So five minutes ago

Food fashion.  I believe food fashion exists.  Not how food looks.  Rather, what is “in” right now vs what is “so five minutes ago”.  Perhaps the correct term is not fashion, but trend.

 

A current popular food trend I’ve noticed is that a recipe can’t just have a name.  It has to have a complete ingredient list description.  Example:  Elbow-shaped Italian pasta in an English Cheddar cream sauce sprinkled with a toasted bread crumb topping instead of Mac-n-Cheese.

Some food trends are decidedly over.  Take, for instance, Jell-O.  When I was a kid, any decent hostess served a Jell-O dish to her company.  You couldn’t go anywhere without see Jell-O.  Now days, Jell-O is “so fifty years ago”.  The problem is, there are still a few Jell-O recipes that I love.  Guess it’s me that is “so fifty years ago”!

 

I still love raspberry Jell-O with fresh raspberries and whipped cream all swirled together.  I still love mandarin oranges floating in orange Jell-O.  I still think sparkling Jigglers are fun!  We don’t eat Jell-O very often, but I do still like it – whether or not it is still “in”.

 

One of my favorite recipes is actually for a savory Jell-O salad.  I’ve made this since I was a kid.  I loved it then and I still love it now.  And I’m not afraid to show up at someone's house with this in hand as my contribution to a joined meal.

If you still love Jell-O, dig around in the back of your Tupperware drawer and pull out your mint-green Jell-O mold with the scalloped edges (you know you still have one *wink*) and give this savory creamy cucumber Jell-O recipe a try.  Who knows, it might become a favorite - even if it is "so five minutes ago"!
 

 

 

Spring Salad Ring

INGREDIENTS

1	large pkg lemon Jell-O
¾	t salt
1 ¾	cup boiling water
4	T lemon juice
3	medium cucumbers
1	pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1	cup mayonnaise
¼	cup minced onion
¼	cup snipped parsley

Directions

1. Dissolve Jell-O and salt in boiling water; add lemon juice.

2. For the clear layer:  Measure ¾ cup of Jell-O mixture and to it add ¼ cup cool water.  Pout into 6-cup mold.  Chill tell set.

3. Meanwhile prepare cucumber-cheese layer.  Pare the cucumbers, halve, scrape out the seeds.  Grate cucumber using coarse size.  Drain.

4. Combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, onion and parsley, mixing well.  Add cucumbers. Stir in remaining gelatin mixture.  Pour over clear gelatin in mold.  Chill until firm.

5. To serve, I like to place a few green leaf lettuce leaves on a large platter.  Then I unmold the Jell-O ring onto the platter.  Lastly, I drain a can of small black olives and place the olives in the center of the ring.  The color contrast is nice.

NOTE: As an alternative to lemon Jell-O you can use lime Jell-O.  Or, you could mix lemon and lime together.





Not so Swedish

We called her Aunt Jean.  In reality, she wasn't anyone's aunt.  But, we all loved her and she loved us.  As teenagers away from home and going to high school in a foreign country, we were thrilled to have someone take an interest in us and invite us into their home.  Aunt Jean and Uncle Bob, who didn't have any kids of their own, made us feel like family in their home.  We were invited to Friday evening meals after the rush of a busy school week, or a Sunday afternoon of baking cookies and girl talk.  Aunt Jean listened to us complain about classes, schoolmates, and teachers.  She was our shoulder to cry on when our world fell apart after a breakup.  Aunt Jean was classy.  And, she was a great cook.  Lucky for us, she not only invited us to her table; she shared her recipes.

One of my favorites was her Swedish meatballs.  Well, okay, they weren't really meatballs and neither she nor I are Swedish.  But, oh boy, were they good!

I would never try to pass these off as Swedish meatballs.  However, they kind of look like meatballs and they are kind of presented in the same manner as the real deal.  If you're looking for a vegetarian alternative, this is a good choice.  I have served them right beside "real" Swedish meatballs (marked appropriately) with good results from those brave enough to do the taste test.

I've eaten Aunt Jean's "not so Swedish" "not so meatballs" at her table many times.  And, I've enjoyed serving them at my own table in the years since.  Thanks, Aunt Jean!

Cream Cheese Balls 

INGREDIENTS

Balls:

 

8	oz cream cheese, softened
1	cup cracker crumbs
1	pkg Lipton’s onion soup mix
1	cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)
3	eggs, well beaten
	dry bread crumbs or cracker crumbs

Sauce:

1	can Mushroom soup (condensed)
1	pkg country gravy mix

Directions

1. Mix cream cheese, cracker crumbs, onion soup mix, nuts, and eggs together.  Roll into small balls.  Then roll in bread crumbs or cracker crumbs.

 

2. Fry balls until golden.  Place in baking dish.

 

3. Mix condensed soup and gravy mix together.  Pour over fried balls.

4. Heat in 350° oven.



Peppermint Trees

The instructions were simple.  The execution, well, not so simple.

