Muffin Cup Snowflakes!

Eggshell Ornaments!

Kitschmas Craft-acular!

Happy Thanksgiven! (That's past-tense for Thanksgiving in case you're wondering)

Angel Salad

found on the internets

The Holidays are coming and I'M NOT READY. As evidenced by the fact that I'm just now posting about Thanksgiving. Unforgivable. 

You might actually look at the above photo and think that I'm still on Hallowe'en.  I dare say the color is deceptive, the cornucopia mold is actually adorable.  And the taste? Stay tuned!

Dr. Husband and I have been working about 13 hours a day for the past three months, which is why the festive season has caught us so unawares.  We'll be back on track in time for Kitschmas, never fear. In the meantime, you can come see us in person, if you're so inclined, and happen to be in Western Maryland or the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia.

The recipe is Angel Salad, a run-of-the-mill mid-century gelatinized side dish.  Found on the internets by Googling for appropriate recipes for a cornucopia mold:

1 (6 ounce) package lime flavored Jell-O® mix
2 cups hot water
2 (3 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 (2 ounce) jar diced pimento peppers, drained
1 cup diced celery
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup heavy cream

In a small bowl, dissolve the lime flavored gelatin in hot water. Allow it to cool for 10 minutes.
In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, pineapple, pimento peppers, celery and pecans. Fold in the gelatin. Chill in the refrigerator 1 hour, or until thickened but not firm. Whip the heavy cream in a small bowl until thickened. Fold into the gelatin mixture. Refrigerate 3 hours, or until firmly gelled.

Full disclosure, I completely forgot about the whipped cream. The final product didn't seem to suffer too awfully:

Our Rating:  Two Screaming Husbands!
(all dishes are rated from one to five Screaming Husbands. One Screaming Husband equals a happy home where all problems are solved during cocktail hour. Five Screaming Husbands signals the beginning of divorce proceedings.)

Glace Fish Mold!

Every few weeks, Facebook becomes re-enamored with some variation of "21 Most Disgusting Retro Recipes" and you Kitchenettes trip all over yourselves sending me the link. I'm grateful to be remembered, I really am; but to paraphrase the immortal words of Miss Faye Dunaway in Mommie Dearest, "I'm not mad at you, Helga, I'm mad at the dirt."  

Buzzfeed has failed to perform due diligence in their besmirching of mid-century cookery - I've already made several of their "disgusting" recipes, and without exception they were - well, "not awful" might be the best that could be said about some of them, but others, like today's offering, are quite a sucess.

I'll grant you that it looks like something the dog disgorged, though.

"Glace Fish Mold" is almost always included in Buzzfeed's list, but invariably it's just the picture, with no recipe attached. I had a devil of a time tracking down how to make it, but finally found a recipe courtesy of our friends over at Brain Pickings:

You'll notice right away that my creation looks nothing at all like the picture above, even though I followed the recipe to the letter. My testers theorized that the dish in the photo might contain some tomato juice; I'm more inclined to blame bad lighting.

I'm sure you're all anxious to get to the video so you can watch Dr. Husband retch all over our newly-finished dining room, but I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed:

Our Rating:  One Screaming Husband!
(all dishes are rated from one to five Screaming Husbands. One Screaming Husband equals a happy home where all problems are solved during cocktail hour. Five Screaming Husbands signals the beginning of divorce proceedings.)

Hallowe'en Hints!

Veg-All Pie Plate Salad!

contributed by THE LARSEN CO., Green Bay, Wis.

 

I'm not going to beat around the bush, ladies - Dr. Husband and I have practically been working round the clock, and so this week's entry is a little weak on content. And effort, if we're being honest. In fact, calling it "this week's" entry is disingenuous as this dish was made and sat in the fridge for about eight days before we got around to tasting it. Not to worry, Jell-O is a superb preservative!

The other feature ingredient here is Veg-All, "serving up memories since 1926." Originally crafted to ease the burden of homemade pot pies and vegetable soups, Veg-All became a boon to mid-century housewives experimenting with all sorts of casseroles. From the Veg-All website:

         While its nutritional benefits are legendary, Veg-All mixed vegetables 

         bring something just as important to the table ... convenience. 

         Each can of Veg-All has the perfect blend of carrots, potatoes, 

         green beans, corn and lima beans ... it’s the easy solution to any 

         recipe dilemma. Just open and enjoy!

The recipe for "Pie-Plate Salad" was sent to me by a fan. Maybe, I can't quite remember. I may have seen it on Gilligan's Island, for all I know. At any rate, I'm even too lazy this week to type out the recipe, so here it is in it's original form:

Though simple, I was intrigued that there was no modification of the gelatin - normally savory dishes call for a dash of salt or vinegar, or both, to cut the sweetness.  Not so here - it practically makes itself!

Unfortunately, you then have to eat it....

Our Rating:  Four Screaming Husbands!
(all dishes are rated from one to five Screaming Husbands. One Screaming Husband equals a happy home where all problems are solved during cocktail hour. Five Screaming Husbands signals the beginning of divorce proceedings.)