Recipe - Cockentrice (A Marvelous Beast)

1 Suckling pig, about 7 pounds
1 lg Roasting chicken, about 6
pounds
6 Egg yolks
One fourth teaspoon Powdered saffron
One half cup Allpurpose flour
One fourth cup White wine
1 tablespoon Fresh parsley leaves,
very finely chopped
1 tablespoon Flour

"The extraordinary "beasts" created by these instructions never were seen
on land or sea. A bestiary pair, these chicken and pork visual as well as
edible delights were intended to startle as well as feed. The creation of
such illusion foods was an important contribution of the medieval cook to
the flamboyant art forms of the medieval feast."

Bake the chicken and the suckling pig separately at 375 F until tender; the
chicken ought to take 2 hours, the suckling pig closer to 3 hours.

Cut the chicken in half with the incision running around the body behind
the wings. The forward half is thus separated from the hindparts.
Similarly cleave the pig so that the "head and shoulders" are cut from the
back half of the animal. With a strong butcher's thread or "carpet" thread
sew the forward half of the chicken to the back half of the pig; sew the
pig's "head and shoulders" to the hind half of the capon. Each is now a
cockentrice. Turn oven up to 400F.

Lightly beat the egg yolks. Mix in the saffron and flour to make a thick
fluid. Paint this on the suture lines as well as various parts of either
the "face" or appendagesgold snout and gold nails were typical
adornments.

Return these marvelous animals to the oven so the gold "endoring" may set
and the final creatures appear resplendent.

Mix the parsley in white wine with flour until the green color well
permeates the fluid. If not a bright green, add two drops of green food
coloring. Paint on "feathers" or designs for final embellishing of the
cockentrice, your fancy guiding your hand.

From: Fabulous Feasts, Midieval Cookery and Ceremony

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini