Thread by @mjfrombuffalo

OK, it's time for Part II of this recipe! buckle up for another #YeOldenTimeCooking ride as we take the cranberry relish from Saturday to NEW LEVELS in a NEW DISH.

quick recap, we're using this book from the 1970's and these two recipes. The relish is already done, now we're making the Molded Cranberry Salad with the relish.

Our new collection of ingredients! that's the relish in the square container, a re-appearance of Grandma's Tupperware Mold and ... yes, Jell-o, celery and nuts!!!

I'll be honest, I used the microwave to boil the water in a 4c Pyrex cup and added the gelatin, then the cold water. (Special guest appearance of what Grandma called "THE Fork!")

The recipe specified what size mold to pour the Jell-O into. I did not measure the mold. Note how close the top of the gelatin is to the top of the mold, because I did NOT note it when I went on to the next step.

I began to add the cranberry relish and it didn't all fit. And I still had the celery and nuts to add.

I started scooping out relish with a slotted spoon, hoping to just get relish and not gelatin, but the chopped pieces of cranberry relish pretty much went through the slots in the spoon, so I had to scoop out more gelatin than I wanted to. Here's what I took out.

I put the mix in the fridge to chill. Checked it 30 minutes later, and then 30 minutes after that, and then 30 minutes after that... it wasn't thickening.

I have a friend who jokes the only thing she can cook is Jell-O, and here I am, failing at cooking Jell-O.

But, longtime readers of this series may remember that I have a Secret Weapon... unflavored gelatin! (You may remember it from its appearance in the classic Tomato and Shrimp Aspic, or, as my husband said, "oh, this is cold."

I took the stuff from the mold, and the stuff that I'd scooped out and put in the measuring cup, and put it all in a bowl. Mixed ~ 2tsp of gelatin w/ <1/4c of hot water until it dissolved, then combined it with the stuff in the bowl, put the bowl in the fridge and prayed.

Half hour later I checked. It had started to thicken! Added the celery and nuts.

And now, for some reason, everything fit in the mold. #ThanksgivingMiracle

whoohoo! I love it when a plan (and a molded salad) comes together.

The beauty of this Tupperware mold: I took off the big lid, inverted on a plate, and now on the top you see the smaller lid... peel it off and whoop, your salad lets itself down gracefully onto the plate.

*Jell-O Jiggle*

Here it is, plated! Unlike a molded salad w/large chunks of fruit, this was a softer gelatin salad, w/a texture almost like parfait. Because it's red, the lemon taste is unexpected. The nuts add a crunchy/chewy texture. The celery, which some people freaked about, crisp/crunch.

Hubby came to get his dinner plate and stopped when he saw the salad unmolded on the counter. Hubby: "What did you do."
Me: "No, it's good! I swear! It's cranberry, it's not tomato!"

Hubby gamely took a little on his plate. Out of the little on his plate, he specifically ate the part with celery chunks. The rest went in the trash. Then I thought to ask: "Hey, do you like cranberries?"
Hubby: "Nope, never did."

Huh. 22.5 years married and I learned something new. Anyway, I *loved* it. It was (surprisingly) very good. The lemon was refreshing, and the cranberry taste came through strong. It was like a less-dense jellied cranberry sauce.

Special note to the celery-haters: I didn't taste the celery, it just seemed to add a crisp crunch texture note instead of a flavor note. You can probably skip the celery, but if you add it, you probably won't taste it.

Verdict: Very likely to make again, but probably not for a while since I'll be the only one eating this whole thing and I'll probably get sick of it. But definitely a keeper, highly recommended.
*fin*

If you missed the last one, the Thanksgiving Appetizer Course, the "Chinese hors d'oerves" are here:

@threadreaderapp I would be thankful if you would unroll this for me