Part 16 (1/2)

6 Delicacies That Make You Gag

Eager to figure out just how thick your stomach lining is? Well, the folks at mental_floss rounded up a couple Iron Chef recipes to put your iron stomachs to the test. Of course, you might need a bit of alcohol to work up the courage. The following are six courses to get you in the swig of things.

_01:: The Appetizer: Snails From the ancient Romans to today's upper crust, snails, or as the French call them, escargots, have been a favorite starter of the rich and famous. As the Romans expanded their empire, the tasty little gastropods inched along with them and became a culinary prize, especially in France. In fact, Napoleon was even known to have issued snails as rations to his troops. But if you're about to get your grub on, you should know that a snail is not just a snail. While there are two basic snail groups, the achatine and the helix, you'll be dining on the latter. Helix snails are indigenous to Europe and are the snail gourmets' favorite. The young creatures feed on grapevines with the most famous coming from the Champagne and Burgundy regions. The pet.i.t gris escargot is considered the best, especially in November when they are the plumpest. And while rumor has it that the best snails are three to four years old, one question always remains for the uninitiated (mainly among the under-10 lot): If you salt the snail, will it disappear before you can eat it?

Touch of Evil The Summer 1983 issue of Mothering magazine featured recipes for the human placenta, including placenta stew, placenta c.o.c.ktails, placenta lasagna, and placenta pizza. Some believe that ingesting the organ is natural and healthy.

_02:: The Salad: Indonesian Sago Worm and Balinese Dragonflies The Indonesian sago palm was once cultivated for its starchy substance used to thicken soup and make puddings. Today, however, the tree's extract has taken second place to its inhabitants. In fact, sago palm larvae, which seem to offer the same starchy taste, are a delicacy sold live in the marketplace. And harvesting the sago worm is actually an art form. It starts out by roaming the forest looking for fallen sago palms. If you happen to stumble across one, you knock on it checking for movement. If you hear a little rustling, you should feel free to hack open the tree and collect your jackpot. As for preparation, the worms can be eaten raw or toasted. And back to the salad, just combine the sago worms with deep-fried Balinese dragonflies, add a little coconut paste, fermented fish sauce, garlic, chiles, tamarind juice, basil leaves, ginger, and lime juice. Then, wrap the whole thing in banana leaf and you have a salad that should tickle your taste buds (literally, if you decided to keep those larvae raw!).

_03:: The Soup: Bosintang (Dog Soup) What's a full-course epicurean delight without the soup? For course number three, we've chosen Chinese Bosintang, or dog meat soup. Relatively easy to make, a.s.suming Bowser is agreeable, the soup requires taking strips of dog meat and boiling them in a soy paste. Then vegetables like green onions, taro stalk, and perilla are added to the mixture, and the broth is brought to a boil. Finally, a sauce made from mashed garlic, red pepper, and ginger is mixed in. And before digging into your bowl of man's best friend, you should probably season the dish with pepper. Rumor has it that it goes very well with a gla.s.s of soju (liquor). Of course, the dish has a bit of versatility. Rice can be served with the soup or the combination can be mixed together to make sumptuous leftovers or a warm meal the kids can take in their lunch box...or a doggie bag.

_04:: The Entree: Horse Meat Pie Seabiscuit sauteed and simmered? No way! But outside the United States horse meat is accepted in such cultures as the French, Italian, Swiss, and j.a.panese. That's because horse meat is an excellent source of high-quality protein, vitamin B12, iron, and zinc. Plus, its lean red meat can easily be mistaken for premium beef. As for quality cuts, though, the mare is often considered the best source, followed by the gelding and then the stallion. There are actually numerous horse meat dishes, including horse meat stew, pony Stroganoff, horse parmesan, and chicken-fried horse meat. However, today's entree is Welsh horse pie. Just take strips of horse meat and sear them in a skillet. Next, arrange the strips in a stew pan with layers of potatoes, cheese, and tomatoes. Once tender, just remove the concoction to a baking dish lined with pie dough, cover the top with crust, and then bake until brown. You'll want to serve the dish with a heavy burgundy wine. Of course, caution while cooking is required. Underprepared horse meat can turn the epicurean into the Galloping Gourmet.

