gelatinous holiday horrors

[M.X.Hassett]

Rachel, bavila posted a link back in post #16 link to her linked site Salmon Shaped Shrimp mold I cant imagine what the texture of this would be like.

Edited December 28, 2005 by M.X.Hassett (log)

[suzilightning]

Ah! Green Death! My sister-in-laws specialty, Lime Jell-o, pineapple, and cottage cheese.

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a standard shelter island, ny funeral food

[Katie Nell]

The only thing jello is good for is swishing between your teeth!

Oh, and the jello shots!

[JanMcBaker]

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Wowsers!! Talk about psychedelic!! That's quite a spectacular Jello mold there!

[andiesenji]

Not all savory gelatin molds are based on a sweet Jello-type mixture. Many are made with plain gelatin and served as a palate clenser between courses.

There were many molded dishes, some quite elaborate, long before Jello was developed, in fact some go back to the medieval period. Many of today's "lunch-meats" are based on these old jellied and molded meats, etc.

And for those who really love Jello-based foods and the extensive list of alcoholic varieties, there is always

Jellophile, or the Jellomaniac's source for unusual recipes.

And this link includes several, including one similar to the one I posted.

more gelatin salads

Many cookbooks from the late 19th and early 20th centuries have large sections of molded dishes for every course from appetiser to dessert. Afternoon teas were often the place to serve a variety of molded dishes either large and elaborate or small individual molds.

The variety is just about endless.... Jellied consumé used to be a staple on the luncheon menu of many restaurants and tearooms.

I used to serve a spicy tomato aspic made with Snap-E-Tom because my husband loved it.

Edited December 28, 2005 by andiesenji (log)

[Chufi]

I love gelatin-based desserts.. such as this: Rhubarb- muscatwine pudding

but, this ignorant European wants to know.. why would you serve a sweet jelly with your dinner instead of after it?

And why would you call it a salad?

[patti]

Rachel, bavila posted a link back in post #16  link to her linked site Salmon Shaped Shrimp mold I cant imagine what the texture of this would be like.

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Would it make anyone feel better if it were called Shrimp Mousse?

[andiesenji]

Has anyone seen the movie (on DVD) Cold Comfort Farm? In the wedding feast scene there were probably 10 or 12 molded gelatin offerings of various colors.

Set, I believe, in Sussex.

[mizducky]

Has anyone seen the movie (on DVD) Cold Comfort Farm?  In the wedding feast scene there were probably 10 or 12 molded gelatin offerings of various colors. 

Set, I believe, in Sussex.

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I haven't had a chance to see that, but you just reminded me--among the many eye-popping features of the BBC-produced miniseries of Ghormenghast, there were some truly frightening-looking huge gelatin creations in the banquet scene in which the elder Lord Groan goes completely mad. No, the food itself didn't drive him crazy ... but he does proceed, in his madness, to start walking across the dinner table; as I recall, he actually steps on a few of the gelatin creations and they bounce back unscathed.

(Edited to add: according to some article I read about this production, they did go out of their way to make these gelatin pyramids and things really outlandish looking--and they also put enough gelatin in them so they would hold together through the shooting, the lights, etc. -- and were way amused that the actor playing Lord Groan was kinda bouncing off of them.)

Edited January 1, 2006 by mizducky (log)

[andiesenji]

I missed that. But for those of us who are old enough - there was that hilarious scene with the huge gelatin mold in I Love You Alice B Toklas. Peter Sellers at his best.

I can highly recommend Cold Comfort Farm. Even people who say they don't care for English comedies, end up chuckling then laughing out loud in spite of themselves.

[patti]

Voila! Shrimp mold, in all of its gelatinous glory:

[pansophia]

Despite my very Lutheran upbringing, I have never been subjected to a savory Jello salad (unless I've suppressed the memory).

We do, however, have a Jello ring every Christmas of green Jello, pears, and pomegrante seeds. It's actually quite good. The strange part is that it is always served on a bed of lettuce. This confused my British husband to no end when he had his first encounter with it last weekend.

[divalasvegas]

Voila! Shrimp mold, in all of its gelatinous glory:

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At the risk of appearing hopelessly declasse patti, I think that looks just fine. Did you taste it, and if so, what did it taste like? After all people have absolutely no problem in going to an "upscale" restaurant and ordering a "gelatine" of this or a "mousselline" of that and paying top dollar for it. Do you have a recipe for it? Yes, yes, perhaps this rendition may call for canned shrimp, Jello gelatin (which I have no problem with, used in the right circumstances), Miracle Whip and other "non-gourmet" ingredients. But for me what will always be the determining factor in whether I like or dislike something is how does it taste and not the dish's pedigree.

