Three Thanksgiving Molds

To make up for the fact that I haven't made any Jell-O in a couple months now. I've made THREE molds for Thanksgiving. I just hit the wall with Jell-O eating. I still LOVE to make them. But I just couldn't eat that much Jell-O all by myself. I ended up wasting it. So I took a Jell-O sabbatical, and now I have returned with renewed Jell-O making vigor!

Here is another crown Jell-O mold, only I prefer the Food Librarian's version, to the Joys of Jell-O version.

And here is a recipe I made up on my own. You take 1 (3oz.) package apricot Jell-O and 1 envelope plain gelatin and dissolve in 1 cup boiling water. Then you add 1/2 can of condensed milk and a few drops of almond flavoring. Let chill until slightly thick. Add 1/2 can pineapple tidbits, 1 small can of mandarin oranges, and about 1/2 cup slivered almonds. Beat into Jell-O mixture with electric mixer. Whip until light and frothy. Pour into mold and chill until set.

And here is a boring plain red Jell-O lobster. Because some people like their Jell-O pure and unadulterated.

Happy Thanksgiving!
T

Jellied Fruit Mold

This recipe is from the 1930's, "The Greater Jell-O Recipe Book." As usual I can't quite follow a recipe as it's written out. For this one I substituted peaches for the pineapple, but otherwise I made it exactly how it is written. It turned out absolutely delicious! This is a nice easy one to try if you're new to making Jell-O molds.
Enjoy!
T

Mandarin Orange Gelatin Delight

Originally, this is the first Jell-O mold I ever tired making. It was the one that made me fall in love with Jell-O molds. And it's still one of my favorite recipes. It's from Betty Crocker's "Dinner for Two" cookbook. Of course I can never follow a recipe to the "t" so I always add an extra envelope of plain gelatin, and I threw the mandarin oranges into the Jell-O instead of serving them on the side. But still this recipe is great and you can't really go wrong. You can also try it with different flavors of Jell-O and icecream.
Enjoy!
T

Coconut Pineapple Mold

Here is the coconut pineapple mold I made last week. It turned out amazing! To make it mix 1 box lemon Jell-O with 1/2 cup boiling water. Mix until dissolved. Add 1 5.6oz can of coconut milk. And chill until partially set. Whip with electric mixer until stiff and foamy. Fold in pineapple tid-bits and chill until set. (This would also be good with rum, but I didn't have any.)

Enjoy!
T

Blackberries 'n Cream Mold

One thing I love about this time of the year, is that there are blackberries growing along every country road and in every empty lot. They are just waiting there, ripe for the picking. This year I stole them from the used car lot behind the apartments. I have to admit that this is the first thing I have ever stolen from a used car lot, and they certainly are delicious!

Here's the recipe:
1 box of 6oz blackberry Jell-O
2 cups boiling water
Mix until dissolved. Pour a little into your mold and arrange blackberries. Chill until set. Pour a little more into the mold and chill until nearly firm. Add...
1 can of condensed milk
...to the remaining Jell-O. Chill until very thick but not set, for those of you who make pudding I would describe this as "trace." Fold in blackberries and pour into mold. Chill until firm.

Cheers!
T

Banana Nut Ring

And yet another delightful recipe from the 1963 "Joys of Jell-O" cookbook, the Banana Nut Ring. This one is simple and easy to make, plus there's nothing too dangerous in it like mayo or pimentos, it's just a straightforward, tasty recipe. I didn't switch it up too much, I did add some vanilla to the Jell-O and I used walnuts in stead of pecans, but I pretty much followed the recipe this time around. But next time I make it, I want to try it with banana flavored Jell-O.
Enjoy!
T

Avocado Strawberry Ring

mmmm...
I really wanted to make this recipe in a ring, but I didn't want to make that big of a mold, since I was counting on not really liking it. But I must confess it's MUCH better than I thought it would be, espeically with the strawberries. In fact the strawberries are what make this mold so extremely tasty. Instead of throwing half of it away, I'll probably end up eating the whole thing. I guess it's not such a bad flavor combination after all. This recipe is also found in The Joys of Jell-O cookbook ©1963.
Enjoy!
T

Peach & Cheese Salad Mold

I apologize, I've been a very bad Jell-O blogger lately. But here I am, back at it again, with this delicious Peach & Cheese Salad Mold. Many of you may be thinking, this looks horrific, but actually, it's quite delightful. However, I'm one of those strange people who really likes cottage cheese and peaches for dessert, so this mold wasn't that much of a stretch for me. Anyhow I located this recipe from The Joys of Jell-O cookbook ©1963 and I've posted it below for you consideration.
ENJOY!
T

Turkish Delight

I've been trying to find the perfect Applets and Cotlets/Turkish Delight recipe for a very long time now, so I was ecstatic to see this recipe in my new 1943 Knox Gelatin Cookbook. I tried making an apple pate de fruit this Christmas, but it took FOREVER, and it was sort of a flop. It just didn't have the Applets and Cotlets texture I was looking for. This recipe, like my last, was also not exactly what I had in mind. This one tastes... well a lot like Jell-O, or more like a gummy candy with walnuts. They're very good, and they were really easy to make, they just weren't the traditional variety I had hoped for. Next time I think I'm going to try a cornstarch version like the recipe here.





