Throw Your Own Inaugural Bash!

In early October, Chef Spike put both an Obama burger and a McCain burger on his menu. As you might guess, his goal with each was to capture the candidates' personalities. The restaurant also kept a tally of how many of each burger sold. Just as in the election itself, the Obama burger wound up on top.

Chef Spike explained why each item in the "Obama Slider" burger belongs:

FOR CHEF SPIKE'S RECIPES, GO TO PAGE 2.

RECIPES

Prez Obama Burger

2 pounds hamburger meat
1 package of crumbled bleu cheese
1 package of applewood smoked bacon
1 package (6 individual buns) of potato bun
1 cup of horseradish mayonnaise (see recipe below)
1 cup red onion marmalade (see recipe below)
1 tablespoon of butter
salt & pepper to taste

In order to make sliders, punch out buns with a two inch ring mold or take a glass and push atop a potato bun to make a smaller ring size.
Handcraft your meat to 2 1/2 ounces burger rounds.
In a frying pan, over medium heat, add a thin layer of oil until slightly smoking.
Season burgers on both sides with salt and pepper and place into pan.
Place strips of bacon on a cookie sheet and bake in oven at 350 degrees. Cooks for 10-15 minutes, remove and let cool.
Cook for 3 minutes on each side or until desired temperature.
While burgers are cooking, toast potato buns in a toaster or a pan with a tablespoon of butter.
To assemble the burger take the potato bun, place a pattie on top then add, horseradish mayonnaise, red onion marmalade, bacon and blue cheese. Serve immediately.

Horseradish Mayonnaise

2 cups of mayonnaise
1 8 ounce jar of horseradish
1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper
1/2 tablespoon of black pepper
1/2 tablespoon salt

In a food processor pour mayonnaise, horseradish, cayeene pepper, black pepper and salt.
Mix for 2-3 minutes until thick and creamy. Don't over mix.

Red Onion Marmalade

2 red onions
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup sugar

Slice both red onions, 1/2 inch thick.
In a pot, over medium heat pour red wine vinegar and sugar and bring to a simmer. Make sure that the sugar is dissolved into the red wine vinegar and then add the onions and cook until translucent and liquid is reduce. Make sure you're constantly stirring, not to burn. Let cool and reserve for the Prez Obama Burger.

Toasted Marshmallow Shake

1 bag jumbo marshmallow
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon sour cream
2 cups creamy vanilla ice cream
4 oz kahlua

On a medium sized cookie sheet place 1/2 bag of marshmallows, in a row.
Place under your burner in the oven for 2-3 minutes, until completely charred.
Take out of oven and let cool.
Repeat this step, but only let the marshmallows toast, so they are slightly burnt.
Take out of oven and let cool.
In a blender pour milk, kahlua, sour cream, ice cream and charred marshmallows.
Mix for 5 minutes.
Pour in a large glass and top with 2-3 toasted marshmallows.

Nacho Cheese & Jalapeno Mini Quiches

For pastry shells:
3 ounces, cream cheese
1/2 cup, margarine
1-1/2 cups, flour all purpose

for Filing:
4 ounces, cheddar cheese (grated)
4 ounces, jalapenos, sliced
1 cup, half and half
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon, cracked black pepper

Pastry shells:
Combine ingredients and shape into 1 inch balls.
Place into lightly greased miniature muffin pans, form into shells and prick with a fork.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 5-10 minutes.

Filling:
Divid cheese and jalapenos between pastry shells.
Combine eggs, half-and-half and seasonings in large mixing bowl.
Pour egg mixture into pastry shells over the cheese and jalapeno mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until set.

Let cool a few minutes and serve.

FOR MORE RECIPES, GO TO PAGE 3.

Chili and Cheese Phyllo Pizzettes

5 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
7 sheets Phyllo dough (store bought)
2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2-1/2 cups chili
3 jalapenos peppers, sliced
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper to taste.

In a small bowl, melt butter in microwave.
Brush a 15-in x 10-in x 1-in baking pan with some of the melted butter.
Lay a sheet of phyllo in pan, folding edges over to fit pan if necessary (keep remaining dough covered with waxed paper to avoid drying out). Brush dough with remaining butter and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of parmesan; repeat layers five times, folding edges for each layer.
Bake at 375 for 20-25 or until edges are golden brown.

When phyllo comes out of the oven, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, a layer of chili and arrange jalapenos on top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and remaining parmesan.

Put in oven for another 10 minutes or till cheese is melted.

Lemongrass Shrimp Skewers

1 tablespoon of honey
2 tablespoon of olive oil
2 teaspoons of olive oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon of fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 lemongrass stalk, outer skin removed, crushed and finely minced
2 limes, juice and zest of
1 tablespoon of coriander, finely chopped
4 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons of sweet chili sauce
20 black tiger shrimp, jumbo size, peeled and deveined
7 lemongrass stalks, outer skins removed and cut into three, 2-in skewers
sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Put shrimp, lime zest and lemon grass skewers aside.
Combine all remaining ingredients (including minced lemongrass), in a large bowl. Add the shrimp. Stir to combine and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Preheat a grill to medium-high.
Using a sharp knife, cut points on the ends of each lemon grass stalk. Skewer each shrimp by running the lemon grass stalk from the tail end to the head so that each shrimp is in a flat position. Season the shrimp with sea salt and cracked black pepper. Grill until the shrimp have turned pink and are cooked through, about 3 minutes per side.
Garnish with some lime zest and serve immediately

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