By Catharine L. Kaufman — a.k.a. The Kitchen Shrink

As election fever is heating up, and the California primary just around the corner, I thought I’d do a culinary survey of our main Democratic and Republican candidates’ favorite foods.

Hillary Clinton, the chocoholic, whose favorite junk foods are chocolate ice cream and chocolate chip cookies, is The Queen of Hearts as chocolate is a food of love. She also has fond memories of olive burgers from the Pickwick in Chicago where she grew up. Senator Barack Obama is full of passion and spice as his favorite food is chili. John Edwards, on the other hand, is a real beefcake who adores hamburgers. Perhaps his effervescence also comes from his large consumption of soda.

On the Republican buffet table, Rudy Giuliani, a New York carnivore, enjoys steak and hamburgers on the grill. While health-conscious Mike Huckabee chowed down on fried chicken, gravy with mashed potatoes and biscuits on the side, and fried Twinkies at the state fair before shedding a whopping 110 pounds. He converted to a diet of grilled salmon, fresh fruits, vegetables and lean meats, and nixed the sugar, bread, potatoes and processed foods as a better alternative. Of course, jogging 4 miles a day, seven days a week doesn’t hurt. Hot dogging Mitt Romney eats, what else, hot dogs, meat loaf cakes and pie, sans the alcohol and coffee in keeping with his Mormon beliefs. John McCain, an equal opportunity eater, enjoys baby-back ribs, shrimp, pepperoni and onion pizza and sugared doughnuts. Fred Thompson, whose day job was playing the role of District Attorney Arthur Branch on “Law and Order,” is Hollywood gone frou-frou French food. Finally, Dr. Long-Shot, Ron Paul, is fueled by tilapia and chocolate chip cookies.

Should Al Gore enter the race, all his foods, of course, must surely be lukewarm.

In honor of the up-coming election and all the mud-slinging, Hillary’s love affair with chocolate, and Mitt Romney’s passion for pie, I’ve created a “Chocolate Mississippi Mud Pie,” not quite as American as apple pie, but just as Yankee Doodle Dandy. Enjoy!

The Kitchen Shrink’s Mud Pie

(I use only organic ingredients)

1 chocolate graham crust (Arrowhead Mills makes a ready-made organic crust)

1 quart of chocolate or coffee ice cream

Chocolate squirtable syrup

3 tablespoons of toasted chopped almonds or pecans

Whipped cream

Bittersweet chocolate shavings

Soften the ice cream at room temperature. Spread it in the crust shell. Paint strips of chocolate syrup, then make a chevron pattern with a knife. Sprinkle with toasted nuts, and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Freeze till firm and serve with a warm berry glaze.

Warm Berry Glaze

8 ounces of frozen strawberries

8 ounces of frozen raspberries

8 ounces of frozen blackberries

8 ounces of frozen blueberries

Heat the berries in a saucepan with 2 tablespoons of water and 1 1/2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer until it forms a syrup. You may have to tinker with the sugar and water for a syrupy texture. Serve warm over the mud pie.

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