Crackle Blog

Watch today,Woke Up Dead: "Work It All Out". Be like Drex. Eat brains.

ZombieFest is well under way, and we hope you're all celebrating in the appropriate manner, firing up the computer, watching some classic zombie flicks, and perhaps even hosting a "traditional" zombie get together. Of course when it comes to ethnic zombie cuisine, there's really only one thing on the menu -- brains. One needs only watch yesterday's episode of Woke Up Dead to know this. We here at Crackle want to foster the development of human/zombie relations, so we've put together a few items that any zombie and zombie fan can readily enjoy (if you're over 21) together.

The easiest thing to serve at a zombie party is of course the traditional tiki drink known as "The Zombie." This drink first appeared in the 1930's around the same time as Bela Lugosi's White Zombie, (catch Lugosi in the ZombieFest title, The Black Sleep). Created by Ernest Raymond Beaumont-Gannt, a.k.a. Donn "the Beachcomber" Beach, the original recipe was top secret, but the idea is that it's a drink with a fruity taste masking a high alcohol content. The name comes from an imbiber who claimed to have "been turned into a zombie" after drinking three of them. We don't endorse drinking three (that would be irresponsible) and we can't claim that below is the original recipe, but it's close enough for "inter-life" relations.

The Zombie

INGREDIENTS:
3/4oz. light rum
3/4oz. gold rum
1/2oz. dark rum
1/2oz. apricot brandy
2oz. pineapple juice
1.5oz. papaya juice
Dash of cherry flavored syrup
1/4 oz. floater of 151 proof rum

Grab a 12oz. glass and fill it to the rim with ice. Then use a jigger to pour all the ingredients, up until the cherry syrup, into the glass. Give the drink a mix (use a cocktail shaker, or pour between glasses), then gently top it off with the cherry syrup so that you get a nice shading effect down the sides of the glass. Top it off with the 151 rum, and you have a drink that will make you indistinguishable from the undead. WARNING: 151 rum is highly flammable, and you may be tempted to light the top of the glass, but in the words of Frankenstein's monster, "Fire Bad!"

Now if you're in the mood for a drink that symbolizes the traditional zombie pursuit of "brains", but may require some practice, there's always a "Brain Hemorrhage." This is a shot that tastes nothing like it looks, and again, should only be drunk in a responsible manner.

Brain Hemorrhage

INGREDIENTS:
1oz. peach schnapps
1/2oz. Irish cream Liqueur
Dash of cherry flavored syrup

Take a standard shot glass and pour in the peach schnapps. Flip a spoon over round side up and lay it on the edge of the shot glass. Then slowly dribble in the Irish cream over the back of the spoon. You should now have a layered shot with the Irish cream floating on top. Gently pour in a drop of the cherry syrup in the middle of the shot. The syrup will go through the Irish cream and form a lovely little "brain" in the clear portion below. It looks gross, but any zombie would agree, this is tasty.

So now that you've made the drinks, it's time for a nosh. There is only one option that will not offend your undead guests, and also offer sustenance to your living company... brains. It's also important to note that cow brains from a bovine over 30 months old are banned in the US, but calf and pork brains are available at your local butcher. The great thing is that when all is said and done, the serving options are endless.

Brains were big in Rome. In the earliest surviving cookbook there's a Roman recipe for brains with rose petals. Then there was the Roman emperor Elagabalus who once had a banquet where 600 ostrich brains were served. But we recommend going simple with the following recipes.

Scrambled Eggs and Brains

This was once a popular breakfast in the Southern U.S and is easy to prepare. First boil a calf's brain in salted water for about fifteen minutes. Once fully cooked, drain the brain and chop it up into chunks of cow knowledge. Then in a skillet on low heat, scramble the pieces of head into a dozen eggs with three tablespoons of butter (add chopped shallots if you're feeling special). Serve with a glass of tomato juice (the zombies won't know it's not blood).

Brain Salad

For your guests who don't like eggs there's always this modern classic. Just marinate a sliced calf brain in fresh Meyer lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and some sea salt and pepper. Serve cold.

If you want to go further, check out this article from the Austin A.V. Club for "calf-brain tacos" -- yum!

So throw your own ZombieFest today, just make sure not to invite Takeru Kobayashi -- that guy's alive, and he holds the world record for eating brains: 17.7 pounds in 15 minutes. What a party foul.

CJ - Crackle Blog Editor