I was looking back at the blog, realizing that it has been over 6 months since I had last updated, and a year since I wrote regularly. I could give you some excuses...emotional turmoil, heavy workload, laziness, etc., but I'm not sure it really matters, because who reads this any more, besides me? And, I'm basically looking up old recipes that I can't seem to find in my own files.
Anyway, while looking up the recipe for Creamy Banana Pudding once again, because I can NEVER remember the water measurement correctly (1 1/2 cups!), I came to the conclusion that I really did miss nattering on about food and travel and poodles. (Why I cannot remember the stupid water measurement, I have no idea. It's not like I haven't made this recipe before...I figured out that I have been making this exact same dish for the last 13 or so years, so you would think I could do it in my sleep, blindfolded, backwards in high heels, etc. I can remember the most arcane of bubblegum pop song lyrics--"Heartbeat, It's a Love Beat," anyone?--but not that it takes 1.5 cups of H20 to make this dish. And, this is one dish that I never mess with...I never change ingredients around, I never try to make it lower fat, lesser calorie, etc. It's the one "why mess with perfection" thing in my repertoire that I know without a dark shadow of doubt will turn out every single time.) (Okay, I lied...the one variation that I will do is to change up the size of the Nilla Wafers...if I can't find the mini ones, I will go back to using the traditional size ones. But, that is the ONLY compromise that I shall make.) (Well, okay, I did make it with bananas AND strawberries a couple of times, and it was pretty good...you need really good and ripe strawberries for it to work. Seriously, though, I really do make it by the book 98% of the time.)
So, here's something you can play with: "Pink Velvet Salad." I got this recipe in trade for the banana pudding recipe from one of my Northern co-workers, who I think is actually originally from North Carolina, because this recipe is pretty much as Southern as it gets...you know how we like to use the term "salad" for many dishes that have no relationship all with lettuce or any other plant life.
(Remember the Strawberry Pretzel Dessert? It's often called Strawberry Pretzel Salad, which confuses the heck out of non-Southerners. One of our trainers was training in Tennessee, and they had a potluck lunch during her time there. She called me that evening and asked a lot of questions about what was the deal with the strawberry pretzel "salad" thing? She thought it was more of a dessert...to which my stock reply is, if we call it a "salad," then we get to eat something else for dessert. Makes total sense to me.)
Anyway, I digress and back to the Pink Velvet Salad (which is not a salad...or at least not "what most people think is a salad" salad). It's just one of those potluck sort of dishes that you look at and try to figure out if it's going to taste like Bubbly Yum (because it's really, really pink). Plus, with a name like "Pink Velvet," you wonder if it's on the buffet or the pole at a strip club...
Pink Velvet Salad
Ingredients:
1 large container of Cool Whip, thawed
1 can Cherry Pie filling
1 large can crushed pineapple, drained thoroughly
1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
Procedure:
Combine all ingredients and chill overnight. I usually whip the Eagle Brand and the Cool Whip together first, then fold in the pie filling and pineapple. It will firm up overnight and have a fluffy consistency. (Notice that I have "can" as my measurement...this is how it was given to me, and you too can spend quality time in the grocery store obsessing over and trying to figure out how large is "large" when it comes to the "1 large can crushed pineapple." I used the one that was closest in size to the can of pie filling and called it done.)
Yep, it's pretty much a whole lot of sugar with some fruit, and maybe nuts. I'm normally not a big fan of Cool Whip, and I keep meaning to try making it with real whipped cream, but then I think ( "I'm making a dessert with a can of pie filling, so really, Cool Whip is very appropo," and I go on with my bad self.
I've since seen recipes that incorporate miniature marshmallows, which will never ever ever happen in my Pink Velvet Salad. Decaying slimy marshmallows are an abomination, which is why I detest Ambrosia Salad. (Yes, another salad that is not a salad thing, but mostly fruit, so it could technically be a "fruit salad.") You could also throw coconut in it, but I wouldn't...sometimes simpler is betterer, if you know what I mean.
Now, what elevated this dessert with me was freezing it. You could line some muffin tins with cupcake liners, spoon it in, and freeze it if you want to get fancy. Or, you could spoon the leftovers back into the empty Cool Whip tub and freeze it that way. Freezing it in the muffin tin is a little more elegant (ha! the idea that Cool Whip could be elegant!) and reminded me of some sort of 50s throwback dessert. It's pretty tasty when it's frozen, too.
That's all I've got today, and I'm making no promises about tomorrow, next week, or next month.
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