For a change, I followed this recipe word for word. The only thing I did differently was grease my meat loaf pan with butter as a precaution, since this recipe has so much more sugar than what I normally use. But I don't think that it was necessary, since it came out of the pan quite easily. I also used fresh squeezed orange and lemon juice, no silly concentrates, this recipe needs the real thing.

The cover of my new 1943 Knox Gelatin Cookbook.


And if you're feeling brave you can try this Knox Butter Spread recipe. Make your butter go farther with milk, salt, and gelatin... I have a feeling this would be a very sorry substitute for the real thing. But perhaps if I'm bored one day, I'll give it a try.

Enjoy!
T

Orange Shortbread Tart

This recipe is basically adapted from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food recipe for "Fresh Orange and Yogurt Tart." Only, I didn't think her crust sounded that great, so I used shortbread instead. And since I don't like plain Greek yogurt, I substituted orange flavored yogurt instead. Also the next time I make this, I'm going to skip the plain gelatin and just use a box of orange Jell-O. With all those changes, it's a really delicious, simple and easy recipe:

Crust:
1/2 cup soft butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup flour

Mix together and pat into a pie plate.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 7 minutes or until edges are very lightly brown.
Let this cool to room temperature BEFORE starting the filling. Otherwise your filling will set before it's time to pour it on top.
(This crust would also rock with some super finely chopped walnuts added to it, about a 1/4 cup.)

Filling:
2 packets of gelatin OR 1 – 3oz box of orange Jell-O
1/2 cup half-n-half OR 1/4 cup milk and 1/4 whipping cream OR 1/2 cup milk
2 – 6oz packages of orange OR vanilla yogurt
2 or 3 medium navel oranges

If you're using gelatin, sprinkle it over about 3T. cold water in a medium bowl, and let it blossom while you're boiling your cream. If you're using Jell-O don't worry about it.

In a small pan bring your cream or milk to a gentle boil. Don't just scald your milk, let it actually start to boil before you take it off. It will need to be hot enough to dissolve the gelatin. Just don't let it burn on the bottom.

Add your hot cream to your gelatin or Jell-O, and mix at least 2 minutes until dissolved.

Whisk in yogurt.

Pour over your cooled shortbread crust.

Slice the rind off of your oranges, and slice oranges into about 1/4 inch slices. Place on top. (I was hungry when I made this and ended up eating one of my oranges before I finished it. Unfortunately, it would have turned out better with more orange slices on top.)

And if you're feeling extra motivated you can make candied orange peel with your leftover orange peels.

Enjoy!
T

Macaroon Velvet Jell-O Mold

I first saw this recipe in my 1910 Jell-O recipe book, then later in the 1931 Greater Jell-O recipe book and also in the 1963 Joys of Jell-O recipe book. And I figured if it's been in the Jell-O recipe book for over 60 years, it has to be a pretty good recipe.
Strangely, It's not in the 1975, The New Joys of Jell-O recipe book. I guess by then people had gotten tired of it, or perhaps people just didn't know what macaroons were anymore. But now that macaroons are once again gaining popularity, perhaps this recipe will be in style again. And since macaroons are one of my new favorite cookies, I decided to try this recipe with my hand full of leftover macaroons from Christmas.



I ended up using the 1931 recipe only I used strawberry Jell-O instead of cherry, I added 1 envelope gelatin, I decreased the amount of water by 1/4 cup and I toasted the almonds in 1T. of butter before I added them. Personally, I think it's the butter that made this recipe so good.

The 1910 Recipe:

The 1931 Recipe:

The 1963 Recipe:

Enjoy!
T

Complete 1910 Jell-O Cookbook

Citrus Surprise with Whipped Jell-O

Really there's nothing surprising about this Jell-O mold. Which is exactly why it tastes so good. It doesn't have eggs, or veggies, or vinegar, or spam. It's made with just plain old Jell-O and canned fruit. It was also surprisingly easy to make. The top layer is simply whipped Jell-O, that you make by taking the stiff Jell-O and beating it like egg whites until it's thick and frothy. Then the bottom layer had orange Jell-O and fruit. I used Mandarin oranges for mine.
See the recipe below:





p.s. I know I've been a bad Jell-O blogger lately. But I just got two amazing new Jell-O cookbooks, so there will be more to come soon!

Perfection Salad

Alright! I'm not the only one with the courage to try a veggie mold! Retro Life took heart and created the Perfection Salad for a party. Although I thought The Trio-Veggie Mold was sort-of tasty, she didn't care for her's much. That's okay, at least she tried it.
T




(Photo by Retro Life.)