Profiles in Carnage IDI AMIN (1924/5?2003) Skeletons in the Pantry: Start with his fridge: Probably a big fan of plastic wrap and aluminum foil, Idi Amin kept the heads of some of his victims fresh by storing them in his fridge. Of course, he had plenty to choose from: Estimates are that Idi tortured and murdered up to 300,000 victims while he was president of Uganda.

Idi the Connoisseur: Of course, what good's a fridge if you can't make use of it? Amin once reportedly told his minister of health that he found human flesh ”rather too salty.” So, maybe Idi wasn't that into dark meat.

Idi the Sharp Dresser: If that isn't enough to make you retch, you should check out his style sense: The guy wore so many medals that his s.h.i.+rts sometimes tore.

Idi the Practical Joker: Amin often sent nonsensical telegrams to other countries' leaders, and he loved to romp about playing his accordion.

Idi ”I Am the Most Modest Dictator in the World (and I Have a Medal to Prove It)” Amin: Apparently, he didn't suffer from low self-esteem. By the time Amin had fled into exile to Libya, and then Saudi Arabia, his official t.i.tle was ”His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin, VC, DS, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea, and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular.” Tough to get that on a business card.

_05:: The Piece de Resistance: Haggis The crown prize of any culinary feast, haggis is typically served with great fanfare on January 25, or Burns Night, in celebration of the Scottish poet Robert Burns's birthday. In fact, the specially prepared feast is ceremoniously escorted into the room by a bagpiper, and Burns's poem ”Address to a Haggis” is then read. So, what exactly is haggis, you ask? How about a sheep's stomach loaded with minced sheep liver and heart. Take one sheep pluck, or stomach bag, turn it inside out, sc.r.a.pe the surface with a knife, and then let it soak overnight in cold salt water. Boil the liver and heart and then parboil an onion. Simply mince this mixture, add toasted oatmeal and suet, and then fill the pluck, making sure to sew closed both ends. Now you just have to place the haggis in boiling water and slow boil for about four hours. For serving, you'll want to slice the haggis and garnish it with neeps (mashed turnips), tatties (mashed potatoes), and nips (sips of Scotch whisky). Actually, you may want to bring the whole bottle.

_06:: The After-Dinner Treat: Rocky Mountain Oysters OK, so where does one find seafood in the Rocky Mountains? Well, you probably guessed it. Not really a seafood dish, Rocky Mountain oysters are actually bull t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es. And in fact, this famed western U.S. delicacy has its own t.e.s.t.i.c.l.e festival every September in Clinton, Montana. According to connoisseurs, the deep-fried gonads are best served with hot sauce and a beer. And for the strong of stomach the recipe's really quite simple. First, cut and pull away the skin around the testes, then place 'em in salted water for about an hour. Next, parboil the ”oysters” in salt water, drain, and then let cool. Simply slice the delicacy into chip-size pieces and then roll them in a batter of flour, corn meal, and dried garlic. Finally, dip the oysters in red wine and fry 'em up. To serve, just place the oysters in a hot sauce, drain them, then pile on the potato chips and ply your guests with plenty of beer.

Fed Up with People:

5 Facts on Cannibalism

You are what you eat, or is it who you eat? Following are five facts on the ritual value of cannibalism and some of its biggest gluttons.

_01:: Missionary Accomplished Remember those cartoons showing natives placing captives in a big caldron of boiling water, tossing in the vegetables, and brewing up a large bowl of missionary stew? In most cultures, this couldn't be farther from the truth. While eating others' flesh may have been, at times, necessary for survival, in most cases it was out of ritualistic respect. In many locations cannibalism was the ultimate honor for the victimwhen tribes ate their enemies, they did so to take on valued characteristics of that enemy. Blood was drunk in order to achieve some of the victim's bravery. Likewise, the brain was eaten for knowledge, the heart for courage, and the legs for swiftness. In some cases, a small portion of a recently deceased family member was also consumed out of respect as long as the departed one was not diseased or very elderly.

