Post-Christmas blahs

We got up this morning to get the last houseguest to a plane leaving from PVD at  6:10 a.m.  I have been worthless all day.  Not a morning person.

The tree is still up, looking pretty dry and the house is still decorated.  At least the Christmas tablecloth is in the dryer along with a gazillion red, white and green napkins.  Oh the ironing!   Arrrgh!

We are making do with the stovetop since the oven crapped out.  Made  a Perdue chicken recipe last night: Breast Budapest  Hey, it was good.  I served it with gemelli, just the right pasta, and we ate the whole thing.  The recipe isn't on Perdue's web site.  Probably too much butter, cream and sour cream- the Hungarians are not known for nutritional correctness.  Is Paprika considered a vegetable?  I cooked up some fresh carrots that defined delicious.  So there!

I dug out a really old Molded Cranberry Salad recipe for the Holidays.  It appeared in the Chicago Tribune when Mary Meade presided over the food pages. Used to make it every year when the kids were little.   I trolled the 'Net, but the recipe isn't there.

Here you go.

Molded Cranberry Salad

1. Put 1 pound (12 oz. will do) fresh cranberries  into a sauce pan with 1 3/4 cups water.  Cook until skins pop, then boil for 5 minutes.  Beat with rotary beater to break up berries.  Ad 2 pkgs. cherry gelatin.  I used one pkg. cranberry and 1 pkg. cherry.  Add 1/2 cup sugar; stir to dissolve.
2. Chill ovr ice, stirring occasionally, until partly thickened.  Wash and halve enough seedless grapes to make 1 cup.  Finely chop 1 cup celery.  Add grapes and celery to gelatin along with 1 20 ounce can of undrained   crushed pineapple to the gelatin.
3.  Pour into 9 x 13 inch pan.  Chill overnight.
4.  To prepare dressing, mash 1 3 oz. pkg. cream cheese in a bowl.  Add 16 marshmallows, quartered, and 1 cup heavy cream.  Chill overnight in the refrigerator.
 5.  Before serving, beat dressing mixture with an electric beater until stiff.  Cut salad into squares and serve with dressing.

Salad can be made a day ahead if you like.  Yields about 12-16 servings, depending on size.  Dressing is incredibly delicious.  Salad has a nice crunch and is not overly sweet.  Looks pretty, too!

This is a "retro" recipe that tastes as good as it did in the days of yore.  Great with ham or turkey. Yum!  The "kids" still liked it.

Grapeshot