Happy New Year.

[patti]

At the risk of appearing hopelessly declasse patti, I think that looks just fine.  Did you taste it, and if so, what did it taste like?  After all people have absolutely no problem in going to an "upscale" restaurant and ordering a "gelatine" of this or a "mousselline" of that and paying top dollar for it.  Do you have a recipe for it?  Yes, yes, perhaps this rendition may call for canned shrimp, Jello gelatin (which I have no problem with, used in the right circumstances), Miracle Whip and other "non-gourmet" ingredients.  But for me what will always be the determining factor in whether I like or dislike something is how does it taste and not the dish's pedigree.

Happy New Year.

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Not only did I taste it, I made it! It's pretty good, but I wish I'd made the effort to find my mother's recipe before doing this. I didn't use canned shrimp at all, but two pounds of absolutely gorgeous gulf shrimp, donated by my BIL, who is an avid shrimper. Other ingredients include cream cheese, mayonnaise, two packets of unflavored gelatin (Knox), chopped celery and scallions, Tabasco sauce, and one can of condensed tomato soup. It doesn't taste exactly like my mother's, and I'm not sure what I'm missing in the recipe. The shrimp were boiled in Louisiana Shrimp and Crab Boil.

Honestly, I think the name is what turns people off.

[divalasvegas]

At the risk of appearing hopelessly declasse patti, I think that looks just fine.  Did you taste it, and if so, what did it taste like?  After all people have absolutely no problem in going to an "upscale" restaurant and ordering a "gelatine" of this or a "mousselline" of that and paying top dollar for it.  Do you have a recipe for it?  Yes, yes, perhaps this rendition may call for canned shrimp, Jello gelatin (which I have no problem with, used in the right circumstances), Miracle Whip and other "non-gourmet" ingredients.  But for me what will always be the determining factor in whether I like or dislike something is how does it taste and not the dish's pedigree.

Happy New Year.

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Not only did I taste it, I made it! It's pretty good, but I wish I'd made the effort to find my mother's recipe before doing this. I didn't use canned shrimp at all, but two pounds of absolutely gorgeous gulf shrimp, donated by my BIL, who is an avid shrimper. Other ingredients include cream cheese, mayonnaise, two packets of unflavored gelatin (Knox), chopped celery and scallions, Tabasco sauce, and one can of condensed tomato soup. It doesn't taste exactly like my mother's, and I'm not sure what I'm missing in the recipe. The shrimp were boiled in Louisiana Shrimp and Crab Boil.

Honestly, I think the name is what turns people off.

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Frankly patti after you generously gave up the recipe, it doesn't just sound pretty good, it sounds delicious. As for what you may be missing, the only thing that comes to mind in reading your recipe is perhaps a bit of lemon juice and/or a creamy horseradish, perhaps to give it a bit of acid kick. Really, no kidding, I could really see making this. The two pounds of gulf shrimp (roughly chopped in a food processor I'm guessing) and the Louisiana Shrimp and Crab Boil (might use Old Bay in these parts) totally sealed the deal for me. BTW, what do you serve it with--crackers, toast points, assorted bread rounds? If I'm gonna do it, I want to do it right.

Thanks.

[patti]

Frankly patti after you generously gave up the recipe, it doesn't just sound pretty good, it sounds delicious.  As for what you may be missing, the only thing that comes to mind in reading your recipe is perhaps a bit of lemon juice and/or a creamy horseradish, perhaps to give it a bit of acid kick.  Really, no kidding, I could really see making this.  The two pounds of gulf shrimp (roughly chopped in a food processor I'm guessing) and the Louisiana Shrimp and Crab Boil (might use Old Bay in these parts) totally sealed the deal for me.  BTW, what do you serve it with--crackers, toast points, assorted bread rounds?  If I'm gonna do it, I want to do it right.

Thanks.

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You are most welcome.

It does need a little added punch, and I think horseradish would be an excellent choice. I was thinking of Thai Chili Paste, myself. I was too lazy to get out the food processor and did a rough chop of the shrimp by hand. Old Bay would be fine, and don't be timid with it. Serve it with a variety of crackers.

If you decide to make it, please let us know how it turns out.