The Monster Island Theater Peacock Recipes

Peacock's Tail

Pour Chartreuse into a frosted champagne flute. Fill half-way with crushed ice, and slightly damp down with the flat end of a barspoon. Add semi-frozen grenadine to form a layer, and fill with lemon sherbet. Sprinkle Strega on top, garnish with a mint leaf and cherry, and serve with a straw.

Recipe courtesy of DrinkSwap.com http://www.drinkswap.com/

Flannery O'Connor Chili

Go out in the yard at dark and listen in the trees. Catch one napping and bring it in. Knock it on the doorframe first, otherwise you're in for a time. Save the better feathers, you might use them later.

Cook the onions and garlic in the oil in a large pot, not long, just to get some flavor out of them. Don't brown 'em! Toss in the cubes of meat and cook till they're white all around. Throw in your chili powder and cayenne and cumin and roll the meat around in it. Throw in your flour and roll it around again.

Puree the tomatoes and slop them in with one of the beers and then the water. Mix it up, turn the stove down, cover and simmer for 40 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and the lime juice. Take the lid off and simmer it another half hour.

Drink the other Dixie/Jax/Greisedeck and taste the spoon so it burns your tongue good. Salt to taste, or more cayenne. Chili should be thick when it's ready.

Wear the feathers while you're eating. When you're done, go out in the yard with the pot and bang on it with a spoon. Holler "You're next, you lazy ingrates" so the neighbors can hear.

Yankees can substitiute chicken. Real Yankees like Mr. John Cheever can substitute leftover Thanksgiving dinner.

Recipe courtesy of The Works of Stewart O'Nan http://www.stewart-onan.com/

Redressed Peacocks which Seem Living; and How to Make them Breathe Fire through their Mouth

You should first kill the peacock with a feather, driving it upon its head, or else drain its blood from under its throat as with a pig; but it is better to take out its tongue and then to slice it under its body - that is, from the top of its breast to its tail - slicing only the skin and removing it gently so that it is not damaged; when you have skinned it, pull the skin back right up to the head, then cut away the head, which will remain attached to the skin; do the same with the legs, and likewise the tail, taking out the leg bones so that the iron will make the peacock stand up will not be seen; then take the skinned carcass and set it to roast stuck with lardoons, or else baste it with grease often enough that it will not burn, and stick it with whole cloves, and fill it with the Piglet stuffing but without garlic; cook it gently so its neck does not burn; if the neck should get too much heat, cover it with a damp cloth; when it is cooked, take it down and redress it in its skin, whose inside you have coated with spices, salt and cinnamon. Then, when you have put its skin back on, get an apparatus of iron driven into a large cutting board and shove this iron through its feet and legs so it cannot be seen; in this way the peacock will be standing so that it will seem to be alive.

And to make it breathe fire through its mouth, get a little camphor with a little fine cotton-wool around it and put this into the peacock's beak and soak it with a little aqauvita or else with a little fumey old wine that is volatile; when you want to serve it, set fire to the cotton-wool: in this way it will breathe fire for a long time. To make it more magnificent you can cover the peacock with gold leaf and then cover it with its skin.

The same can be done with pheasants, cranes, geese and other birds.

Recipe courtesy of Gode Cookery http://www.godecookery.com/godeboke/godeboke.htm

Peacock Pie

Soak the black-eyed beans for one hour and then cook until tender (about 45 mins). Wash and cut pumpkin into small cubes (about 1 inch) and cook in a large pan of water until soft (about 10 minutes). Drain the water. Mash the pumpkin and add the butter. Cut zucchini in half and then into 1/4 inch slices. Heat sunflower oil; fry chopped onions in a large pan (until translucent) and then add zucchini. Sauté well for five minutes. Add remaining ingredients except the pumpkin and broccoli and transfer to a casserole dish. Slice the broccoli flowers into fan shape pieces and then parboil. Cover the casserole mixture with the mashed pumpkin and bake for 20 mins at 350° F. Remove from oven and arrange the broccoli fans on the mixture in an attractive pattern resembling peacock feathers. Bake for a further two minutes and serve with rice.

Serves 4.

Recipe courtesy of Sugarvine.com: Restaurants in Manchester http://www.sugarvine.com/Manchester/

Peacock Vegetables

Place onions, squash, zucchini, peppers and garlic in a bowl and toss well.

Combine parsley, vinegar, oil, oregano, salt and pepper in a jar. Cover tightly and shake well.

Pour over vegetables and toss.

Spoon vegetable mixture into an ungreased roasting pan.

Bake at 425° F for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tip: You can let the vegetables sit in the marinade for up to 2 hours before baking.

Recipe courtesy of About.com: Kosher Food http://kosherfood.about.com/