This collection of strange, bizarre, and surprisingly delicious recipes is guaranteed to startle the stodgy gourmet -- and provide a nine-course banquet full of fun for intrepid foodies and adventurous cooks. Food columnist and junk food fan Carolyn Wyman has unearthed a trove of ethnic oddities unusual restaurant specialties, food manufacturer enthusiasms, and plant and animal dishes guaranteed to provoke even the most jaded palate. Cook a traditional Chinese soup with fish so fresh they're still swimming in it! Try some tongue-tingling Tabasco ice cream. Bake a cake that looks like your garden (complete with worms). Flat-iron a breakfast of French toast. Or tantalize your guests with a holiday menu including: - Grape jelly, mustard, and hot dog hors d'oeuvres- Popcorn soup- Watermelon chicken- Coca-Cola barbecue chicken- Beer cole slaw- Mosquito rice pilaf- Mayonnaise and sauerkraut cakesMake the meal complete with a sweet: prune brownies, perhaps, or a singing, self-frosting cake. A Jell-O tropical fish diorama makes a great centerpiece! You'll also find mail order sources for rare delicacies like emu jerkey and Coney Island hot dog-flavored potato chips, and memorable recipes for special occasions -- Halloween floating hand punch, for example.These authentic, 100 percent edible, non-life-threatening recipes are as entertaining as they are delicious-and no degree from the Cordon Bleu is necessary to follow the instructions either(Barnum and Bailey's Clown School would be more like it)!