Yes, you heard correctly. I'm talking about making a Martini with an eyeball in it. First, the drink, then the story behind it.
To make this drink, you need the following supplies: London dry gin, Vermouth, a Martini glass, a Martini shaker, some ice, a toothpick, and a large salmon head. Now here's what you do:
- Take one of the eyeballs from the fish head and put it in a shallow pan of boiling water for a minute or so to cook it through.
- Take the glass, put a dash of Vermouth and a bunch of ice in there and slosh it around.
- Put a shot of gin, a dash of Vermouth and some ice in the shaker and, well, shake it.
- Dump the ice out of the glass.
- Strain the contents of the shaker into the glass.
- Take the eyeball out of the water and stab it onto a toothpick and place it in the drink.
- Drink it and yecch out your friends.
Now for the story. Once a week my housemates and I used to host a party in the middle of the week to lighten up everybody's work and school week. So people we didn't even know started showing up since it had become such an institution, but that was cool because it added variety. So one time our theme was Martinis and this girl we had never seen before asked what went into a martini. I was explaining it to her and just on a lark I added eyeballs to the list of standard garnishings (usually olives or onions), and she believed me and was grossed out, so she got a glass of wine instead.
At this point my housemate comes walking into the kitchen, barely able to contain his laughter. Having overheard my description of a martini, he quietly explains that due to some strange photography assignment he actually has a giant salmon head in the fridge, and since it only needs to have an eye on one side for the purpose of his still life he can spare the one on the opposite side. So we're both about four Martinis in the hole at this point and we decide to really tweak out that chick, so off we go, and the rest is history.
Just as a final note, after soaking in gin for the time it takes to drink a Martini in a civilized manner, a boiled eyeball tastes about the same as the Martini it was soaking in.