and onions. Season with salt, poultry seasoning, and thyme. Sever on crackers or whole wheat or other dark bread.

Entrees:
Senator Barack Obama's Chili
(from Good Morning America)

1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
several cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground turkey or beef
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground oregano
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp ground basil
1 tbsp chili powder
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
several tomatoes, depending on size, chopped
1 can red kidney beans

Saute onions, green pepper, and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add ground meat and brown. Combine spices, then add to the ground meat. Add red wine vinegar. Add tomatoes and let simmer until tomatoes cook down. Add kidney beans and cook for a few more minutes. Serve over white or brown rice. Garnish with grated cheddar cheese, onions, and sour cream.

Senator John McCain's Ribs
(from Good Morning America)

Dry Rub:
1/3 part Garlic Powder
1/3 part Salt
1/3 part Pepper
3 lemons

Turn the grill down to low temperature. Mix together garlic powder, salt, and pepper, then cover both sides of the ribs with the rub. Grill ribs, bone side down, for 90 percent of the time. It will take about an hour to an hour and a half. Squeeze the lemon on it frequently, because that makes it taste a lot better.

Dessert:
Senator Joe Biden's Favorite Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
(from the kitchen of Mary Ann Kelley 2007, as printed for Yankee Magazine)

1 c shortening or butter
1 c firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 c old fashioned oats
1 c raisins
nuts (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Sift flour, soda, cinnamon, and salt together. Beat together the shortenings and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add flour mixture, oats, and raisins and mix well. Use portion scoop and drop dough onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes (should be golden brown in color).

Breakfast:
Lenore's Coffee Cake
(from Lenore Romney, mother of Mitt Romney, in Get Smakelijk)

1/2 c butter
3/4 c sugar
2 eggs
1 2/3 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 c sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c pecans, chopped
1/2 c raisins, optional
2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Use a greased 9"x9" baking dish. Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Sift together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. Stir in vanilla. Pour half into baking dish. Combine brown sugar, pecans, raisins, and cinnamon. Sprinkle over batter in baking dish and cover with the rest of the batter. Bake 35 minutes.

Please make sure you vote today!