TOMATO ASPIC with SHRIMP SALAD

 Tomato Aspic Recipe

Once upon a time, tomatoaspics were the brilliant red centerpieces of luncheon buffets. They were peppered with pimiento-stuffedolives or crisp bits of celery, chilled in ring-shaped molds, turned out onto lettuce-lined trays, and filled with the hostess's signature blend of chicken or shrimp salad.

Hands-On:

30 mins

Total:

6 hrs 35 mins

Yield:

8-10 servings

Ingredients

Ingredient Checklist

• 2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin 
• 1/4 cup cold water 
• 1/4 cup boiling water 
• 4 cups tomato juice 
• 1 tablespoon onion, minced 
• 1 teaspoon sugar 
• 1 teaspoon table salt 
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt 
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds 
• 2 bay leaves 
• 2 whole cloves 
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 
• Fresh parsley, for garnish 

Directions

Instructions Checklist

• Step 1 
  Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Whisk in the boiling water until the gelatin is dissolved.
  
  
• Step 2 
  Stir together the tomato juice and next 8 ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high. Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Pour through a wire-mesh strainer into a bowl; stir in the lemon juice and gelatin.
  
  
• Step 3 
  Pour into a 10-inch ring mold coated with cooking spray or 6 individual molds; chill 6 hours or until set.
• Shrimp Salad

Shrimp and Bacon Salad Sliders Recipe

Creamy, celery-flecked shrimp saladhas been served at luncheons throughout the South for years, and while we’re fans of the traditional version, we are pretty into this fresh new take as well. The addition of chopped basil, fresh lemon juice, fresh orange zest, fresh orange juice, and Old Bay make the mayonnaise dressing sing. And a little crispy, chopped bacon adds a nice bit of crunch, plus a hint of smokiness. You could serve this shrimp salad as-is over a bed of lettuce, but it’s even more delicious spooned onto toasted slider buns and topped with thinly sliced tomatoes and a few basil leaves. The presentation is as good as the taste. The shrimp salad can be made up to one day ahead. Make sure to let it come to room temperature before serving. Can’t eat shrimp? Substitute cooked lobster or scallops instead. Can’t find slider buns? You can cut three hot dog buns (potato rolls are best) in half cross-wise to make six slider-sized buns. This recipe is perfect for the summer seasonwhen the seafood is fresh and it is on everyone’s mind. Pull out this recipe for your next brunch. You may even want to save a few for a snack later in the day.

Active:

20 mins

Total:

20 mins

Yield:

Serves 6

Alison Miksch; Prop Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Ingredients

Ingredient Checklist

• 1/3 cup mayonnaise 
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon) 
• 1/2 teaspoon orange zest plus 1 1/2 tsp. fresh juice (from 1 orange) 
• 3/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning 
• 3/4 pound chilled cooked shrimp, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces 
• 6 bacon slices, cooked crisp and diced 
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 
• 6 slider buns 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature 
• 18 large fresh basil leaves 
• 1-2 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced 

Directions

Instructions Checklist

• Step 1 
  Preheat broiler with oven rack 8 to 10 inches from heat. Stir together mayonnaise, chopped basil, lemon juice, orange zest, orange juice, and Old Bay in a medium bowl. Fold in shrimp, bacon, salt, and pepper.
  
  
• Step 2 
  Split slider buns, and spread butter evenly on cut sides of buns. Place halves, butter side up, on a baking sheet; broil until light golden brown, about 3 minutes. Spoon about 1/4 cup shrimp mixture on each bottom half; top each with 3 basil leaves and 1 or 2 tomato slices. Cover with top slider bun halves, and serve immediately.
  
  
• 
  
  

LIME GELATIN and COTTAGE CHEESE SALAD

 Lime Gelatin and Cottage Cheese Salad

This lime jello salad offers everything people adore (or cannot abide) about over-the-top congealed salads. Not everyone enjoys a congealed salad, not even when they harbor found memories of a grandmotheror other family members serving these molded creations on special occasions. That just means there’s more for the rest of us.

Yield:

Makes 16 servings

Ingredients

Ingredient Checklist

• 1 (6-oz.) package lime gelatin 
• 1 (6-oz.) package lemon gelatin 
• 1 1/2 cups boiling water 
• 1 1/2 cups ice water 
• 1 cup well-drained crushed pineapple 
• 2 cups cottage cheese 
• 1 cup mayonnaise 
• 1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk 
• 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish 
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1 cup finely chopped nuts 

Directions

Instructions Checklist

• Step 1 
  Dissolve gelatin in boiling water in a large bowl. Add ice water, and stir until ice melts and gelatin mixture cools. Stir in pineapple. Cover and chill 45 minutes or until slightly set. The mixture should be the consistency of uncooked egg whites.
  
