Flaming Volcano Mashed Potatoes — a Dramatic Holiday Centerpiece

Ingredients:

• Mashed potatoes – 500-700 g (about 1.1-1.5 lbs)
• Chicken – 700 g (about 1.5 lbs)
• Pomegranate juice – 200 ml (about 0.8 cups)
• Fresh lemon juice to taste
• Onion – 1-2 pieces
• Tomato sauce – 2 tablespoons
• Egg – 1 piece
• Cognac – 2 tablespoons
• Herbs, salt, black ground pepper, and shashlik seasoning to taste

1. Cut the chicken into pieces. Add roughly chopped onion, season with salt, pepper, and shashlik seasoning, then pour in the pomegranate juice and a bit of lemon juice. Mix well and refrigerate for 3 hours to marinate.
2. Thread the marinated meat onto wooden skewers and bake in the oven until cooked through.
3. Wash the egg thoroughly, then carefully crack it in the middle with a knife and remove the yolk and white (you only need the shell). Peel off the membrane from the inside of the shell half.
4. On a large round plate, mound the mashed potatoes in the center. Arrange the pieces of meat around the potatoes and garnish with herbs. Press the prepared half eggshell into the top of the potato mound so the rim is not visible from the side. Drizzle tomato sauce down the sides of the mound. Pour cognac into the eggshell and light it. Serve the dish with the lights turned off.