Debate party ideas?

September 22, 2008 4:00 PM

Need help/ideas on politically inspired appetizers for the upcoming 2008 Presidential Debates.

Like the previous two threads (which were great!) - I'm looking for themed easy appetizers/finger foods for the Obama/Mccain & Biden/Palin debates. No special dietary requirements either, just tasty and funny.

Thanks!

posted by Lizc to food & drink (23 comments total)

Moose burger sliders.
posted by clearly at 4:04 PM on September 22, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Another political food thread. I stand by my suggestion of homemade sausage.
posted by milkrate at 4:04 PM on September 22, 2008

Obama Family Chili Recipe

Maybe cook up some moose for the Palin angle?
posted by nitsuj at 4:05 PM on September 22, 2008

Keating Five Layer Dip
posted by clearly at 4:07 PM on September 22, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

How about some "Jeremiah Wright's Chicken-Come-Home-To-Roost"?
posted by BobbyVan at 4:19 PM on September 22, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Hanoi Hilton spring rolls
Life begins at conception deviled eggs
posted by wfrgms at 4:21 PM on September 22, 2008

Kool-Aid. Direct people to drink it as necessary.
posted by LionIndex at 4:24 PM on September 22, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Waffles.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 4:25 PM on September 22, 2008

Luckily I just had this conversation with someone:

Salad with arugula
Cupcakes with little bleeding hearts in the icing
Baked Alaska
Kung POW chicken
Vietnamese spring rolls (already mentioned, I see)

Some of these will require labels, most likely.
posted by synaesthetichaze at 4:28 PM on September 22, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Chicago-style Hawaiian pizza would seem to encompass Obama pretty well.
posted by BobbyVan at 4:30 PM on September 22, 2008

Make pigs in a blanket, but call it pork in a barrel.
posted by rebel_rebel at 4:30 PM on September 22, 2008 [5 favorites has favorites]

"Lipstick on a Pig" (pulled pork w/ reddish BBQ sauce)
posted by BobbyVan at 4:36 PM on September 22, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

Elephant and donkey-shaped cookies, with blue and red icing.
posted by Joh at 4:36 PM on September 22, 2008

Point out to your guests that you are doing your part to get America off of foreign oil by only cooking with California-grown olive oil.
posted by milkrate at 4:52 PM on September 22, 2008

Get some sammiches. Cut them into triangles. Get some toothpicks and label each toothpick: abortion, gay marriage, immigration, death penalty, gun control.

Each triangle shaped sammich is a wedge issue. See if anyone gets it. The people that do deserve a brown cookie with white chocolate (representing Obama).
posted by SeizeTheDay at 4:58 PM on September 22, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

If you're going to serve beer, you have got to make a custom product label for it that says "The Audacity of Hops."
posted by MegoSteve at 5:11 PM on September 22, 2008 [5 favorites has favorites]

Palindromes! Symmetrical foods. Your guests will have to be pretty sharp to get that one unaided though.

Iraq of Lamb

Guantanamojitos

Pigs in blankets with little lipstick mouths and bendy straw hockey sticks...

Something that stays plugged in and warm in a crock pot. But deny that it is getting any warmer. Say that the studies are inconclusive.

Sweetcorn al Obama (cough... Skynyrd reference)

Health Care Salad. But only make enough for 85% of the guests. And really, a further 8% should only get a little bit, not nearly enough.

S-CHIPs n salsa

You could have a dish in front called "8 Years Of Madness" (7 layer dip + 1). Right behind it, you could have an identical dish labeled "More of the Same"

Dessert:
Almond Barak
Candy McCanes
Chocolate "financial meltdown" fondue. Serve with NUTS. Could also serve as a bottomless pit in which you dip dollar-shaped shortbread cookie after dollar-shaped shortbread cookie.

Republican centerpiece: Two bananas. One that is green, unripe, and not anywhere near ready (with cute little glasses!), and another next to it that is ancient and withered and lifeless, with ruinous economic ideas and 14 cars. Add plastic googly eyes. Instant winner (or loser, as it were).

Democratic Centerpiece: A pile of spare... "change". But no further explanation.

Economy centerpiece. More of a diorama, really. Little Lego businessmen bailing out of a sinking, burning ship on golden parachutes (gold tissue paper, floss). Or could this be a wonderful cake?! Please let it be a cake!

Sign on the buffet table says "Eat all you want! Your grandkids will pay for it."

Little tags on every dish that say "Property of China". Hey wait, you could try to work some kind of China wordplay into it if you serve things on your nice china.

Tell your guests right before they come that a few fat guys ate up all the original food and now everybody has to bring more food for them so they don't go hungry and ruin the party for everyone.

Make dozens of promises about what you'll serve at the party, but only serve like two of those things. Do this every four years.
posted by Askr at 5:21 PM on September 22, 2008 [6 favorites has favorites]

Bratwurst sandwiches = turd sandwiches
posted by BrnP84 at 6:19 PM on September 22, 2008

Flip-flop-flapjacks, waffles, and bacon, or another pork product. Maybe nest eggs.

When people ask why you're serving breakfast at night, say something like how it may seem like dark times, but it's really the dawn of a new day...
posted by gauchodaspampas at 6:47 PM on September 22, 2008

Straight Talk Expressed sandwiches
posted by clearly at 7:34 PM on September 22, 2008

OH - MY - GOD - I love the sandwiches cut into triangles "wedge issues" idea by SeizeTheDay! Make a sign for the tray of sandwich wedges that says "Wedge Issues" and then make tiny signs for each sandwich wedge. The tiny signs can be as simple as a mini sticky note folded in half at the top of a toothpick.

Do that and it'll be instantly obvious, and hilarious.
posted by 2oh1 at 8:57 PM on September 22, 2008

How about a seafood bonanza!

Crab (Delaware), Halibut (Alaska), Mahi-Mahi (Hawaii - Obama's Birthplace), Panamanian Corvina [aka sea bass] (Panama - McCain's birthplace).
posted by Citrus at 6:34 AM on September 23, 2008

I love this! Make dozens of promises about what you'll serve at the party, but only serve like two of those things. Do this every four years.

So many good ideas, thanks everyone! Should be some mighty tasty events!
posted by Lizc at 10:45 AM on September 23, 2008