gelatinous holiday horrors

[andiesenji]

Y'know, I find gelatin based desserts pretty harmless and quite pretty. Adding fruit or whipped cream to it seems like a natural but no mayonnaise or Miracle Whip, please. Those are for the sandwiches. My mother made plain Jell-o (remember when there were only a few flavors?) with a dollop of whipped cream. My grandmother made the lime jello mixed with canned pears or fruit cocktail and whipped cream. I liked it. But again, it's pretty harmless stuff. Comforting in a way, actually. 

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I enjoy some molded salads, although I do not eat seafood of any kind. I grew up with tomato aspic, molded salads with shredded vegetables and fruit, cabbage, carrots, and apples, sometimes pineapple (canned), not all that sweet. In the summer there were always gelatin based salads or semi-desserts, either strawberry, orange, raspberry, peach, and so on, depending on the season and availability of the fruit.

Our cook made one that I have never been able to duplicate, molded in a tall copper mold, with walnut-sized balls of sweet cheese suspended in the clear gelatin (not always the same flavor) with "layers" of fruit and clotted cream. It was a spectacular presentation and there was never any left. (I've never been able to duplicate that sweet cheese either - it was delicious.)

I make one that most people like and often ask for. Every time we have a potluck at the office, the docs and several of the staff ask if I will bring it, in addition to whatever else I bring. I use lime Jello or sometimes plain gelatine with a syrup made from lime zest, but it is easier with the Jello.

[NWKate]

We used to call the church ladies "The lime jello brigade"- the Catholics were the best- not to hijack the thread but does anyone remember the sandwich spread they made out of ground hot dogs?

Kate

[Jason Perlow]

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I'll second that. Three and a half months later and that is the thing I remember most from the Pig Pickin. Good to look at, good to eat.

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[KitchenQueen]

GOOD LORD! What is that thing? I'm guessing on the flavors, from the bottom up.

Strawberry, raspberry,orange, lemon, lime, blueberry, tuna, and root beer....

Did I get it right?

[racheld]

I use lime Jello or sometimes plain gelatine with a syrup made from lime zest, but it is easier with the Jello.

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Don't just dangle a congealed salad recipe in front of a Southern cook and then go away!! Come on!!! I've bared all---recipe, please.

[Jason Perlow]

GOOD LORD! What is that thing?  I'm guessing on the flavors, from the bottom up.

Strawberry, raspberry,orange, lemon, lime, blueberry, tuna, and root beer....

Did I get it right?

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No tuna was harmed in the making of that Jello mold.

[miladyinsanity]

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I can make something like that out of Agar-agar, sugar, coloring, and coconut milk.

Anybody game to try it?

(I can't stand jellified coconut milk)

[cathrynapple]

see, i think that's just beautiful.

[andiesenji]

I use lime Jello or sometimes plain gelatine with a syrup made from lime zest, but it is easier with the Jello.

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Don't just dangle a congealed salad recipe in front of a Southern cook and then go away!! Come on!!! I've bared all---recipe, please.

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Andie's LIME GELATIN SALAD

1 (6-oz) pkg lime gelatin powder

1 cup boiling water

1 (8-oz) pkg cream cheese -- softened

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 cans mandarin orange segments, 11oz -- well drained

8 ounces pineapple, -- crushed & drained (drain in a colander and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.)

1 cup lemon-lime soda

1/2 cup pecans -- chopped

1/2 pint sour cream -- whipped

Dissolve gelatin in water.

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy.

Stir in gelatin mixture and beat until smooth and color is evenly blended.

Stir in vanilla, oranges, pineapple, soda and pecans.

Chill until mixture mounds slightly when dropped from a spoon. Fold in the sour cream.

This is for a dinner salad. Some people like to substitute Mascarpone for the sour cream but it is not to my taste.

Pour into a 13" x 9" x 2" dish. Refrigerate for 3 - 4 hours or till firm.

Cut into squares.

Can be garnished by a dollop of sour cream and a mandarin orange segment if desired. Sometimes I use a fine zester to get long, very fine strings of lime zest and make curls of this on top of each square.

Approximately 85 calories per 3" x 3" square.

16 servings

[racheld]

ALL the components: Jello (especially lime), cream cheese, crushed pineapple, 7-up, and a glump of sour cream, in the traditional 9x13!!! And mandarins, just like for the Grand Matron's visit.

Well done, Hon. You could hold your own in a Dixie kitchen, ANYTIME.

PS: And that layered mold above is GORGEOUS!!! Do you know how many HOURS that took?

Edited December 24, 2005 by racheld (log)

[bavila]

Oh, the rainbow stripes making me howl with laughter! It is beautiful to behold, and I'm sure it was fun to make. But I can't say I'd want to eat it.