Each holiday season ‘The Gang’ gets together to celebrate.  Some years we exchange gifts – with a twist.  For example, one year (we draw names) the gift had to cost exactly $20.01.  And you had to have a receipt to prove it.  Another year, we chose the color yellow (out of a hat) and all the gifts had to be yellow.  My favorite was when we decided that the gift had to be handmade.  I enjoyed making a quilted ‘doily’ for my best buddy, Sheila.

When the gift-giving lost its shine (ie we realized we had enough junk in our closets), we tried to come up with other things we could do together as a group.  We tossed around ideas of ‘sponsoring’ a family in need or going on a short trip together or participating in an activity together.  That’s when Sheila came up with this great idea of getting together to make holiday desserts together.  Well.  Anything with sugar in it works for me!

As I said, the instructions were simple: Find a holiday dessert recipe that you will make at the scheduled ‘event’.  We quizzed each other frequently to find out what everyone else was planning to make.  I was facing a Yule Log and Divinity, to name just two.  My dessert needed to be fancy enough to stand up to at least those two and who knows what the rest would be doing.

I love the Internet.  You can find almost anything there.  Off to one of my favorite recipe websites I went.  As I expected, I found the perfect recipe for the occasion, Peppermint Cream Brownie Torte.  Chocolate and mint.  Mmmm…I’m all dreamy just thinking about it.  Uh…give me a minute, I’ll be right back.  Ah!  There we go.  Ahem, where was I?  Oh, yes.  Well, I’m just sure God created those two plants at the exact same time (wasn’t it on Day 3 of the creation week?) and probably made sure they were growing right next to each other so that Adam & Eve (who came along on Day 6) would know they should be eaten together.  You know, kind of giving them a gentle shove in the right direction.  I mean, they had so many things to discover, I’m sure God built in little hints like this.  Don’t you think?  And this one would be pretty important to know right away!  Right?  Oh!  Back to the topic at hand:  Dessert.

My newly found recipe and my basket of ingredients showed up at the appointed day and time.  The rest of ‘The Gang’ all came through with fabulous dessert plans. It was organized chaos with everyone cooking at once (even the youngsters).  And what fun!  We had a great time baking together.  Lucy’s Yule Log was amazing, and yummy.  David’s Divinity turned out perfectly on the first try.  (I’m making a little ‘I’m in awe’ curtsy in his direction right now at the memory of it.)  My little brownie torte wasn’t bad.  I was proud of my efforts.  Even the chocolate/peppermint trees on top looked pretty good standing there in the sparkly ‘snow’. I only had to eat three of them (you know, the ones that flopped or broke).

So there you have it…

Peppermint Cream Brownie Torte

Close INGREDIENTS

Brownie

1	box (1 lb 2.4 oz) Betty Crocker® Original Supreme Premium brownie mix
	Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on brownie mix box (for cakelike brownies)

Peppermint Cream

1/2	cup whipping (heavy) cream
1/2	package (8-ounce size) cream cheese, softened
1/4	cup powdered sugar
1/2	teaspoon peppermint extract

Dark Chocolate Ganache

1/4	cup whipping (heavy) cream
1/2	cup semisweet chocolate chips

Chocolate Trees

1	cup semisweet chocolate chips
1	teaspoon shortening

1.    1 Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Line13x9-inch pan with foil, letting foil hang 2 inches over ends of pan. Spray foil with cooking spray. Make brownie mix as directed on box for cakelike brownies. Spread batter in pan. Bake 26 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out almost clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

2.    2 Meanwhile, in medium bowl, beat 1/2 cup whipping cream with electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form; set aside. In medium bowl, beat remaining Peppermint Cream ingredients on low speed until blended; beat on medium speed until smooth. Gently stir whipped cream into cream cheese mixture.

3.    3 In 1-quart saucepan, heat 1/4 cup whipping cream over low heat until hot but not boiling; remove from heat. Stir in 1/2 cup chocolate chips until melted. Let stand at room temperature about 1 hour or until slightly thickened.

4.    4 Remove brownies from pan, using foil to lift. Cut brownies crosswise to make 3 equal rectangles. Trim sides if desired.

5.    5 To assemble torte, place 1 brownie rectangle on serving platter; spread with 2/3 cup Peppermint Cream. Top with second brownie rectangle; spread with Dark Chocolate Ganache. Top with third brownie rectangle; spread with remaining cream. Refrigerate uncovered until serving.

6.    6 Meanwhile, place a piece of cooking parchment or waxed paper on cookie sheet. Draw 1 1/2- to 2-inch tree outlines or trace around 2-inch tree-shaped cookie cutter, leaving 1/2 inch space between each tree. Center toothpick at bottom of and 1/2 inch into each tree outline. In 1-quart saucepan, heat 1 cup chocolate chips and the shortening over low heat, stirring constantly, until chips are melted. Pour chocolate into decorating bag fitted with plain tip or resealable plastic bag; snip one corner. Starting at top of each tree outline, pipe chocolate over tree and end of toothpick within tree; fill center with random, squiggly lines. Refrigerate until chocolate hardens. Gently remove trees from paper; refrigerate until serving.

7.    7 Just before serving, sprinkle torte with candies and arrange Chocolate Trees on top. Store covered in refrigerator.