A poll about food (well. hypothetically food.)

[melannen]

So guys! The church potluck is this Sunday and I have NO IDEA what to make but! I have been reading too many articles about jello-based cooking lately! And they always make me hungry for jello salad! So I pulled out the church's cookbook that is older than me and came up with a list of possibilities.

Also I am going to a Mad-Max themed potluck next month where we are supposed to bring something post-apocalyptic so clearly Jello molds will work there too right. (Especially if I find vegetarian jello.)

Help me decide?


LIME APPLESAUCE MOLD
Contains lime jello, applesauce, 7-up

APPLESAUCE SALAD
Raspberry jello, applesauce, lemon juice

STRAWBERRY JELLO MOLD
strawberry jello, strawberries, 1 packet Dream Whip

CREAMY ORANGE-PINEAPPLE SALAD
crushed pineapple, orange jello, cream cheese, Dream Whip

FRUIT SALAD
canned fruit cocktail, small marshmallows, jello (any flavor), cottage cheese (large curd)

CIRCUS PEANUT SALAD
circus peanuts, orange jello, Cool Whip, crushed pineapple

ENGLISH TRUFFEL
Cool Whip, pre-made Pound Cake, can peaches, strawberry jello, vanilla pudding, bananas, cherries (in this one you layer the fruit with chunks of cake and then pour jello over it.)

DREAM CAKE
box white cake mix, red jello, dream whip (in this one you bake the cake, and then when it's cool you punch a bunch of holes in it and pour the red jello over it, so I guess when you cut it there's like. veins of slimy red stuff running through the cake like innards? )

..."Dream Whip", btw, is apparently powdered instant Cool Whip, idek.

Poll #17107

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 30

View Respondents

Which one? They all sound so good.

View Answers

LIME APPLESAUCE MOLD
8 (26.7%)

APPLESAUCE SALAD
7 (23.3%)

STRAWBERRY JELLO MOLD
11 (36.7%)

CREAMY ORANGE-PINEAPPLE SALAD
9 (30.0%)

FRUIT SALAD
2 (6.7%)

CIRCUS PEANUT SALAD
1 (3.3%)

ENGLISH TRUFFEL
3 (10.0%)

DREAM CAKE
4 (13.3%)

Comments

[alexseanchai]

...Jello is vegetarian, isn't it? It's not vegan, but it's also not meat...

[rymenhild]

I went looking for information on KoJel, the kosher gelatin, to see if that was vegetarian. Unfortunately I did not find an answer to this, and I did find an article about the KoJel plant being raided by the Department of Health due to massive rat infestation, so D: and never mind.

[alexseanchai]

... D:

[melannen]

D:

[melannen]

It's made of bits of dead mammal, so.... I guess it depends on how strict you are. But ovo-lacto-pesco people still often don't eat it, due to the dead mammal bits. (Also for 'inclusive potluck' purposes, the dead cow bits mean it's not kosher or halal or good for some other kinds of religious restriction, and I doubt it's good for alpha-gal people either.)

[alexseanchai]

Fair point on the inclusive.

[j00j]

agar is the usual veg substitute for those unaware. It'll be clearly labeled at a Whole Foods type place. It usually sets fine. Occasionally something weird happens.

[cyprinella]

Usually it's boiled beef or pork bone and other collageneous parts (hooves, skin, etc). Basically the same stuff that gives a good stock it's texture, only concentrated and fruit flavored.

[stultiloquentia]

Oh boy, nostalgia blast. I used to get so excited to see these at potlucks, when I was a kid.

[melannen]

I really like seeing them at potlucks! Especially because I get full easily, so by the time I get to the desserts and really just want something cool and light and mostly water.

(...I am too young to have been subjected to the savory ones, though. There was a jello-based shrimp salad in the cookbook, and a jello-based coleslaw, but I don't cook things I won't eat.)

[zlabya]

I give you credit for wanting to make something apocalyptic for that party (which I am also attending). I'm not a Mad Max fan and find coming up with a costume difficult. Might do Dalek bread, though I'd need a turn at the oven, which isn't easy to get and is rough on the hosts, so probably not.

[melannen]

I don't think the food needs to be very themed or elaborate (or we could all just bring cans of beans.) But if I'm playing with jello molds anyway....

Costume-wise I think I am just going to borrow some old, oversized army pants from somebody to go with my combat boots and a black long-sleeve t-shirt, unless I get my white linen thingy wearable in time. But the thing about post-apocalyptic is you can just grab any old stuff from your closet and you have authentically scavenged any old stuff from a surviving pre-apocalypse closet, and tada, authenticity. :P It doesn't have to be all that Mad Max specifically, I think. (or have to be in costume at all, of course.)

[zlabya]

I figured we didn't have to be authentic with the food--you're cool for even thinking it! And I have a slighly raggy thermal sweatshirt I'm definitely going to wear; it might be fun to wear deliberately mismatched clothes for the rest.

[cyprinella]

My family does a variation on your orange-pineapple that has shredded cheddar and maraschino cherries. God I love that stuff.

[melannen]

I don't think I've ever actually had a jello mold that has cheese in it! Does the cheese melt and mix in, or are there just bits of cheese in it like the fruit?

[cyprinella]

Bits of cheese. Works with the texture of the crushed pineapple. It's much more loose than a lot of jello molds in texture. More of a mousse and you certainly couldn't turn it out of the bowl.

[melannen]

Yeah, most of the jello salads I've had are like that. I look at the pictures in old cookbooks with the firm slices and wonder if something the makeup of jello has changed or something.

[rushthatspeaks]

I clicked fruit salad because it is closest to what you should actually make, which is Lime Jello Marshmallow Cottage Cheese Surprise, and then you will also have a catchy theme song (consult Youtube for numerous renditions). The Surprise is that it's one of the best Jello things I've ever had, although I cannot convince anyone else around here to try it-- they just look at it and go away. Ah well, more for me.

[melannen]

Oooh, that sounds like exactly my kind of song!