Hi everyone! I love holidays. I have holiday-specific socks and earrings for just about every holiday on the calendar. Being in Florida now, the socks don’t get used much, but the earrings do. Here is a picture of my 4th of July earrings (I have no shame at all):
When I was a kid, and when our kids were small, there was always a small-town parade that we would attend the morning or early afternoon on the 4th. Later we would barbecue dinner and light some sparklers. As dark approached, we would take a blanket and some munchies and drinks to the local park or high school field and watch the fireworks up close. We loved the big boomers! I wanted to invoke a nostalgic feel with my side dish that might bring back some memories for our friends.
We got invited to a party for the 4th, and I really wanted to wow everyone with something vibrantly red, white and blue. I wanted to stay with a salad or side dish, but everything I thought of just didn’t give me the vibrant color and old-fashioned holiday feeling I was hoping to achieve. Then it hit me – a gelatin salad!
When I was a kid, a Jell-O mold was considered a salad. We never ate gelatin as dessert. It was always a part of the meal, regardless of how much fruit and whipped cream it contained. And nothing beats the colors you can get with flavored gelatin. I hadn’t made a Jell-O mold for years, and I didn’t think anyone would want to eat it, but I was sure it would look great and invoke some additional whimsey to the holiday.
The Jell-O mold itself is incredibly easy. You basically make a layer, put it into the serving dish and wait for it to set (I used 4 hours, just to be sure). For the red and blue layers, you just make the gelatin as stated on the box, add the fruit, put it in the fridge and wait. The white layer is a bit trickier, as there is no actual white gelatin. I also recalled that the white layer would be a lot sweeter than the other layers, so I cut the amount of sugar in half, and it helped a lot. Here is how I put it together:
Ingredients
Layer 1 (blue):
1 package (3 ounces) berry blue gelatin
1 cup boiling water
1 cup cold water
1 cup fresh blueberries
Layer 2 (white):
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
½ cup cold water
1 cup heavy whipping cream
¼ cup sugar
2 cups sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Layer 3 (red):
1 package (3 ounces) raspberry gelatin
1 cup fresh raspberries
Optional: Whipped topping and additional berries for garnish
Instructions
Dissolve berry blue gelatin in 1 cup boiling water; stir in 1 cup cold water. Add blueberries. Pour into a 3-qt. serving bowl. Refrigerate until firm, about 4 hours
In a saucepan, sprinkle unflavored gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water; let stand for 1 minute. Add cream and sugar; stir over low heat until dissolved. Cool to room temperature. Whisk in sour cream and vanilla. Spoon over blue layer. Refrigerate until firm, about 4 hours
Dissolve raspberry gelatin in 1 cup boiling water; stir in 1 cup cold water. Add raspberries. Spoon over cream layer. Chill until set, about 4 hours. Top with whipped topping and berries if desired.
When I brought the mold out of the bag, everyone was thrilled! They loved the colors, and it really helped with the holiday spirit! We used it as a centerpiece on the table, and everyone actually had a helping (but after dinner – it just doesn’t read ‘salad’ anymore).
