This week, I decided to do something a little different. I had been planning on making an Eggnog Cake, but when today came I realized I just didn’t have the stomach to make something so heavy and fattening. Let’s face facts: both my weekend breakfasts were spent at Roxy’s Diner, and last night for dinner I had a huge burger topped with peanut butter and bacon. I needed to lighten it up a bit for Cathy this week. But WHAT could I make that would be light and refreshing, yet compelling and totally repulsive?
Oh, of COURSE! A molded vegetable salad!
I consulted a few of my more low-brow cookbooks before finding my perfect recipe in Better Homes and Gardens All-Time Favorite Recipes.
Clearly this tome has been well loved, most likely by the home-ec department at Tyee Junior High School in Bellevue, WA, if the stamp on the inside cover is any indication. This cookbook is a prime example of one of my favorite eras. Dating to 1979, it is filled with full-color, friendly photos, chunky and easy to read typefaces, and TOTALLY unpretentious recipes that sought to proliferate good, old-fashioned home style cooking just as the era of “nouvelle cuisine” was dawning. Awesome. Plus, did I mention the stamp from Tyee Junior High School?
The recipe that I chose was Italian Salad Mold. I was mostly drawn to this recipe by the photo of the glistening, shimmering mold, laden with radish slices arranged like jewels. Yes. Yes, this would do.
So the recipe begins with the combining of lemon gelatin with half a packet of Italian salad dressing mix, and then dissolving the mixture with boiling water.
Although not exactly necessary, I took this opportunity to purchase a new teapot with which to boil the water. And, since I was already going with the yellow theme…
After dissolving the gelatin and salad dressing mix in the boiling water, it looked really, really nasty. REALLY nasty. Like bile-barf. And it didn’t smell any better.
At this point, I began to worry. You didn’t worry BEFORE this point, you ask? No. Not until this point. But I stuck the mixture into the fridge so that it could start “setting up” and I prepped my vegetables. This is the part where I should have just tossed them with a little dressing and eaten them as-is.
After an hour and a half or so, I guessed that the gelatin was the right consistency for me to fold in the vegetables, so fold I did. Then I poured the whole mixture into Cathy, whom I had previously greased with olive oil.
Aaaaand into the fridge she went, for about 2 1/2 more hours.
Then I began worrying about how I would get her out. I decided on a two-part method. First, I took a butter knife and carefully ran it around the edge. Then I filled the sink with warm water and gave her a 10 second bath. Then I flipped her onto the platter, and voila!
She slid right out!
Thinking she needed a little decoration, I piped some mayonnaise on her in the style of vanilla frosting.
I Heart Salad, indeed.
I did find that it was somewhat difficult to get the mayo to stick to Cathy’s surface. I believe this was due to a combination of gelatin’s inherent slipperiness and my use of olive oil to grease the pan.
On a side note, Cathy was pretty shallow. Meaning, the finished molded salad did not have a lot of height. Next time, I will use a recipe with a larger yield.
And yes, I ate a piece of her. Two pieces, actually.
It was okay. It would have been way better using a plain or savory gelatin flavor. Using the sweet lemon flavor gave the whole salad a sweet-and-salty tang that I didn’t appreciate. Also, there’s the whole texture thing. I will say that the mayo helped to cut the tang.
And the final verdict on the finished product? Well, she’s in the fridge right now, in case I want another helping in the morning. So that says something for the flavor being okay, right? Right?
*the sound of crickets chirping in otherwise complete silence*
Italian Salad Mold from Better Homes and Gardens All-Time Favorite Recipes, copyright 1979 by Meredith Corporation
- 1 6-ounce package lemon-flavored gelatin [I used Jell-o]
- 1/2 of a 0.6-ounce envelope (2 1/2 teaspoons) Italian salad dressing mix [I used Good Seasons]
- 1 1/2 cups boiling water
- 2 cups cold water
- 1/4 cup vinegar [I used white wine vinegar]
- 1 cup chopped iceberg lettuce
- 1 cup quartered and thinly sliced zucchini
- 1/2 cup shredded carrot
- 1/4 cup sliced radishes
- [I also added 1/4 cup sliced grape tomatoes]
- Curly endive
In bowl combine gelatin and salad dressing mix. Add boiling water, stirring to dissolve gelatin. Stir in cold water and vinegar. Chill till partially set [about 1 1/2 hours]. Fold chopped lettuce, zucchini, carrot, and radishes [and tomatoes] into gelatin. Pour mixture into 5 1/2 cup mold. Chill till firm [about 2 1/2 hours]. To serve, unmold and garnish with curly endive, if desired [I did not desire]. Makes 8 servings.
Cathy Cake Club 