"We're actually going to EAT that?": Eatocracy.com's Vintage Cookbook Challenge

Yes, that was the real reaction of The Husband after we went out to get all the ingredients necessary for the Vintage Cookbook Double Dare.  Dinner set in Jello...nothing could sound more disgusting. Oh! Wait! Let's add some lunch meat to it.  Tongue and Blood Loaf, Olive Loaf, and some regular old ham.  Let the 1930s live in our house for one night.  Good thing this is New York City and we can order in back up if necessary, but who knows, maybe it'll be delicious.  Jello was a staple in the American diet for decades! Maybe I should try being old fashioned?  Thanks Kat, for opening my mind to Jello....we...maybe...

Here's the recipe via Eatocracy.com
http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2011/02/28/vintage-cookbook-vault-aspic-supper-salad-challenge/

Vegetable Supper Salad

1 package lemon-flavored gelatin
2 cups boiling water
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped salad
1 cup shredded cabbage
1/2 cup grated carrot
1 green pepper, chopped

Dissolve prepared gelatin in boiling water. Add vinegar and salt. Place in refrigerator Cabinet until mixture begins to thicken, then fold in celery, cabbage, carrot and green pepper. Turn into mold and return to Cabinetuntil ready to serve.

Unmold on crisp lettuce. Serve with thin slices of cold meat for the main course at supper or luncheon. (Any desired vegetables may be used in this recipe.)

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME! I did it for you... and The Husband and I tried to eat it...but honestly, unless you are over 80 years old or you have an unhealthy love of Jello...it's pretty bad. We ate a piece, tasted the Tongue, and honestly I enjoyed the tongue...much more than the jello.  We then reached for the delivery menus. There was a part of me that thought that I was going to be very surprised, that this recipe might blow my mind with the endless possibilities of Jello.  After all, my Grandma used to serve some sort of Jello salad at every Christmas dinner.  But no, instead of munching down on the Aspic Salad, we ordered Chinese food.

But making it is a different story!  It was the most fun cooking that I had had in a long time. Learning all the rules for getting Jello out of a mold without it breaking, or simply just shopping for a Jello mold! And discovering that The Husband has an unnatural knack for arranging lunch meat on a platter was the best surprise. Yes, he was the one to decorate the plate with Tongue, Olive Loaf, and Ham...pretty impressive I must say!

Here's a couple photos of my finished Jello monstrosity!