The Monster Island Theater Heart and Blood Recipes

Bloody Mary

In a cocktail shaker combine the vodka, the tomato juice, the lemon juice, the Worcestershire sauce, the Tabasco, 1 cup ice cubes, and salt and pepper to taste, shake the mixture well, and strain it into a tall glass filled with ice cubes. Garnish the Bloody Mary with the celery stick and the lemon wedge.

Makes 1 drink.

Recipe courtesy of Epicurious.com http://www.epicurious.com/

Anticuchos (Grilled Spiced Beef Hearts)

Clean the beef heart thoroughly, removing all nerves and fat. Cut into 1" cubes, place in non-reactive bowl, refrigerate and set aside.

Combine garlic, chiles, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper and 1 1/2 cups vinegar. Pour over meat. Add more vinegar, if necessary, to cover meat completely. Marinate, refrigerated, 12-24 hours. About 1 hour before grilling, remove meat from marinade and thread on skewers. (If you use bamboo skewers, soak them in cold water for an hour to keep them from burning.) Reserve marinade.

Soak the crushed chile in 1/3 cup warm water for 30 minutes. In processor, combine chiles and water with oil and salt. Add enough reserved marinade (3/4 cup) to make thick sauce; purée.

Brush skewered meat with sauce and grill over hot coals or under a broiler, turning and basting to cook quickly on all sides. Best cooked medium well, 4-6 minutes on the grill. Serve with remaining sauce for dipping.

Recipe courtesy of Food Down Under http://fooddownunder.com/

Czarnina (Polish Duck Soup)

Raw potato dumplings, as garnish: Make a stiff dough of 2 cups grated (and drained) raw potatoes, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 beaten eggs, 1 1/2 cups flour, and 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs

Kill the duck; chop off its head. Catch the blood in a glass or pottery bowl. Stir in the vinegar to keep it from clotting; set aside in fridge to cool. In the meantime, pluck and dress the duck.

Place the duck carcass, including the neck, heart, liver, and gizzards into a large stockpot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Skim the stock, reduce heat to a simmer. Add the celery, parsley, onion, and the small spice bag to the stock. Cook slowly until the duck meat is done - about 2 hours. Remove the spice bag from the soup and discard. Lift the duck carcass from the soup and pull the meat off the bones; put the meat back into the soup. Add the dried fruit and cook about another half hour.

Blend the flour into the sour cream, then slowly mix into the blood-vinegar mixture. Slowly (or it will curdle) add about 1 cup of the hot soup stock to the blood-vinegar-flour-sour cream mixture, stir well, and add it all to the stock pot. Add the sugar, add salt to taste, and if necessary add a bit more vinegar. It should have a slight sweet/sour 'nip' to it.

When ready to serve, drop the potato dumpling dough by small spoonfuls into the boiling soup stock or salted water. They are done as soon as they float to the top.

Recipe courtesy of Soup of the Evening...Beautiful Soup http://www.soupsong.com/

Two Hearts Salad

Combine lemon juice, mustard and garlic in medium bowl. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. Add hearts of palm and artichoke hearts. Let marinate at room temperature at least 20 minutes and up to 4 hours, tossing occasionally.

Line 6 plates with lettuce leaves. Using slotted spoon, divide hearts of palm and artichoke hearts among plates. Garnish with tomatoes. Spoon remaining dressing over and serve.

Serves 6.

Recipe courtesy of Epicurious.com http://www.epicurious.com/

Hearts and Flowers

Simmer veal heart with carrot, garlic, celery and onion until tender (2 1/2 to 3 hours). Remove heart, dice into bite-size pieces and chill. Strain and chill stock.

Prepare rotini according to package directions and chill. Prepare broccoli and cauliflower for salad, using only flowerets (you may blanch and chill these if you don't like them completely raw). Mix meat, rotini and vegetables together along with chopped tomatoes and diced onion. Beat dressing ingredients in small bowl until smooth and add to main dish. Serve with lettuce.

6 to 8 servings.

Recipe courtesy of Cooks.com http://www.cooks.com/

Cabrito en Sangre (Kid in Blood)

When the young goat is killed, have the butcher drain off the blood and save it in a container. Wash the carcass, cut off the lower legs, tail, etc., and cut the kid into conveniently sized serving pieces, roughly about the size of a half chicken. Place the meat in a pot with garlic and salt.

Cover with cold water and boil for one hour. Stretch a triple thickness of cheesecloth, or a tea towel, over the top of the pot. Pour in the blood, allowing the cloth to contain the congealed element. Draw the ends together, tie with a string, drop into the pot liquid, and boil for 10 minutes. Remove the cloth containing the congealed blood, and force the blood through a fine sieve or strainer. Remove the meat from the pot, drain, and brown in a large skillet in very hot lard. Add the mashed blood, comino seeds, marjoram and sliced carrots. Add 1/2 cup of the water in which the goat meat was cooked. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and add the following ingredients to complete the sauce, as directed.

To make the sauce, place olive oil, wine, peppercorns, chili powder, Tabasco, salt, cloves, bay leaves, marjoram, garlic, sugar, vinegar, chopped peppers, and chopped onions in a saucepan. Simmer over a low flame for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chocolate paste, stirring constantly as the mixture boils for about 3 minutes. Add the flour paste and chopped pimientos, stirring until the ingredients thicken.

Add the sauce ingredients to the meat, blood and other contents of the skillet. (You will have to use 2 or 3 skillets for this quantity.) Stir well until all ingredients are thoroughly blended. This should take 2 or 3 minutes.

Serve on individual plates garnished with watercress, cubes of fresh pineapple, chilled seedless grapes, white radishes and string beans. Orange sections dipped in powdered sugar make a good addition. With this dish serve either tortillas or tostados, a green salad with a simple oil and vinegar dressing, and beer, preferably a Mexican beer if you can get it.

Serves 10-12.

Recipe courtesy of Food Down Under http://www.fooddownunder.com/

Peanut Butter and Jelly Heart Cookies

Beat butter, shortening and peanut butter together well. Add egg and beat well. Add sugar, vanilla and flour with milk. Chill at least 2 hours.

Roll dough out on lightly floured board 1/4 inch thick. Cut out with heart shaped cookie cutters. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes. Remove to cooling rack. Spread 1 teaspoon of jam on cookie and cover with another cookie.

Recipe courtesy of Cooks.com http://www.cooks.com/