  
• Step 2 
  Stir together cottage cheese, mayonnaise, sweetened condensed milk, horseradish, lemon juice, and salt in a medium bowl; stir into gelatin mixture. Fold in nuts.
  
  
• Step 3 
  Pour into mold, if desired. Cover and chill overnight.

PICKLED PEACH SALAD

 Pickled Peach Salad

Whether you’re looking to manifest a nostalgic yearning for the food of your youth or want to try out a retro recipefor a dinner party coming up, this recipe for pickled peach salad checks off all the marks of a truly classic gelatin salad. With cherries and pecans mixed in with tangy-sweet pickled peaches in a citrus-y, jiggly suspension, it not only tastes like a dreamy fruit salad, it also looks like a summer-time jewel on your table. Whether you mix the mayonnaise into the whipped cream topping is up to how nostalgic you truly are.

Active:

15 mins

Total:

4 hrs 15 mins

Yield:

Serves 4 (serving size: 1 mold per person)

Ingredients

Ingredient Checklist

• 1/2 cup sugar 
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup 
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar 
• 1 cup water 
• 2 whole cloves 
• 1 1/2 envelopes (1 Tbsp.) unflavored gelatin 
• 1/2 cup cold water 
• 2 cups sliced peaches, drained 

Directions

Instructions Checklist

• Step 1 
  In a saucepan bring sugar, corn syrup, vinegar, 1 cup water, and cloves to a boil over high heat, then lower heat and simmer 20 minutes.
  
  
• Step 2 
  Dissolve gelatin in 1/2 cup cold water. Remove cloves from syrup mixture and add gelatin; stir until dissolved. Add peaches.
  
  
• Step 3 
  Spoon into lightly greased (with cooking spray) 4-ounce molds, dividing fruit evenly. Refrigerate until set, 4 hours. Unmold and serve on lettuce leaf.

THREE LAYER MOLD

 Three-Layer Mold

If you are planning a big holiday meal or expecting just a few guests, chances are you will have several dishes that require last-minute attention (looking at you, green bean casserole). With all of those dishes taking up valuable space in the oven, you won't have to worry about the salad if you have chosen a make-ahead recipe, such as this congealed Three-Layer Mold.The first layer is cherry jello filled with dark, sweet cherries. Then you add a layer of lemon-flavored cream cheese, topped with the third layer of lime jello and crushed pineapple. What a pretty centerpiece this layered jello salad will make for your holiday buffet. Serve it as a salad or dessert; a bite of this cool creaminess is sure to ease those aching midsections overstuffed with cornbread dressing and sweet potato casserole. Congealed saladswere wildly popular a few years ago, so check out your favorite thrift store, purchase a vintage gelatin mold, and make a colorful and jiggly congealed salad for your next dinner party.  

Active:

20 mins

Total:

4 hrs 20 mins

Yield:

Serves 8 (serving size: 1 slice)

Ingredients

Ingredient Checklist

• 1 (3-oz.) package cherry-flavored gelatin 
• 1 cup boiling water 
• 1 (16 1/2-oz.) can pitted dark sweet cherries, undrained 
• 1 (3-oz.) package lemon-flavored gelatin 
• 1 cup boiling water 
• 1 (3-oz.) package cream cheese, softened 
• 1 cup milk 
• 1 (3-oz.) package lime-flavored gelatin 
• 1 cup boiling water 
• 1 (20-oz.) can crushed pineapple, undrained 

Directions

Instructions Checklist

• Step 1 
  Dissolve cherry gelatin in 1 cup boiling water. Add cherries, and pour into a lightly greased (with cooking spray) 10-cup mold. Chill until set, 1 hour.
  
  
• Step 2 
  Dissolve lemon gelatin in 1 cup boiling water; set aside. Beat cream cheese with electric mixer; add milk, and mix well. Add lemon gelatin to cream cheese mixture, mixing well. Spoon over cherry layer; chill until set, 1 hour.
  
  
• Step 3 
  Dissolve lime gelatin in 1 cup boiling water. Chill until the consistency of unbeaten egg white. Stir in pineapple. Spoon mixture over lemon layer; chill until firm, 2 hours.

CRANBERRY WALNUT SALAD

 Festive Cranberry-Walnut Salad

This sparkling and colorful congealed salad deserves a spot of honor on your holiday table.When you feel overwhelmed (and over-stuffed) by all the delicious but filling side dishes and casseroles, chill out with a serving of this cool and fruity cranberry jello salad. A congealed salad is the ideal side dish to add to your holiday menu: you can make it ahead and since it doesn’t require baking, it won’t take up valuable space in your oven. Filled with crunchy walnuts, crisp celery, sweet pineapple, and tart cranberries, every cool bite of this jello salad is an explosion of tasty flavors. Don’t reserve this recipe just for the holidays, however. Congealed salads are a welcome addition at brunches, showers, and ladies’ luncheons. Scout out antique shops or your grandmother’s pantry to look for vintage gelatin moldsand see for yourself what kind of jiggly fun you can create with a congealed salad.