My daughter on the other hand...

[Jennifer Iannolo]

Oh. My.

That is the most extraordinary jellied concoction I have ever seen -- I was mesmerized for at least a full minute by the stripes of color, marveling at how much time it must have taken to create them.

It's the potential texture that freaks me out, however. I'm all about texture.

And thank you for the seafood mold pictures!

[Lori in PA]

I'm of a mixed mind regarding jello. I don't like fruit jello mixed with veggies and one of my stand-out early childhood memories is sitting in our playroom at our little table and chairs with my sister and two other girls at a "get-together" my parents were hosting after evening Sunday worship services. My mom had made Shrimp Mold, with the aforementioned Campbell's Cream of Tomato Soup, and one of us had a 2 T. serving on her plate. We'd cleaned our plates otherwise and began flipping this blob of salmon-colored something from one person's plate to the next, squealing, "You eat it!"

"No, you eat it!"

"No, you eat it!"

We laughed harder and harder at our clever badness until I threw up. That ended the hilarity fairly quickly. So, I've vomited, not from eating Shrimp Mold, but from NOT eating it.

OTOH, I like the lime jello/cream cheese/marshmallow dessert as long as it doesn't have cottage cheese. And, I'm pleased to see no one has maligned another jello favorite of mine, which sounds weirder than weird, but is delicious to those smart enough to close their eyes and taste: Pretzel Salad. I'm giving you the recipe, because you MUST make it. Quit thinking what you're thinking and trust me...

Pretzle Salad

1 6 oz. pkg. strawberry gelatin

2 c. boiling water

2 10 oz. pkgs. frozen sweetened strawberries with juice, thawed

2 c. coarsely crushed pretzels

3/4 c. butter or margarine, melted

3 T. plus 1 c. sugar, divided

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 8 oz. container frozen whipped topping, thawed (use real whipped cream if you must, but it won't be authentic)

Combine gelatin and boiling water, stirring until gelatin is dissolved. Stir in strawberries with juice. Chill until partially set in mixing bowl. Combine crushed pretzels, melted butter, and 3 T. sugar. Pat into a 13 x 9 x 2" pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes; cool completely. Cream together cream cheese and remaining 1 c. sugar; fold in whipped topping. Spread cream cheese mixture over pretzel crust. Pour partially set gelatin mixture over all; chill several hours or overnight. Serves 12

[patti]

I just found out there will be a shrimp mold on the Christmas table tomorrow. Maybe I can discreetly snap a photo.

I know we're making fun of this stuff, but my mother's shrimp mold recipe earned her first place honors in her local newspaper's annual cookbook contest. She was so proud.

[miladyinsanity]

I don't know how long it takes for gelatin to set, but if it's about the same as agar-agar, it wouldn't be too long.

Edited to add: That is, it wouldn't take too long to make.

Edited December 24, 2005 by miladyinsanity (log)

[mizducky]

The buffet table at the potluck Christmas dinner I attended today at the Unitarian church of which I am a member. Yes, that's not one but two gelatin concoctions you see on the table, both in the traditional 9"x13" configuration. See? Even Unitarians do jello molds for church suppers!

I have no explanation for the symbol marked in Cool Whip on the pink one; knowing Unitarians, I'm guessing it was an attempt to make a peace sign (as opposed to a Mercedes Benz logo). I did have some of the pink one, which was labeled as an ambrosia salad (signified by coconut among the embedded ingredients). It tasted nice enough. I didn't have room on my plate for the green one on the first trip through the line, and by the time I made the second trip it was gone.

Personally, I don't have anything against jello salads as such. After all, they're (distant) relatives of aspics and other savory jelled dishes, which I love. The horrid ones I think would be horrid nomatter what the ingredients were embedded in. The good ones are nice enough ... it's just that there are lots of things I like lots better.

(This was a very decent potluck, by the way--there are some good cooks in this congregation. My contribution was a sorta-deliberately non-traditional Asian noodle salad. I made a huge amount, and was gratified to see that most of it was vaccuumed up, leaving just enough for me to make a late-night dinner.)

Edited December 26, 2005 by mizducky (log)

[Rebecca263]

Do you all mean to tell me that someone actually hacked into that gorgeous gelatin art of Rachel's and ATE it!? I'm shocked. It was so beautiful that I would have cried. I don't eat gelatin myself (can't take the texture in my mouth), so maybe it's worth it and I don't know? Still, Rachel, that was so amazing, I can't believe it was 'just' food. I think it deserves a special commendation, it was simply SO GOOD to look at.

[KatieLoeb]

Do you all mean to tell me that someone actually hacked into that gorgeous gelatin art of Rachel's and ATE it!? I'm shocked. It was so beautiful that I would have cried.  I don't eat gelatin myself (can't take the texture in my mouth), so maybe it's worth it and I don't know? Still, Rachel, that was so amazing, I can't believe it was 'just' food. I think it deserves a special commendation, it was simply SO GOOD to look at.

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I had some. (I didn't do the hacking. Rachel did) It was delicious. It's Jello!

There's Always Room for Jello! (this is what my friend Jane says every time she shows up at a party with Jello shots. She's famous for her Jello shots. She's also famous for having caused numerous hangovers amongst the uninitiated )

[Jason Perlow]

Do you all mean to tell me that someone actually hacked into that gorgeous gelatin art of Rachel's and ATE it!? I'm shocked. It was so beautiful that I would have cried.  I don't eat gelatin myself (can't take the texture in my mouth), so maybe it's worth it and I don't know? Still, Rachel, that was so amazing, I can't believe it was 'just' food. I think it deserves a special commendation, it was simply SO GOOD to look at.

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Its kind of like the Mandala tantric sand painting made by Tibetan monks to represent the beauty and impermanence of life. Immediately after making intricate colored sand patterns that take days to complete, their work is destroyed by sweeping it up and handing it out to the worshippers. The only difference is that in the case of Jello molds, you get to eat the destruction.

[bavila]

There's Always Room for Jello!

I've never understood why this would be an endorsement. But my dad says the same thing.

[Kris]

I've made a "cranberry mousse" in years past which calls for raspberry or strawberry Jell-O, jellied cranberry sauce, orange juice and some freshly whipped cream folded into the mixture. You pour it into a 6 cup gelatin mold and freeze - walla!

It was pretty good though. And creamy. I think the whipped cream helps it out a lot.

Edited December 28, 2005 by Kris (log)

[Arianna]

When I was in sixth grade I won a science fair by molding a whole strawberry into a brain shaped Jello mold and writing out an essay on how it represented a brain tumor and brain tumors were BAD!

But I think I won because I let everyone have a piece at the end of the fair.

Also, while everyone is being mean to Jello, I definately don't think there have been enough props given to Jello shots. I saw a mention upthread, but come on guys! Jello shots are one of the things that make America great!

[Rachel Perlow]

Do you all mean to tell me that someone actually hacked into that gorgeous gelatin art of Rachel's and ATE it!?

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I had some. (I didn't do the hacking. Rachel did) It was delicious. It's Jello!

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Actually, I think Katie's had it more than once. I've made it for the NJ Picnic in the past, although the picture above is from Varmint's Pig Pickin'. One of my friends has said it's a shame I made it because I'm such a good cook (quoting someone else here, don't want to appear immodest) and could do so much more. Usually I do, just to prove I can make more than Jello (at the NJ event I've made baked beans, for example, and for the Pig Pickin pre-dinner, I made risotto as well as being an all around prep cook & helper, and grower of tomatoes and pickler of cucumbers ).

But as for eating it... I really encourage that first person to go right ahead. People stare at it and don't want to be the one to break the spell or something.

It does take a while to make, but it's pretty simple, the recipe is on the Jello website. And, while it does take hours, it's not a labor intensive and just takes a few minutes of attention out of every hour.

As for the taste - since you're getting a variety of flavors in each bite, it just sort of tastes like Jello, as opposed to a specific flavor.

Thanks for the compliments all. I for one, can't wait to see the picture of an actual Shrimp Mold. I like fruity additions to Jello, but can't stomach the idea of using sweet Jello for a savory application.

[Swisskaese]

Do you all mean to tell me that someone actually hacked into that gorgeous gelatin art of Rachel's and ATE it!? I'm shocked. It was so beautiful that I would have cried.  I don't eat gelatin myself (can't take the texture in my mouth), so maybe it's worth it and I don't know? Still, Rachel, that was so amazing, I can't believe it was 'just' food. I think it deserves a special commendation, it was simply SO GOOD to look at.

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I also have a problem with the texture of jello. Rachel your jello mold is beautiful, but I really dislike the feel of jello in my mouth and seeing it wriggle in front of me. I couldn't bring my self to have a jello shot in the '80s. My sister has a cotton phobia and I have a jello phobia.

Edited December 28, 2005 by Swisskaese (log)

[patti]

I for one, can't wait to see the picture of an actual Shrimp Mold. I like fruity additions to Jello, but can't stomach the idea of using sweet Jello for a savory application.

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Rachel, I didn't take a photo of the Christmas day shrimp mold, but just for you, I'll make one myself and photograph it, perhaps for New Year's Eve or New Year's Day. Have no fear, shrimp mold does not contain sweet Jello, but unflavored gelatin, instead.