This was part of Casey’s Ham Loaf dinner. Which I haven’t written about yet. But I will. And then link back to this post so you’ll remember that THIS is the Jell-O that went with the loaf. Oh, how I have reservations with dishes that are made in loaf-form! Why loaf, why?
But I digress. Casey gave me the recipe because apparently you can’t have Ham Loaf without this gelatin dish. It’s a rule. Here is the recipe:
Two small boxes of black cherry jello. Add two cups boiling water and dissolve. Add 8 oz cream cheese and use fork to break up into small pieces. Drain liquid from one can crushed pineapple in its own juice and one can of black cherries into 2 cup measuring cup. Add water to make two cups and add to the mix. Then stir in the pineapple and cherries. Pour into a suitable container and chill til it sets.
Well, that’s easy enough. Although I couldn’t find a can of black cherries.
Hands up if you’re surprised that the Safeway didn’t carry cherries in a can.
Anyone?
I didn’t think so.
Although the dish was cherry-free, I don’t think it was missing it too much. Plus, then it wouldn’t have fit in my fancy 6 cup mold.
But wow. This mixture ain’t pretty. This is what it looked like when I tried to break up the cream cheese in the Jell-O with a fork:
It doesn’t look like food. It looks like a petri dish.
But after chilling in the fridge, here is the finished product. Behold, Uncle Bob’s Jell-O Salad!
Look at the texture on that bitch. I guess I could have done a better job of breaking up that cream cheese.
This salad was heavy. All of the crushed pineapple and the cream cheese! This mold probably weighed about a pound and a half. OF JELL-O. Can you imagine if I had been able to get the cherries??? I don’t think there would have been enough Jell-O to support that much fruit. But, I guess that looks-wise, this wasn’t any worse than anything else with mini marshmallows suspended in it.
*scrolls up to look at it again*
OK, maybe it is.
I’m just happy that it wasn’t tomato aspic with cottage cheese in it. Looking at that picture, it could have easily gone that route. Which is a scary path to go down.
Verdict: a big thumbs up.
Seriously. It was good! Not too sweet. I was so wary of the cream cheese, but it was like little cheesecake nubbins. And the texture, that bizarre texture, was actually pleasing.
Well played, Uncle Bob. Wherever you are…
And whoever you are.
For serious, I was just told that this was Uncle Bob’s dish. No context. Uncle Bob could be a figment of Casey’s imagination. I just don’t know.
If you haven’t already, or just want to do it again, go HERE and pick what my next DiS! extravaganza will be. As of now, the Swedish Meatballs are the clear favorite, so if you prefer something else, pop on over and get voting!
[…] was served with the delectable Uncle Bob’s Jell-O Salad. Which I am sure will eventually end up at one of the Astronaut Wives pot […]
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You seem like a nice girl 😉 I will get the black cherries for you (when/if I find them). The taste will revolutionize your life 😉
Nice job with the blog! 😉
Good luck and keep cooking,
Casey’s (sometimes wicked) stepmother
There is an Uncle Bob, but it’s not his recipe. The recipe originated from Casey’s Grandma Shirley. We serve the recipe every Christmas in a Christmas tree mold. You really must find the black cherries, regardless of cost, and NO the maraschino cherries will not work!
Best wishes, Casey’s Dad
The mixture picture looks exactly like a slice of summer sausage!
OH LAWDY
*scrolls back up* You know, it really does! Maybe you should line the mold with a few layers of dark red gelatin before pouring it in next time.
Wow, that jello looks like it came directly out of 1972! And it sounds delicious. Love the plate too. xx
Thanks! That plate makes a lot of blog appearances.
This is similar to my mom’s “Coke Salad.” You pretty much follow this recipe up to where you put it into the mold, but instead pour the mixture into an 8×8-inch baking pan then pour a bottle of Coke (real Coke, not diet, please) into it and chill. Oh, and I think it also has chopped walnuts in there somewhere. Looks like. . . no. I won’t say what it reminds me of. It’s too gross. Tastes great, though! We have it almost every Christmas. So yummy!
I still haven’t warmed up to nuts in gelatin. Maybe one day!
I would have just gone for the default maraschino cherries (I mean, jello & Maraschino cherries are supposed to go together, right?) but yeah, black cherries are a tough find, and the Oregon Brand ones are something like five bucks a tin-if you can find them.
I think cream cheese used to be softer before they started adding gelatin and stabilisers to give it shelf life. Short of using a mixer (or blender) I don’t see how you could possibly break it up any better.
Dammit! I keep voting for the drunken fish. Why would anyone vote for a meatball over booze?!
And what’s WRONG with tomato aspic with cottage cheese in it?!? 🙂
I don’t know about ham LOAF, but you can do a mean ham glaze with cherry Jell-O as a base. I would think the texture might work better with sour cream, you’d still get the sweet-cutting power of the cream cheese without all the flotsam.
And yeah, non-pie filling cherries are a hard thing to find.
I applaud you for your aspic/cottage cheese. You are a better man than me.
What a fantastic mold! Now you just need a kick-ass mile-high beehive hairdo to go with it.
I think I might do one this weekend. My hair is feeling frisky.