   

Active:

15 mins

Total:

4 hrs 15 mins

Yield:

Serves 8 (serving size: 1 slice)

Ingredients

Ingredient Checklist

• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts 
• 1 cup fresh cranberries, chopped 
• 1/4 cup sugar 
• 2 (3-oz.) packages lemon gelatin 
• 1 3/4 cups boiling water 
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1 (8 1/2-oz.) can pineapple tidbits 
• 1 (10-oz.) bottle lemon-lime carbonated beverage, chilled (such as Sprite) 
• 1 cup finely chopped celery 

Directions

Instructions Checklist

• Step 1 
  Preheat oven to 300°F. Place the walnuts on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, 10 minutes. Set aside. Toss chopped cranberries with sugar. Let stand while preparing salad.
  
  
• Step 2 
  Dissolve the gelatin in boiling water, then stir in the lemon juice and salt. Drain the pineapple and reserve syrup. Pour reserved syrup into gelatin mixture and cool thoroughly. Stir in the carbonated beverage and chill until thickened.
  
  
• Step 3 
  Stir the cranberry mixture, pineapple, celery, and walnuts into gelatin mixture. Spoon into a lightly greased (with cooking spray) 6-cup mold and chill until set, 4 hours. Unmold onto salad greens.

ORANGE SHERBET SALAD

 Orange Sherbet Salad

In the South, we know that “salad” doesn’t always mean that lettuce is involved. Or vegetables, for that matter. Colorful, quivering congealed saladshave long been a favorite side dish on luncheon tables across the South, and we’ve published a lot of them over the years. Congealed salads are typically made from a variety of ingredients—fruit, cottage cheese, marshmallows, nuts, olives—suspended in one or more flavors of gelatin. Depending on the mold used, the salad can look as simple as something you’d see in a cafeteria line, or as ornate as a jeweled crown.This recipe for Orange Sherbet Salad, from April 1966, is the very first congealed salad recipe to appear in Southern Living. As the name reveals, it is made with a pint of orange sherbet. The sherbet is mixed into warm orange gelatin so that it melts, creating a creamy base for the salad. When the gelatin-sherbet mixture is partially set, you stir in crushed pineapple, miniature marshmallows, mandarin orange sections, and whipped cream. Then, the salad is chilled until firm. Orange Sherbet Salad, like all congealed salads, should be unmoldedcarefully onto a chilled plate or platter. (A warm plate will melt the gelatin.) If the congealed salad won’t easily come out of the mold, give the mold a gentle shake and carefully run a paring knife around the edge of the mold to release the salad. Or, you can dip the mold into a large bowl of warm water for a few seconds before unmolding the salad onto a plate.

Active:

15 mins

Total:

4 hrs 15 mins

Yield:

Serves 12 (serving size: about 1/2 cup)

Ingredients

Ingredient Checklist

• 2 (3-oz.) packages orange-flavored gelatin 
• 1 cup boiling water 
• 1 pint orange sherbet 
• 1 (8 1/2-oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained 
• 1 cup miniature marshmallows 
• 1 (8 1/2-oz.) can mandarin orange sections, drained 
• 1 cup heavy cream, whipped 

Directions

Instructions Checklist

• Step 1 
  Dissolve gelatin in boiling water in a large heatproof bowl. Add orange sherbet and stir until completely combined. Add other ingredients, folding in the whipped cream last. Chill until firm.

CRANBERRY GELATIN SALAD

 Cranberry Gelatin Salad

15 mins

Total:

3 hrs 45 mins

Yield:

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

Ingredient Checklist

• 1 (8-oz.) can crushed pineapple in syrup 
• Boiling water 
• 1 (3-oz.) package raspberry-flavored gelatin 
• 1 (14-oz.) can whole-berry cranberry sauce 
• 1 cup drained mandarin oranges 
• 1 teaspoon orange zest 

Directions

Instructions Checklist

• Step 1 
  Drain syrup from pineapple into a 2-cup measuring cup. Add boiling water to equal 1 1/4 cups. Transfer to a large bowl. Dissolve gelatin in hot syrup mixture; chill 1 hour and 30 minutes or until partially set. Fold in cranberry sauce, oranges, zest, and crushed pineapple. Pour into 1 (4-cup) mold, and chill 2 hours or until set.