My very own Meat Head, circa Halloween 1999. Photo: Kat Kinsman
First, select and wash a plastic skull. If it seems especially non-food-safe, mummify it in plastic wrap. Set it aside and prepare a batch of red-colored Jell-O, using half the amount of water required by the recipe. Pour this into a shallow pan to a depth of 1/4 inch, chill and let it congeal to a rubbery state.
When the Jell-O has set, slice it into strips and segments and mold these around the skull. Once the skull has been mostly covered, layer the entire surface with thinly sliced cold cuts -- approximately 1 1/2 pounds should be adequate. In the photograph above, I'd stuck solely to deli ham, but salami, mortadella and roast beef can be wonderfully evocative of post-zombification dermatological issues.
Halve the yolk of a hard boiled egg and gently press the pieces into Meat Head's eye sockets. Pickled onions or olives of any sort make excellent pupils, but pimento-stuffed cocktail olives add an extra soupçon of gore.
Gently place your new friend on a platter, possibly layered with additional meat scraps, cooked and sauced spaghetti, seaweed or red leaf lettuce. At the appropriate moment, lower the music and bear the platter out to the main buffet, heralding his entrance with a solemn chant of "Meat Head! Meat Head! Meat Head!" Encourage your guests to join in and award the first forkful to the most enthusiastic participant.
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