May We Present: The First Sandwich, The First Cookie

Now that the elections are history, we know what foods are politically correct. Bring on the broccoli. Toss me a tuna salad sandwich. Serve the shortbread. Chomp into a chocolate- chip-oatmeal cookie. And please pass the peanut butter and banana sandwich.

Yes, President-elect Bill Clinton told the makers of Ziploc sandwich bags that his favorite ingredients to nestle between two slices of bread are peanut butter and bananas. A loyal fan of the late Elvis Presley, Clinton did not specify whether he's partial to the King's way of preparing this sandwich - grilled in butter until lightly toasted.

Food manufacturers, ever alert to the taste buds of the First Family, are hopeful that they can ride coattails all the way to the cash registers.

Implying that Clinton waffles slightly in his loyalties (or putting it more kindly, that he has eclectic tastes), Bumble Bee Seafoods has been distributing "Governor Bill Clinton's Favorite Tuna Recipe," a tuna salad sandwich made with a hard-cooked egg.

On the Seattle scene, Parke Nietfeld, general manager of Angus' Meat Pies, Inc., producer of Angus' Scottish Shortbread, hopes shortbread - preferably a domestic variety - will take over the spot on the Oval-Office desk once reserved for jelly beans during the Reagan Administration.

Nietfeld read an article in last month's Vanity Fair magazine about campaign travel aboard Clinton's chartered plane. It described the candidate's favorite beverages as caffeine-free Diet Coke and "cinnamon decaf" coffee, a special brew achieved by sprinkling powdered cinnamon in the coffee grounds.

But what grabbed Nietfeld's attention was this: "Packages of Walker's shortbread, a horrifyingly fattening snack-time favorite, are kept on board. He told us he discovered it at Oxford."

Nietfeld lost no time shipping a box of Angus' Shortbread to the governor's mansion in Little Rock, accompanied by a message: "I felt it my patriotic duty to introduce you to the world's finest shortbread, made right here in America. I hope you'll try our three varieites of Angus' Shortbread. They are baked in Seattle with only pure Northwest creamery butter and other choice ingredients."

Ten days later Clinton wrote: "Thank you for the delicious shortbread. We really enjoyed them and appreciate your thoughtfulness."

Another cookie variety, chocolate chip, grabbed the spotlight during the summer. Responding to a reporter's question about her choice of a legal career instead of working at home, Hillary Clinton said a life of baking cookies and giving teas simply was not her cup of tea. But it wasn't long before she submitted her favorite recipe for chocolate chip cookies to Family Circle's cookie competition. Readers were asked to compare recipes from First Lady Barbara Bush and Clinton, then vote for their favorite. Clinton's cookies won, with 55.2 per cent of the vote.

The makers of Crisco were lightning quick to declare that Clinton was the "smart cookie" because she used all-vegetable shortening in her cookies instead of the butter in the Bush cookies.

That's politics for you. Let's eat.

---------------------------------- BILL CLINTON'S TUNA SALAD SANDWICH ---------------------------------- 2 sandwiches

1 can (6 1/8 ounces) tuna, drained

1 hard cooked egg, chopped

1 teaspoon finely chopped onion

1 tablespoon finely chopped celery

1 teaspoon pickle relish

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon regular mustard

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1/8 teaspoon salt

4 slices whole wheat bread

1 medium tomato, sliced

2 lettuce leaves

1. In a medium bowl place tuna, egg, onion, celery, pickle relish, mustards, mayonnaise and salt. With a fork, combine all ingredients well.

2. Spread tuna mixture on 2 bread slices, cover with tomato slices and lettuce and top with remaining bread slices.

------------------------------------------------ HILLARY CLINTON'S CHOCOLATE-CHIP OATMEAL COOKIES ------------------------------------------------ 7 1/2 dozen

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup shortening

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

1. Combine flour, salt and baking soda in a large bowl. Set aside.

2. With an electric mixer beat together the shortening, sugars and vanilla in a large bowl until creamy. Add eggs, beating until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in flour mixture and oats. Stir in chocolate chips.

3. Drop batter by well-rounded teaspoonfuls onto greased baking sheets and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden.

4. Let cool on sheets for 2 minutes before transfering to a wire rack to cool completely.