_02:: The Scottish Mr. Bean During the time of Scotland's King James VI, later James I of England, there allegedly lived a highwayman named Alexander Bean, who along with his wife, eight sons, six daughters, 18 grandsons, and 14 granddaughters robbed any traveler unfortunate enough to cross their path. In order to hide the evidence and to feed an ever-growing family, each victim was killed and dismembered, with some body parts served immediately and the rest pickled for use later. Legend has it that close to 1,000 victims ended up the meal du jour for the Bean family. When finally captured, the adult male members of the Beans were executed by being dismembered and allowed to bleed to death. The women and children were then burned at the stake. However, there is no mention of what the Bean family had as its last meal.

_03:: Eddie Gein: Hollywood's Favorite Cannibal On November 17, 1957, the Plainfield, Wisconsin, police began searching the farmhouse of Eddie Gein, a suspect in the robbery of a hardware store owned by Bernice Worden. As the police searched the dark, trash-covered house, they happened across a carca.s.s hanging from the kitchen ceiling. At first they thought it was a deer, but upon closer inspection the officers discovered that it was the decapitated and gutted body of Bernice. But it didn't end there. More ghoulish items were soon found in the house. A bowl was made from the top of a human skull; lampshades, wastebaskets, armchairs, and an entire suit were made from human skin; and, most ghastly, a belt was made from nipples, a human head, four noses, and a heart. The police could only speculate as to how many female victims were used to make Eddie's collection. Eddie soon became a Hollywood favorite. Norman Bates of Psycho fame is based on Eddie, bits and pieces of The Texas Chainsaw Ma.s.sacre are taken from Eddie's story, and the character of Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs was inspired by Mr. Gein.

Touch of Evil The word ”cannibal” came from Christopher Columbus's journeys to the New World. He described the Caribs of Cuba and Haiti, whom he saw making meals of their own kind, as ”Canibalis.”

_04:: Jeffrey Dahmer: Milwaukee's Notorious Cannibal On July 22, 1991, Milwaukee police officers questioned an individual whom they had spotted wandering incoherently down a street with a handcuff on one hand. The individual told them that he had been drugged and handcuffed but was able to get away from his a.s.sailant. He then led them to the apartment of a 31-year-old chocolate factory worker named Jeffrey Dahmer. As they searched Dahmer's apartment, the police came across one of the most ghoulish scenes in American history. Upon opening the refrigerator, the officers found a recently severed head staring back at them. They also found three more heads and human meat stored in the freezer along with several hands and a p.e.n.i.s in a stockpot. As the case unfolded, it became clear that Dahmer had killed, dismembered, and eaten as many as 17 victims, most of whom were poor transient blacks, Asians, or Hispanics. Dahmer would lure the victim to his apartment to watch TV and drink beer. Once there the victim was drugged and then stabbed or strangled. The body was then dismembered, with the head and genitalia saved as a trophy, the biceps and other muscles frozen to be eaten later, and the rest destroyed by acid and then disposed of. Dahmer was sentenced to 15 life sentences, or 957 years. He'd served only about two years when in 1994 he was murdered by another prison inmate.

_05:: Christian Cannibals and Communion As with any upstart religion, the powers that be look at it with disdain and ridicule. This was the case with early Christianity. Late-firstand early-second-century Greek and Roman writers, such as Tacitus and Pliny the Younger, viewed the early Christian movement as a small group of superst.i.tious fanatics who were a new sect among the hated Jews. Among both the upper cla.s.s and common Romans gossip quickly spread about this group, including that as part of their religion they ate human bodies and drank human blood. Obviously a misrepresentation of the Christian ritual of communion, the rumored practice was viewed with disgust by the ”civilized” Romans. Not only did this misinterpretation, coupled with other seemingly strange Christian practices, help to sway sentiment against the Christians, it made it easier for the Roman emperors to justify the persecution of the Christians. After all, there was no room in the Roman Empire for such barbarianism.

Too Much of a Bad Thing:

4 Deaths of Famous People Caused by

Overindulgence in Drugs, Drink, or Dessert

Before you eat that last french fry, swallow that last dram of Drambuie, or sample a sedative or three, you should probably read on.