Last December The Hopeful Foodie rang in the holiday cheer with The Twelve Days to Christmas Countdown, where the strangest food-related holiday gifts were scoured over the internet and presented to you in semi-psycho blog format. This year, I want to be a little more multi-cultural about things by bringing forth the strangeness of the products we actually eat for the holidays. You know what I’m talking about – those dishes that both delight and perplex you, ones passed down through the years, or new ones that stayed in a certain decade never to be seen again (like, for example, the great Let’s Make Everything Out of Tofu phase of the 1990s).
Being that I’m merely one person with only so many strange and unusual family traditions (most of which fall into the “let’s pass out drunk into the Christmas tree” category, thank you, Mother) I opened this one up to just about every person in my email inbox to share. Let’s face it: we all come from different backgrounds, cultures and distinctions – each one having so many rich, beautiful and strange customs to offer. They might as well be highlighted during the most emotionally-heightened time of the year (besides, mom never passed out in my Easter basket, now did she? That would be a no. A big whopping ho, ho, no).
First on the list, to bring us fully into the season of edible weirdness is the ever-dreaded “why-is-it-wiggling?” creation that fits under the umbrella category of Dessert Salads. Oh yes, friends – the Lime Jello Pistachio Salad.
issues blood-curdling scream *Aaaaahhhhhhh!*
I will never understand why someone back in 1972 (and originally in the 1920s) thought it necessary to merge two perfectly wonderful meal categories into one deplorable black corner of edible hell. If that wasn’t enough, they decided that both the birth of the Christ and the lighting of the menorah candles were appropriate occasions to present said unnatural dish year after year after year.
In doing some research of this extremely clora-colored dessert I’ve discovered that there are many ways to merge jello with other objects. Some people use actual lime-flavored gelatin. Others opt for pistachio flavored pudding, which always looks so sad and alone all by itself on the grocery store shelf. From there the possibilities range from mini marshmallows to fruit cocktail to crushed pineapple to cottage cheese. For some reason it always seems like it’s served on a bed of something, whether it be a store-bought pie crust or, like my friend Ken, who contributed this idea hilariously stated, lettuce: “ Why the heck does a salad need a bed? It’s just going to get eaten. Is the bed to make its last minutes more comfortable before I sink my thangs into it (yes, he said “thangs.” What thang he’s referring to is between him and the Jello)?” I even ran across a recipe that called for a can of Coke being added to the mix along with maraschino cherries and a handful of nuts (which you must be if you’ve actually considered bringing this to a party). At this point you must know that the another name for this bizarre creation is the famous Watergate Salad. It never ceases to amaze how long the green, wiggly thing has managed to last through the years. It’s called Watergate Salad and we all know how that turned out!
Let’s lift up our pudding cups and make a toast to the green stuff and the first day of our twelve day extravaganza! Stay tuned every few days or so for the next post-worthy entry. If you have a dish to share, please email me at: justcellina@yahoo.com
Watch me wiggle,
Cellina – The Hopeful Foodie
Special thanks to Ken Poindexter and his Jello-savvy grandmother.
